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Файл:Academic English Theoretical and Practical Training of Graduate Students. Учебное пособие по практикуму английского языка для студентов 4 курса
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4) Use an impersonal style by avoiding the use of personal pronouns, for example
by:
- using ‘one’ as a subject: ‘One may ask whether…’ (One is a formal version of
you)
- using the passive voice: ‘Many things can be done to…’ to avoid using I and we
5) Avoid using rhetorical questions: ‘Smoking is dangerous. But is banning it such
a good idea after all?’
6) Avoid the overuse or misuse of certain logical connectors, especially besides,
furthermore and moreover. Besides is informal and both furthermore and
moreovermean that the following information is more important than the
information before. Use ‘in addition’ or ‘also’ instead (7, c. 10-37)
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ACADEMIC READING
Several types of reading may occur in a language classroom. One way in
which they may be categorized can be outlined as follows:
A. Oral (for time/speed reading or pronunciation)
B. Silent
I. Intensive (Narrow Reading)
a. linguistic
b. content
II. Extensive
a. skimming (Gist reading)
b. scanning (for Key Details).
Intensive Reading (Narrow Reading)
Intensive reading is used to teach or practice specific reading strategies or
skills. It may involve students reading selections by the same author or several
texts about the same topic. When this occurs, content and grammatical structures
repeat themselves and students get many opportunities to understand the
meanings of the text. The success of "Narrow Reading" on improving reading
comprehension is based on the premise that the more familiar the reader is with
the text, the more comprehension is promoted.
Characteristics:
• usually classroom based
• reader is intensely involved in looking inside the text
• students focus on linguistic or semantic details of a reading
• students focus on surface structure details such as grammar and
discourse markers
• students identify key vocabulary
• students may draw pictures to aid them (such as in problem solving)
• texts are read carefully and thoroughly, again and again
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• aim is to build more language knowledge rather than simply practice
the skill of reading
• seen more commonly than extensive reading in classrooms
Advantages:
• It provides a base to study structure, vocabulary and idioms.
• It provides a base for students to develop a greater control of language
• It provides for a check on the degree of comprehension for individual
students
You need to have your aims clear in mind when undertaking intensive
reading. Remember this is going to be far more time consuming than scanning or
skimming. If you need to list the chronology of events in a long passage, you will
need to read it intensively. This type of reading has indeed beneficial to language
learners as it helps them understand vocabulary by deducing the meaning of words
in context. It moreover, helps with retention of information for long periods of
time and knowledge resulting from intensive reading persists in your long term
memory.
This is one reason why reading huge amounts of information just before an
exam does not work very well. When students do this, they undertake neither type
of reading process effectively, especially neglecting intensive reading. They may
remember the answers in an exam but will likely forget everything soon afterwards
(https://slllc.ucalgary.ca/Brian/611/readingtype.html).
Extensive (extention) reading
Extensive reading involves reading of large quantities of material, directly
and fluently. It is reading "to achieve a general understanding of a text." It is
usually out of class, concentrating on meaning, "reading for gist" and "skipping
unknown words". Extensive reading is always done for the comprehension of
main ideas, not for specific details.
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Characteristics:
1. Students read as much as possible.
2. A variety of materials on a range of topics is available.
3. Students select what they want to read .
4. The purposes of reading are usually related to pleasure, information and
general understanding.
5. Reading is its own reward.
6. Reading materials are well within the linguistic competence of the
students in terms of vocabulary and grammar.
7. Reading is individual and silent.
8. Reading speed is usually faster than slower.
Advantages:
The students may:
-develop a "reading habit"
- gain more confidence in reading
-improve their attitude towards reading and become more motivated to read
- feel more autonomous over their own learning and more likely to take more
initiative.
- become more " independent readers", being able to read for different purposes
and being able to change reading strategies for different kinds of texts
- become more aware of what's available to them to read and how to access
materials
- expand sight vocabulary
- acquire "incidental" grammatical competence - that is, it may be acquired even
though it was not directly taught
- build background knowledge
- increase reading comprehension
- improve overall language competence
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- be more prepared for further academic courses because they have read large
quantities
So, Extensive reading involves reading for pleasure or reading technical,
scientific or professional material. This later type of text, more academic, may
involve two specific types of reading, scanning for key details or skimming for
the essential meaning (https://slllc.ucalgary.ca/Brian/611/readingtype.html).
Skimming
Skimming is sometimes referred to as gist reading. You might typically
skim to search for a name in a telephone directory.
Skimming may help in order to know what the text is about at its most basic
level. You might typically do this with a magazine or newspaper and would help
you mentally and quickly shortlist those articles which you might consider for a
deeper read.
Skimming is a quick reading to get:
- to know the general meaning of a passage
- to know how the passage is organized, that is, the structure of the text
- to get an idea of the intention of the writer
Students read through the text in the following manner:
1. Read the title if any.
2. Read the introduction or the first paragraph.
3. Read the first sentence of each of the following paragraphs.
4. Read any headings or sub-headings.
5. Look at any pictures or phrases that are in boldface or italics
Scanning
Scanning ia a quick reading, focusing on locating specific information such
as a name, date, symbol, formula, or phrase. Scanning involves quick eye
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movements, not necessarily linear in fashion, in which the eyes wander until the
reader finds the piece of information needed.
The reader knows what the item looks like and so, knows when he has
located what he was searching for. It is assumed then, that very little information
is processed into long-term memory or even for immediate understanding because
the objective is simply matching.
Picture yourself visiting a historical city, guide book in hand. You would
most probably just scan the guide book to see which site you might want to visit.
