English Matters Course for MSc students at IDI

1. English Matters Course for MSc students at IDI Stewart Clark Rector’s Office Norwegian University of Science and Technology stewart.clark@ntnu.no tel. +47 73 59 52 45

2. Four themes 1. What is academic writing? 1 2. Readability 5 3. Thesis structure and style 9 4. Web resources 23

3. Theme 1:Some characteristics of academic writing

4. ‘Academic Language’ (from an MIT course) Important ideas to remember, see p. 29

5. Use appropriate language Use formal register • The government needs to get rid of the deficit. (no) • The government needs to eliminate the deficit. (yes) Avoid phrasal verbs, use the defining word instead

6. Use formal English:"Formal" words of classical origin "Informal" native wordsarrange dinner lay on dinnerby coincidence by chancecalculate work outcollect someone pick upcommence work start workconsider weigh upconstruct builddonation a giftwe will endeavour we will tryenquire askfinalize a contract tie up a contractdetermine the results fix the resultsinspect look overmake a reservation book a theatre ticketposition jobreview the problems look at the problemssettle matters sort out matterssettle the account pay the bill

7. Formal and informal English – phrasal verbs: two or more words added to a verb such as: stick around stick by Phrasal verbs The single word are often informal equivalent is usually more formal (see defining sentences) stick around wait stick by loyal stick out protrude sting someone borrow

8. Phrasal verbs in the ‘Oxford’: Phrasal verbs are two or more words added to a verb such as: These are often informal A single word equivalent is usually more formal stick around wait stick by loyal stick out protrude sting someone borrow s comare common in informal English these words/expressions so that the most formal one is 1, the next most formal is 2 and so on 1. big, large, substantial, huge, enormous, considerable 2. short of money, skint, hard up, in difficulties, insolvent, cleaned out 3. red-letter day, vital concern, big deal, no joke, a matter of life and death, important matter 4. skill, expertise, mastery, ace, gifted, wizardry, competence 5. intellectual, smart ass, egg head, highbrow, guru, boffin

9. Use academic vocabulary Useful nouns • Notion, concept, theory, idea, hypothesis, principle, rationale Useful verbs • Indicate, illustrate, point out, present, embody, state, establish, formulate, accept, reject, support Avoid:thing, tell, say Study:Academic Word List (see Theme 4 in the compendium)

10. Tentative language If you lack absolute proof, or are unsure of a direct causal relationship between phenomena, use tentative language Examples: tends to, appears to, suggests that, would seem to, indicates that… • This tends to occur whenever there is a decrease in pressure. Other examples: may, possible, unlikely, probably • This may be the result of the sampling method, but with new technology this is unlikely to be a future problem. However if something always happens and you are confident it will happen the same way in the future, do not be tentative. • This occurs whenever there is a decrease in pressure.

11. No contractions ("I'm...won't...") = informal style Contractions (also called short forms) are to be avoided in serious mails/letters, reports and scientific writing. Typical contractions: aren't, can't, don't, I'm, isn't, it's are used in informal, conversational writing and speech In formal English, the expected forms are: are not, cannot (usually one word), do not, I am, is not, it is. Using contractions in the wrong context looks sloppy and leads to mistakes such as it's (it is) when you mean its ("the cat hurt its tail").

12. Contractions cause confusion • Contractions are typical of informal speech and are only correctly used in academic writing to report speech. • Soundalikes that are often confused: contraction it's possessive its contraction they're possessive their, adv. there contraction you're possessive your contraction who's possessive whose

14. ! exclamation mark for emergencies only, not otherwise. “Fire!”, he screamed • All style guides in English agree that exclamation marks should be avoided in formal and academic English. "These should not be used in scholarly writing" (Modern Humanities Research Association Style Book, 1995). • It signals a forceful utterance that gives a warning, indicates astonishment and surprise …”absurdity, command, contempt, disgust, emotion, enthusiasm, pain, sorrow, a wish…” (Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors)

16. What is said about !! Do you wear underpants on your head? ”The exclamation mark is the punk in the school of punctuation. Favoured by advertisers, immature writers and writers of ransom notes…” In Guardian Style (2007), editor David Marsh exclaims simply, "do not use!" About multiple exclamation marks, novelist Terry Pratchett calls them a "sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head.” If you still find them being used: Google the phrase ”avoid the exclamation mark”

17. Avoiding etc. a. Indirectly, they also include the impact of industry, business strategy, market, and the economic environment etc. b. The proposed model considers only risks, while in real life, managers make decisions regarding other important aspects, such as strategy, cost reduction, and service quality etc. c. Measures in hedging risks may be to keep management in house and use spot contracts when contracting carriers etc.

18. Politeness - Acknowledgements Be formal : - I wish to thank my supervisor Professor Arne Olsen at the Department of Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology for his invaluable assistance. - I would also like to thank… - I appreciate the assistance from… - Special mention is given to to… - Gratitude is also given to… - I am grateful for the help from Anne Olsen, research technician and other departmental staff.

