New writing course to be published in June

Most international students need to write essays and reports for exams and coursework, but writing good academic English is one of the most demanding tasks students face. The Essentials of Academic Writing for International Students has been developed to help these students succeed in their assignments—quickly!

This course has a clear, easy-to-follow structure. In the first part, Process and Skills, each stage of the writing process is demonstrated and practised, from selecting suitable sources, reading, note-making and planning through to re-writing and proof-reading.

Each unit contains examples, explanations and exercises, for use in the classroom or for self-study. The units are clearly organised to allow teachers and students find the help they need with writing tasks.

The second part of the book, Elements of Writing, deals with key areas for improving accuracy, such as academic vocabulary, using numbers and punctuation. This section can be linked with the first part or used for reference or self-study.

All international students wanting to maximise their academic potential will find this practical and easy-to-use book an invaluable guide to writing in English for their degree courses.

• All elements of writing are clearly explained

• Full range of practice exercises, with answer key included

• Use of authentic academic texts and examples

• Fully up-to-date, with sections on finding electronic sources and evaluating internet material

New edition of Academic Writing for Business Students arriving in February

International students of Business or Economics often need to write essays and reports for exams and coursework, and this new, second edition of Academic Writing for International Students of Business has been completely revised and updated to help them succeed with these tasks.

This book explains the academic writing process from start to finish, and practises all the key writing skills in the context of Business Studies. The course can be used either with a teacher or for self-study, and is clearly organised in four parts:

1. The Writing Process, from assessing sources to proof-reading

2. Elements of Writing, practising skills such as making comparisons

3. Vocabulary for Writing, dealing with areas such as nouns and adjectives, adverbs and verbs, synonyms, prefixes and prepositions, in an academic context

4. Writing Models, illustrating case studies, reports, longer essays and other key genres.

Each part is divided into short units which contain examples, explanations and exercises, for use in the classroom or for self-study. The units are clearly organised to allow teachers and students find the help they need. Cross-referencing allow easy access to relevant sections.

This is an up-to date course which reflects the interests and issues of contemporary Business studies. Students wanting to maximise their academic potential will find this practical and easy-to-use book an invaluable guide to writing in English for their degree courses, and it will also help students planning a career with international companies or organisations, where proficiency in written English is a key skill.

·         All aspects of writing are clearly explained, with a full glossary for reference

·         Full range of practice exercises, with answer key included

·         Use of authentic academic texts

·         Fully updated, with sections on finding electronic sources and evaluating internet material

See - http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138783898/

Fourth edition now published!

This new, fourth edition of Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students has just been published by Routledge. The book has been completely revised and updated to help students reach their academic goals.

The four main parts of Academic Writing are:

•     The Writing Process
• ·         Elements of Writing
• ·         Vocabulary for Writing
• ·         Writing Models

The fourth edition of this popular course builds on the success of the earlier editions, and has a special focus on the vital topic of academic vocabulary in part three, Vocabulary for Writing. This deals with areas such as nouns and adjectives, adverbs and verbs, synonyms, prefixes and prepositions, in an academic context.

Each part is divided into short units which contain examples, explanations and exercises, for use in the classroom or for self-study. The units are clearly organised to allow teachers and students find the help they need with writing tasks. Cross-referencing allow easy access to relevant sections.

In the first part each stage of the writing process is demonstrated and practised, from selecting suitable sources, reading, note-making and planning through to re-writing and proof-reading.

All international students wanting to maximise their academic potential will find this practical and easy-to-use book an invaluable guide to writing in English for their degree courses.

This edition includes a full answer key and glossary of academic terms.

For more details see:

http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138778498/

Writing emails that make sense

In the last ten years emails have taken the place of letters in many situations. The reasons for this are obvious: not only are emails fast and convenient, but they are also free! However, too many emails contain spelling errors or are confusing to read, and so students need to think more carefully before pressing the 'send' button.

It is important to note the following points:

 Starting and finishing

The following forms are acceptable ways to begin an email if you know the recipient:

          Hi Sophie, Dear Sophie, Hello Sophie

If you have not met the recipient it may be safer to use:

          Dear Sophie Gratton, Dear Ms Gratton, Dear Dr Gratton

If you need to send an email to a large group (e.g. colleagues) you may use:

          Hi everyone, Hello all

In all cases to close the message you can use:

          Regards, Best wishes, Best regards

You may also add a standard formula before this:

          e.g. Look forward to meeting next week, Let me know if you need further information

The main text

Here you can use common contractions (I’ve, don’t) and idiomatic language, but the normal rules for punctuation should be followed to avoid confusion. Spelling mistakes are just as likely to cause misunderstanding in emails as elsewhere. Always check for spelling and grammar problems before sending. Note that emails tend to be short, although longer documents may be added as attachments.