Scanning involves getting your eyes to quickly scuttle across sentence and is used
to get just a simple piece of information. Interestingly, research has concluded that
reading off a computer screen actually inhibits the pathways to effective scanning
and thus, reading of paper is far more conducive to speedy comprehension of texts.
Something students sometimes do not give enough importance to is
illustrations. These should be included in your scanning. Special attention to the
introduction and the conclusion should also be paid (4, c.18, 82).
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ACADEMIC WRITING
Forms of Academic Writing
Academic writing is any formal written work produced in an academic
setting. While academic writing comes in many forms, the following are some of
the most common.
1. Text Analysis. A text analysis examines, evaluates, and makes an
argument about a literary piece of work. As its name suggests, any analysis goes
beyond mere summarization. It requires careful close reading of one or multiple
texts and often focuses on a specific characteristic, theme or motif.
2. Essay, a short piece of writing that outlines the writer's opinion. Essays can
be formal as well as informal. Formal essays are generally academic in nature and
tackle serious topics.
3. Research Paper. A research paper utilizes outside information to support
a thesis or make an argument. Research papers are written in all disciplines and
may be evaluative, analytical, or critical in nature. Common research sources
include data, primary sources (e.g. historical records), and secondary sources (e.g.
peer-reviewed scholarly articles). Writing a research paper involves synthesizing
this external information with your own ideas.
4. Dissertation. A dissertation (or thesis) is a document submitted at the
conclusion of a Ph.D. programme. The dissertation is a book-length
summarization of the doctoral candidate’s research (11).
Characteristics of Academic Writing
Most academic disciplines employ their own unique stylistic conventions.
However, all academic writing shares certain characteristics.
1. Clear and limited focus. The focus of an academic paper - the
argument or research question - is established early by the thesis statement. Every
paragraph and sentence of the paper connects back to that primary focus. While
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the paper may include background or contextual information, all content serves
the purpose of supporting the thesis statement.
2. Logical structure. All academic writing follows a logical,
straightforward structure. In its simplest form, academic writing includes an
introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction provides
background information, lays out the scope and direction of the essay, and states
the thesis. The body paragraphs support the thesis statement, with each body
paragraph elaborating on one supporting point. The conclusion refers back to the
thesis, summarizes the main points, and highlights the implications of the paper’s
findings. Each sentence and paragraph logically connects to the next in order to
present a clear argument.
3. Evidence-based arguments. Academic writing requires well-
informed arguments. Statements must be supported by evidence, whether from
scholarly sources (as in a research paper) or quotations from a primary text (as in
a literary analysis essay).
4. Impersonal tone. The goal of academic writing is to convey a logical
argument from an objective standpoint. Academic writing avoids emotional,
inflammatory, or otherwise biased language. Whether you personally agree or
disagree with an idea, it must be presented accurately and objectively in your
paper.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Academic writers from every field face similar challenges during the
writing process. You can improve your own academic writing by avoiding these
common mistakes.
1. Wordiness. The goal of academic writing is to convey complex ideas
in a clear, concise manner. Don’t muddy the meaning of your argument by using
confusing language.
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2. A vague or missing thesis statement. The thesis statement is the
single most important sentence in any academic paper. Be sure that your paper
contains a clear thesis statement and that each body paragraph ties into that thesis.
3. Informal language. Academic writing is formal in tone and should
not include slang, idioms, or conversational language.
4. Description without analysis. Do not simply repeat the ideas or
arguments from your source materials. Rather, analyze those arguments and
explain how they relate to your own point.
5. Not citing sources. Keep track of your source materials throughout
the research and writing process. Cite them consistently using one style manual
(https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-academic-writing-1689052).
TEXT ANALYSIS. TOOLS FOR TEXT INTERPRETATION
Plan of Text Interpretation
There are no hard and fast rules about text interpretation but one is usually
expected to sum up the contents and express his overall view of the story. The
following plan will be useful in the analysis of a story.
I. Composition
The text under analysis consists of relatively independent elements. They are:
narration, description, dialogue, interior monologue and digression.
1. Narration is dynamic, it gives a continuous account of events: fast or slow
moving.
2. Description is static: there are ...pieces of description. Description gives a
verbal portraiture of (an object, person, scene etc.). Why? It may be detailed
and direct or impressionistic, giving few but striking details.
3. Dialogue: there are … pieces of dialogue. Through them the characters are
better portrayed. They bring the action closer to the reader.
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4. Interior monologue: the following phrases are form the interior monologue.
They render the thoughts and feelings of the character. What?
5. Digression is an insertion of material that has no immediate relation to the
theme or action. There are some sentences of digression. They express the
author’s view on … They render the … mood (lyrical, philosophical,
critical).
II. Plot
1. The plot of the text follows (doesn’t follow) the chronological order of
events. There are (not) flashbacks or foreshadowing. Which ones? What
for?
2. The exposition of the text: it is interwoven into the text. Bare facts about:
When – century, epoch, - why that time? Can it happen at another time?
Where – country, city – why that place? Can it happen at another place?
Who – names, occupations, connection to each other.
3. Complication – from the very beginning up to the climax. Give the summary
or logical division into parts with summaries.
4. Climax – the following sentence/s is/are the climax of the text. It is the most
decisive moment in the text on which the fate of the characters and the final
action depends (why?). It is given the greatest emphasis. It is the most
intensive moment (why?)
5. Denouement ‘the untying of the knot’ – is the passage ….. The ending is
clear-cut and conclusive. There can be no denouement, the author leaves it
up to the reader to judge what will be the outcome of the conflict. The
ending is not clear-cut, it leaves room for suggestion.
III. The omniscient author
It is the first/third-person narration. The author moves in and out of people’s
thoughts. We could feel his judgement in the words…. The author presents the
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