19. Theme 2: What makes texts readable? Online readability tools Link words Word order Nominalization

20. Using the Lix readability index "LIX" is a measure of how hard a text is to read. It is defined as the percentage of words longer than six letters plus the average number of words per sentence. Enter the text in the box and analyse it. • LIX < 20: Very easy reading • LIX < 30 - 40: Popular reading • LIX < 40 - 50: Normal for newspapers • LIX < 50 - 60: Normal for academic texts • LIX < 60 and higher: Heavy to read, should be revised Scroll down and note the list of sentences on the left (variation) The word frequency count is given on the right. What features do you find interesting about Lix?

21. Sentence length Version 1: Even though pervasive gaming is a fairly new field, and there are just a few pervasive games developed, it is already possible to identify several unique types of pervasive games such as smart toys, affective games, augmented tabletop games, augmented reality games and location-aware games (ref). (Over 40 words). The Lix readability score is 76. Score: very heavy language What can be done to make this more readable?

22. Sentence length Version 2: Even though pervasive gaming is a fairly new field and only a few such games have been developed, it is already possible to identify several types of games. These include smart toys, affective games, augmented tabletop games, augmented reality games and location-aware games (ref). (Two sentences). The Lix readability score is 52. (Normal for official texts)

23. Sentence length Version 2: Even though pervasive gaming is a fairly new field, and onlythere are just a few suchpervasive games have been developed, it is already possible to identify several unique types of pervasive games. These includesuch as smart toys, affective games, augmented tabletop games, augmented reality games and location-aware games (ref). What are the changes? Red = deleted text Underlined = inserted text

24. Check how many sentences start with ‘the’ The last 20 years has seen overall growth. The international business community was shaken by the financial crisis in 2008. The banking sector was in trouble. The calls for better regulation resulted in… (Four sentences). The Lix readability score is 36. (Popularized text, easy reading)

25. Check how many sentences start with ‘the’ – revised version Although the last 20 years has seen overall growth, the international business community was shaken by the financial crisis in 2008. In particular,the banking sector was in trouble and consequently the calls for better regulation resulted in… (Two sentences). The Lix readability score is 51. (Normal for official texts)

26. Nonlinear Analysis of an Absolute Value Type of an Early-Late Gate Bit Synchronizer Simon, M. California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA Abstract The steady-state phase noise performance of an absolute value type of early-late gate bit synchronizer is developed using the Fokker-Planck method. The results are compared with the performance of two other commonly used bit synchronizer circuit topologies on the basis of either 1) equal equivalent signal to noise in the loop bandwidth in the linear region, or 2) equal loop bandwidth at each input signal-to-noise ratio Rs. These comparisons are made as a function of Rs. In both cases, the absolute value type of early-late gate yields the best performance (in the sense of minimum phase noise) at every value of Rs. Index TermsAdditive noise , Circuit topology , Integrated circuit noise , Performance analysis , Phase locked loops , Phase noise , Signal analysis , Signal to noise ratio , Steady-state , Voltage-controlled oscillators

27. Readability - exercise Exercise – find a text of about 100 words on your laptop and enter it in Lix http://www.lix.se/index.php Exercise – find a text of about 100 words on your laptop and enter it in Lix Results over 60 need revision, aim at 50.

28. Other readability indexes Most other readability indexes are computed using 5 steps: • Count the number of words in the document. • Count the number of syllables in the document. • Count the number of sentences in the document. • Compute the index – formula given The result is the number of years of formal education needed to understand the text Examples: http://www.online-utility.org/english/readability_test_and_improve.jsp http://www.standards-schmandards.com/exhibits/rix/ About the readability isssue: http://ezinearticles.com/?Readability-Metrics:-Are-They-Getting-Your-Message?&id=351293

29. Link words 1 Link words to provide a structure of sentences: • link words: the subconscious structure in a text • link words are like signposts by the road • links in a process • links to orientate the reader

30. Link words 2 1. Linear First,... Second,... Third,... Next,... Then,... Finally,... When you have you the word 'first,' – make sure there is a 'second', a 'third', and a 'finally'. Example: • First, the experiments considered the effect of heating. Second, variations in the temperature were compared at three different pressure readings (1 atm, 2 atm, and 3 atm). Third, the effect of pressure was studied as an. Finally, the … • NOTFirst, the effect of heating is studied. The temperature was varied and the pressure studied as an independent variable. Then, …

31. Link words 3 2. Loop having completed ..., the next stage/step is 3. Flashback previously ..... earlier ..... 4. Simultaneously during this stage .... while .... at the same time .... 5. Conclusion finally, in the last stage, the process concludes/finishes with ... the last step is ... make sure that this is ‘finally’

32. Link words 4 Time and sequence link words • to begin with, at first, in the first place, first (second, third, etc.), • then, after, afterwards, next, later, previously, soon, subsequently, • meanwhile, at the same time, currently, simultaneously, for the time being, immediately, instantly, in the meantime, in time, in turn, presently, at last, finally, in conclusion, (See Words – A User’s Guide p. 431)

33. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater On the one hand, fibres from different wood species have properties that vary. On the other hand, each tree has a unique distribution of fibre dimensions due to variation in growth factors and genetics. Consequently, it is important to have a good quality control of the timber. However, only a few pulp mills can utilize these opportunities.

