Match the words often found in academic writing with their explanation.
| advocate | argue in favour of |
| deduce | combine well so that each piece of work becomes more effective |
| infer | partially cover the same mater |
| complement | reach a conclusion indirectly |
| overlap | reach a conclusion by thinking carefully about the known facts |
2. Which of the five verbs from the previous exercise best fits in each sentence?
a. Although my brother and I are researching in similar areas, our work, fortunately, does not ………….It has, however, often been said that what I do
............................ his work very well.
b. Look at the complete set of graphs and see if you can.......... the rules
governing the data from them.
c. This article........................ a somewhat different approach to the problem than that which has been put forward by others in the field.
d. A great deal can be..................... about the artist's state of mind from the content and style of his later works.
- Match the adjectives often found in academic writing with their explanation.
| empirical | logically structured |
| ambiguous | thorough and expert |
| coherent | open to different interpretations |
| comprehensive | based on what is observed rather than theory |
| authoritative | covering all that is relevant |
- Which of the five adjectives best describes each of these things?
a.a textbook written by the most highly regarded expert in the field
b. research based on a survey of the population
c. a poem which can be understood in two quite different ways
d. an argument which is well-expressed and easy to follow
e. a textbook which gives a broad overview of an entire discipline
Language awareness 4
Talking about figures and processes
If figures or decisions are referred to as arbitrary, they are based on chance rather than a plan or any particular reason.
Figures that deviate from the norm are different from what is typical.
If statistics distort the picture, they give a false impression.
If you refer to the incidence of something (e.g. left-handedness), you are talking about how often it occurs in the population.
If something (e.g. the incidence of brown eyes) is predominant, it is the largest in number.
If things (e.g. stages in a process) happen in sequence, they happen in a particular order.
If you want to say that something happens in many places or with many people, you can say that it is widespread: widespread outbreaks of an illness, widespread alarm
- Answer these questions which use vocabulary from B.
1 If the incidence of asthma in children is increasing, what is actually going up?
a) the seriousness of asthma attacks b) the number of asthmatic children
2 What are the next two numbers in the sequence 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36?
3 If the average mark of schoolchildren in a maths test was 68% and James's mark
deviated most markedly from that average, what do we know about James's mark?
4 If a historian distorts the facts, does he present them
a) accurately b) clearly c) in a misleading fashion?
5 If a sociologist chooses the subjects of her research in an arbitrary fashion, is she being
careful to get people from an appropriate balance of backgrounds?
Connecting ideas
Complete the following sentences with the best linkers.
1. ……… everybody is here, I suggest we get down to business.
a. Since b. Due to c. Owing to
2. The introduction of our new model was delayed …………. production problems.
a. owing to b. because c. for
3. The slow rise in profit figures is ………….. our large investments in new machinery.
a. because b. since c. due to
4. The band’s second album didn’t do very well, ………… their video was banned.
a. owing to b. as c. so
5. The project manager’s off sick, …………. there’s little chance of achieving much this week.
a. as b. so c. since
6. …………… unforeseen circumstances, the CEO had to resign.
a. As b. Since c. Owing to
Negotiating and decision-making
Not giving in