Insight into Academic Writing. Учебное пособие

(!) Be aware of the difference between facts and opinions used for support.

Facts are objective statements of truth. Opinions are subjective statements based on a person’s beliefs or feelings.

(!) Keep in mind that supporting sentences are the “meat” of a paragraph. Make your supporting sentences as specific and detailed as possible; they make the paragraph rich and interesting. Make sure that your support is appropriate and relevant.

of paraphrasing, summarize the main idea of the paragraph, make a prediction or a suggestion about the topic, or give advice or a final comment about the topic.

(!) Paragraphs that are part of longer pieces of writing don’t always need concluding sentences.

(!) If an assignment is to write a long essay, a thesis statement appearing in the introductory paragraph or paragraphs should state the central idea of the essay.

All of the sentences in one paragraph explain the writer’s main idea (most important idea) about the topic. When writing a paragraph the writer should keep the topic in mind and not include sentences that are irrelevant (not directly related), which could confuse the reader. When the writer wants to write about a new idea, he should begin a new paragraph.

The rules of proper paragraph formatting.

•Indent the first word of each paragraph.

•Leave margins (space on both sides of the text).

•Begin each sentence with a capital letter.

•End each sentence with a full stop/period (.), question mark (?), or exclamation point (!).

•Do not start each new sentence on a new line.

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Practice time

Ex. 1. Work with a partner. Identify the complete sentences (a subject + a predicate) in the following. Explain your choices. (Note: вeginning capitalization and final punctuation have been purposefully removed.)

–when referencing an Internet source;

–this is a requirement in academic work;

–is going to start research work;

–one of the challenges you face;

–the first steps to writing an essay;

–the man graduated in May;

–the information may have been put up.

Ex. 2. Identify the topic sentence, supporting sentences and the concluding sentence in the paragraph given below.

In English, there are several idioms with colour words that describe emotions. When a person feels sad, he/she is feeling blue. A person in a black mood feels even worse; he/she is either angry or depressed. A person turns red with embarrassment, white with fear, green with envy, and purple with rage. When you say that someone is yellow, you mean that he/she is cowardly. It is interesting that English has many color–word idioms to describe anger, jealousy, and fear but doesn’t have any to describe happiness, contentment, or peace.

Ex. 3. Read the following paragraphs. Then choose the best topic sentence for each from the choices listed below.

A.First of all, it is a beautiful city. From the top of its hills, the views of the sparkling blue water of San Francisco Bay and the green hills beyond are spectacular. Second, San Francisco has many excellent restaurants. With hundreds of restaurants serving delicious food from every part of the world, the city is truly a food–lover’s paradise. San Francisco is also fun. Riding a cable car down one of the city’s steep hills, eating a seafood cocktail at Fisherman’s Wharf, window–shopping in Chinatown, or walking across the famous Golden Gate Bridge are just a few of the activities on every visitor’s “must–do” list.

1. San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. 2. San Francisco is the perfect place to spend a vacation.

3. San Francisco has many tourist attractions.

4. San Francisco is a great place to visit, but it is expensive.

B.One thing you must consider is the quality of the university’s educational programme. You also need to think about the university’s size and location. Finally, you must be sure to consider the university’s tuition to make sure you can afford to go to attend all four years.

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1. It is expensive to attend a university in the United States.

2. There are several factors to take into account when you choose

auniversity.

3.You should consider getting a good education.

Ex. 4. Decide which of the following sentences would make a suitable topic sentence. Give reasons for your choice.

Topic: You are going to write a paragraph on the use of e–mail in companies.

1.One of the most useful functions of e–mail is to communicate efficiently with colleagues abroad.

2.E-mail is useful in the office.

3.There are many uses made of e–mail in the office environment; each of these has both advantages and disadvantages attached to it.

Topic: You are going to write a paragraph on the benefits for international students of studying in a British University.

1.International students prefer to study in the UK.

2.Studying in a British University provides students with a number of benefits.

3.Studying in a British University is useful for many reasons.

Ex. 5. The topic sentences have been removed from the following two paragraphs. Read the paragraphs and then write a suitable topic sentence for each.

1. ______________________________________________________

Since English has become the most widely used international language in most fields, many employers require their employees to have a high level of English. It is especially useful for those in academic posts, as so many academic papers are published in English. Those working in financial markets also need English in order to be able to talk to their English–speaking clients and to work effectively in the international market. Other fields for which it is useful to know English include business, commerce and diplomacy. Thus, one of the advantages of being competent in the English language is that there is a wider range of career opportunities.

2._______________________________________________________

The first option of building more roads needs to be examined very carefully, as one of the possible effects of further construction is an increase in the volume of traffic, which happened when the motorway

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around London was built. The second option of limiting the number of cars on the road at one time will not meet with the approval of the general public. The third option of providing a more extensive, more efficient and cheaper transport system seems to be the most viable one. It would encourage people to leave their cars at home, as they would benefit more from using public transport. So the third option should be examined in more detail in order to establish a new system.

Ex. 6. Read the paragraphs. Decide in which paragraph the supporting sentences are more specific. Give your reasons.

