This post explores the specific communicative functions of academic writing. By exploring rhetorical patterns, we will learn how to: develop a critical / cautious voice; classify and list, compare and contrast; and define. Awareness of these patterns will enable participants to fulfil specific purposes in sections of their writing, and once familiarity with them increases, the rhetoric can be applied to a range of contexts and content areas.

Materials

• Academic Phrasebank: A general resource for academic writers.

• AWL : Academic Word List

• Rules and Conventions of Academic Writing

• Guide to Academic Writing Style

Specific Academic Conventions

Being critical

• How to be critical
  • Question what you read
  • Do not necessarily agree with it just because information has been published.
  • Look for reasons why we should not just accept something as being correct or true.
  • Identify problems with a writer’s arguments or methods
  • Refer to other people’s criticisms of these.
• Examples
  • Highlighting inadequacies of previous studies
    • Previous studies of X have not dealt with …
    • Most studies of X
      • have only focused on …
      • are unsatisfactory because they …
      • fail to estimate economic rates of …
      • have only investigated the impact of …
      • have not included variables relating to …
  • Highlighting inadequacies of an empirical study
    • The study suffers from …
  • Criticism of an author or an author’s work
    • Smith fails to grasp that …
    • The paper makes no attempt to
      • specify …
      • quantify …
      • compare …
      • separate …
      • account for…
  • Offering constructive suggestions
    • The study would have been more interesting if it had included …
    • The sutdy might have been more convincing if they had
      • used …
      • included …
      • adopted …
      • provided …
      • considered …
  • Evaluating work positively
    • This article provides a valuable insight into …
    • Smith (1990) offers an extensive analysis of …
  • Introducing a section of text which has a critical purpose
    • The section below critically assesses the idea that there are some …..
    • The section that follows critically examines the claim that …

Being cautious

• How to be cautious
  • Avoid expressing absolute certainty if degree of uncertainty exists
  • Avoid making over-generalizations, where exceptions might exist
  • Hedging device — Lessen the strength of a statement / claim
• Examples
  • Devices that distance the writer from a proposition
    • It has commonly been assumed that …
  • Being cautious when giving explanations or hypothesizing
    • These frequent storms are almost certainly due to climate change.
    • It is almost certain that these frequent storms are a result of climate change
  • Being cautious when explaining results
    • This inconsistency may be due to …
    • It is possible that these results
      • are due to …
      • are limited to …
      • are only valid for …
      • may not apply to …
      • do not represent the …
  • Being cautious when discussing implications or recommendations
    • The findings of this study seem to imply the following …
    • The evidence from this study suggests that …
    • Taken together, these results suggest that …
    • One possible implication of this is that …
    • Strategies to enhance X might involve …
    • Other types of response could include: a) …, b) …
  • Devices for avoiding over-generalisation
    • In general, this requires …
    • X is generally assumed to play a role in …
    • Authors generally place an emphasis on …
    • In general, the study found a tendency for …
    • Smith (2003) found a tendency for X to be associated with …
  • Being cautious when writing about the future
    • Severe weather will almost certainly become more common in years to come
    • There is a strong possibility that the situation will improve in the long therm.

Classifying and Listing

• How to classify and list
  • Understand differences and similarities between subjects.
  • Classify on basis of commonalities
  • Helps to analyze qualities/features they share as class
  • Helps understanding differences between things
  • classifying: a way of introducing reader to a new topic
  • listing: presents a series of items or different pieces of information systematically
• Examples
  • General classifications
    • X can be classified into Xi and Xii.
    • There are two main types of X: Xi and Xii.
    • Different methods have been proposed to classify …
    • Generally, X provides two types of information: Xi and Xii.
    • X may be divided into three main
      • classes.
      • sub-groups.
      • categories.
  • Specific classifications
    • Smith draws a distinction between …
    • Smith’s Taxonomy is a multi-tiered model of classifying X.
    • Smith (2006:190) categorised X as either a) …, b) …, c) …
    • Jones (1987) distinguishes between systems that are a) …, b) …, or c) …
    • In the traditional system, X is graded
      • in terms of …
      • on the basis of …
      • according to whether …
  • Commenting on a system of classification: positive or neutral
    • This system of classification
      • includes …
      • allows for …
      • helps distinguish …
      • is useful because …
      • is very simple and …
      • provides a basis for …
  • Commenting on a system of classification: negative
    • This system of classification
      • is misleading.
      • is now out of date.
      • can be problematic.
      • is in need of revision.
      • poses a problem for …
      • is not universally used.
  • Introducing lists
    • This topic can best be treated under three headings: X, Y and Z.
    • The key aspects of management can be listed as follows: X, Y, and Z.
    • There are two types of effect which result when a patient undergoes X. These are …
    • There are three reasons why the English language has become so dominant. These are:
  • Referring to other people’s lists
    • Smith and Jones (1991) list X, Y and Z as the major causes of infant mortality.
    • Smith (2003) lists the main features of X as follows: it is A; it is B; and it has C.
    • For Aristotle, motion is of four kinds: (1) motion which …; (2) motion which …; (3) motion which …; and (4) motion which …

