Vocabulary task 1

Make up sentences with 10 phrases from the Active Vocabulary List.

Vocabulary task 2

Match pares of synonyms.

view	member
essential	record
weak point	environment
participant	disadvantage
make notes	opinion
setting	significant

Vocabulary task 3

Fill in the gaps with words in the box

academic discussion make notes discussion skills  develop an idea straightforward concisely participants colloquialism

1. Knowledge of _________is essential if you want to be successful and contribute effectively in discussions.

2. Writing and speaking clearly and _________means choosing your words deliberately, constructing your sentences carefully, and using grammar properly

3. Round table is a form of ________. Participants agree on a specific topic to discuss and debate.

4. Good academic writers use language which is __________________ and to-the-point.

5. An academic discussion is an organized "conversation" about a specific topic that all the _________have been studying.

6. A ____________ is a familiar expression used mostly in informal speech.

7. You ____________by supporting it, discussing its significance, and showing how it connects to the rest of your statement.

8. You _______when you attend lectures or seminars and read to support your writing of essays, reports, dissertations, and theses.

Reading

Task 1.

Read the text and give its main ideas in 5 sentences.

Discussion skills. Academic style.

Developing discussion skills is useful for everyday life as we regularly find ourselves having discussions among friends, family and colleagues. These may vary from very informal chats about day-to-day things, to academic discussions.

An academic discussion is an organized "conversation" about a specific topic that all the participants have been studying. In an academic discussion, people are able to:

• work out the meaning of difficult points;

• find out what other people think about the topic;

• explain and develop their own ideas about the topic;

• discuss different views of the topic;

• learn to see the topic from different angles;

• discover the strong and weak points of different people's interpretations (including their own);

• form conclusions about particular questions.

To do this effectively it is essential to:

• prepare for the discussion by reading, thinking, and making notes of important points that you might want to make; (However, it is not a good idea to just read your notes. You should only use them to help you to remember.)

• listen to what other people say and ask them (politely) to explain more clearly if you do not understand;

• explain your ideas clearly and concisely, giving reasons and examples;

• remain calm and polite even when you are expressing disagreement;

• make sure that everyone has an equal chance to speak, and that the discussion is not monopolized by one or two people.

Academic discussions need a formal tone of communication known as academic style. This tone differs from conversational ways of speaking that include slang, contractions, colloquialisms, and other informalities. Academic style is clear, straightforward, and professional. The central components of academic style include:

• declarative statements

• avoiding casual language

• authoritative register (voice)

Make Declarative Statements

Perhaps the most important part of academic style is creating declarative statements. They are the same as "I" statements, only the "I" is hidden. For example:

"I" Statement:	I think that school uniforms benefit students by eliminating competition based on designer labels.
Declarative Statement:	School uniforms benefit students by eliminating competition based on designer labels.

Avoid Casual Language

Be formal. Remove the "sound" of your casual conversational style and avoid contractions like "can't" or "don't." Think about the language you read in a textbook or academic journal - most academic publications do not use contractions, words like "okay," or storytelling indicators like, "then," "next," and "after that." They also do not address the reader casually with the word "you."

Develop an Authoritative Register

A "register" is the type of language you use in a specific setting. For instance, you speak differently to your friends than you do to your boss or your professor. In each setting, you use a different register based on what you understand is appropriate behavior for that environment. It is the recognition that certain types of speech are not appropriate for certain situations.

Task 2

Answer the questions about the text

1. People use their discussions skills for academic discussions only, don’t they?

2. What are the peculiarities of an academic discussion?

3. What is the formal tone for academic discussions?

4. What kind of language does the academic style need?

5. What should be done to make a discussion non-monopolized?

6. What are the differences of academic and conversational styles of speech?

7. Do people have to use different register in different settings?

8. One of the central components of academic style is to avoid personal language, isn’t it?

Task 3

Mark the sentences as TRUE or FALSE

1. You can't contribute to an academic discussion unless you are well-prepared.

2. An academic discussion suggests a fight: a conflict or confrontation between participants, where one tries to dominate the other in order to 'win'. 

