BBI2002 INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMMIC ENGLISH

SEMESTER 3, 2016/2017

LECTURE NOTES 1 (WEEK 1 WEEK 2)

Topics included are:

1. Academic language Vs. Non- academic language

2. Academic versus non-academic texts

3. Sources of academic information

1
 UNIT 1: ACADEMIC LANGUAGE VS. NON-ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

Academic language is the language that is used by teachers and students for the purpose of
acquiring knowledge and skills, describing ideas in academic settings and developing students'
understanding of their academic subjects.

Academic language is more formal and has more specific vocabulary than everyday language.
It is also much less common.

Academic language is related to a standards-based curriculum, including the content areas of

mathematics, science, social studies, and English language arts.

Example:

Scientists are looking into the production of biofuels using non-food crops. (Phrasal verb is
less formal)
Scientists are investigating the production of biofuels using non-food crops. (more concise)

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

Discussing Reading Writing a research

procedures in information from report using
specific fields textbooks and academic
other reliable information

Presenting Reading and

information in a taking notes from
formal context lectures and
readings

2
Non-academic language is also known as social language. Non-academic language is the
language of everyday communication in oral and written forms. Examples include:
when students are talking to their friends on the playground or in the school bus
when lecturers and students are having an informal face-to-face conversation
when students go to the grocery store and read the shopping list

NON-ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

Talking to friends Reading Having a

in public places information from conversation with
about social magazine about a lecturer outside
event latest fashion the classroom

Discussing with Reading and

friends or family taking notes
about vacation about shopping
plan lists

Purpose of Academic language

Academic language is the oral, visual and written language that students need in order to:

1. understand (read, listen, think)

2. communicate (listen, speak, write, connect)
3. perform (think, read, write, listen, speak, create)

3
Why Academic language is important?

Students who master academic language are likely to be successful in academic and
professional settings.

Academic language is important for students because it helps them to:

1. understand the context of the subject

2. describe and understand complex concepts and texts
3. become more familiar with academic setting
4. produce better quality assignment and discussion

Mastering academic language allows students to meet the academic demands across the
curriculum.

An Overview of Academic Language Structures

Academic
Language

Academic language is used to understand

Text
and describe complex concept and texts

Sentence There are grammatical structures, language

forms, and conventions that characterise
academic language.

There are different academic vocabulary and

Word
phrases that are used in different academic
context.

4
 EXERCISES

EXERCISE 1
It is difficult for students to decide when and where to use academic language. Therefore, it is
important to know the conditions of using academic language. Work with a partner to identify the
situation that requires academic language to be used.

No. Situations Yes/No

1 Explaining something to classmates.
2 Presenting information about a concept/theory.
3 Conversing with classmates outside of classroom setting.
4 Consulting a lecturer regarding the previous lesson.
5 Writing a letter to a professor regarding assignments.
6 Exchanging e-mails with lecturer during festive seasons.
7 Talking to parents in the university compound.
8 Asking for directions from roommates.
9 Inquiring explanation regarding the presentation in class.
10 Discussing with friends about the assignments.

5
 ACADEMIC LANGUAGE VERSUS NON ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

The function of academic vocabulary is to understand and explain complex concepts as

academic language is more formal and precise.

Examples of academic and non-academic vocabulary

No. Non-academic Academic vocabulary

vocabulary
1. big major
2. got better improved
3. turned down rejected
4. looking into investigating
5. bring down reduce
6. get attain

Example of Academic Language:

Several writers have drawn attention to the need for lecturers to make explicit their expectations
for the whole course, including assessment items and grading procedures. A considerable
number of participants in the present study reported that they were uncertain of what lecturers
expected of them as graduate students. They also perceived that they, as non-native English
speakers, needed very explicit directions and much more guidance than English-speaking
students.

