Iv. Appropriate language
A key feature of language use which is appropriate to its context is the right choice of grammatical patterns and vocabulary. Certain forms and patterns are more suitable for formal situations.
· passives:
Candidates will be interviewed in alphabetical order.
Answers must be written in ink.
· subjunctives:
Rules require that officers not enter the crime scene without protective clothing.
Members of the Committee suggested England be excluded from future international tournaments.
· participle phrases:
Horns locked, the two stags struggle for mastery.
He crouched in the alleyway, his eyes straining in the darkness.
· infinitive phrases:
The tax bill will be the first itemto be debated in the next parliament.
Not to have acted sooner was his greatest regret.
· non-defining relative clauses:
ITV’s News at Ten, which occupied the mid-evening slot for many years, was a very popular programme.
There are patterns which are appropriate for more informal situations, e.g.
· passives with get:
His hand got trapped in the car door.
· sentences ending with prepositions:
These are the principles our party stands for.
· using verbs as nouns:
Can’t you open it? Shall I give it a try?
· It-cleft sentences with when and where:
What they are is unscrupulous.
Here is another set of examples which differ not only in the choice of grammatical patterns but also in the choice of vocabulary:
I’m afraid I can’t come because I’m busy tonight. (neutral)
I regret that I am unable to attend due to a prior engagement. (formal)
Sorry I can’t make it but I’m a bit tied up tonight. (informal)
In written English we usually do not mix formal and informal language unless we want to create a comic or ironical effect.
E.g.: The Minister was unable to attend the reception as he was a bit tied up.
Correct: The Minister was unable to attend the reception due to a prior engagement.
Words differ in their stylistic reference and frequency in speech. Most English words are neutral and can be used in any situation. They make up the so called general vocabulary which comprises the very common words that we find in all types of written and spoken English. Subject-specific vocabulary consists of words which are not quite common in everyday speech but normally occur in a certain academic area, such as physics or economics (current cost accounting, sustainable management, business cycles). Some words have a general meaning in everyday life and a specific meaning in a particular subject area. For example, market, margin, demand are used in the economic area with specific meanings. Outside the most frequent words of English and academic vocabulary there are words which do not occur very often in either written or spoken English. These words are called low-frequency vocabulary (ameliorate, fountainhead, harrowing). The usefulness of such words depends on your needs.
Here are some tips which may help you in choosing the appropriate words to serve your purpose.
Reporting
1)Your speech should be clear and precise about the subject you are discussing, so you often need to identify something: for example, to say exactly what it is, to say what category of things it belongs to, or to explain a term. Here are some verbs and expressions that you can use.
· Identifying and defining things: characterize, be characterized by …, define, delimit, delineate, detail, determine, establish, identify, pinpoint, specify.
E.g.: Medical science may not be able to pinpoint the precise cause of this disease.
· Grouping things in categories: arrange, assign, categorize according to …/ as…, class/ classify as …, fall into …, grade, group into …/ according to…, organize, sort into …/ by …/ according to….
E.g.: There are different ways of categorizing decisions. One useful analysis of decisions is into five categories.
These items fall into the category of luxury goods. The topic falls naturally into three sections.
· Saying exactly what something is or explaining a term: be known as…, be termed…, By… we mean…, may be defined as …, The correct / current term is …/ refers to ….
E.g.: By higher education we mean all courses of a standard beyond GCE A Level or its equivalent.
This law is known as Avogadro’s principle.
The following adjectives are used in saying that categories and definitions are clear: clear, clear-cut, distinct, well-defined; not clear: ambiguous, ill-defined, indistinct, nebulous, obscure, unclear, vague.
2)You may sometimes want to emphasize that something is definitely true. At other times, you may want to say that you are not completely certain about the facts. To express your idea accurately you can use the following words and phrases.
· Emphasizing that something is definite: beyond doubt/ question, undoubtedly, there can be no question/ doubt that…, it cannot be denied that…, it is undeniable, there are no two ways about it.
