UHasselt Academic English

1 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING

1.1 General characteristics

The following sentences have been written by students. Do you consider them as ‘appropriate
academic language’? Why (not)?

1. How long is it gonna take before policymakers realise that roads should be designed to
accommodate the movement of motor vehicles?
2. We did not include this in the present study because of a lot of statistical information.
3. To finish I believe it is important that casualties and serious injuries should be reduced to zero
by 2020.
4. For sure, Sweden has a long tradition of setting quantitative road traffic safety targets.
5. If you have been exposed to radioactive emissions for three days you’re certainly done for.
6. Conservative governments in the UK have privatized former state industries like British Gas
and British Telecom.

1.2 Linguistic characteristics

The following sentences are mixed formal and informal. Which are formal, which are informal?
(pay attention to tone, word choice, grammar, spelling)

1. The project won’t be completed next year.

2. I showed why his theory did not hold water.

3. We wondered why the subjects put up with those terrible working conditions for so long.

4. Also, we take a look into the nation’s decline in homeownership.

5. Three more tests will be necessary before the experiment can be concluded.

6. I am writing you because I want a meeting to discuss our current network problems.

7. It is possible to consider the results from a different perspective.

8. The field draws upon the insights of various disciplines.

9. He’ll have to do more research before he can stop his experiment.

10. We need more substantial evidence to support this conclusion.

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11. The challenge is to present a balanced and comprehensive view.

12. Last but not least, we make recommendations for future research.

Say in a more ‘academic’ way.

1. As a result, temperatures shot up.

2. It is reasonable to expect an agreement in about a year.
3. They achieved a very big increase.
4. The results show –surprise!- that Ryanair shows a very low crash risk.
5. We want to look for indicators of economic growth.
6. The summary contains a table in which I want to show our results.
7. This is a pretty well documented process.
8. Lots of people are employed in service-providing industries.

Make the sentences below sound more formal by changing one word or phrase.

1. Because people may make different decisions in choosing medical services, we developed a
questionnaire.

2. But implementing such a framework needs a reasonable amount of effort.

3. To increase talent acquisition workflows, we used HotJar conversion funnels and heatmaps.

4. This way, Keynesianism was adopted by Conservative and Labour governments alike.

5. Since the conferences of Helsinki (1993) and Kyoto (1997), it has become more and more
important to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

6. This study focuses on proactive recruiting methodologies, currently used for advanced
candidate sourcing.

7. Moreover, there is not a consensus in the available literature.

8. Architects from the French school studied the practice and living experience in Paris, and the
way these were embedded in construction engineering as a whole.

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1.3 Reader-friendly writing

1.3.1 Writing tight

This example is from a business letter:

Funding and waste management have a direct effect on progress towards the decommissioning of
plant and equipment.

The main verb is ‘have’ while the nominalization (a noun that masks a verb) is ‘effect’, which smothers
the verb ‘affect’. It is simpler and crispier to write:

Funding and waste management directly affect progress towards the decommissioning of plant and
equipment.

Rewrite the following sentences so as to make them more ‘readable’ (use a more direct style;
verbs instead of nouns, active rather than passive sentences)

1. A decision was reached by the councillors to adopt the new safety law.

2. Another aspect of the situation that needs to be examined is the matter of signposting.

3. The original intention of the researchers was to investigate the state of the equipment.

4. The research group considers that the director of community services should proceed with the
introduction of as many mini-recycling centres as the budget allows.

5. The team’s role is to perform problem definition and resolution.

6. Our policy branch has carried out a review of our arrangements in order to effect
improvements in the reporting of accidents.

7. The notion that English has become the universal language of science is a common notion.

8. The aforementioned limitations of the research scope notwithstanding

9. The conclusions that the committee of civil engineers reached are summarized in the
newspaper of the college that was published today.

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Note

English is a very ‘concise’ language, as the following examples illustrate:

The UN secretary general [i.e. the secretary general of the United Nations]
The US occupying force
The 2017 presidential candidate
The Stockholm Environment Institute

In English it is very common to combine nouns like this:

tonight’s 3-hour English level 4 course

a domestic violence case
Tower Hamlets Family Information Centre
Parkside Animal Care Centre

This construction avoids too many ‘of’ structures.

Find simpler equivalents for the phrases in bold.

1. From recent studies we can conclude that Alzheimer’s disease is related to problems with
cellular respiration.

2. The book in question was very popular at the time it was first published, but was banned by
the authorities.

3. A majority of scientists do not agree.

4. They are of the opinion that the number of council houses in the London area should be
reduced.

5. The course designers had to reduce the number of chapters owing to the fact that time was
limited.

6. We asked them those questions for the purpose of testing their ability to adapt to a new
situation.

Rewrite the sentences, leaving out the superfluous word(s).

1. Our future plan is to have a closer look at the new results of the second section.

2. The curves show evidence that long-term unemployment and suicide correlate.

3. The standard of traffic management on the A57, A59 and A63 is of a lower standard than on
other major roads in the region.

4. We attach herewith a financial statement.

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5. A new bank account is in the process of being set up for you.

6. Work is required to be carried out on the flue and funnels.

7. The firm does not intend to remove the lime trees but it is necessary to carry out pruning the
trees to keep them healthy.

1.3.2 Non-Sexist language

Writing in a non-sexist, non-biased way is both ethically sound and effective. Non-sexist writing is
necessary for most audiences; if you write in a sexist manner and alienate much of your audience
from your discussion, your writing will be much less effective.

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) suggests the following guidelines:

Find generic words instead of words with masculine markers.

1. Mankind à
2. Man-made à
3. The common man à
4. To man the stockroom à
5. Nine man-hours à

Find occupations when persons holding the job could be either male or female.

1. Chairman à
2. Businessman à
3. Fireman à
4. Mailman à
5. Steward à
6. Policeman à
7. Congressman à

Special Tip

Most writers feel that using he or she, him or her, and his or her is no good style. There are two ways
to avoid this problem.

1. Make the sentence plural:

A student should buy his or her books before the first day of class.
è Students should buy their books before the first day of class.

2. Revise the sentence to eliminate the pronoun:

è A student should buy books before the first day of class.