Example of Non-academic Language:

Some writers think lecturers should tell students what things they want them to do during a
course, things like assessment and grading. Lots of students Ive talked to think they dont know
what their lecturers want. Also because they arent native English speakers, they need more help
than other students

1. Which of the examples above contain lengthy sentences?

2. Which of the examples above use simple everyday words?

3. Which of the examples above is most likely found in academic journals?

6
7
These are the major differences between academic language and non-academic language:

Table 1
Non-Academic Language Academic Language
Informal Formal
idiomatic, colloquial, phrasal verbs specific and precise

Appropriate for use in casual, social settings Appropriate for use in all academic and work
place settings

Example:
Scientists are looking into the
production of biofuels using non-food
crops.(phrasal verbs)
It is raining cats and dogs.(idiomatic)
To maintain a good relationship
between workers is by hanging out
together.(colloquial expression)
Example:
Scientists are investigating the
production of biofuels using non-food
crops.
It is raining heavily.
To maintain a good relationship
between workers is by holding a
casual gathering.

Repetition of words Variety of words, more sophisticated

vocabulary
Sentences begin with and and but Sentences begin with transition words such as
however, moreover, and in addition
Common Use of pronouns Address to more general subject

Example: Example:
I/you/we people, individuals
Not using modal verbs Use a lot of modal verbs

Example: Example:
The fire was caused by the faulty wiring. The fire could have been caused by the faulty
wiring.
Not using signposting in writing or speaking Using signposting

Example: Example:
This essay is about the advantages of the The aim of this study is to identify the
internet. advantages of the internet.
Using negative forms Positive tone

Example: Example:
There isn't any evidence /isn't much research There is no any evidence /little much research
to support the hypothesis. to support the hypothesis.

8
 EXERCISES

EXERCISE 2

Read the sentences below and decide whether they are Academic (A) or Non-academic (NA)
sentence. Underline word(s) that indicates whether the sentence is Academic or Non-academic.

1. It was a wide and roomy classroom. _______

It was a spacious classroom. _______

2. Currently, everyone is happy with the new management. _______

At the present time, everyone is happy with the new management. _______

3. The parents refuse to accept the fact that their children have to be punished _______
for coming late to school.
The parents are not able to accept the school decision to punish their
children for being late. _______

4. Retirement is something most of us must face sooner or later. _______

Retirement is inevitable. _______

5. The question surrounding the continued use of industrial sites, given _______
their vast pollution production, still remains.
Industrial sites cause vast amounts of environmental pollution, so why
do we still use them? _______

6. The board of directors could not make up their mind on choosing the right _______
candidate to replace one of retired directors.
The board of directors are not able to make decision on choosing the right _______
candidate to replace one of their retired directors.

EXERCISES
9
EXERCISE 3
Select words from the list to replace the words in bold.

Example:
Original: Most of Australias textiles are now made in China.
Improved: Most of Australias textiles are now produced in China.

increased improved obtained facilitate eliminated uncovered

1. Personality tests help out psychologists in diagnosing mental health problems.

Personality tests ___________ psychologists in diagnosing mental health problems.

2. The research illustrates a trend toward bigger male participation in housework.

The research illustrates a trend toward ___________ male participation in housework.

3. The new computer system has put an end to the company's inventory problems
The new computer system has ___________ the company's inventory problems

4. Modern technology has made our standard of living better.

Modern technology has ___________ our standard of living

5. We got encouraging results.

We ___________encouraging results.

6. Differences in the chemical consistency of the specimens were picked up by the new
machine.
Differences in the chemical consistency of the specimens were ___________ by the new
machine.

10
UNIT 2: ACADEMIC VERSUS NON-ACADEMIC TEXTS

INFORMATION

ACADEMIC TEXT NON-ACADEMIC TEXT

In learning, it is important to be accurate in getting information from reliable sources. There are
many available sources for students, but they have to understand the differences between
academic and non-academic sources.

Academic articles are written by professionals in a given field. They are edited by the authors'
peers and often take years to publish. Their language is formal and will contain words and terms
typical to the field. The authors name will be present, as well as their credentials. There will be a
list of references that indicate where the author obtained the information.

