DELC – Derby English Language Centre Sensitivity: Internal Academic Voice Derby Sensitivity: Internal Review! What do you remember or know about academic style? Can you think of 5 Top Tips! • Do not use informal/ colloquial language • Avoid simplistic words such as good/ bad/ little/big • Do not contract verb forms • Avoid personal pronouns where possible • Avoid abbreviations eg. etc. ie. • Use tentative language/ avoid absolute statements Sensitivity: Internal What is meant by Academic Voice? According to Academic English UK (2020)… 1 Taking a subtle difference or showing shades of meaning (nuanced stance) 2 Selecting and reporting evidence (data or sources) critically 3 Interpreting evidence to support your stance 4 Choosing a persuasive structure for your argument 5 Integrating evidence into your argument, with the appropriate signals 6 Using your own words Task: Read the list above and discuss with your partner what you think it all means and how you think your own writing matches up to these goals! Sensitivity: Internal How to create voice Language plays a significant part: Adjectives: significant/ potential/ important/ instrumental Verbs: may/ can/ could/ seems to/ tends to/ claims/ to justify/ argues Adverbs: very/ systematically/ considerably/ precisely Evaluation phrases: fails to acknowledge/ provides substantial evidence/ an important flaw Sensitivity: Internal Academic Voice: The Financial Crisis Task • Underline the examples in the journal abstract of where we are seeing the author’s voice coming through- where are we seeing comment and opinion, rather than just description? • Look at the text with the voice removed – note how basic verbs that don’t really give any stance could be used to fill the gap eg is, has, begins… Sensitivity: Internal Sensitivity: Internal Sensitivity: Internal Sensitivity: Internal The is was And a of has and with have with a are is shows Sensitivity: Internal and Why would the following essay extract not gain a high grade? Think about writer’s voice and evaluative arguments. Do we hear the writer’s voice? (Unilearning 2020) Gabrenya, Latane and Wang (1981) and Albanese and Van Fleet (1985) note that as group sizes increase there is a tendency for the effort put in by the group to be less than the average effort put in by individuals engaged on the same task separately. Albanese and Van Fleet (1985) report on the ‘freerider problem’, where the collective nature of the ‘contract’ obscures the fact of one member failing to honour their part of the contract. Gabrenya, Latane and Wang (1981, p180) discuss the phenomenon of ‘social loafing’ and typically define it as ‘one where everyone puts in a little less’. Sensitivity: Internal No voice!!!! • The previous text was a classic example of a student successfully weaving together many sources to show what writers are saying, but not actually providing any commentary or voice to go with it! • It reads more like a description of what other people have said, the ideas are not linked or commented on to tell the reader why this information is important and relevant and there is no indication of how each idea relates to the others. In other words what does it all mean? Why should we care? So what? Sensitivity: Internal Analysing an essay for criticality, writer’s voice, structure and development of ideas • Read the introduction – Are the aims of the essay clear? What will it be about? Does it move from the general to the specific? What is the thesis statement? • Read the conclusion – Does the essay revisit the thesis statement? What conclusions does it draw? Does it contain any citations? • Does the essay contain many direct quotations? Does this match the expectations of your subject area? • Take 1 paragraph and analyse its structure. • Find 10 examples of where the writer tried to give their own commentary and evaluate information • What grade do you think it achieved? • Any other comments? Sensitivity: Internal Drop in sessions for help with any assignments/coursework. Contact us at: Englishsupport@derby.ac.uk Sensitivity: Internal References Academic English UK (2020) Academic Voice: the Financial Crisis. Available at: http://www.academic-emglishuk.com/voice (Accessed 2 February 2020). Bailey, S. (2015) Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students. 4th edn. Abingdon: Routledge. Unilearning (2020) Academic writing: conventions: expressing your voice. Available at: http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/4bi.html (Accessed 2 February 2020). Sensitivity: Internal Hedging Sensitivity: Internal What is the difference between these sentences? Women value privacy more than men. Women tend to value privacy more than men. The studies suggest that changes need to be made. The studies show that changes need to be made. ‘Tend to’ and ‘suggest’ indicate more caution on the part of the writer Why? Do ALL women value privacy more? How certain are you of what the studies show? Do you want to strongly convince or put forward a suggestion? Sensitivity: Internal Cautious Style Areas where caution is particularly important include: A) outlining a hypothesis that needs to be tested (e.g. In an introduction) B) discussing the results of a study, which may not be conclusive C) commenting on the work of other writers D) making predictions E) avoiding too bold opinions! Sensitivity: Internal Caution is also needed to avoid making statements which are too simplistic: Poor education leads to crime. (modal verb) Poor education can lead to crime. could, may, might (adverb) Poor education frequently leads to crime. often, sometimes, occasionally, usually (verb/phrase) Sensitivity: Internal Poor education tends to lead to crime. There is a tendency for poor education to lead to crime. Another way to express caution is to use quite, rather or fairly before an adjective. a fairly accurate summary quite a significant correlation a rather inconvenient location NB Quite is often used before the article. It is generally used positively, while rather tends to be used negatively. Sensitivity: Internal Examples of verbs which imply tentative or cautious findings: suggest think consider hypothesise believe claim presume Sensitivity: Internal Sensitivity: Internal Suggested answer A team of American scientists may have found a way to reverse the ageing process. They fed diet supplements, usually found in health food shops, to elderly rats, which were then tested for memory and stamina. The animals tended to display more active behaviour after taking the supplements, and their memory generally improved. In addition, their appearance became rather more youthful and their appetite tended to increase. The researchers believe that this experiment is quite a clear indication of how the problems of old age may be overcome. They claim that in a few years’ time many people may be able to look forward to a fairly long and active retirement. Sensitivity: Internal Drop in sessions for help with any assignments/coursework. Contact us at: Englishsupport@derby.ac.uk Sensitivity: Internal References Academic English UK (2020) Academic Voice: the Financial Crisis. Available at: http://www.academic-emglishuk.com/voice (Accessed 2 February 2020). Bailey, S. (2015) Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students. 4th edn. Abingdon: Routledge. Unilearning (2020) Academic writing: conventions: expressing your voice. Available at: http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/4bi.html (Accessed 2 February 2020). Sensitivity: Internal Sensitivity: Internal
