ENGLISH | for ACADEMIC = PURPOSES Robin Macpherson WYDAWNICTWO NAUKOWE PWN WARSZAWA 2007Projekt okladki i stron tytulowyeh Maryna Wisniewska Table of Contents Preface Part One: Language and Style Left- and Right-Handed Sentences Latinisations ‘The First Person ‘The Avoidance of the Dogmatic ‘The Academic Register Contracted and Uncontracted Forms OORA9 Part Two: Functions Definition Exemplification Cause and Effect ‘Comparison and Contrast Classification Assessment of Data Copyright © by Robin Macpherson ‘Warszawa 2004 Oveene Part Three: Reference ISBN 978.83-01-14235-3 1. Elements of Academie Discourse 1. Reference Il. Concessive Ill, Adversative, Contrastive ‘Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN SA. IV. (00-251 Warszawa, ul. Miodowa 10 Yuet esti te 022 69 54 321 V. Listing, Enumerating faks 022.69 54 031 VI. Reflecti e-mail: pwn@pwn.pl VIL. Logicality, Rationality wow pwn. ph 12 4 18 22 26 29 29 32 37 40 42 44 45 45 45 47 49 st 33vill. Ix, mG XI. XIL XII XIV. XV. XVI. XVIL Xvi, XIX. Correspondence Relevant Facts Focussing, Specifying, Defining Emphasis Certainty Doubt, Possibility Facilitating Discourse Argumentative Generalising, Summarising Concluding ‘Transition Miscellaneous Words and Phrases 2. Selected Collocations Appendices Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Some Foreign Borrowings Paraphrasing and Summarising References to Books and Periodicals Footnotes Some Common Abbreviations POOR Key to the Exercises Index 55 37 59) 61 68 64 65 69 70 n B 8 n7 132 134 136 140 144 Ms Preface This book is addressed to those who wish to express themselves in ‘academic English for whatever reason ~ whether to produce a homework assignment, to prepare a scientific article, to write a dissertation, or to deliver a paper at a conference ~ and aims to serve the needs of students as well as of those who are professionally engaged in research. It is also intended as a teaching aid; a number of sections (in particular Parts Two ind Three) presuppose a teacher who will fully explain the use of the items listed there: the need to keep the book within manageable propor- tions precludes a more detailed presentation. Obviously, as the book is intended for an audience ranging from students and teachers to researchers, it must be used selectively. Thus Part 1.3 (“The Fitst Person”) will be only of very limited use for anyone writing a typical undergraduate essay, whereas other sections will doubt- less strike anyone with experience in writing for a specialist audience as being self-evident. A number of sections, above all those grouped together in Part Three, have been included for purposes of reference. ‘An attempt has been made to set especially significant words and phrases in their proper context,' often by means of complete sentences. The book makes no claim to exhaustiveness in its description of aca- demic English, not least because the respective disciplines and branches of science have evolved very distinctive traditions: the sheer volume of research being carried on around the world virtually precludes the possibility of a comprehensive overview.” ‘The book is devoted to the language and idiom of academic writing. It is not concemed with the formal conventions of academic publishing, ' They are generally underlined. * Throughout the book asterisks (*) have been used 10 indicate wsage which is unaccep- lable, Extreme examples of incorretness have been marked with double asterisks (**),with all the things which are stipulated in the style sheet of a journal, festschrift or conference publication. The width of margins, the distance between lines, the type and size of fonts, whether footnotes should go to the bottom of the page or to the end of the text — these are questions ‘which essentially have nothing to do with language. Hence Appendix C (References to Books and Periodicals”), intentionally rudimentary, has been included only as an afterthought. ‘AL the outset, however, three distinctive features of academic English deserve to be emphasised. First and foremost, lucidity, economy, and precision are overriding considerations. No matter how demanding the subject matter, a good writer of academic English is never verbose or intentionally obscure, and will always try to visualise the reader and to go to him, instead of expecting him somehow or other to construe the meaning. Secondly, digressiveness is generally avoided. Academic English by and large sets great store by keeping to the subject at hand, no matter how diverting or remarkable the material which might be mentioned in a given context. (Digressions are usually to be found only in the form of footnotes and appendices.) Thirdly, any academic text must have a clear organisational pattern, firmly divided into manageable paragraphs several sentences in length. Ideally each paragraph is a self-contained unit, devoted to one particular aspect of the idea being developed. The first sentence in each paragraph generally prepares the reader for what is to follow, while the content of the paragraph is usually a development of that sentence, The last sentence in each paragraph is also prominent, as it often provides ‘a conclusion or else a transition to the next paragraph. If these three principles are firmly adhered to, then the writing stands ‘a much greater chance of commanding the reader's attention. Gdarisk, 2004 PART ONE LANGUAGE AND STYLE Left- and Right-Handed Sentences Typical of many types of good English is the striving to create variety in sentence patterns, the avoidance of monotony. This can be illustrated by means of two alternative beginnings to a brief biographical entry for George Orwell, containing identical information: A. George Orwell was bom in Bengal, India, on June 25, 1903; he was the son of an official in the Indian civil service. He went to Eton ‘and he subsequently joined the Burmese police. He became disillusioned with his class and profession and in 1927 he returned to Europe. There he lived among the underprivileged and he adopted the pseudonym by which he is generally known. He published his first book Down and Out in Paris and London in 1933, and he followed this up with a series fof works whose honesty won him a reputation as a leading spokesman for socialism. B. Bor in Bengal, India, on June 25, 1903, the son of an official in the Indian civil service, George Orwell went to Eton, subsequently joining the Bur- mese police. In 1927, disillusioned with his class and profession, he returned to Europe, choosing t live among the underprivileged and ‘adopting