E.g.: It is beyond question that in the 17th century a distinct change of emphasis had occurred.
· Saying that something is exactly as expected: inevitably, predictably, unsurprisingly, … as predicted/ expected/ foreseen.
E.g.: This proposal predictably caused considerable opposition.
· Saying that something is likely but not definite: conceivably, on balance, evidently, hypothetically, possibly, presumably, probably; it is likely/ feasible/ possible that …, it seems quite probable that …, there are good reasons to believe that … .
E.g.: If market failures can be offset by other policies then, on balance, privatization is likely to be desirable.
· Saying that something is true in most cases: as a rule, by and large, generally speaking, in general, in most cases, normally, on the whole.
E.g.: In general, the solubility of a gas decreases with increasing temperature.
· Saying that something appears to be one thing, but may really be different: allegedly, apparently, in theory, ostensibly, seemingly, theoretically.
E.g.: The second incident allegedly occurred in the spring of 1992.
They had been moved from their traditional homelands, ostensibly in order to protect them against the possibility of an enemy advance.
3)In oral and written speech we often need to evaluate data, ideas or situations and give our opinion of them, apart from just describing them. Here are some groups of adjectives that can be used for this purpose.
· Saying that something is good: appropriate, desirable, encouraging, favourable, positive, proper, right, valuable.
E.g.: Such data is valuable for detecting and monitoring change.
· Saying that something is useful or effective: beneficial, effective, efficient, powerful, productive, satisfactory, useful.
E.g.: This basic technique is effective and computationally simple.
· Saying that something is not good: adverse, disappointing, discouraging, inferior, negative, poor, undesirable, unfavourable, weak.
E.g.: The causes of the disease are uncertain, and attempts to cure it have given poor results.
· Saying that something isnot useful or not effective: defective, deficient, flawed, inadequate, ineffective, unproductive, unsatisfactory.
E.g.: Such theories are based on flawed assumption that it is possible to deter the enemy by controlled use of nuclear weapons.
· Saying that something is significant you show your opinion of its value and importance: crucial, dominant/ dominating, essential, important, interesting, key, major, notable, noteworthy, primary, significant, substantial, topical, vital; of great/ considerable/ topical/ vital importance.
E.g.: It is noteworthy that, of the remaining 58 charged with the crime, only 35 were convicted.
When you say that a person’s work is significant because it is the most important or complete in its area: authoritative, definitive, distinguished, foremost, outstanding, pre-eminent.
E.g.: As Preston’s authoritative biography of Franco demonstrates, there is no real evidence to support this notion.
If the work is significant, because it was the first in its area and introduced important new ideas: formative, ground-breaking, innovative, pioneering, seminal.
E.g.: Much of the discussion focused on Niskanen’s pioneering work.
· Saying that something is not significant: inconsequential, insignificant, minor, negligible, secondary, slight, trivial, unimportant.
E.g.: Estimates of its effect are that it has a negligible impact on the ozone layer.
· When evaluating things as bad, writers often use ‘not’ and an adjective with a positivemeaning, instead of being too direct and using an adjective with a negative meaning. For example, they might say: “The results are not encouraging” rather than “The results are discouraging”.
When evaluating something, writers often avoid using direct expressions such as I believe and I consider. Instead, they use impersonal and indirect expressions such as it seems likely/ probable that…, this may be considered …, it appears …, it has been proved that …, etc.
4)You sometimes need toparaphrase what you have just written or said, for example to explain something by expressing the idea in a different way, or to correct or adjust it. Here are some expressions that can be used.
· Expressing something in a different way: in other words, i.e., that is, that is to say, to clarify/ paraphrase/ restate this, to put it another way.
E.g.: This thinking was grounded in a negative view of needs. That is to say, it tended to focus on what children cannot do rather than what they can do.
· Correcting something: actually, at least, in (actual) fact, in point of fact, to be more exact/ precise, more accurately/ exactly/ precisely, strictly speaking.
E.g.: It expresses direct perception of an event – to be more precise, the possibility of direct perception.