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1.3.3 Information distribution

Note that in an abstract, the inverted pyramid is a metaphor for structuring information. When you
write a text or paragraph, often you start by setting the context and working from general to specific, as
an inverted pyramid:

When you develop ideas, especially new ones, it is useful to first help your reader by setting the stage
and by then gradually defining and limiting the scope of your topic:

Banks are financial institutions that lend money to companies and private persons. [general
statement on banks] Over time, a number of other services have been added, such as offering
investment schemes. [details of evolution] Lately, banks are offering their clients ethical investment
products. These… [focus of the text: newest evolution]

In the conclusion, however, the author moves from specific premises to a more general conclusion:

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2 LANGUAGE REVISION

2.1 Discourse markers

make the research article more readable and easier to process by using linking words, phrases, and
sentences to:

- provide a smooth transition between sentences and paragraphs

- show the logical development of your ideas
- indicate the direction that you intend the argument to go in
- link both paragraphs and sentences within a paragraph by using:

signalling phrases (e.g. 'The first point I would like to make', 'Turning to a different viewpoint')
repetitions (e.g. 'Having mentioned the advantages, I will now move on to the
disadvantages.')
reference words (e.g. 'these data', 'the experiment', 'they')
linking words (e.g. 'however', ‘by contrast’)

Frequency
Always We always travel first class because it is more comfortable.
Usually We usually travel first class because it is more comfortable.
Generally Generally, people travel first class because it is more comfortable.
Regularly We regularly travel to Hong Kong for marketing.
Often We often travel to Hong Kong for marketing.
Frequently We frequently travel back and forth between Tokyo and Shanghai.
Occasionally We usually travel by plane because it is faster, but we occasionally travel
by train.
Rarely We rarely travel more than a few hundred miles from home.
Seldom We seldom travel more than a few hundred miles from home.
Hardly ever We hardly ever travel more than a few hundred miles from home.
Never We never travel by plane because we are scared we might crash.

Contrast
But I would like to go, but my husband needs the car.
(And) yet The trains were on strike this morning, (and) yet I managed to get to work.
However She promised she would come. However, she never turned up.
Nevertheless / nonetheless She promised she would come. Nevertheless / Nonetheless, she never
showed up.
Although / even though / Although / Even though / Though the train was late, I arrived in time.
though
Despite / In spite of Despite / In spite of the fact that the train was late, I arrived in time.
In contrast to In contrast to the two previous studies, the latest study takes into account
behavioural observations .
While At weekends you can get in for free, while on working days you pay two
euros.

Whereas At weekends you can get in for free, whereas on working days you pay two
euros.
On the other hand In the UK shops close at 6. In Spain, on the other hand, they stay open
until 9.

Cause / reason
Because She has no appetite now, because she’s feverish.
Since Since she can’t play golf, they’ll play tennis.
As She didn’t see him yesterday, as he was still in London.

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For They are going to play tennis tonight, for she can’t play golf.
Due to You may face some problems due to the complexity of the system.
Owing to You may face some problems owing to the complexity of the system.
Because of You may face some problems because of the complexity of the system.

Purpose
So that I’ll make you some sandwiches so that you won’t have to buy lunch.
To I’ll phone you to tell you how it went.
In order to I’ll get up early in order to catch the first bus.
So as to We’re leaving at 7.30 so as to catch the 8 o’clock train.
With a view to We’re leaving at 7.30 with a view to catching the 8 o’clock train.

Result
So Bus drivers have gone on strike, so I had to take the train.
So that Bus drivers have gone on strike, so that I had to take the train.
As a result I can’t drive. As a result, I go to work by bus.
For this reason I can’t drive. For this reason, I go to work by bus.
Therefore I can’t drive. Therefore, I go to work by bus.
Consequently I can’t drive. Consequently, I go to work by bus.
Hence I can’t drive. Hence, I go to work by bus.
Overhead costs were too high, hence the bankruptcy.
Thus He used to help his father plant flowers. Thus he discovered / Thus
discovering his interest in botanical medicine.
Accordingly They work in different companies, and accordingly they have different
working hours.

Comparison
Similarly A mother recognizes the feel of her child’s skin when blindfolded. Similarly,
she can instantly identify her baby’s cry.
Likewise A mother recognizes the feel of her child’s skin when blindfolded. Likewise/
By the same token/ In like manner, she can instantly identify her baby’s
cry.
In the same way Students who have already done module 1 of the course cannot take
module 2 as well. In the same way, students who have taken module 2
cannot do module 1.

Alternation
Instead He doesn’t like writing letters, so he phoned her instead.
Alternatively You should write her a letter. Alternatively, you could phone her.

Addition
Also You’ll have to get a visa, and you’ll also need a work permit.
As well You’ll have to get a visa, and you’ll need a work permit as well.
Too You’ll have to get a visa, and you’ll need a work permit too.
In addition to In addition to an introduction, the course also offers practical tips.
Besides Besides being a successful manager, he is also an accomplished pianist.
As well as As well as being a successful manager, he is also an accomplished
pianist.
Moreover The rent is reasonable. Moreover, the location is perfect.
Furthermore The rent is reasonable. Furthermore, the location is perfect.

Showing steps
First of all, ... First of all, I would like to look at some historical data.
Firstly, ... Firstly, I would like to look at some historical data.
Then ... Then I will consider the disadvantages.
Subsequently Subsequently I will consider the disadvantages.
Finally, ... Finally I am going to describe the advantages.

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 Lastly, ... Lastly I am going to describe the advantages.

Restating
In other words Non-EU students pay more. In other words, Swiss students pay as much
as Turkish students.
Namely One group of people seems to be forgotten, namely the disabled.
i.e. They will sell them at places where there are a lot of rich people, i.e. at
whiskey lounges and golf clubs.

Generalisation
Generally Generally I like classical music, but opera doesn't interest me at all.
As a rule As a rule I like classical music, but opera doesn’t interest me at all.
In general In general I like classical music, but opera doesn't interest me at all.

Stating the obvious

Obviously Obviously, he has never taken a mathematics course before.
Naturally Naturally, we will pay all your expenses.
Clearly Clearly, he has never taken a mathematics course before.
Undoubtedly Undoubtedly, we can all get better at using this technology.
Evidently Evidently, the income gap between men and women cannot be explained
by socio-economic variations.

Emphasising
In particular Dozens of tractors collect the harvest, in particular in August.
Particularly Dozens of tractors collect the harvest, particularly in August.
Especially Dozens of tractors collect the harvest, especially in August.
More specifically Cocaine interferes with some aspects of brain development. More
specifically, it reduces the number of neurons.
Typically This can occur because of nerve damage, but typically it is a result of
habit, which can be difficult to break.

Summary / Conclusion
To sum up To sum up, we have looked at three advantages and two disadvantages.
In brief / short / sum / In brief / short / sum / summary, we have looked at three advantages and
summary two disadvantages.
In conclusion In conclusion, we have looked at three advantages and two
disadvantages.