Non-academic articles are written for the mass public. They are published quickly and can be
written by anyone. Their language is informal, casual and may contain colloquialism. The author
may not be provided and will not have any credentials listed. There will be no reference list.
Non-academic articles can be found in periodicals similar to Time, Newsweek or Readers
Digest.

As a general rule, religious texts and newspapers are not considered academic sources. Most
importantly, Wikipedia is not considered as an academic source, for this website can be altered
by anyone. Any information found within its pages cannot be considered credible or academic.

11
How Academic Texts Differs from Non-academic Texts

Academic Text Non-academic text

Articles or books are written by Articles or books may be written by a

scholars/academics or a professional in the professional writer, e.g. journalist, who is not
field. an expert in the field.

Authors always cite their sources of information Authors rarely offer details about the
(e.g. use in-text referencing, provide a sources of information i.e. they do not use
reference list or a bibliography) in-text referencing or supply a reference list
or bibliography.

The text may provide research results, include The text reports events or opinions and is
specialised vocabulary, and is aimed at a aimed at a general audience (easy to read).
scholarly audience.

Book or journal cover and pages tend to be Book, magazine or website tends to be
plain in design. Depending on discipline area, highly pictorial.
there may be few pictures or graphics.

Sources are published to share research Sources are generally published for profit.
findings.

Authors are always named, and generally their Authors may be anonymous.
institutional affiliation is provided.

Journal issues are likely to be successively Journal (magazine) issues are likely to begin
numbered (e.g. issue 1, pp. 1-356, or vol. 2, no. with page 1.
3, pp. 357-585 etc.)

Journal issues tend to be published less often Journal (magazine) issues tend to be
(monthly, quarterly, semi-annually). published more frequently (monthly, weekly,
daily).

Examples: Articles in the International Journal Examples: Articles in Time and Readers
of Education and Journal of Educational Digest or books written by a journalist or
Psychology or books written by academics and professional writer and published
published by a university press. by commercial publishers.

12
Features of Academic Texts

Features Descriptions

Organisation Formal Organisation

Introduction - includes thesis statement
Body well supported
Conclusion - clear concluding sentence or paragraph

Language More complex and uses a variety of sentence types - compound,

complex, compound-complex sentences
Language is more formal - avoid the usage of colloquial words
and expressions, abbreviation and contraction, phrasal verbs,
personal pronoun
Use transition signals to show relationship of ideas in the text

Content Addresses to specific readers

Has objective that is specific and not personal
Contains precise facts and figures
Incorporates ideas taken from various sources using direct
quotation or in-text citation

Text types informative, argumentative, comparison and

Text contrast
Cohesion across sentences (e.g., through connectors)
Coherence of ideas
Unity of text

13
 EXERCISES

EXERCISE 4
Read the following excerpts and identify whether it is an academic or non-academic text.

1. Social networks are a social structure of nodes that represent individuals and the
relationships between them within a certain domain. Therefore, social networks are usually
built based on the strength of relationships and trust between the members (nodes).
Scrutiny of the ways in which these nodes are connected has resulted in the identification of
varying types of ties between nodes. According to Alani (2003) and Goecks (2004) discuss
the notion of describing connections in terms of strong and weak ties, or formal and informal
relationships, respectively. In this context, a strong tie is one established directly between
two people in the same network, whereas a weak tie is a relationship between two people
connected through another person.

Source: Liccardi, I., Ounnas, A., Pau, R., Massey, E., Kinnunen, P., Lewthwaite, S., Midy, M.
& Sarkar, C. (2007) The Role of Social Networks in Students Learning Experiences. ACM
SIGSE Bulletin, New York, USA. Vol 39(4).

__________________________________

2. Very few of us need a compelling reason to make ourselves eat chocolate. The taste and
the momentary mood lift are enough to make it a treat that doesn't need a hard sell. But if
you aren't eating it consistently, you could be missing out on some of the most amazing
health benefits of dark chocolate you never knew about, writes Will Clower, PhD, author of
the new book Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight. "Given the fact that healthy cultures eat
chocolate all the time and research has yet to show anything but confirmatory evidence
about the health effects of high-cocoa chocolate," he says, "it seems logical that you should
eat chocolate every day, like a delicious vitamin."