Multilingual families are each multilingual in their own way. At least, there is likely to be considerable diversity in their behaviour.
· Usingvague, informal, or metaphorical language instead of precise and formal: as it were, loosely, so to speak.
E.g.: These constitute,so to speak, the raw materials for effective education.
5) Very often your speech relates to questions that need to be proved, for example by setting out the evidence or arguments in support or against a certain idea. Here are some verbs and expressions that you can use.
· Saying that A definitely proves B: confirm, corroborate, demonstrate, establish, prove, substantiate, validate, verify.
E.g.: This finding confirms the need for considerable attention to be paid to public education.
· Saying that A partly proves B, or makes B seem likely: be indicative/ suggestive/ symptomatic of, imply, indicate, lead to the conclusion/ observation that …, provide evidence of …, reflect the fact that…, show, signify, suggest, support.
E.g.: Increases in precipitation over India were indicative of a more intense monsoon circulation in warm years.
· Saying thatB isproved or partly proved byA: be demonstrated/ proved/ shown/ supported/ verified by…, can be seen in …, can be inferred from …
E.g.: The hypothesis can be inferred fromthe previous studies and is evidenced by the fact that more of these plant families are of very wide distribution.
· Saying that A disproves B, or makes B seem unlikely: challenge, contradict, disprove, invalidate, negate, nullify, refute.
E.g.: This study seems to refute the hypothesis that the disease occurs only in older patients.
· Giving your opinion, after discussing the evidence: conclude, deduce, draw/ come to…, reach a/ the conclusion that …, draw the inference that …, infer.
E.g.: For these reasons, we can deduce that potassium is present.
· The following nouns can be used to refer to the thing you prove: argument, assumption, belief, finding, hypothesis, idea, issue, notion, question, theory, thesis.
6)When you quote what someone has said or written, your choice of words depends on whether you agree or disagree with the statement, or whether you simply want to report what the person has said. For this or that purpose you can use the following verbs.
· If you are simply reporting what the person says: comment, conclude, consider, remark, report, state, write.
E.g.: Harding (1980) states that girls seem to do worse than boys when multiple-choice questions are used.
· If you agree with the person: acknowledge, demonstrate, draw attention to …, emphasize, find, indicate, make clear, note, observe, point out, recognize.
E.g.: He acknowledges that technological development in health care is a continuous process.
· If you disagree with the author, or you are not sure that you agree: assert, claim, contend, imply, maintain.
E.g.: He claims specifically that this is because writing itself has a dual function.
· If you are reporting that the author is not sure: conjecture, hypothesize, postulate, predict, propose, speculate, suggest, surmise, theorize.
E.g.: Hunt suggests that conflict is constructive, when its effect is to introduce different solutions to problems.
· If you are reporting the person’s reaction to some other statement: accept agree, argue, concede, concur, contradict, counter, deny, disagree, object, rebut, refute.
E.g.: She counters this by pointing out that both techniques have a number of disadvantages.
You can show that you agree or disagree with the statement you quote through other choices of wording. For example, as Smith argues means that you agree, but while/ although/ despite/ notwithstanding Smith… means that you disagree. The same is possible through your choice of tenses. For example, Smith argues … means that you are simply reporting what Smith says, but Smith argued… suggests that you disagree, or that Smith has been proved wrong. To report a writer without giving your own opinion, you can use phrases such as according to Smith, in Smith’s view/ opinion, from Smith’s standpoint etc.
7)You often need to state how one thing is related to another, or to say if an idea or fact is relevant to what you are talking about. Here are some groups of adjectives and phrases that you can use.
· When A and B are related: allied, associated, cognate, connected, involved, linked, related.
E.g.: The PGC gene is linked to the HLA cluster.
· When elements fit togetherand seem toform a single unit: coherent, cohesive, consistent, harmonious, holistic, integrated, orderly, seamless, unified.
E.g.: In primary schools learning will be seamless and music will fit naturally into the programme of activities.