Examples
For example Indian food is very popular. For example, curry is a favourite all over the
world.
For instance Indian food is very popular. For instance, curry is a favourite all over the
world.
Such as Indian food such as curry is very popular.
e.g. Indian food (e.g. curry) is very popular.

Note

l Do not start a sentence with ‘also’ or ‘already’! This mistake is really a Dutchism. Students will be
tempted to translate Reeds in 1991… or Ook in 1991… as *Already in 1991… or *Also in 1991... Thus,
the following sentence needs recasting: *Also the language is a big barrier à The language, too, is a
big barrier.

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l ‘Hence’, like ‘thus’, is a very formal word. It expresses the idea that what follows is a necessary
deduction from what precedes, emphasising the relative importance of what went before. (The trade
imbalance is likely to rise again in 2011. Hence a new set of policy actions will be required soon.)

l ‘Beside’ is a preposition meaning ‘next to or very close to someone or something’. (The boy was sitting
beside the bus driver.) ‘Besides’ means ‘in addition to’. (She has many good qualities besides being
very beautiful)

l If you want to indicate purpose, it is better to start a sentence with ‘in order to’ than with ‘to’. (In order
to bring production costs down, wages have to be cut.)

l Of the causal connectives, ‘so’ is the most general in meaning; it is also the most informal. In written
English, alternative conjuncts are recommended: ‘accordingly’, ‘consequently’, ‘hence’, ‘therefore’, ‘so
that’ and ‘with the result that’. (Informal: I heard a noise so I got out of bed and turned on the light.)
(Formal: Tax revenues were low. Consequently, the government ended up with a budget deficit.)

l ‘Especially’ is used to mean ‘above all’. (I play a lot of tennis, especially on Sundays.). ‘Especially’
follows a subject. (All my family like music. My father, especially, goes to as many concerts as he
can.) ‘Specially’ is used to mean ‘for a particular purpose’. (These shoes were specially made for me.)

l ‘Despite’ and ‘in spite of’ have to be followed by a noun or a verb in the ing-form. (She was arrested
despite claiming her innocence.)

l ‘Though’, ‘even though’ and ‘although’ are followed by a clause. (She was arrested, although she had
claimed her innocence.)

l ‘Although’ must join two clauses, but its position can change. It can either start a sentence or come in
the middle. (Although it rained a lot, we enjoyed the holiday. OR: We enjoyed the holiday although it
rained a lot.) ‘Though’ is more informal than ‘although’. We can also use ‘though’ at the end of a
sentence. (The house isn’t very nice. I like the garden though.) ‘Even though’ is a stronger form of
‘although’.

l ‘Whereas’ and ‘while’ are used to balance two facts or ideas that contrast, but do not contradict each
other. Hence, they are used to contrast information where there is no surprise. (Whereas/While
Conservatives voted in favour of the bill, Labour and the Liberals voted against.)

l ‘But’ is used to contrast clauses within a sentence. (I like going to the beach, but I never go at
midday.) ‘However,' has the same function, but is used to show contrast between sentences. It must
go in a separate sentence. (I’ve always enjoyed going to the beach. However, I never go there at
midday.)

l ‘As’ and ‘like’ can be used in comparisons. However, ‘as’ must be followed by a clause (He worked for
the company, as his father had done before him.), and ‘like’ must be followed by a noun. (She acts
like a child sometimes.)

l ‘Because’ emphasises the cause or explicit reason. ‘As’ and ‘since’ are less formal and less precise in
their meaning than ‘because’. The causal relation that they indicate is more casual. With ‘as’ the cause
given is presented as if it is well-known or obvious. (As/since I had ten extra minutes left I took
another cup of coffee.)

l ‘For’ focuses on duration and can be used in most tenses. It is followed by a period of time. (They
stayed in Barcelona for two weeks.) ‘Since’ is only used with perfect tenses and must be followed by a
point in time. (They’ve been in Barcelona since last Friday. = They are still in Barcelona now.)

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 Exercise

Insert an appropriate linking word.

1. Airport noise is a particular problem here __________________ we’re so close to the airport.
2. _______________ the studies discussed above examined the impact of the refugee crisis on
human rights, other studies have examined the impact of the crisis on overcrowding in hospitals.
3. He did not get the job _______________ having the right qualifications.
4. Changing energy supplier to cut gas and electricity bills doesn’t matter to some people. Most
people, _________________, jump at the opportunity.
5. They have failed. ___________________ they have to take the consequences.
6. Profits were very low last year; ____________________ the subsequent cutbacks.
7. __________________ to the admission application form, what other documents are required?
8. It’s a word I’ve often heard, _____________ I can’t find it in the dictionary.
9. __________________ profits soared by 111%, the value of shares dropped sharply.
10. Profits soared by 111%. __________________, the value of shares dropped sharply.

2.2 Relative clauses

Mind the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses: a defining relative clause is
used to define or restrict the reference of a noun, a non-defining relative clause is used to supply
additional information about the noun, whose identity or reference is already established.

Note
The pronoun who only refers to humans; which only to objects, ideas and concepts.
You should not use the relative pronoun that in non-defining relative clauses.
Defining clauses are not enclosed by commas, non-defining clauses are.

Defining
The student who/that achieves the highest score will be awarded a prize.

Non-Defining
Albert Einstein, who put forward the theory of relativity, emigrated to the United States where he
became a Professor of Science at Princeton University.

Antecedent Defining Non-Defining

Person who / that (subject) , who (subject)
who / whom / that (object) , who(m) (object)
whose (possessive) , whose (possessive)
Object which / that , which
whose / of which (possessive) , whose / , of which (possessive)

Who can be used as an object in relative clauses in an informal style. Whom is more formal.

E.g. Where’s the office of the adviser who(m) we have an appointment with?

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The choice of whom is obligatory with prepositions preceding the pronoun:

E.g. To whom it may concern.

Dr. Johnston is a surgeon on whom we can always rely. (formal)

Dr. Johnston is a surgeon who(m) we can always rely on.

In non-defining clauses, quantifying determiners (e.g. some, any, none, all, both, several, enough,
many and few) can be used with of whom, of which and of whose:

E.g. I have many talented students, some of whom are musically gifted.

He has lots of books, many of which are worth a lot of money.

This is the factory, many of whose workers are on strike.

In defining relative clauses, we often leave out object pronouns, especially in an informal style. In non-
defining clauses this is not possible.

Exercise

Insert the appropriate relative pronoun.