Source: Main, E. (2016). 7 Legitimate Health Benefits of Chocolate. Retrieved from

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/food/health-benefits-dark-chocolate

__________________________________

14
3. According to Almosa (2001), internet-based learning is a further improvement of the
computer-based learning, and it makes the content available on the internet, with the
readiness of links to related knowledge sources, for examples e-mail services and
references which could be used by learners at any time and place as well as the availability
or absence of teachers or instructors (Almosa, 2001). Zeitoun (2008) classified this by the
extent of such features use in education, mixed or blended more, assistant mode, and
completely online mode. The assistant mode supplements the traditional method as needed.
Mixed or blended mode offers a short-term degree for a partly traditional method. The
completely online mode, which is the most complete improvement, involves the exclusive
use of the network for learning.

Source: Arkorful, V. & Abaidoo, N. (2014) The role of e-learning, the advantages and
disadvantages of its adoption in Higher Education. International Journal of Education and
Research. Vol. 2 (12).

__________________________________

4. Time management is at its worst when we procrastinate. Some people procrastinate

because they simply do not want to do a particular job. The job could be as simple as filing a
stack of papers, or it presents more complex behavioral components such as fear of failure,
lack of adequate information for the task, or engrained bad habits. When we do not fully
understand the purpose of our jobs, a lot of time is spent questioning the significance of
specific tasks. This can result in tasks being done incorrectly, which wastes time. This is why
it is important for us to spend some initial time explaining the procedure of the task, its
purpose, and also its significance.

Source: Walker, S., Wysocki, A., Kepner, K., Farnsworth, D., & Clark, J. L. (2002). Managing
Time in the Workplace, Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/HR/HR01400.pdf

__________________________________

5. A high-quality friendship is characterized by high levels of pro-social behavior, intimacy, and

other positive features, and low levels of conflicts, rivalry, and other negative features.
Friendship quality has been assumed to have direct effects on many aspects of childrens
social development, including their self-esteem and social adjustment. Recent research
suggests, however, that friendship quality affects primarily childrens success in the social
world of peers.

Source: Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship Quality and Social Development. Department of

Psychological Sciences, Purdue University. Vol. 11 (1).

__________________________________

15
 UNIT 3: SOURCES OF ACADEMIC INFORMATION

Primary Source versus Secondary Source

In gathering information of academic context, the ability to distinguish between primary

and secondary source materials is essential. Basically, the difference between these
two is the degree to which the author is reporting the information.

Information that comes from the authors first hand impressions is considered as
primary sources while information that comes from the act of conveying the experiences
and opinions of others is considered as secondary sources.

ACADEMIC
INFORMATION

PRIMARY SOURCE SECONDARY SOURCE

Primary Source

A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of
art. Primary sources include historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of
experiments, statistical data, audio and video recordings, and speeches.

In the natural and social sciences, primary sources are often empirical studies in which a
research that involves an experiment was performed or a direct observation was made. The
results of these empirical studies are typically found in scholarly articles or papers delivered at
conferences.

16
Secondary Source

Secondary sources are sources that are written about primary sources. Secondary sources
analyse, interpret, and discuss information about the primary source. If a magazine writer wrote
about the speech DYMM Yang Di Pertuan Agung gave in the opening of Parliament, it would be
a secondary source. The information is not original, but it is an analysis of the speech.

Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or

movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else's
original research.

Example:

Primary Source Secondary Source

The poem "Human Chain" by Seamus Heaney "His Nibs: Self-Reflexivity and the Significance
of Translation in Seamus Heaney's Human
Chain." by Michael Parker in Irish University
Review (November 2012), pp. 327-350.