· When A and B are closely relatedandcannot be separated: bound up, closely connected, inextricably linked, inseparable, integral, interconnected, interdependent, interrelated, interwoven, intimately involved/ connected.
E.g.: The political and economic factors are inseparable.
Bourgeois identity was fundamentally bound up with nationalist ideology.
· When A and B are not related: discrete, distinct, not associated/ connected/ linked, separate, unconnected, unrelated.
E.g.: These species showed great fluctuations in fruit production and this was apparently unconnected with weather.
· When something is relevant: applicable, apposite, apt, germane, pertinent, relevant, to the point.
E.g.: It seemed apt that the winning goal was scored by the captain.
None of them provided information pertinent to the accident investigation.
· When something is not relevant: beside the point, extraneous, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, irrelevant, unconnected.
E.g.: The standard spending assessment is based on irrelevant data.
MAKING A COMMENT
1. Introduction
· The title of the article
The article is entitled/ headlined…
The title of the article I have read is…
· The author of the article; where and when the article was published
The author of the article is…
The article is written by…
It is (was) published in…
· The main idea of the article
The main idea of the article (text) under review is…
The article is devoted to…
The article (under review) deals with…
The article is concerned with …
The article touches upon…
The article gives an account/ survey of…
The feature (article) discusses…
The purpose of the article is to give the reader some information on…
The aim of the article is to provide the reader with some material (data) on…
The article is aimed to elaborate the theme of…
The story aims to show…
The article is devoted to a very topical problem of…
The article which is headlined … gives a comment on…
The article highlights a most debatable (vital) issue of today’s politics…
The report is focused on…
The report concentrates our attention on…
The author considers/ analyzes/ tackles the problem of…
The choice of the theme was dictated by…
The story serves as an illustration of…
2. The main part: the content of the article
The author starts by telling the readers about/ that…
The author writes/ states/ stresses/ thinks/ points out that…
The article describes…
As pointed out by…/ in the article…
As far as … is concerned…
Further the author reports/ writes/ says that…
Reporting on … the author states/ claims/ alleges…
The author expresses a deep concern over…
The author is critical of…
The story runs as follows…
The article goes on to say that…
By way of example the author …
The author describes… as being…
The report dwells too much on the economic aspect of…
Further the author enlarges on/ upon the fact…
The author goes on to specify the details of…
The statistics provided in the article show…
Trying to support/ back up his claim, the author quotes/ refers to the latest statistics …
Still another point/ fact illustrates…
The fact remains that…
Another prominent/ noteworthy feature/ fact is…
Furthermore/ Moreover, it would be interesting to note that…
It deserves a special mention/ comment …
Summing up
· Conclusion
The author comes to the conclusion that…
The author draws the following conclusions…
So the author concludes…
So the author makes it quite clear that…/ the importance of
The message of the story is…
The text conveys the author’s idea…
It is quite evident/ apparent/ certain/ generally accepted/ assumed that…
The information/ evidence given in the article makes you believe that…
So the problem evokes much controversy.
The problem is rather controversial.
Thus, … still seems a vital problem.
Thus, … still is a factor of importance.
· Your opinion of the article.
I find the article interesting/ important/ dull/ of no value/ too hard to understand…
Here are some other useful expressions for reviewing articles:
There is a considerable divergence of opinions among…
Opinions differ widely on the problem of…
One meets different lines of approach to…
The author proceeds from the assumption that …
The author gives a better insight into…
It is subject of considerable debate and deserves a careful study
The author has conducted a number of studies which …
The author defines the main tendencies of…
The author managed to draw a distinction/ discover differences between…
The influence of… on… remains to be investigated.
A detailed survey reveals that… and testifies to …
A common practice of referring to … as…
The same tendency shows itself/ appears in …
From available evidence it seems that…
Words cited above contain evidence on…
The author’s opinion is based on observations of…
The same view was expressed in …
The same conclusion was reached by…
One may postulate that…
The supposition was supported by relevant evidence/ an exhaustive list of ….