1. The professor _____________ I met at the conference agreed to supervise my independent

research project.
2. The report _______________ I read was incomplete.
3. Sweden, _____________ initiated Vision Zero, has somewhat better results.
4. The police found the container with drugs _______________ content was inspected.
5. Seven people were prosecuted, three of _____________ were convicted..
6. I pointed to the problem of hazardous chemicals, the importance of ____________ is quite
unnoticed by mainstream chemists.
7. The company actively encourages the use of cross-functional project teams,
_______________ means that employees get the chance to learn about other aspects of the
company.
8. It is an observation __________________ is inconsistent with the model.
9. Drivers have to lower their speed in urban areas, ______________ also increases their
mental awareness.
10. They picked up five boat-loads of refugees, some of _______________ had been at sea for
several months.
11. Engineers ______________ followed additional courses after graduation also scored
significantly higher.
12. We’ve tested three hundred types of boots, none of _______________ is completely
waterproof.

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2.3 Clause combining

Clauses introduced by a relative pronoun

1. The European Commission highlights a number of issues facing Europe, the most important of
which are education and training.
2. The project will not be finished before 2020, by which time there could be a new party in
power.
3. In Holland, the sustainable safety approach differs from Vision Zero in that in the majority of
accidents humans are to blame.

Non-finite clauses
4. Deflected by a magnetic field, the nuclear radiation process was modified. [past participle]
5. To achieve the desired result, we use the latest data mining tools. [infinitive]

-ing clauses
6. Most local politicians were taken unaware by the accident, failing to understand that undivided
rural roads can be quite dangerous even with low speed limits.

Verbless clauses
7. With pollution on the increase, many people are more willing to reduce their ecological
footprint.

Note

If a sentence starts with a modifier (e.g. a participle), this should refer to the subject of the main
clause. If the modifier does not correspond with the subject, it is a dangling modifier, a very common
error:

Incorrect:
Flying south for the winter, we observed a huge flock of swallows.

Correct:
We observed a huge flock of swallows flying south for the winter.

Exercise

Combine the following sentences or phrases, making them shorter.

1. While we were separating the two mixtures we came across an unusual phenomenon.

2. We had an overhead view from our vantage point. That is why we could make correct
observations.

3. They study the relation between the speed-of-information processing and IQ. In this way they
attempt to determine the genetic basis.

4. The Road and Safety Commission is aware of the dangers. The Commission quickly backed
down.

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5. We made the change at the energetically most favorable position. As a result of this we found
that a rearrangement of the charged ions diminishes the electrostatic energy.

2.4 Survey of the tenses

Tenses

1 Simple Present The lecture starts at 9.00 o’clock.

2 Present Continuous The teacher is checking the dates.

3 Simple Past The students filled in the form.

4 Past Continuous We were seeking a solution.

5 Present Perfect We haven’t finished the project yet.

6 Present Perfect Continuous We have been reviewing our programme all day.

7 Past Perfect When the teacher arrived the students had already left.
8 Past Perfect Continuous He had been trying to get her on the phone.

9 Future with will I’ll take the minutes of the meeting.

10 Future with going to I’m going to visit London tomorrow.

Tense use

Abstract

Use the Present Perfect to refer to relevant existing literature and the Simple Present to refer to
established facts or problems:

Recent research has investigated the effects of public health information campaigns.
The spread of Aids represents a major challenge.

Research objectives and findings can be reported either in the Simple Present or in the Simple Past.

This article investigates the relationship between…

The findings show that…
The results showed that…

The Simple Past is particularly useful to provide more details on the methodology used (was
measured, was randomized):

Two groups were assessed through clinical and laboratory measurements.

Conclusions and implications are described in the Simple Present, even if the rest of the abstract
uses the past tense:

We conclude that physical inactivity is associated with an increased risk of low back pain.

Introduction

To refer to existing research or to the wider context framing the research question, the Present
Perfect is used:

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of sustainable farm implements.

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To describe the aim and structure of the article, the Simple Present is common:

First(ly) we outline…
Finally, we show that… (a future tense is possible too: We will show that…)

To review scientific literature, the most obvious tense to report the findings of past research is the
Simple Past. It presents the study as an activity completed at a definite time in the past, thus
suggesting a greater distance:

Foster and Dulles (2001) argued that there are no substantive differences.

The Present Perfect is also often used in literature reviews, either for generalisations or to highlight
present relevance (i.e. past research is viewed in its relevance today):

Research has shown repeatedly that…

Pearson et al. (2004) have suggested that these new airline regulations will reduce the likelihood of
plane crashes.

The Simple Present strongly suggests that the position reported is still valid:

Roberts (1998) suggests that integration of these dimensions creates high-level performance.

Methods are described in the past tense. Passive verbs are often used because this allows the writer
to focus on what was done rather than who performed the action:

Patients had been (/were) informed about the research project before filling in the questionnaire.
Responses were made using a five-point scale.

Results

The most commonly used tense is the Simple Past:

Seventy-four percent of participants reported…

Average annual costs ranged from $500 to $1700.

Use the Simple Present to refer to tables and figures:

The results are reported in Table 2.

The graph in Figure 4 illustrates the results of the pilot study.
In Table 2, the data are broken down into seven social categories.
Table 5 ranks these diseases by mortality rate.

Discussion

To start the discussion section you can use the Simple Past to focus on the research objectives and
to refer to findings:

The purpose of this study was to develop…

All subjects showed a significant increase in…

Relevance and implications are discussed in the Simple Present:

These findings confirm earlier conclusions made by Harwood.

Taken together, these relationships suggest that…

The Present Perfect focuses on what the article has achieved so far:

This article has presented the results of an investigation into…

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Exercises

1. Discuss the following sentences. Are they correct? Why (not)? Correct the incorrect ones.

1. I am working in the Department of Statistics.

2. How often do you carry out research?
3. At present we launch a new campaign.
4. Since when are you working here?
5. When did you join the research team?
6. I have been working here since five years.
7. Last year we have introduced a new system.
8. Do you work on any special projects at the moment?
9. The processing shall take about two months.
10. The Government has decided last week to implement the Regulations Act.
11. The earliest forms of road assessments were already existing in the 1920s.
12. In the UK, seat belts are only compulsory since 1983.
13. This paper is dealing with high-performance computing clusters and their system software.
14. Once the data tree will have reached a certain size, variables created early on in the
initialization will be written out to disc.
15. We will have a celebration when the test will be over.

