Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
ABOUT ME MATERIALS METHODOLOGY ODDS AND ENDS USEFUL SITES March 26, 2014
Connect
70 useful sentences for academic writing ! " # $ %
Posted on APRIL 17, 2013 Written by LUIZ OTÁVIO 71 COMMENTS
Back in the late 90s, in the process of reading for my MA dissertation, I put
together a collection of hundreds of sentence stems that I felt could help me with
Like me on Facebook
my academic writing later on. And they did. Immensely. After the course was over,
Luiz Otávio's ELT page
I stacked my sentences away, but kept wondering if I could ever put them to good Like 9,275
use and perhaps help other DELTA / Trinity / MA / PhD students who know
exactly what they want to say, but might have trouble finding the best way to say
it.
Get Updates
So here are 70 sentences extracted and adapted What`s your e-mail address?
from the original compilation, which ran for almost
email@email.com
10 pages. This list is organized around keywords
(rather than functions / discourse categories) so I
can explore each word’s ecosystem better, highlight
common collocations and so on. Recent Posts
4 tips to help you teach advanced students
Before you start:
1. Pay close attention to the words in bold
bold, which are often used in conjunction Can I learn English in 18 months?
Claim
a. In this [paper], I put forward the claim that ___. 2013 Award
b. [X] develops the claim that ___.
c. There is ample / growing support for the claim that ___.
d. [X]‘s findings lend support to the claim that ___.
e. Taking a middle-ground position, [X] claims that ___.
Data
a. The data gathered in the [pilot study] suggests / suggest that ___.
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 1 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
In modern usage, data can also be treated as a mass / uncountable noun, like
information. Before you submit your work, check whether the institution you’re
writing for / on behalf of prefers data + plural verb.
Debate
a. [X] has fostered debate on ___. (fostered = encouraged)
b. There has been an inconclusive debate about whether ___.
c. The question of whether ___ has caused much debate in [our profession]
[over the years].
d. (Much of) the current debate revolves around ___.
Discussion
a. In this section / chapter, the discussion will point to ___.
b. The foregoing discussion implies that ___. (foregoing = that came before)
c. For the sake of discussion
discussion, I would like to argue that ___.
d. In this study, the question under discussion is ___.
e. In this paper, the discussion centers on ___.
f. [X] lies at the heart of the discussion on ___.
Ground
a. I will now summarize the ground covered in this [chapter] by ___.
b. On logical grounds
grounds, there is no compelling reason to argue that ___.
c. [X] takes a middle-ground position on [Y] and argues that ___.
d. On these grounds
grounds, we can argue that ___.
e. [X]‘s views are grounded on the assumption that ___.
Issue
a. This study is an attempt to address the issue of ___.
b. In the present study, the issue under scrutiny is ___.
c. The issue of whether ___ is clouded by the fact that ___. (clouded = made
less clear)
d. To portray the issue in [X]‘s terms, ___.
e. Given the centrality of this issue to [my claim], I will now ___.
f. This [chapter] is concerned with the issue of [how/whether/what] ___.
Literature
a. [X] is prominent in the literature on [Y].
b. There is a rapidly growing literature on [X], which indicates that ___.
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 2 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
Premise
a. The main theoretical premise behind [X] is that ___.
b. [X] and [Y] share an important premise
premise: ___.
c. [X] is premised on the assumption that ___.
d. The basic premises of [X]‘s theory / argument are ___.
e. The arguments against [X]‘s premise rest on [four] assumptions: ___.
Research
a.This study draws on research conducted by ___.
b. Although there has been relatively little research on / into [X], ___.
c. In the last [X] years, [educational] research has provided ample support for
the assertion that ___.
d. Current research appears / seems to validate the view that ___.
e. Research on / into ___ does not support the view that ___.
f. Further research in this area may include ___ and ___.
g. Evidence for [X] is borne out by research that shows ___.
h. There is insufficient research on / into ___ to draw any firm conclusions
about / on ___.
View
a. The consensus view seems to be that ___.
b. [X] propounds the view that ___. (propound = put forward for
consideration)
c. Current research (does not) appear(s) to validate such a view
view.
d. There have been dissenters to the view that ___. (dissenter = someone who
disagrees)
e. The answer to [X] / The difference between [X] and [Y] is not as clear-cut as
popular views might suggest.
f. The view that _____ is (very much) in line with [common sense].
g. I am not alone in my view that ___.
h. [X] puts forward the view that ___.
i. [X]‘s views rest on the assumption that ___.
Comments
HIGOR CAVALCANTE says:
April 17, 2013 at 3:12 pm
Hi Luiz!
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 3 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
This is incredible! Many, many thanks! I’ll start putting these into use immediately in my
DipTESOL assignments.
=)
REPLY
REPLY
REPLY
REPLY
REPLY
MICHELE says:
April 17, 2013 at 4:20 pm
REPLY
REPLY
MELANIE says:
April 17, 2013 at 8:29 pm
REPLY
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 4 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
REPLY
Really nice, Luiz. I particularly like ‘yielded’. I’ll definitely try to put them to good use
during my next assignment.
REPLY
I remember teaching you “yielded” back in 1875, in MAC something. Maybe that’s
why.
REPLY
SUSAN says:
April 19, 2013 at 6:16 am
REPLY
Haven’t I, Susan?
REPLY
REPLY
Ramgopal,
Thank you for dropping by. You can share the list with as many people as you like,
of course. Please do acknowledge the source, though, ok? Maybe this will
encourage more people to visit the blog.
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 5 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
REPLY
What a wonderful list, very much needed for EAP learners (not to mention any academic
writer). I’ll definitely make use of it. Thanks.