Mackey, S., Carroll, I., Emir, B., Murphy, T.,
Whalen, E., &Dumenci, L. (2012). Sensory
pain qualities in neuropathic pain. The Journal
Of Pain, 13(1), 58-63.
doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2011.10.002
[a study published in a peer reviewed journal]
Vance, E. (2014). Where Does It Hurt?.
Discover, 35(4), 28-30.
[an article in a magazine that includes quotes
from Sean Mackey, author of the peer
reviewed article on pain]

Cynthia Scheibe's doctoral dissertation on the An article in Parents Magazine discussing

developmental differences in children's experts' views on the harm of lying to children
reasoning about Santa Claus about Santa Claus

17
Determining the Reliability of Sources for Academic Texts

All academic information sources are not equal. Academic sources can vary greatly in terms of
how carefully they are researched, written, edited and reviewed for accuracy.

Students need to be able to determine the reliability of academic texts that they will use for
references in their academic writing and reading.

Basically, there are three types of sources that students need to know. Look at the table below.

High-Quality Sources
These sources provide the most in-depth
information. They are researched and written
by subject matter experts and are carefully
reviewed.
Varied-Quality Sources
These sources are often useful. However,
they do not cover subjects in as much depth
as high-quality sources, and they are not
always rigorously researched and reviewed.
Some, such as popular magazine articles or
company brochures, may be written to market
a product or a cause. Use them with caution.
Questionable Sources
These sources should be avoided. They are
often written primarily to attract a large
readership or present the authors opinions
and are not subject to careful review.
Scholarly books and articles in scholarly journals
Trade books and magazines geared towards an
educated general audience, such
as Smithsonian Magazine or Nature
Government documents, such as books, reports
and web pages
Documents posted online by reputable
organisations, such as universities and research
institutes
Textbooks and reference books which are
usually reliable but may not cover a topic in great
depth
News stories and feature articles (print or online)
from reputable newspapers, magazines, or
organisations, such as Newsweek or the Public
Broadcasting Service
Popular magazine articles which may or may not
be carefully researched and the facts checked
Documents published by businesses and non-
profit organisations
Loosely regulated or unregulated media content,
such as Internet discussion boards, free online
encyclopedias, talk radio shows, television news
shows with obvious political biases, personal
websites and chat rooms

EXERCISES

18
EXERCISE 5
Determine and write whether the excerpts below come from High-Quality Sources
(HQ),Varied-Quality Sources (VQ) or Questionable Sources (Q)and label them accordingly.

1. Pilates is not just exercise. Pilates is just not a random choice of a particular movement.
Pilates is not only a system of physical strength, flexibility and coordination, but it also
reduces stress, improves mental focus, and fosters and improves sense of well-being.
Before exploring the anatomy of Pilates, it is important to note that many different
approaches to this system have evolved. Some forms of Pilates focus primarily on the
physical aspects of the system; others emphasise the mind-body angle. In its original form,
Pilates, as expressed emphatically by Joseph H. Pilates, was a system designed to be
integrated into every facet of life.

Sourc : Isacowitz, R., Clippinger, K.(2011). Pilates anatomy. USA:Human Kinetics

__________________________________

2. I cannot honestly say that Pilates is a system meant for weight loss. Pilates is a system of
exercise that emphasises precise movements and mind-to-body control. As a result,
beginners will be moving rather slowly, learning and building upon fundamental movements.
As a student of the method advances, however, intermediate and advanced level mat
workouts will burn a lot of calories.

Source: Retrieve from http://www.pilatesandrea.com/5-top-pilates-blogs-answer-1-burning-

question/

__________________________________

3. In general, Pilates, originally developed by the fitness trainer Joseph Pilates,

targets the core muscles around the spine. If your aim is to strengthen your
midsection, then Pilates is a fine choice. In a small but well-designed study last
year, nine sedentary women who completed 36 weeks of supervised Pilates training
bulked up their abdominal muscles by as much as 20 per cent, while also lessening
any existing muscular imbalances there.

Source: Reynolds, G. (2013, August 9). Ask well: Pilates vs. Yoga. The New York
Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

__________________________________

19