34. Theme 3: Thesis structure Editing your work Style British or American English?

35. Format - Acknowledgements Be formal - I wish to thank my supervisor Professor Arne Olsen at the Department of XZY, Norwegian University of Science and Technology for his invaluable assistance. - I would also like to thank… - I appreciate the assistance from… - Special thanks are given to… - Gratitude is also given to… - I am grateful for the help from Anne Olsen, research technician and other department staff in preparing the FEM analysis - Finally, I acknowledge the generous financial support from the Research Council of Norway

36. Structure Short report or paper: • Sectionused for all levels. • Numbered as: 1.1 1.1.1 1.1.1 Thesis/dissertation or book: • Chapter is normally level 1*. • Use section for levels 2, 3 and 4 Avoid "subchapters" and "subsections". Aparagraph is several lines. *Part could be level 1 in a thesis with an overview and publications. Then Chapter for level 2 and Section levels 3 & 4 • Part I: Introduction and Overview • Part II: Publications • Part III: Appendices

37. IMRAD structure • Abstract • Introduction (problems to be solved) • Methods • Results and Discussion (analysis of findings) • Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Research (logical results) • Appendix: Details

38. Title • Label not a sentence, no final stop (period) • Lower case for articles, conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor), and most short prepositions • Avoid articles and fuzzy words (some, certain) as the first word: Use Boolean Functions, Transforms, and Recursions Not Some Boolean Functions, Transforms, and Recursions

39. IEEE style • For spelling, IEEE uses Webster’s College Dictionary, 4th Edition. • For guidance on grammar and usage, consult The Chicago Manual of Style • Write good continuous prose • Abstracts are stand alone texts • ‘By nature, Abstracts shall not contain numbered mathematical equations or numbered references’ (IEEE Editorial Style Manual) http://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdf

40. Abstract - format (For scientific reports and theses) Summary of the information in the report • brief statement of why the work was undertaken (objectives) • brief statement of methods (methods) • clear statement of the significant facts/findings/ideas in the text (results-recommendations) • An abstract should be as long as is necessary to sum up the essential information (250 to 500 words as a rule of thumb)

41. Abstract - format Index Terms • After the final paragraph of the Abstract • Written in bold as in the Abstract • In alphabetical order • Acronyms are defined in Index Terms if defined in the paper.

42. ‘Abstract’ for comment Consider the following: 'Certain problems (specify them) concerning dynamic Boolean systems (without saying which) in some high performance associative memorysystems (unspecified) have been studied. Conclusions have been drawn and recommendations for analytical approaches are made.'

43. Two abstracts – exercise (see page 31 in compendium) Which of these is the most readable – why? Do they both contain all the elements one should include in an abstract?

44. Contents – layout example Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vi Nomenclature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1.1 Thesis Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

45. Avoid hanging paragraphs Source: 2009 IEEE Standards Style Manual

46. Other front material in theses Nomenclature • Nomenclature lists the symbols and their definitions List of Abbreviations • Some theses have an alphabetical list of abbreviations and acronyms List of Tables List of Figures • Check that the captions correspond to those in the text

47. Content – Introduction - Introduction (all items addressed in about 10 lines).- Brief context background (10 lines). - What is the problem? backed by references. - What is the current state-of art/research frontier in addressing the problem? backed by references. - Objectives of the paper. What is new in this paper related to the two items above. - Short preview of approach/method used. - Outline of the paper. Source: Bjarne Helvik, Vice Dean, IME, NTNU

48. Context + Problem + Response Presentation of the scope of the subject Review of previous work and theoretical considerations Presentation of the problem and your objectives and strategy in writing the report State what is new, the response = approach/method in your response Should NOT contain information you know as a result of having completed the work you are about to report

49. Introduction – stating objectives - Ideas to catch the reviewer’s interest: The destabilizing condition “It is generally accepted that these chemicals cause the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (+ ref.).But recently the processes thatthin the ozone layer have been studied more closely and it was found that… (+ ref.)” That powerful word – ‘However’ “It is generally accepted that these chemicals cause the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (+ ref.).However, recent simulations indicate that… (+ ref.)” “Recently, however, the theory that…”

50. Introduction – previewing the approach/method used - The promise of a solution: “…ozone layer has been studied more closely and it was found that… (+ ref.). In this paper we present an innovative analysis of chemical bonding that…” “This paper provides an alternative approach to wind farm design that promises to …” “a promising approach”, “a more cost-effective approach” - State what you are comparing your work to - Avoid subjective words like “better approach” or “superior solution” E = mc2 E = mc2