There has been a good deal of discussion about why…
The experts are (not) in agreement about …
One should attach special importance to…
This one reason is strong enough to establish the proposition …
One of the most distinctive features of… is…
In this connection, it is interesting to observe how…
It is further complicated by the fact that …
The problem is obscured by the fact that…
The outstanding peculiarity of … is that…
It is partly for this reason that…
It hardly needs mentioning that…
Needless to say, …
It is (not) possible to ascribe … to…
If these things are found to be the case, we can say that…
The line of demarcation between … and … is sharply drawn (not clear).
The most distinctive characteristic of…
This phenomenon has yet to be fully investigated.
One thing, at all events, is clear…
With regard to.../ Seen from this angle… the facts are clearer.
SAMPLES
1) The article headlined “Why the War” was published in The Times on September 25, 2003. It comments on one of the most burning issues of world politics. The author Robert Skidelsky, who is a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords and professor of political economy at Warwick University, expresses a deep concern over the situation in the Middle East in connection with the US military operation in Iraq and tries to reveal the true motives for the war.
To begin with, Robert Skidelsky highlights the history of the two countries’ relations, calling the reader’s attention to certain aspects which are normally neglected by both mass media and political analysts. And namely, he focuses on the personalities of the Iraqi and US leaders, their responsibility for the growing controversies. Specifying his personal vision of the problem, the author is not apt to take sides in the conflict. Thus, he claims that Saddam seems to be the curb-stone of the contradiction. At the same time, the professor is rather critical of the US policies in the region, moreover, he is outraged by the US ultimatum.
In conclusion the author states that he has failed to find arguments to justify the war. On the contrary, he believes that a military operation can hardly be regarded as a proper means of settling a conflict. I quite agree with Robert Skidelsky and think that politicians who don’t seek political ways to solve international controversies should be placed responsible for numerous casualties, both military and civilian, suffered in wars.
2) The article under review is headlined “A Deaf Ear to the Deaf”. It was issued in The Moscow Times on October 12, 2003. It is a feature which is concerned with the activities of an extraordinary Moscow theatre – a new theatre for the deaf. It highlights a few interesting issues related to Moscow’s cultural life and at the same time aims to call the readers’ attention to most vital problems of invalids.
The theatre was organized at the city’s Specialized Institute for the deaf, the company including graduate students of the Institute. Lately they have staged a few plays, each being a great success. The stage director of the theatre claims that the deaf are in no way different from other people and, thus, can act on the stage no worse than hearing actors. Moreover, in his opinion, the actors don’t face any difficulty in communicating with the audience. In this respect their theatre is as worthy as any other theatre. So it’s unfair and even cruel to disregard creative abilities of people with some physical defects and exclude them from real work and cultural life, actually turning them into outcasts.
Furthermore, the article tackles another problem that deserves public attention, i.e. the problem of unemployment that faces the majority of invalids. The theatre has solved it for at least a dozen students, the author states. In this connection, the author hopefully concludes that it may be a good start.
Needless to say that the article tackles a very important problem which is especially topical for contemporary Russia. The material provided by the author inspires hopes that something is being done in this direction, though I personally can’t share completely his optimism.
ACADEMIC WRITING
In academia, writing and publishing is conducted in several sets of forms and genres, like essay, précis, abstract etc.
Writing in these forms or styles is usually serious, intended for a critical and informed audience, based on closely-investigated knowledge, and posits ideas or arguments. It usually circulates within the academic world, but the academic writer may also find an audience outside via journalism, speeches, pamphlets, etc.
Typically scholarly writing has an objective stance, clearly states the significance of the topic, and is organized with adequate detail so that other scholars could try to reproduce the results. Strong papers are not overly general and correctly utilize formal academic rhetoric.
Essay
An essay is usually a short piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author.
The writer of the academic essay aims to persuade readers of an idea based on evidence. The beginning of the essay is a crucial first step in this process. In order to engage readers and establish your authority, the beginning of your essay has to accomplish certain business. Your beginning should introduce the essay, focus it, and orient readers.