Using library websites to search electronic resources

Journals are specialised academic publications produced on a regular basis, containing recent research. You need to be familiar with the main journals in your subject area. They are usually available in paper or electronic formats (e-journals).

E-journals and other electronic resources such as subject databases are becoming increasingly important. Their advantage is that they can be accessed by computer, saving the need to visit the library to find a book. Most library websites have a separate portal or gateway for searching electronic resources. This allows you to enter the name of a specific journal, or look for possible journals in your subject area by entering a term such as ‘international business law’. In this case, the database may offer the following titles:

European Business Law Review

European Business Organisation Law Review

International Trade and Business Law Review

Law and Business Review of the Americas

In each case, you can access a list of issues available. By clicking on any of these issues you can read a full list of articles. It is usually sufficient to read the abstract to find out if the article will be relevant to your work. Note that most journal websites contain a search engine to allow you to search all back issues by subject. They may also offer links to articles in other journals on the same topic.

The best way to become familiar with these methods is to practise. Library websites usually contain tutorials for new students, and librarians are always willing to give help and advice when needed.

Building your vocabulary

Most international students are concerned about the size of their English vocabulary. This is clearly an important factor in both writing and reading. But the following points are worth considering:

• New words that you meet will be either specialist vocabulary or general academic vocabulary. For example, if you are a medical student there are words such as 'vaccination' which belong to your discipline and which you soon learn. But there are also many words used in most academic texts e.g. 'evolutionary' that you will need to use. This general vocabulary may be harder to master.

• Everybody has two sets of vocabulary; active and passive. Passive vocabulary are words that you recognise but do not use in speech or writing, while the active vocabulary, which is smaller, are words that you can use more fluently in your written or spoken language. As time goes by, words can move from the passive to the active store.

• Do not try to learn all the new words that you meet. Many will be unimportant. If the same word recurs frequently, then it is worth memorising.

• Pay special attention to verbs.They can play a critical role in your understanding of a sentence. It can be useful to keep a record of new verbs in order to make your writing more effective.

• Studying suffixes and prefixes will help you understand much new academic vocabulary. A good example are the suffixes -phile and -phobe. An Anglophile is someone who loves England, while the opposite is an Anglophobe!

Note-making - a vital step in essay writing

Notes are for your personal use so you should create your own style. Your teachers will not read or mark them, but you need to make sure you can still understand your notes months after reading the original book or article.

a) To avoid the risk of plagiarism you must use your own words and not copy phrases from the original.

b) The quantity of notes you make depends on your task: you may only need a few points, or a lot of detail.

c) Always record the source of your notes. This will save time when you have to write the list of references.

d) Notes are often written quickly, so keep them simple. Do not write sentences. Leave out articles (a/ the) and prepositions (of/ to).

e) If you write lists, it is important to have clear headings (underlined) and numbering systems (a, b, c, or 1, 2, 3,) to organise the information. Do not crowd your notes.

f) Use symbols (+, >, =) to save time.

g)  Use abbreviations (e.g. = for example). You need to make up your own abbreviations for your subject area. But do not abbreviate too much, or you may find your notes hard to understand in the future!

But remember, taking notes is not a substitute for writing your essay! Don't delay starting to write for too long!

English - the global language of protest

Why do protesters as far apart as Bangkok, Cairo and Kiev carry banners and signs written in English? 

Many street demonstrators know that their protest marches will be filmed by international news media, and watched by millions around the world who cannot read Thai, Arabic or Ukrainian. So the logical way of explaining their political demands is by writing their signs in English - the international language of political protest. On top of that, protesting in English is cool - linking the protesters to the Anglo-Saxon democracies.

But before you get your paintbrush out and set down your demands, maybe it's a good idea to check the spelling first - see above!

Countable or uncountable?

