VV064 Week 3
Formal and informal language exercise:
(adapted from Swales and Feak. Academic Writing for Graduate Students. 3rd ed. Michigan. 2013.)
In the space provided, write a few single verbs that could be used in place of the one in
italics. In each case, try to find two or three possibilities and be prepared to discuss them.
1) Researchers have come up with a number of models to describe the effect of certain cola drinks on
dental enamel erosion.
___________________________________________________________________________
2) AIDS researchers have run into a variety of unexpected problems in their efforts to develop an
effective vaccine.
___________________________________________________________________________
3) Recent studies on car scrapping have brought up the important question as to whether CO2
emissions can be significantly reduced by taking old cars out of service.
___________________________________________________________________________
4) Problems with the new data management software showed up soon after it was launched.
___________________________________________________________________________
5) In the past five years, many studies have looked at the effect of different grassland management
practices.
___________________________________________________________________________
Which of the italicized expressions might be more suitable for an academic paper? Can you think of
additional alternatives?
1) Crash test dummies are really important for / an integral part of automotive crash tests.
2) According to a recent study just about / nearly 25% of all cell phone users view text messaging as
an important source of entertainment.
3) There has been a lot of / considerable interest in how background sounds such as music affect
individual’s ability to concentrate.
4) We obtained robust / nice results using structural bamboo rather than timber.
5) Consumer interest in electronic billing and payment is getting bigger and bigger / increasing.
VV064 Week 3
Seminar Discussion
1) You are going to take part in a seminar discussion. Work in groups and select one of the
statements on education to discuss.
a. Students in higher education should be required to learn a foreign language.
b. Having a university education is necessary for a person’s success in life.
c. With the rise of modern technologies people should be able to understand these
technologies and know how to use them.
2) Work alone and prepare for the discussion. Note down your views on the selected statement
using the following headings.
a. Topic and focus
b. Your view
c. Main arguments for
d. Main arguments against
e. Examples and reasons
f. Conclusions
3) Work in groups and discuss your selected statement. Use the following stages to help you.
a. Express your main points
b. Get reactions
c. Allow others to make their points
d. Listen and respond
4) Select one person from your group to take notes of the main points from your discussion and
then present them to the class.
5) Expanding notes into sentences: look at your notes from the previous exercise. Can you
expand them into sentences?
Preparing to Present Information
1) You will be given a short text. Read the text and take down notes. Focus on important
information in each paragraph.
2) Work in pairs or small groups and prepare a short presentation (a few minutes) on one of
the two texts. Be sure you deliver the important information in each text accurately. If you
are listening to a presentation, take notes.
3) Compare the two presentations. With which do you agree or disagree?
4) Look back to your notes. Were they useful in preparing the presentation? Why/why not?
5) Now read the other text. Was there something that the others missed?