Academic English

Wenliang Lu

小工具

这儿介绍了几个工具帮助撰写学术英语:

Do not use idiomatic or colloquial vocabulary:dad, guy. Use father, man.
Use vocabulary accurately. There is a difference between rule and law, or currency and money, which you are expected to know.
Be as precise as possible when dealing with facts and figures. Avoid phrases such as about about a hundred years ago or hundreds of years ago. If it is necessary to estimate numbers use approximately rather than about.
Conclusions should use tentative language. Avoid absolute statements such as: education reduces crime. Instead use cautious phrases: may reduce crime or tends to reduce crime.
Do not contract verb forms: don't, can't. Use the full form:do not, cannot.
Do not use question form such as: What were the reasons for the decline in wool exports? Instead use statements:There are four main reasons for the decline...
Avoid numbering sections in your texts (except for reports). Use conjunctions and signposting expressions to introduce new sections.
When writing lists, avoid using etc or and so on. Insert and before the last item: The forests of the twelfth century consisted of oak, ash and lime.
Avoid using two-word verbs such as go on or bring up if there is a suitable synonyms. Use continue or raise.