2. Insert the appropriate tense (several answers possible)

1. In recent years, the relevance of sustainability (become) increasingly clear to construction

engineers.
2. Callaghan and Healey (2006) (suggest) that interdisciplinary research is an essential driver for
innovation.
3. Einstein (develop) his theory of relativity between 1907 and 1915. According to this theory, the
observed gravital attraction between masses (result) from the warping of space and time by
those masses.
4. As for the method, a total of 465 patients (to be - randomize) into nine treatment groups and
(to be – query) on a weekly basis to identify ongoing adverse events.
5. Table 1 (show) the percentage of students receiving each AP score.
6. There is a large amount of evidence (suggest) an association between quality improvement
and safety.
7. In this section, I (discuss) some issues that have arisen in relation to my research.
8. Some of the response rates (appear) worryingly low, and this raises doubts about the validity
of the study.
9. It (emerge) that the candidates (differ) along a number of dimensions.
10. Unfortunately, as I (mention) above, many researchers (overlook) this point. Unfortunately I
(be) unable to control the distribution of the questionnaires as carefully as I would have liked.

17
2.5 The Passive

In general English, the passive is to be avoided. In academic English, however, the passive is quite
common, e.g. when the performer of an action is unknown or irrelevant, as in the following example:

Active They have criticized the study on methodological grounds

Passive The study has been criticized on methodological grounds

The active sentence is rather odd. The passive is better as it focuses more on the action itself and less
on the performer of the action.

Pay attention to the following when you use the passive voice:

ACTIVE PASSIVE
1 Simple Present x writes an article The article is written (by x)
2 Present Continuous ... is writing ... The article is being written
3 Simple Past … wrote … The article was written
4 Present Perfect ... has written … The article has been written
5 Past Perfect … had written … The article had been written
6 Future with will ... will write ... The article will be written

Exercise

Put these sentences in the passive

1. We found a positive correlation between the two variables.

2. People say that physical beauty is more prevalent among the wealthy.
3. We will finalize our experiments before autumn.
4. Researchers are looking into matters of worker participation in workplace decisions.
5. Victims of child abuse have identified hundreds of British institutions.
6. Symons conducted an investigation into the Alternative Youth Sentencing Program.
7. We had carried out forty peer reviews before publication.
8. Researchers have investigated overstretched social services and overcrowded land.

2.6 Conditionals

Pay attention to the following rules when expressing conditions:

IF-CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE Example

0 Simple Present Simple Present When (/If) you heat ice it turns into water (a fact)
1 Simple Present Future with will If he’s late we’ll go without him (likely to happen)
2 Simple Past Conditional with would If I knew his address I’d give it to you (hypothetical)
3 Past Perfect Past cond with would have If you had arrived ten minutes earlier you would have got a seat
(contradicting past reality)

18
Exercise

Complete the conditional sentences

1. If this (happen) _________________, the alarm will go off.

2. If modifications (become) ____________ injurious, they would cause the extinction of the
species.
3. Unless local politicians (regain) _____________________ faith in Vision Zero, they will not
support the new highway system.
4. If there (be) _________________ only salt and oxygen in the mine, the aggregate would be
no more than the sum of its separate parts.
5. If the US Government (intervene) ________________________________ in 2008, many
other top banks (share) _______________________ Lehman’s fate.
6. If Greece (leave) ___________________ the Eurozone, what (happen) _________________?
7. If we (cooperate) __________________ more effectively, we (be) __________________
more successful now.

2.7 Modality

Modal auxiliaries are used to indicate the possibility or necessity of an event, and to make requests,
offers and suggestions.

Meaning Present tense Past tense Example

certainty must/cannot must/cannot have Judging by those fingerprints, he must be the

burglar.
There must have been a problem in
communication.
She cannot have committed the murder. She’s
got a cast-iron alibi.

particular may/might might The political crisis may/might not be solved next
possibility week.
He could/may have done the killing. He’s one of
the suspects.
Why do you take so much luggage? You may not
have to stay the night.

general or can could Can it rain in the desert?

theoretical (not: *May it rain in the desert?)
possibility A contract can be rendered void if the parties are
not legally capable of entering a contract.

probability, will will have As we are improving communication it will be

prediction easier for us in future to avoid misunderstandings.
Harry will have left for the office by 10 o’clock.

19
probability should/ought to should/ought to She should/ought to pass the test.
(reasonably have She should/ought to have passed the test.
expectable)

moral obligation should should All parties should endeavor to promote peace.

personal obligation must must You must(n’t) do that!

(imposed by
speaker) The principal told me that you must be in his
office at five.

external obligation have to had to All humans have to die.

(circumstantial We had to move out because of the new job.
necessity)

admission may/might may/might have He may/might be clever, but …

He may/might have been clever, but …

• Note the difference in meaning:

He may/might not have been told. (It is possible he wasn’t told)

He can’t/couldn’t have been told. (It is not possible that he was told)

You mustn’t see her. (You are not allowed to see her)
You needn’t see her. (You don’t have to see her)

• Confusion that may arise over the meaning of may in the following sentence:

The defendant may decide to appeal.

This sentence could mean that it is technically possible for the defendant to appeal OR that
the permission is granted to the defendant to appeal.

• Legal English is marked by the more formal use of shall in legal documents to refer to
obligations and duties, as the following sentences illustrate:

The company shall promptly destroy all materials if so requested.

Princeton shall bear no responsibility for the accuracy of the information.

But: What time will you be back this evening? (asking for a decision)

20
Exercise

Use an appropriate modal (alternatives possible)

1. There _______________ be no doubt that global warming is real, and therefore governments
_____________ take action.
2. These findings ______________ have policy implications for the next administration.
3. I ______________ not have time to finish the report today so I can’t promise to meet the
deadline.
4. Road planning ________________ undergo revolutionary change in the short term.
5. The use of the new Eircode System is not compulsory. You ____________ not use it if you
think it’s too expensive.
6. _________ suspected terrorists be detained indefinitely under the Human Rights Act?
7. In view of the current financial crisis, share prices ____________fall.

In academic writing, hedging and boosting devices are frequently used to express caution (hedging)
or to state confidence (boosting).

The table below contains verbs and adverbs that you can use to express the different degrees of
certainty or modality of your opinions or argument.

Certainty of Conclusion Modal Verbs/Adverbs Statement of Claim

Certain is, will, cannot, must It is certain that...
undoubtedly, definitely, clearly It seems clear that...
X is definitely...
X is bound to...
X rules out..., X refutes...
Fairly certain can It appears probable...
tends to, usually, probably, regularly, It is usually the case that...
generally, often, frequently In the majority of cases...
The results suggest…
It is (un)likely that...
Uncertain may, might, could It is possible that …
possibly, sometimes, occasionally, Occasionally,...
seldom, rarely, perhaps, maybe It may be the case that...
There is a chance that...