REPLY
REPLY
Obrigada Otavio,
This is a great source and I will definitely use it in my current literature review class. My
professor provide us with your Blog. I am very glad for two reasons, your Blog is a great
source, and I think you are Brazilian ? I am from São Paulo, and as an International
student I struggle written in English.
REPLY
REPLY
LENNY says:
April 20, 2013 at 1:09 am
REPLY
Data is the plural of datum. Therefore, it should read “The data appear…”
REPLY
Hi, Pedro
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 6 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
REPLY
CHRISTINE says:
April 20, 2013 at 4:53 pm
What a wonderful list: thank you for sharing. I’m going (with your permission) to use it
with my EAP class. I have other lists (including from the Manchester phrase bank) but
this is a list of phrases that have been used rather than could be used.
REPLY
Christine, I appreciate your kind words. Of course you can use it! If you feel that
your audience would profit from any of the stuff on this blog (aimed at teachers of
English as a foreign language), please just say where the sentences were taken
from, ok? Every little thing than can increase traffic helps! And you’re so right
about the “what people do say” vs. “what people could say” dilemma. Before I put
this list together, I made a point of googling each one to check its approximate
frequency. This alone sifted out at least half of my original list. Best regards from
São Paulo, Brazil.
REPLY
These are invaluable, and they’ll be put to immediate use in ICELT tasks.
Thanks a million!
REPLY
REPLY
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 7 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
Thanks a zillion for sharing, Luiz! Assessors worldwide will be amazed at how much the
quality of candidates’ writing has improved! hehehe
REPLY
REPLY
SALMA says:
April 22, 2013 at 10:44 pm
REPLY
REPLY
CALLY says:
April 24, 2013 at 1:20 am
REPLY
REPLY
REPLY
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 8 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
REPLY
Thanks for sharing. Definitely I will use some ideas for my TEFL essay.
REPLY
REPLY
REPLY
REPLY
Bonjour, English is not my first language and the information contained on this page
helps me to construct proper essay sentences. Obrigada !
REPLY
Bonjour, Denise. As a non-native speaker myself, I know the feeling and I’m glad I
was able to help!
Merci!
REPLY
NICOROBIN says:
June 14, 2013 at 2:37 am
REPLY
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 9 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
My pleasure!
REPLY
JOHANNA says:
June 21, 2013 at 11:35 am
You seriously saved my life when I was writing a paper due the very next day. I have
bookmarked it and it will be my go-to blog for future writing assignments! Thank you
for your contribution.
REPLY
REPLY
KITTY says:
July 10, 2013 at 9:15 am
REPLY
Thank you!
REPLY
Really helpful tips for writing good research papers also useful to students of literature.
Great tips indeed. I think these tips must be shared with every student of literature as
there are lot many things they have to know.
REPLY
Thanks, Jeff!
REPLY
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 10 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
SERENA says:
September 3, 2013 at 11:26 am
REPLY
REPLY
KEN says:
September 19, 2013 at 8:07 am
Incredible! Senor Barros, thank you for sharing. I’ve never seen something like this
before–good prompts for writing.
REPLY
REPLY
REPLY
Completely agree. Fantastic expressions. Gonna have to study them for some
upcoming papers!!
REPLY
MEER says:
October 17, 2013 at 6:51 am
Luizo, it was really generous of you to have shared such a useful collection. English is
my third language and was I having difficulty writing my dissertation. Hopefully your
gift will help. I cannot thank you enough. I hope one day I too can help by uploading
something this useful, free. You are a saint.
REPLY
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 11 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
TASHA says:
October 18, 2013 at 8:38 am
REPLY
Appreciate it
REPLY
HAMID says:
December 8, 2013 at 7:12 am
thanks baby
your sentences are great I am going to use them as much as possible
REPLY
REPLY
It’s appropriate time to make some plans for the longer term
and it is time to be happy. I’ve learn this put up and if I could I want to recommend you
few attention-grabbing
things or suggestions. Perhaps you can write subsequent articles referring to this
article.
I desire to read even more things approximately it!
REPLY
Hello, i think that i saw yoou visited my boog sso i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying
to find things to improve my site!I suppose its ok to use some of your
ideas!!
REPLY
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 12 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
SAMAN says:
December 17, 2013 at 10:22 am
REPLY
HABIB says:
December 27, 2013 at 3:36 am
Thank you a lot for sharing these useful and practical verbs and phrases !
Best wishes
Habib
REPLY
REPLY
ROCK says:
January 16, 2014 at 4:07 pm
REPLY
Hey there, You’ve done a great job. I will certainly digg it and personally
recommend to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this site.
REPLY
ANGEL says:
February 5, 2014 at 3:28 pm
REPLY
JOSE says:
February 7, 2014 at 12:05 pm
REPLY
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 13 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
I all the time emailed this website post page to all my contacts, since
if like to read it after that my contacts will too.
REPLY
Thank you so much – you have just saved me hours of trying to make my Masters
assignment sound convincing!
REPLY
Nothing at all symbolizes every day life greater than miley cyrus sex tape,
in addition to After all nothing. It is mentioned of which just the thing inside
society that could pull through a nuclear strike will be miley cyrus sex tape.
This is completely wrong, truly cockroaches tend to be the
only thing which often can endure a new nuclear episode. Unquestionably there is a
link.
How should this kind of end up being spelled out?
Obviously fascination can gradually liberate from the potent effect regarding miley
cyrus sex tape, although not just before we all
go to the standard commercial plan for many. What everthing comes down to be able to
will be dollars.
Capitalists adore miley cyrus sex tape.
REPLY
Email *
Website
POST COMMENT
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 14 of 15
70 useful sentences for academic writing 21/04/2014 22:59
RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE COPYRIGHT © 2014 · FOCUS CHILD THEME ON GENESIS FRAMEWORK · WORDPRESS · LOG IN
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/academic-writing-useful-expressions.html Page 15 of 15