ACADEMIC WRITING COURSE SPRING 2013 SESSION 3 (selected activities) Radomíra Bednářová, Robert Helán Masaryk University Department of Geography, Faculty of Science In collaboration with University Language Centre 1. GUEST SPEAKER LECTURE – CREATIVE WRITING AND SOME OF ITS STATEGIES IN ACADEMIC WRITING BY Mgr. Pavla Kopečná, PhD 2. LANGUAGE PRACTICE (take-home task): WRITING ENQUIRY EMAIL,WRITING SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION KEY TO EXERCISES SESSION 2 (answers marked yellow) 3. Complete the following tables. formal informal formal informal appear seem enquire ask ascend climb finish end assist/aid help inform tell cease stop obtain get commence begin preserve keep consume use reject say no decrease shorten/reduce release free demonstrate show repair mend depart go require need desire want reside live formal informal formal informal comprehension understanding immature childish deficiency lack incorrect wrong opportunity chance inferior worse perspiration sweat inexpensive cheap residence house indistinct dim vision sight insane mad/crazy amiable friendly relaxed laid back complete whole responsible in charge energetic lively sufficient enough fortunate lucky vacant empty 4. 1. primarily, principally, essentially, predominantly 2. virtually, practically, essentially 3. solely, exclusively, entirely, totally 4. in sum/to sum up/in summary, essentially, fundamentally 5. attempted, strived for, strived to do 6. prime, chief, primary, principal, fundamental 7. characteristic, representative 8. In no way/respect can London be... 5. In the following examples, the same message is expressed in six different styles, from an extremely formal written style, to the very informal spoken one. Match the sentences with the adequate styles. a) Jargon, very formal. b) Written, formal, clear. c) Written style for the general public (scripted radio or TV news style). d) Formal spoken style (seminar, talk). e) Informal spoken style (discussion). f) Very informal spoken style (chat). I. As the value of Sterling increased compared to other currencies, the government was forced to take tax measures to head off a rapid increase in consumer spending spurred on by cheaper imports. (written style for the general public discourse, scripted radio or TV news style) II. And you see, Sterling got more and more valuable, so as a result, the government had to go round putting up taxes, you see, to stop everyone going out and splashing out, spending all their money on cheap imports. (relaxed, simplified chat, very informal spoken style – the addition of repetition and fillers) III. Consequent to the appreciation in the exchange value of Sterling against other currencies, necessary fiscal measures were introduced by the government in order to reduce the likelihood of an import-led consumer spending surge. (jargon, very formal, this is the style of language used in official reports, technical studies; it is exclusively a style of written English, full of verbal nouns, technical words and passives) IV. As Sterling went up in value, the government had to put up taxes to stop consumers splashing out on too many cheap imports. (relaxed, informal spoken style: discussion, there is plenty of prepositional verbs, all actions are expressed through verbs, not verbal nouns) V. As Sterling's international value went up, the government had to take tax measures to head off a consumer spending boom spurred on by cheaper imports. (formal, spoken style – radio, seminar, talk) VI. After the international value of Sterling rose, the government was obliged to take fiscal measures to reduce the likelihood of a surge in consumer spending led by cheaper imports. (written, formal, clear English, as found in the press or in documents aimed at ordinary educated readers) (Adapted from: http://website.lineone.net/~eshp/styles.htm) 6. 1. pose, 2. focus, 3. confirmed, 4. generates, 5. identified, 6. nature, 7. character, 8. turn, 9. underlines, 10. solid 7. Here is a paragraph that should be written in a more academic tone. Read it through and underline the parts that need to be rewritten and suggest possible improvements. Given the general knowledge of the health risks of smoking, it’s[VAC1] no wonder [VAC2] that heaps [VAC3] of smokers have tried at some time in their lives to quit[VAC4] . However, in most cases, their attempts are unsuccessful. People begin smoking, often when they’re[VAC5] adolescents, for lots[VAC6] of reasons, including the example of parents and pressure from peers. If others in one’s group of friends are starting to smoke, it can be hard to resist going along with the crowd[VAC7] . Once people start smoking, they’re[VAC8] likely to get hooked[VAC9] . The addiction to smoking is partly physiological; smokers become used to the effects of nicotine and experience painful withdrawal symptoms when they give it up[VAC10] . In addition, people[VAC11] become psychologically dependent on smoking as a way of reducing anxiety and coping with particular situations. 8. Identify the informal expressions in the following sentences. Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the informal expressions with a more formal equivalent. 1. With women especially, there is a lot of social pressure to conform to a certain physical shape. (a great deal) 2. Significantly, even at this late date, Lautrec was considered a bit conservative by his peers. (somewhat) 3. It focused on a subject that a lot of the bourgeois and upper-class exhibition-going public regarded as anti-social and anti-establishment. (much) 4. Later Florey got together with Paul Fildes in an experimental study of the use of curare to relieve the intractable muscular spasms which occur in fully developed infection with tetanus or lockjaw. (collaborated) 5. When a patient is admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit, the clinical team should avoid the temptation to start specific treatments immediately. (commence) 6. Therefore after six months the dieter is behaving according to all twenty-six goals and she has achieved a big reduction in sugar intake. (considerable) 7. Modern houses have so many labour-saving things that it is difficult for the person at home to have adequate exercise by doing chores, cooking, and looking after a family. (devices) 8. Simply making the effort to reclaim this wasted stuff for fertilizer would have a positive effect on greenhouse releases. (material) 9. It is difficult to imagine exactly what is meant by saying that such a classification is natural as any collection of things could be classified in this way. (objects) 10. Unfortunately, since there are so many possible explanations, the correct one is most difficult to find out. (ascertain) 11. These exercises can easily be incorporated into an exercise routine, with each exercise done again a number of times. (repeated) 12. Fleming did well in isolating a streptococcus from the cerebrospinal fluid of the patient. (succeeded) 13. Effective vaccines prevent such hazards, but only if a social organisation makes sure