Note on the subjunctive

The subjunctive is more commonly used in American English than in British English, especially in legal
English:

We insist that he do the job properly.

They insisted that the new guidelines be written by an elected body.

21
 2.8 Articles and quantifiers

Articles give information about a noun. They tell the reader whether the noun is generic (representing a
whole group), indefinitie (non-specific), or definite (specific).

Singular Plural

With generic nouns countable A dog is a mammal. Dogs are mammals.

uncountable Milk is good for you.

With indefinite nouns countable We want to get a dog. We saw some dogs for sale.

uncountable Would you like some more time?

With definite nouns countable Let’s ask the teacher. The Yorkshire Terrier is the
second most popular dog in the
world.

uncountable The milk that I just bought is sour.

Use the before common nouns: time periods (in the morning, the future), social and economic classes
(the government, the middle class), nouns made from adjectives (the young, the unemployed, the rich)

The indefinite articles are a and an. We use a with words and abbreviations that begin with a consonant
sound: a book, a house, a university, a VCR. We use an with words and abbreviations that begin with a
vowel sound: an operation, an hour, an MBA degree.

Exercise

Insert the correct article in each sentence.

1. His study is similar to research already carried out in ________ mid-1990s.

2. ______ main idea of our project is to see who can survive ________ longest time in these
circumstances.
3. _______ biggest challenge is not to survive nature but to cooperate with the other contestants.
4. My sister is trying very hard to get ______ scholarship to go to university.
5. _______ best students will be awarded a prize.

22
6. _______ Inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in the
economy.
7. Public schools like Eton attract pupils from ________ British upper class.
8. We bought a house. _________ house has a small yard.
9. _______ tabloid press has made allegations about sexual abuse.

With uncountable nouns With both With countable nouns

How much? How many?
a little no/none a few
a bit (of) not any a number (of)
some/any several
a great deal of a lot of a large number of
a large amount of plenty of a large number of
a large quantity of lots of (informal) a majority of

Note that a little and a few are positive; little and few are negative:

There is still a little time to join the campus club.

There is little hope for Syria.
I spoke to a few colleagues in the lounge.
After the break, there were only few students left.

Exercise

Cross out all of the expressions that cannot complete the sentences.

1. Last year __________ (several, a few, some, a number of, a great deal of) biology students spent
a month of field work in Africa.
2. They didn’t take _________ (any, much, many, a great deal of, a lot of) food except __________
(a, some, a few, a little, a lot of) dried apples.
3. Also, they brought __________ (a few, one or two, some) equipment with them because they
wanted to test their survival skills.
4. On the first day, they spent ___________ (much, many, several, a number of, a great deal of) hours
building a shelter.
5. Unfortunately, they found __________ (little, few) evidence to support their research hypothesis,
and by the end of the month there was _________ (a little, little, a few, few) project money left.

23
2.9 Adjectives and adverbs

Nouns are modified by adjectives

That's a clear answer
That article looks interesting.

Verbs, adjectives, adverbs and sentences are modified by adverbs

The report is written very clearly.
That's a perfectly achievable goal.
The refugee crisis is too big to be addressed purely locally.
Obviously, there is a need for immediate action.

More examples

ADJ ADV
A good job She did the job well
The results are significant Social networking grows significantly
There is a marked difference It is markedly lower than …
The steady increase in … The number increased steadily

Exercise

Which of the options in brackets need to be filled in in the following sentences?

1. We will measure the concentrations over (relative – relatively) short periods.

2. The curves were distributed (normal – normally) and only the mean changed (significant –
significantly) in time.
3. Different species react (different – differently) to changes in climatic conditions.
4. The calculated drag force is (proportional – proportionally) to the square of the wind speed.
5. In order to use those systems (efficient – efficiently) lab technicians need some training.
6. They ensured that the procedure was (effective – effectively) and (fair – fairly).
7. It made the defects of the software system more (obvious – obviously).
8. More (specific – specifically), the objectives of the study were to develop a better
understanding of how Management By Objectives (MBO) influences young potentials’ sales
performance.
9. The Centre for Policy Studies held the (strong – strongly) belief that the private sector works
more (efficient – efficiently).
10. An example of (inverse – inversely) proportional quantities is the lengths and widths of
rectangles with the same area.
11. I will (shortly – briefly) discuss the matter below.
12. They score quite (good – well).
13. These patients have a (good – well) developed defence mechanism.

24
2.10 Points to pay attention to

2.10.1 Singular versus plural

Complete the sentences using the verb in brackets.

1. A number of measurements ____________ (have) been made.

2. The number of students ______________ (have) increased.

3. 45% of the respondents_____________ (be) against the proposal.

4. 45% ______________ (be) in favour.

5. 70% of the students __________________ (be) in favour of changing the policy.

6. 70% of the student committee _________________ (be) in favour of changing the policy.

7. The US ___________ (have) a population of over 300 million people.

8. Both excitement and nervousness ____________ (be) the cause of her shaking.

9. Excitement, as well as nervousness, ____________ (be) the cause of her shaking.

10. The politician, along with the newsmen, __________ (be) expected shortly.
11. Neither the Commonwealth countries nor the US ____________ (be) in favour.
12. Neither the US nor the Commonwealth countries ____________ (be) in favour.
13. Three miles ___________ (be) too far to walk.
14. Five years ____________ (be) the maximum sentence for that offense.

Correct the following sentences.

1. Two phenomena were classified using one criteria.

2. It are the rich countries that pay the most within the EU.

3. It are only 500 metres from here to the school.

4. Although money supply and velocity has no effect on real factors such as consumption and
output in the long run, it does affect the price level.

5. If safety and the conservation of storage capacity was not an issue, managed realignment might
be a better solution.

25
2.10.2 Word order

Something is wrong with the word order of the following sentences. Correct the sentences.

1. It seems at first rather vague because the topic has not been well-defined as a focused research
question.

2. I took for the past two years courses in particle physics.

3. A further similarity is that they both are construction engineers.

4. Friedman’s view is that when the government succeeds finally in increasing aggregate demand,
inflation has risen.

5. The Sun has every day an average circulation of 2.2 million copies.

6. Institutions for higher education have been recently subjected to a lot of transformations.

7. Already a lot of research has been done with regard to child development.

8. Most studies show that immigrants in post-war Britain often were marginalized.

9. We describe also the challenge presented by climate change.

10. Oil prices dramatically rose between 1972 and 1975.

11. In Belgium, the study of self-explaining roads has still to take off.

12. The building explosion happened in 2011 on Monday 21st January at 6 a.m.

13. The scientific experts discussed the problem last year at their annual conference briefly.

26
3 LEXIS

The list below consists of word pairs that may be confusing. Fill them in in the correct context.