Compare and Contrast

• Role of comparing and contrasting
  • Decide which is more useful and valuable.
  • Compare specific parts & whole: preliminary stage of evaluation
  • Compare/Contrast paragraph beginning: introductory sentence expressed in general terms.
• Examples
  • Introducing differences
    • X is different from Y in a number of respects.
    • There are a number of important differences between X and Y.
    • Areas where significant differences have been found include X and Y.
    • A descriptive case study differs from an exploratory study in that it uses …
    • Smith (2003) found only slight differences between X and Y.
  • Introducing similarities
    • Both X and Y share a number of key features.
    • There are a number of similarities between X and Y.
    • The effects of X on human health are similar to those of Y.
    • Both X and Y generally take place in a ‘safe environment’.
    • The mode of processing used by the right brain is comparable to that used by the left brain.
  • Comparison within one sentence using comparative forms
    • X
      • are more/less likely to perform well than Y.
      • tend to have greater/less verbal fluency than Y.
      • are more/less likely to be put to sleep by alcohol than Y.
      • are more/less accurate in tests of Z than Y.
      • make more/fewer errors in tests of Z than Y.
  • Indicating difference across two sentences
    • Zhao (2002) reports that … However, Smith’s (2010) study of Y found no …
    • According to some studies, X is represented as … (Smith, 2012; Davis, 2014). Others propose … (Jones, 2014; Brown, 2015)
    • Smith (2013) found that X accounted for 30% of Y. Other researchers, however, who have looked at X, have found … Jones (2010), for example, …
  • Indicating similarity across two sentences
    • Smith argues that …
      • Similarly, Wang (2012) holds the view that …
      • Likewise, Smith (1994) in his book XYZ notes …
      • In the same vein, Jones (2013) asserts that …

Defining Terms

• Role of defining terms
  • Demonstrate ones understanding of key features
  • Make readers understand exactly what is meant
  • Exploration before moving on to study a topic (if different interpretations occur)
• Examples
  • Introductory phrases
    • Previous studies mostly defined X as …
    • Historically, the term X has been used to describe …
    • It is necessary here to clarify exactly what is meant by …
    • The definition of X has been a matter of ongoing discussion among …
  • Simple three-part definitions
    • A university is an institution where knowledge is produced and passed on to others.
    • Social Economics may be defined as the branch of economics which is concerned with the measurement, causes, and consequences of social problems.
    • Research may be defined as a systematic process which consists of three elements or components: (1) a question, problem or hypothesis, (2) data, and (3) analysis and interpretation of data.
    • A scientific theory can be defined as a well-confirmed explanation which has been arrived at by following scientific principles.
  • General meanings or application of meanings
    • The term X refers to …
    • The term X encompasses A), B), and C).
    • X can be defined as … It encompasses …
    • X can be loosely described as a correlation.
  • Indicating difficulties in defining a term
    • Several definitions of X have been proposed.
    • A generally accepted definition of X is lacking.
    • Unfortunately, X remains a poorly defined term.
    • The term X has been notoriously hard to define.
  • Specifying terms that are used in an essay or thesis
    • The term X will be used solely when referring to …
    • In this paper, the term that will be used to describe this phenomenon is X.
    • In this dissertation, the terms X and Y are used interchangeably to mean …
    • Throughout this thesis, the term education is used to refer to informal systems as well as …
  • Referring to people’s definitions: author prominent
    • For Smith (2001), fluency means/refers to …
    • Smith (2001) uses the term ‘fluency’ to refer to …
    • Smith (1954) was apparently the first to use the term …
    • The term ‘fluency’ is used by Smith (2001) to refer to …