Giant Pandas

Giant pandas are an endangered species. There are not many pandas still living in the wild. The area in China where they live is quite small, and they do not reproduce in zoos easily. There has been only one panda baby born in a zoo in the United States. Experts say that pandas in zoos don’t reproduce well enough to maintain the species.

Giant Pandas

Giant pandas are an endangered species. Only about 1,000 giant pandas still live in the wild, occupying six small forest fragments totaling 5,400 square miles in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi in southwestern China. Not only is their natural habitat limited, but they also do not reproduce easily in zoos. In 1999, Bai Yun and Shi Shi, two pandas in the San Diego zoo, produced the first zoo–born baby panda outside China in ten years. According to the San Diego Zoo’s Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, “Captive pandas are not reproducing well enough to maintain the species.”

Ex. 7. Choose the best concluding sentence for Exercise 6 from the choices listed below, using the paragraph you chose with the strongest supporting sentences. Explain your choice.

1.In conclusion, giant pandas are an endangered species and may soon disappear from the Earth.

2.In short, zoos must acquire more pandas, or this much–loved species may soon disappear from the Earth.

3.It is clear that zoos must find ways to help pandas reproduce, or this much–loved species may soon disappear from the Earth.

Ex. 8. Read the topic sentence. Then label the sentences indicating which provide good support (G) and which bad support (B). You should check 5 sentences of good support.

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Japan is a nation of workaholics.

1.Japan has more national holidays than the USA or Germany.

2.The average worker in Japan gets eighteen days of paid vacation every year.

3.The average worker uses only nine of his or her eighteen days of paid vacation every year.

4.Many Japanese are uncomfortable taking vacation days when their coworkers have to be at work, according to Japanese sociologists who have studied the problem.

5.“I wish I could take more than a week,” said office worker Masako Tanaka, “but the environment at work doesn’t really let you do that.”

6.Americans who work for Japanese companies quickly learn to put in the same long hours as their Japanese colleagues.

7.Japanese schoolchildren go to school every other Saturday, and they spend most evenings, weekends, and holidays attending study clubs or cram schools.

8.The Japanese government wants workers to take more time off because people spend more money on vacation, which would help the Japanese economy.

9.Many Japanese enjoy hard work and long hours; if they didn’t, they wouldn’t do it.

10.Japanese get used to working long hours when they are schoolchildren.

Ex. 9. Read the following paragraphs. Find the topic sentence, the supporting sentences and the concluding sentence.

1.For thousands of years garlic has had many uses. The Romans gave garlic to their slaves for strength and to their soldiers for courage. During the Middle Ages, some people used garlic to keep witches away. In the eighteenth century, garlic was used to cure diseases. Even today, some people believe that eating garlic can prevent colds. Garlic has a long history as a plant to give health and protection.

2.There are many reasons why people move. Some move to find better jobs or to advance their careers. Others are attracted to places with better weather. Still others want to move to a place with less crime. Finally, people often want to move to a place with a lower cost of living. For these reasons, every year millions of people pack up and move to new places.

3.Many men are now employed in jobs that traditionally belonged to women. For example, there are now twice as many male nurses as there were ten years ago. The number of male flight attendants has increased from zero in 1960 to over 10,000 today. Similarly, there are many more

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male secretaries, elementary school teachers, and telephone operators than ever before. It is clear that ideas about traditionally female occupations have changed.

Ex. 10. Read the groups of sentences below. Which group makes a good paragraph? Explain why the other two groups are not good (strong) paragraphs?

One good way to learn another language is to live in a country where that language is used. When you live in another country, the language is around you all the time, so you can learn to listen to and speak it more easily.

Cell phones are very popular. They are really convenient. They are small and light.

When I need a good place to study, I go to the library. It’s always quiet there, so I can concentrate. It’s easy to find the books I need, and I can search for information on the Internet because there are several computers. The other people in the library are also reading or working, so the mood is good for studying. I study better and faster in the library than in any other place.

Paragraph Unity

Unity means that a paragraph discusses one main idea from beginning to end.

(!) Make sure that each sentence of a paragraph is directly related to the main

Practice time

Ex. 11. Edit the following paragraphs for unity. Find the topic sentence, the supporting sentences and the concluding sentence.

Cross out four sentences that are “off the topic”.

My Best Teacher

Mrs. Smith was the best teacher I have ever had. Until I took her Spanish class in my third year of high school, I had been just an average student who studied an average amount of time and earned average grades,

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but Mrs. Smith changed that. The only class I got good grades in was math. For some reason, math has always been easy for me. Mrs. Smith was not an easy teacher. On the contrary, her class was one of the hardest in my entire four years of high school. Her homework assignments were always interesting and challenging. I usually did her homework first. We went shopping in Spanish food stores and prepared Spanish food. We wrote e-mails to students in Spanish-speaking countries around the world. In addition, Mrs. Smith’s classes were always lively and fun. We watched Spanish soap operas on TV. We wrote and performed puppet shows in Spanish. We sang Spanish songs. She ended each class by telling a joke in Spanish. My first year Spanish teacher never told jokes, and in my second year class, we just studied grammar. In short, Mrs. Smith was a great teacher because she made learning so much fun.