1. adapt / adopt
a. The school board agreed to _________ a new policy for handling incidents of bullying.

2. affect / effect
a. Thousands of people were __________________ by the company closure.

3. fabric / tissue
a. The curtains are made of very expensive ______________________ .
b. This drug can damage the body’s _______________________ .

4. among / between
a. The parents divided their property equally ________________ their two children.
b. The parents divided their property equally ________________ their three children.

5. misuse / disuse
a. She’s charged with _____________________ company funds.
b. The room was dusty from ________________ .

6. amount / number
a. The National Benefit Cap only affected a small _________________ of families.
b. There is considerable debate over the ________________ of protein a person needs
to consume a day.

7. beside / besides
a. If you want a clear view, come and sit ______________ the bus driver.
b. No one ______________ her sister knew her secret.

8. disinterested / uninterested
a. He may not have yawned throughout the presentation, but his body language made it
clear that he was completely _____________________ .
b. It was a _______________________ decision by the referee.

9. economic / economical / economics / economy

a. Our brochure offers a description of the _______________ Department for current
and prospective students.
b. Find an ____________________ way to insulate your attic.
c. Countries that received bailout packages have actively implemented the restructuring
measures needed to achieve ____________________ growth.
d. Greece must make sure that its _________________ continues to grow.

10. especially / specially

a. All our computers are set up __________________ for people who are visually
impaired.
b. Moving house is difficult for anyone but _____________________ for pre-school and
primary-grade children.

11. historic / historical

a. The purpose of this book is to offer an ______________ background to the rise of the
trade union movement.
b. On the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, here are some things you
maybe didn’t know about this ______________ event in Scottish history.

27
 12. opportunity / possibility
a. Visitors will have the ________________ to attend classes, and talk to students and
professors.
b. Is there any ________________ of earthquake in Nepal?

Place each member of the devil pair in the proper place in the sentences below.

Like/As

1. The results of our study were _____________ those of Sbano (1989).

2. A significant number of study animals staggered _____________ drunks do.

Varying/ Various

3. Clients often have ponds which may be of ________________ sizes. Each group received
__________________ combinations of antibiotics over the study period.

Effect/ Affect

4. Although we gave penicillin and terramycin, the drugs had little _____________ . The
______________ of the treatment was minimal.

5. Trypsin-catalyzed digestion has the _________________ of converting the substrate to short-

chained peptides. Injecting erythromycin _____________________ a change in the nuclear
shape. In double-blind experiments, researcher bias does not _______________ experimental
results.

Principal/ Principle

6. He resigned as a matter of __________________ . The ___________________ effect of

centrifugation was to separate cell types. The _____________________ of independent
segregation is fundamental to genetics.

Complement/ Compliment

7. In order to determine the appropriate value, one must find the __________________ of the
angle. The authors would like to ________________ Ms. Lacey on her diligent effort. In the
replication process, DNA and RNA _________________ each other.

28
Non-native structures

Correct the following sentences.

1. There is made clear by the author that this apocalyptic theory is plausible.

2. Recent advances in computational techniques enable to carry out this procedure.

3. The above model allows to make very precise forecasts.

4. Only for these two patient groups the treatment had a positive effect.

5. There have been four different methods identified.

6. Also the media have not been able to warn youngsters against reckless driving.

7. Rarely I heard someone say that speeding bears no correlation with car accidents.

8. About 87% of these companies make use of as well inland navigation as maritime transport.

9. These complications not only result in patient discomfort but also higher costs for society.

29
Wrong word choice

Replace the wrong words in the following sentences with a correct English translation.

1. We hypothesise that the government will adopt an expansionary fiscal policy, what we predict to
result in higher inflation.

2. What concerns the individual response rates, in none of the cases were significant differences found
between males and females.

3. It should be noticed that even hardline Conservatives like Margaret Thatcher did not dare to
question the National Health Service.

4. I will try to examine in how far a concrete slab succeeds in enhancing the stability structure.

5. Another way of making them understand the problem completely, is to learn them to look at the
possible risks involved.

6. According to me there are no other possibilities.

7. A great amount of people who did not live in the area and seldom visited it or mixed with its
residents had preconceived ideas about it.

8. The general objective of the research is double.

9. Epstein (1997) used a likewise variable.

10. Inflation is too high, and the reason therefore is that the government has adopted a loose
monetary policy for years.

11. The soil is far out the most important source terrestrial plants rely on.

12. On the other hand we find results of a study that might arise some doubts.

13. However some scientists do not confirm all principles of the greenhouse effect, they still heed
some warnings on climate change voiced by Al Gore.

14. Models exist of a set of conditional rules developed through an iterative process of rule selection.

30
Typical problem areas for speakers of Dutch

These sentences list many of the most common ‘Dutchisms’ – mistakes made by speakers of
Dutch writing in English.

1. As a practising Barrister, my expertise on the one hand relates to legal debates in the Bar
Professional Training Course. On the other hand, I am also an expert in Taxation Law.
2. This is considered as a significant increase.
3. X is created in function of Y.
4. Both air as water were found to be contaminated.
5. My promotor is prof. dr. Jenkins.
6. Let me check my agenda to make an appointment.
7. My computer keeps all the sample papers in a map.
8. The BBC covers most actual topics.
9. We will try to determine the eventual presence of toxic vapours.
10. I would like to solicit for this function.
11. This new experiment should compensate our previous attempts.
12. Child poverty has increased with 6%.
13. This meal is typical for local cookery.
14. There has been an increase of street violence over the past 10 years.
15. People with obesity are more at risk for a heart attack.
16. This paper is divided in four parts.
17. We attempt to provide insight in hedge fund performance.
18. Most students at this university have the Belgian nationality.
19. There can be a devaluation of the pound next week.
20. Less students attended this year.

31
4 SPELLING

Some basic rules

Capitals: Monday, January, Spanish, North America, The Guardian;

President Clinton, Professor Friedman;
Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science
but: a bachelor’s degree, a master’s thesis

Doctors (medical doctors, dentists, PhDs):

Dr. David Owen or David Owen, PhD (or Ph.D.)

