 Notes: A written record of the main points of a text or lecture, for

a student’s personal use.

 Report: A description of something a student has done (e.g.
conducting a survey).
 Project: A piece of research, either individual or group work, with
the topic chosen by the student(s).
 Essay: The most common type of written work, with the title
given by the teacher, normally 1,000–5,000 words.
 Dissertation/Thesis: The longest piece of writing normally done by
a student (20,000+ words) often for a higher degree, on a topic
chosen by the student.
 Paper: A general term for any academic essay, report,
presentation or article.
 abstract: A short summary that explains the paper’s purpose and
main findings. Abstract: Abstracts normally have a standard
structure:
o Background.
o Aim and thesis of paper.
o Method of research.
o Results of research.
 references: A list of all the sources the writer has mentioned in
the text.
 appendix: A section, at the end, where additional information is
included.
 acknowledgements: A short section where people who have
helped the writer are thanked.
 literature review: Part of the main body in which the views of
other writers on the topic are discussed.
 case study: A section where one particular example is described
in detail.
 sentence: A sentence is a grammatically complete idea. ( noun or
pronoun, subject, and a verb).
 phrase: a small group of words standing together as a conceptual
unit, typically forming a component of a clause.
 paragraph: is a group of sentences that deal with a single topic.
paragraph: a distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing
with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or
numbering.
 Reference: to sources using citation.
 Abbreviations: to save space.
 Italics: used to show words from other languages.
 Brackets: used to give extra information or to clarify a point.
 Author: Is the writer well known in his or her field.
 Publication date and edition: Do not use a first edition if there is a
(revised) second edition available.
 Contents: A list of the main chapters or sections. This should tell
you how much space is given to the topic you are researching.
 Introduction or preface: This is where the author often explains
his or her reasons for writing, and also describes how the text is
organized.
 References: This list shows all the sources used by the author and
referred to in the text. (In the USA, this is usually called a
bibliography.) It should give you some suggestions for further
reading. Reference: Full publication details of a text to allow a
reader to access the original.
 Bibliography: These are the sources the author has used but not
specifically referred to. It is not required for most short writing
tasks. (Note that in the USA this is usually the name given to the
list of references.)
 Index: An alphabetical list of all the topics and names mentioned
in a book. If, for example, you are looking for information about a
person, the index will tell you if that person is mentioned, and
how often.
 plagiarism: means taking ideas or words from a source (e.g. a
book or journal) without giving credit (acknowledgement) to the
author.
 Paraphrasing: is rewriting a text so that the language is
significantly different while the content stays the same.
 Source: Any text that students use to obtain ideas or information.
 Citation: Short in-text note giving the author’s name and
publication date.
 To summarise: To reduce the length of a text but keeping the
main points.
 Quotation: Using the exact words of an original text in your work.
 To cheat: To gain advantage dishonestly.
 Analyse: Break down into the various parts and their
relationships.
 Assess: Decide the worth or value of a subject.
 Describe: Give a detailed account of something.
 Discuss: Look at various aspects of a topic, compare benefits and
drawbacks.
 Examine: Divide into sections and discuss each critically.
 Illustrate: Give examples.
 Outline: Explain a topic briefly and clearly.
 Suggest: Make a proposal and support it.
 Summarising: means reducing the length of a text but retaining
the main points, It is used to describe the main features of the
subject. Summarise: Deal with a complex topic by reducing it to
the main elements.
 (NB: ‘summarise’ and ‘outline’ are very similar).
 Summarise/discuss: Give the factors behind the development, and
explore the possible consequences.
 Describe: List the most likely causes of this situation.
 What/Are there: Give the advantages and disadvantages.
 What/Evaluate: List the most important sources, and say how
useful they are in reducing CO2 emissions.
 Discuss/indicating: Describe how earthquakes affect different
types of structures with reference to the soil characteristics, and
explain how the structures can be made more resilient.
 Brainstorming: It is often to start thinking about a topic by writing
down the ideas you have, in any order.
 et al.: Usually used when three or more authors are given. The full
list of names is given in the reference list.
 ibid.: taken from the same source (i.e. the same page) as the
previous citation.
 op cit.: taken from the same source as previously, but a different
page.
Note that journal articles increasingly tend to use full citations,
but students should still use the above in their work.
 Proofreading: means checking your work for small errors that may
make it more difficult for the reader to understand exactly what
you want to say.
 Vertical: a simpler pattern suitable for short essays.
 Horizontal: this allows a more complex approach in longer essays.
 Counterarguments: are ideas that are opposite to your ideas.