Cross out two sentences that are “off the topic”.

How to Meet People

In a recent experiment, two British psychologists proved that walking a dog will help you to meet people. One of the psychologists walked a dog to work for five days. She lives near the university where she works. Sixty–five strangers either talked to her or smiled at her when the dog was with her, but only three strangers did so when she was dog-less. The psychologists believe that the presence of a dog may remove people’s fear of talking to strangers. The scientists didn’t use cats or other pets in the experiment. Moreover, the dog’s appearance didn’t matter. Strangers were friendly whether the dog wore a fashionable matching collar and leash or an ugly leather collar and an old piece of rope. Therefore, if you want to meet people, get a dog and don’t worry about how it’s dressed.

Paragraph Оrganization

Writers use certain typical patterns to organize ideas in both general and academic writing.

The pattern used depends on the topic. They are as follows: description (how something/somebody looks, feels, smells, tastes, and

sounds);

time order: process paragraph (how to do or make something) and narrative paragraph (an event or series of events such as a wedding, a vacation, a person’s life story);

logical division of ideas (the topic is divided into different points, each topic is discussed separately);

order of importance (the most important point is discussed either first or last);

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comparison and contrast (the similarities and differences between two items): block organization (all the similarities and all the differences are grouped together and each group is written about) and point-by-point organization (similarities and differences are written about by subtopic, they are mixed in each separate paragraph).

(!) Keep in mind three keys to using any particular pattern of organization:

•write a topic sentence that suggests which pattern you will use

•arrange the points in an order that is appropriate for the pattern

•use transitional signals appropriate for the pattern

Paragraph Coherence

When paragraph has coherence, it is easy to read and understand. Each sentence flows smoothly into the next one. There are no sudden jumps, and the reader can often predict what might come next. Connectives or transitional signals (words or phrases that indicate a logical relationship) help sentences and/or paragraphs join together.

One of the main ways to achieve coherence is to use transitional signals which tell the reader how one idea relates to another one. They are like traffic signs:

–they tell the reader when to go ahead (and, in addition);

–where to make a U-turn (but, however);

–when to stop (to sum up, in conclusion).

Find a list of transitional signals in Appendix III.

Practice time

Ex. 12. Compare how the addition of transitional signals helps the reader follow the flow of ideas in the paragraph below.

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Ex. 13. Choose the appropriate transitional signals in parentheses in the paragraph below.

Making your first scuba dive can be a stressful experience because there are so many things to remember. You have to move slowly and think about each step. (The first step/ First of all/ For example) is to check your equipment before you enter the water. Make sure that everything is securely in place. (Also/However/Therefore), make sure that your air is turned on, that your regulator is working, and that there is a little air in your vest. (Then/On the other hand/Indeed) check your dive instructor’s equipment. At last, you are ready to enter the water. Put your regulator in your mouth, hold it in place with one hand, hold your mask in place with your other hand, and jump or roll into the water. After you are in the water, take a moment to recheck both your and your instructor’s equipment. (While/As soon as/Until) both of you are ready, give the OK signal, let the air out of your vest, and begin to go down. (While/Finally/Although) you are going down, clear your ears every few feet by pinching your nose and blowing. If you begin to feel pain in your ears, go back up a few feet, clear your ears, and try to go down again. (On the other hand/Therefore/Most important), keep breathing. Take deep, slow breaths. When you and your instructor reach your agreed–on depth, stop for a moment, and give each other the OK signal.

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Ex. 14. Improve the coherence of the paragraph below by adding appropriate transitional signals. Use the words given in the boxes.

______ I climbed out of the submarine, the sea gave a tremendous roar, and I could see the enormous waves towering above me. I looked down, _______ everything was black; there was no light to be seen ahead,______ . The waves roared again, and I was suddenly very afraid. I had to make a move, ______ I leapt into the water, ignoring the fact that it was cold, and I immediately sank down ______ the waves poured over me. ______ I was so thrown about I didn’t know which way I was moving, and I lost all sense of direction. Then I began to feel a terrible chill which stabbed at every part of my body like a knife. ______, I decided to try to swim towards where the others might be, ______ I could see them around me. The sight of them comforted me, and my fear disappeared ______ I realized I was no longer alone.

Ex. 15. Below there is a list of connectives of result and concession. Add one word or phrase from this list to the sentences below (you will use some of them more than once).

1.Many students find it difficult to read in English. ___, not many read in English much.

2.Some of the examination questions were very difficult. ___, John managed to answer them satisfactorily.

3.When a student goes abroad to study he has to complete a lot of different forms. ___, it is useful to be able to answer questions briefly.

4.The time available for discussion was very limited. ___, it was still possible to produce some interesting arguments.

5.Richard was only able to read very slowly in English. ___, it took him a long time to finish reading the English textbooks.

6.The project was very complicated. ___, Joan was able to obtain a grant.

7.Most students living abroad are interested in news of their own country. ___, they usually read the international news first.

8.It seemed likely that he would fail the test. ___, to everyone’s surprise, he passed it easily.

9.The lecture was very difficult to understand. ___, not many students were able to take notes.

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