Note on dates:
11 September 2001 (AmE September 11th, 2001)
Americans write parts of a date in month-day-year order: 9/11/2001

Be careful: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

noun/verb: an advice, to advise; a licence, to license; a practice, to practise

a belief, to believe

final plan(ned), begin(ning), refer(red) infinitive’s final syllable is stressed

consonants: but: offer(ing), develop(ing), benefit(ed) infinitive’s final syllable is unstressed

-full: helpful, skilful (skill), beautiful (beauty)

y and i: countr/y, -ies; hurr/y, -ied; eas/y, -ier; rel/y, -iable; happ/y, -ily;
da/y, -ily (e.g. The Daily Telegraph)
but: try(ing); baby(ish); Tory(ism)

final –e: hope, hoping; fame, famous; note, notable; true, truly
but: agree(able); replace(able)

final –o: kilos, photos, pianos, pros

potatoes, tomatoes, vetoes

-ie and –ei: chief, field, grief

deceive, receive, seize

Plural vs. genitive (possessive)

Tariffs and quotas are available on request (plural)
The quota’s decrease is based on new government regulations (genitive)

The student’s work was below average (genitive singular)

The students’ work was below average (genitive plural)
Wagner’s music
Oatsie Charles’s [!] last interview

1960’s Nightmares Come True (genitive)

Banned books in the 1960s (plural)

Note on compound words

There are three ways to write compounds in English:
• Closed form: keyboard, notebook, shortcut
• Hyphenated form: daughter-in-law, a twelve-year-old, mass-produced
• Open form: class society, mass media, sustainable growth

32
Easily confused words

Homophones

I wonder whether (= if) he will come.

The weather is beautiful. The sun is shining.

She went to the shop.

I know him too.
It’s too dark here.

June is smarter than Mary.

It was then that I realised he had tricked me.

They’re nice people.

We lost their books again.
There is a house in New Orleans.

It’s all in the book.

The BBC? Its programmes are very good.

Wait till I get there.

We've been waiting until three o'clock.

Which room do you want?

The paper, which is lying on the table, is mine.
A witch is an ugly old woman flying through the air on a broom.

I’ll take care of this.

The book fell off the table.
Smell this milk. I think it’s off.

My father has a brilliant son.

The sun shines a lot in Spain.

Look-Alikes

Though she was only fourteen, she could run faster than the older boys.
Beware of Dodger! He’s a tough guy.
The trough contains fodder for the pigs.
He did a thorough search.
A man was running through a tunnel in Reno in Nevada.

The price is £1000.

He won the first prize.

One, two, three.

We have an apple-tree in our garden.

33
Which colour do you choose?
He chose to go by train but arrived too late.

We have nothing to lose anymore. All is lost.

Avoid loose-fitting clothing.

He was taught to be wary of strangers.

The passengers had become weary of delays.

She lives in London. What a nice and quiet place.

Life can be beautiful. Please, be quiet!
A live performance. He’s quite deaf.

British and American English

The American spelling of grey is gray.

The American spelling of cheque is check.
The American spelling of programme is program.
The American spelling of defence is defense.
The American spelling of licence is license.
The American spelling of centre is center.
The American word for - and spelling of aeroplane is airplane.
The American spelling of neighbour is neighbor.
The American spelling of emphasise is emphasize.

Abbreviations

What do the following abbreviations stand for? When are they being used?

e.g. exempli gratia ca. circa

et al. et alii cf. confer
i.e. id est vs. versus

Which of the two options is spelled correctly?

1. 6 mg aspirin - 6 mg. aspirin

2. 50kg - 50 kg

3. 35% - 35 %

4. $4.572 - $4,572

5. 25 min - 25 mins

6. 3 day diary - 3-day diary

34
Many English writers insert a comma in any number above 999:

A mile is 1,609 meters

Note, however, that some writers do not use a comma up to 9999. It is therefore common to write the
number ‘ten thousand’ as a numeral with a comma or space delimiting the 10 and the 000: 10,000

The comma separator is optional and could be replaced by a space unless you are working to a style
guide that says otherwise. The UK and the US use a comma to separate groups of thousands,
Spanish-speaking countries use a period instead, and Canada separates thousands groups with a
space.

Writing in English, use periods, not commas, in decimals:

A mile is 1.6 kilometers

An increase of 7.5%

In texts, numbers from one to nine are written out (i.e. spelled out in letters), whereas from 10 upwards
numbers tend to be written as numerals. However, do not mix the two in the same phrase. If the
number is the first word of the sentence, write all of the numbers in the phrase as words:

It took us five days to complete the study.

We had to repeat it 11 times.
Each year, between 4 and 12 students cancel.
Twelve sites were contaminated.
Five percent of the class received a passing grade.

When you compare figures (e.g. in statistics) you always write the numeral.

We observed 3 mice, 7 rats and 9 guinea pigs.

We administered it 3-6 times a day.
In Chapter 7 we discuss the rise of fascism.
They were stored at 7°C.

Fractions should be written in full when both numbers are below 10.

Two thirds
5/14

Note that these general rules may differ from the rules in your field of study. Some editors want you to
write out numbers that are one or two words long but want you to use numerals for numbers of three
or more words:

I spent two hundred hours on my class project.

We observed 120 patients.

Do not combine symbols (%, $, £, ‘, “) or abbreviations (cm, km, a.m.) and numbers written as words:

Sixty percent (BUT: 60%)

Two hundred dollars (BUT: $200)
Five feet six inches (BUT: 5’6”)
Four centimeters (BUT: 4 cm)

It is advised to check the guidelines of your journal when you write scientific papers.

35
Consistency

Always be consistent in your paper, especially as far as the following elements are concerned:

1. UK/US spelling (e.g. -ize vs. -ise)

2. punctuation and italics
3. use of space (e.g. healthcare or health care)
4. hyphenation (e.g. nonconformist or non-conformist)
5. capitalisation
6. abbreviations
7. references and citation (APA or MLA format guidelines)

REFERENCES

Baugh, L. Sue (1997), How to Write Term Papers and Reports, Lincolnwood: VGM

Blanpain, Kristin (2012), Academic Writing. A Resource for Researchers, Leuven: Acco

Hogue, Ann (2003), The Essentials of English. A Writer’s Handbook with APA Style, Pearson

Huff, Anne Sigismund (1999). Writing for Scholarly Publication, London: Sage

Jordan, R.R. (1997), English for Academic Purposes, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Leech, Geoffrey & Svartvik, Jan (2003), A Communicative Grammar of English, London: Longman

Leggett, Glenn, C. David Mead & Melinda G. Kramer (1988), Handbook for Writers, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall

Matthews, Janice R & Matthews, Robert W (2011), Successful Scientific Writing, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Swales, John M. (1990), Genre Analysis. English in Academic and Research Settings, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press

36
Swan, Michael (2005), Practical English Usage, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Teuwen, Zoë (2003), Writing Research Papers, Antwerp: Linguapolis

37