 'Traffic' is an example of an English uncountable noun. We cannot say 'a traffic' or 'three traffics'. You need to learn the most common uncountable nouns:

accommodation
advice
behaviour
commerce
data
education
equipment
furniture
information
knowledge
money
news
permission
progress
research
scenery
staff
travel
trouble
vocabulary
weather
work

Note that many uncountable nouns can be 'counted' using an extra noun:

A piece of advice
An item of equipment

Compare:

All universities conduct research (in general)
The research I began four years ago (specific)

In American English there is a tendency to use certain nouns in the plural e.g. behaviours, accommodations.

Also, note that some nouns can be both countable and uncountable. These are often words for general concepts e.g. love, life, war, death:

Love is a powerful emotion (uncountable)
He had three great loves: his work, his garden and his dog (countable)

The first Christmas card

 

This design, showing a family celebrating Christmas, was produced in 1843 in Britain, just after the introduction of the postal service. Only 2,000 of the hand-coloured cards were printed, which may explain their high price of one shilling (about £5 today).

 

Since then sending cards has become a popular feature of the Christmas holiday in many countries, since they allow people to make contact with friends and relations who they may not have seen all year. Today, however, the quantity of cards sent is declining, since e-cards can be sent electronically at little or no cost.

 

In December many students find they have to spend the holidays away from their homes and families for the first time. This may be a difficult experience, but it also gives the chance to rest and relax after a busy term, and maybe catch up with some good movies!

 

I would like to wish all readers of this blog a Happy Christmas and a Successful New Year!

 

 

Amazing adverbs

 

 

Adverbs are used in academic texts in two important ways.

 

1) To modify verbs or adjectives:

 

Reasonably good data is only available for the last thirty years

 

Decomposition eventually ceases in modern landfills

 

2) Individually, often at the start of a sentence, to introduce new points or link back to a previous idea:

 

Currently, the earth's atmosphere appears to be ...

 

Alternatively, the use of non-conventional renewable energy ...

 

There are three main groups of adverbs used in the first case:

 

a) Adverbs of time

 

The previously published report ...

 

b) Adverbs of degree

 

The argument was significantly refined ...

 

c) Adverbs of manner

 

Historically speaking ...

 

In the second case, at the start of sentences, writers must be careful not to use adverbs which reflect the writer's own opinions e.g. luckily, happily, sadly.

 

The following are usually followed by a comma at the start of a sentence:

 

Recently, there has been a marked trend ...

 

Increasingly, women are starting families ...

 

Originally, tea was drunk from small bowls ...

 

Currently, over five thousand people work ...

 

Traditionally the costume was worn on feast days ...

 

Other common adverbs used in this way are:

 

Clearly

 

Obviously

 

Alternatively

 

Similarly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A simple way to get the best mark for your exam essays

When you have to write essays in exams, time is vital. But students often make the mistake of not fully answering the question given, and so they lose marks. This is because they ignore part of the question.

Essay titles often have two parts e.g.

'How can schools make better use of IT (information technology)? Are there any drawbacks to using IT in the classroom?'

Before starting to write, you must decide how many words to give to each part. In this case you may decide that the first part (How ...) is more important and should have 60% of your answer, so the second part (Are there ...) would get 40%.

If you are writing 1,500 words the introduction and conclusion should take about 20%, which is 300 words, leaving 1,200 for the main body. The first part would then have about 700 words, and the second part 500.

If you do not organise your answer in this way you may find you have written too much for the first part, and do not have enough time to answer the second part properly.

The same principle applies to essays done for coursework: even if there is less time pressure it is still important to balance your answer in this way.

Time management is crucial to writing successful essays

Writing successful essays is about more than style or vocabulary. One of the keys to academic success is good time management. Decide if the following ideas are true or false:

• Essay deadlines are often set several months after the course starts
• Reading and note-making often take longer than writing
• A wall chart can help you plan an assignment
• The best time to study is during the night
• All students should spend some time every day relaxing with friends

Actually these are all true except for the fourth: it's better to work during the day and then get plenty of sleep. The main thing is to schedule your work week by week, so that you give enough time for each stage: note-making, drafting, re-writing and proof-reading. By following this plan you will avoid the last-minute panic that leads to careless work, bad marks and having to re-take courses.

Another common mistake students make is to spend too long on the note-making phase. If you have planned your essay carefully you can avoid the trap of collecting too much information. It is often better to start writing - then you will have more time for re-writing and proof-reading before the deadline.