that all potential mothers are vaccinated in good time. (ensures) Session 2 task – academic email exchange – completed: 1.Example of academic email exchange between a PhD candidate searching for a placement with a university of his/her choice and a faculty staff at the questioned university. Dear Professor Collins, Excuse me for approaching you and asking you for your help in the following matter: I am currently a PhD. candidate at Masaryk University, School of Humanities, Department of English and American Studies. I work as a tutor of English for Specific Purposes at the Language Center, Brno, Czech Republic. I intend to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship, which would enable me to work on my dissertation at an American university. The award of the scholarship, however, is subject to a preliminary consent of an establishment that would be willing to admit me. And this is where my request comes in. Is there any chance of being offered a fellowship at the Gervitz Graduate School of Education? I would be enormously grateful if you could consider me as a candidate for visiting research student under your supervision. The fellowship (up to 10 months) would be covered by the scholarship in question. The deadline is unfortunately December 1, 2007 for the academic year beginning in the fall 2008 - I would need a written confirmation from an American scholar that they would be willing to supervise me. In my PhD dissertation, I am trying to analyze the structure and language of written medical case reports as a style belonging to the genre of research articles. The text analysis of such reports involves a corpus-based research, undertaken primarily from the stylistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic viewpoints. The corpus, which I am currently developing, will be approached both from the synchronic and diachronic angles. In the former, my focus will be on characterization of the genre as it is currently produced by the discourse community of medical professionals. In the latter, an emphasis will be placed on the comparison of differences between medical case reports written 1900 - 1906 and those produced nowadays. In the dissertation I will draw on developments of both the Slavonic (especially the Prague School - Mathesius, Vachek, Firbas, Danes; among others Tarnyikova, Bakhtin) and Anglo-American (Crystal, Davy, Leech, Fowler, Halliday, Hasan, Swales, Hoey, Bazerman) traditions in the study of language. Please find attached my Curriculum Vitae. If you require any additional materials, I will be happy to supply them. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Sincerely, John Smith personal page of the student: http://www.john-smith.muni.cz Attachment: curriculum vitae 2. A sample email answer to the PhD candidate: Dear Mr. Smith, I would be happy to work with you and we would be able to arrange a visiting scholar status for you which will provide you with library space. We will also try to locate desk space for you in a shared office. we will not be able to provide any financial support, but with a Fulbright you should not need that. You do understand that Santa Barbara rents can be high. I have worked with a number of Fulbright scholars, and currently am working with one from China. I have always found it a rewarding experience. If you have read my work you are aware my approach is quite distinct from that of the other scholars you cite, focusing more on the social, historical, and activity contexts within genres are used and recognized, with form being a rhetorical response to the situation. So an historical comparison would have both a textual component but also a socio-historical-institutional one, to consider the contexts within which the linguistic forms are deployed. Is this email sufficient indication of my willingness to work with you or do you need another kind of document? I will be travelling and on holidays for the next two weeks, so I probably cannot do much more than this until near the end of the month. Yours, John Collins Professor John Collins Department of Education Gevirtz Graduate School of Education University of Saint Margaret, Santa Barbara CA 93106 phone: 905-8893-75 collins@education.ucm.edu http://www.education.ucm.edu/collins 3. HOMEWORK: Based on the assignment below * (1) either a formal letter to apply for the scholarship below Studentship Funded Opportunity School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow The School of Geographical and Earth Sciences at the University of Glasgow, announces 2 fully-funded PhD studentships to commence in September 2013. The funding will cover fees for a ‘Home’ (UK) or EU–based candidate (£4,500 per annum) and a stipend to cover living expenses equivalent to the current Research Council recommended rate (£13,590 per annum). The funding have been made available through the Urban Studies Foundation. This studentship will be held in the School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, and the successful student will automatically be a member of the Human Geography Research Group (HGRG). Applicants can consult the HGRG web-pages for information on staff research interests [http://www.ges.gla.ac.uk:443/research/groups/humangeography]. The expectation is that the student would commence their studies in September 2013. Send your enquiries and letters to Dr John Browne, Reader in Geography, School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, (or contact: john.browne@glasgow.ac.uk tel: 0141-330-5171) by Friday 10^th June, 2013. We would aim to make a decision and inform the successful applicant by the end of July, 2013, at the latest. * or (2) en email as the first contact to the university to ask whether you would be a suitable candidate for them (see the email activity as done for homework ) As for the structure of a formal letter of enquiry you may follow a fairly set order of information established in the English language written communication: → salutation → state your reasons for applying for the scholarship; give information on yourself and your academic research and pedagogical achievements → describe your current dissertation project and research background → describe your future goals → say how you will contribute with your research to the host institution →say how you will use the achievements after you have returned to your home institution → use a suitable ending where you state your reference/references, contact details and enclose attachments ________________________________ [VAC1]it is (contracted forms should not be used) [VAC2]to be expected (conversational language) [VAC3]many (too informal, it also needs backing up with evidence) [VAC4]stop smoking (too informal) [VAC5]they are (contractions should not be used) [VAC6]many (too informal) [VAC7]behaving in a similar manner (conversational language) [VAC8]they are (contractions should not be used) [VAC9]addicted (too informal) [VAC10]stop (conversational language) [VAC11]many people (too definite, it needs more tentativeness and backing up with evidence)