3. The aim of academic discussion is to explore a question, a proposition or an area of knowledge and achieve reasoned mutual understanding.

4. When you engage in academic argument, you are developing your ideas, advancing and clarifying your knowledge and learning to think critically.

5. When using the academic style you usually use first personal pronouns.

VIDEO

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZQgd2sPxpk&t=202s

Task 1

Fill in the gaps with the words from the video.

1. Academic English is more formal, more objective and has to use a lot of ________. references

2. Do not use contractions _______ in Academic English. That is non-academic. At all

3. Avoid slang: use proper ____. Terminology

4. Cliches are kind of idioms, commonly used ______. Expressions

5. The well known MLA,APA style guides tell you how you are to write, what rules you need to _____.follow

6. We do not see many exclamation marks in academic writing, we do see a lot of ______. Semi-colons

7. The days of using _____language are over when you are at University. Vague

8. Use slightly more sophisticated _______. Vocabulary

9. Avoid giving your personal_____. Opinion

10. Your ___is to speak as your professor. goal

Task 2

Mark the sentences as TRUE / FALSE/ NOT MENTIONED

1. Academic English and General English are slightly different from each other.

2. To give a reference means to give a source.

3. Contractions generally sound more formal than their non-contracted equivalents.

4. Multi-part words sound better in Academic English.

5. Using of many idioms in Academic English is quite appropriate.

6. Commas are rare in Academic English.

7. In general, it is the best not to use too much personal language.

8. Use the words "really" or "very" to try to emphasize a point.

9. Avoid informal language which resembles speech.

Task 3

Which of the two alternatives is more academic?

1 The researchers have made considerable/great progress in solving the problem.

2 Excellent results were got/obtained in the experiment.

3 The results of lots of/numerous tests have been good /encouraging.

4 A loss of jobs is one of the consequences/things that happen if the process gets  automated.

5 The relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties is extremely/really important.

6 Some suggestions springing up /arising from the study are presented.

.

Task 4

Replace the phrasal verbs in the sentences with a more ‘academic’ verb from the box. Don't forget to keep the same tense.

Fluctuate investigate eliminate raise reduce propose intervene establish

1 Researchers have been looking into the problem for 10 years. ______________________

2 The issue was brought up during the seminar. __________________________

3 They know what is happening and will therefore step in if there is a problem._________________________

4 Schools cannot get rid of the problem of truancy. _________________________

5 The financing of the project has been cut down recently. _____________________

6 It was difficult to find out the reason. _______________________

7 Food prices have a tendency to go up and down. _______________________

8 The solution was put forward 5 years ago. _____________________

Task 5

Rewrite the sentences using academic style.

1. The examination results were super. 

2. The cost of living went up.

3. They put off the meeting until December.

4. We got/obtained excellent results in the experiment.

5. The planners reviewed the report and said that it was great.

6. My historical approach to economics is just not the right way to go about it.

7. We worked together on the project for 10 years.

8. The department's approach didn't succeed. 

9. In the second section of the report, we will consider the environmental  consequences.

10. We found example after example of autonomous systems in lots of  countries.

Practical Task

Transform Informal Language into Academic Voice

 When writing a research paper and other academic writing (what is called academic discourse) you’ll want to use what is called the academic style, which means you sound objective, authoritative, and reasonable. While a research paper will be based on your opinion on a topic, it will be an opinion based on evidence (from your research) and one that has been argued in a rational manner in your paper.

You use the academic style because your opinion is based on thinking; in your paper you’re revealing your thought process to your reader. Because you’ll be appealing to reason, you want to use the style of one intellectual talking to another intellectual.

If the subject matter for your academic writing isn’t personal, as in the case of a formal research paper, you would take on a more detached, objective tone. While you may indeed feel strongly about what you’re writing about, you should maintain a professional tone, rather than a friendly or intimate one.

However, it’s important to note that even the most formal academic style does not need to include long sentences, stilted language, as some believe. As with all writing, you should make sure to write with clarity and an active voice that avoids jargon. All readers appreciate good academic style.

(From http://owl.excelsior.edu/writing-process/finding-your-voice/finding-your-voice-academic-voice/)

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