Topic
Introduce the essay.The beginning lets your readers know what the essay is about, the topic. So the first thing you should do is to study closely the wording of the essay topic. The essay's topic does not exist in a vacuum, however; part of letting readers know what your essay is about means establishing the essay's context, the frame within which you will approach your topic.
Focus the essay. Beyond introducing your topic, your beginning must also let readers know what the central issue is. What question or problem will you be thinking about? You can pose a question that will lead to your idea (in which case, your idea will be the answer to your question), or you can make a thesis statement. Or you can do both: you can ask a question and immediately suggest the answer that your essay will argue.
The fullness of your idea will not emerge until your conclusion, but your beginning must clearly indicate the direction your idea will take, must set your essay on that road. And whether you focus your essay by posing a question, stating a thesis, or combining these approaches, by the end of your beginning, readers should know what you're writing about, and why—and why they might want to read on.
Here are some useful expressions.
· Mentioning the main topic of something: In this paper/ essay/ chapter …, This paper reports/ sets out/ argues …, The main/ principal topic of this paper is …, The purpose/ intention/ emphasis of this paper is…, The essay is mostly concerned with…/ focuses/ concentrates on the problem …, The paper is dedicated/ devoted to …, The chapter highlights/ tackles …
· Changing topic: I now want/ wish to consider …, I now turn to …, Leaving …to one side …, Moving on to …, Turning to …, We now need to look at/ examine…
· Mentioning a part of the topic or a minor topic: As for/ to…, As regards …, In the case of …, In relation to …, With reference/ regard/ respect to…
Structuring
Make sure that you cover the whole topic and that you do not deviate from it.
To achieve that think over your task and set the main and minor aims. Consider each section separately and break each section into several small issues. Specific questions provide a structure or a framework for your essay.
It is highly advisable to make an outline [for tips, see Outlining below]which will help you to concentrate on the subject, and will ensure logical and cohesive presentation of information and argument in the essay.
An academic essay should contain an introduction, a body of several paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each of these parts has a specific function.
1. The introduction usually begins generally and then moves to more specific details. It should contain your thesis statement or claim, an expression of intent or promise to the reader that states your main idea and sets up an expectation of what the reader will find in the essay. You should state clearly what your position is on the topic of the essay. The introduction may also outline the key points of each of the paragraphs that follow in the body of the essay.
How long should the beginning be? The length should be proportionate to the length and complexity of the whole essay. For instance, if you're writing a five-page essay analyzing a single text, your beginning should be brief, no more than one or two paragraphs. On the other hand, it may take a couple of pages to set up a ten-page essay.
Does the business of the beginning have to be addressed in a particular order? No, but the order should be logical. Usually, for instance, the question or statement that focuses the essay comes at the end of the beginning, where it serves as the jumping-off point for the middle, or main body, of the essay. Topic and context are often intertwined, but the context may be established before the particular topic is introduced. In other words, the order in which you accomplish the business of the beginning is flexible and should be determined by your purpose.
2. The main body is a series of paragraphs that build your argument. Each new idea should have its own paragraph. The topic sentence, which states the main idea of the paragraph, needs to be supported by evidence and explanation, and followed by a comment or a link to the next paragraph.
Remember that an essay should have anargument. It should answer a question or a few related questions. It means that you should try toprove something—develop a single thesis or a short set of closely related points—by reasoning and evidence, especially including apt examples and confirming citations from any particular text or sources your argument involves. Gathering such evidence normally entails some rereading of the text or sources with a question or provisional thesis in mind.
There are many ways in which any particular argument may be well presented, but an essay'sorganization—how it begins, develops, and ends—should be designed to present your argument clearly and persuasively.
3. The conclusion should summarize your main ideas and restate the thesis statement. It should not contain new ideas as this is not the place to develop your argument further. Some people find it easier to write the body of the essay first and then go back to write the introduction and conclusion to ensure that the thesis statement and conclusion accurately reflect the content of the essay.