the pseudonym by which he is generally known, Publishing his first book Down and Out in Paris and London in 1933, he followed this up with a series of works whose honesty won him a reputation as a leading spokesman for socialism, In Passage A virtually every sentence begins with the subject of the main verb. Clearly, such a style creates the impression of monotony and fails to capture the attention of the reader. In Passage B, by contrast, in every sentence (Born... disillusioned... Publishing...) the subject is preceded by a participial clause, while in the first two sentences the main verb is actually followed by participial clauses as well (subsequently joining... choosing to live among the 9underprivileged and adopting...). The very first sentence also has an appositional phrase (the son of an official...) prior to the main verb, This variation in word order is of course a vitally important technique for avoiding sentence monotony, and it is often used in English. Here are a few more sentences of this type, which are sometimes referred to as “left-handed! 1. Written shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolution, the novel reflects some of the central concems of those years. Being conscious of his own existence, man tries to discover as much about himself as possible. A writer of many different abilities, Grass has never failed to be ‘entertaining and informative, Suffering a major heart attack in 1925, he lived for another four years, producing some of his finest work during that period, 5. Studying in Paris from 1910 to 1913, he returned to London in 1914, joining up with the British Army a year later. 6. Used in moderation, many substances are harmless and even beneficial. Example 3 is different from the others in that the first section is not a participial clause. It is rather like part of the first sentence of Passage B, the son of an official. In example 6 the first clause really means “When it is used in moderation..." or “If it is used in moderation...” In examples 4 and 5 the subject and main verb are actually followed by participial clauses as well (producing..., joining...) such as might, by analogy, be termed ‘right-handed’. But whether they are left- or right-handed, these clauses are one means of avoiding monotony in sentence structure, Obviously they are not to be overdone. Examples 4 and 5 also illustrate a curious feature of English style: people often write Suffering... and Studying... when what they actually mean is Having suffered... and Having studied... One clause in the Orwell-text (Publishing his first book... in 1933) is similar. Left- and right-handed clauses are also very useful in avoiding clauses beginning with as, because and since. Here a special construction is often favoured: 10 7, Living as 1 do in a very polluted area, I often go to the mountains for fhosh ait. (stead of: Because, As, Since | live...) 4 These assumptions are rejected by modern science, denying theit validity as it docs. Unstead of: ...because, as, since it denies their validity.) Suggested Exercises: A, Rewrite these sentences in the manner indicated above: |. Since it challenged some of the most cherished beliefs of the time, the play caused a furore 2. He grew tired of the endless criticism and decided to resign. 3. If screening were to be carried out on an extensive scale, it could save many lives. Ws. Write a biographical entry for a famous person. ©. Review any book or film.Latinisations ferences of register are characterised above all by differences in vocabulary. In English there are pairs of words whose meanings very largely overlap (they are synonyms or near-synonyms), but which differ in the level of formality or technicality usually associated with the one or the other. One group is that of words with a Germanic etymology, while the other consists of those derived from Latin. A few of these virtual synonyms are listed below: Germanic Latin all the time constantly, continuously, continually become worse deteriorate big ‘major, significant, substantial enough adequate, ample, sufficient find out ascertain, discover get acquire, derive, obtain etc. later subsequent, subsequently look at examine, explore, observe, scrutinise more and more increasingly much considerably, substantially often frequently small insignificant, minor, unneeded redundant, superfluous without devoid of It is precisely the words in the second column that are especially characteristic of the academic register.’ " OF course the words in the respective columns ate not absolutely synonymous. The ‘words major and minor, for example, have conaotations of importance or seriousness: if we “big problem’, we are referring fo its siz; if we talk about ‘a major problem" Words with @ Latin etymology must always be used with discretion: the jost important thing is to avoid anything stilted or unnatural. While woadonie writing would be virtually unthinkable without such words, it Wi mistaken inference to suppose that one’s writing will benefit from ‘§ iechanical affectation. They must be acquired naturally and in context, Above all they should never be used if a ‘Germanic’ word is just as ppoite Suggested Exercises: In the sentences below try to find more ‘academic’ equivalents to the Walicised words. |. In late winter it rains all the time. 2. This second book is much more interesting than the firs. 3. Failure to pay royalties at the appointed time is nothing less than a breach of contract. 4. The threat of nuclear confrontation is smaller than it used to be. 5. The work includes quite a big index. 6. Relations between those two superpowers have continued to get worse, 7. The essay has no real value or content whatever. 8, Experiments were carried out with the maximum care for detail. 9. If there is to be any progress, these problems will have to be dealt with ‘The book does without any real introduction and proceeds to the development of its central thesis. 11. In her emphasis on these despotic regimes the author fails 10 point out that the whole area has seldom known democracy. 12, Ina later 13. The author keeps overlooking the significance of these facts, 14, 15. jcle he modified his original thesis. The project is almost complete. The sheer size of the undertaking is difficult to describe,The First Person ‘Traditionally the use of J or my is hardly acceptable in the contexts of written academic discourse, a sure sign of immodesty or egotism in the writer, and even now these words may still raise an eyebrow. Best avoid them as much as possible and try to use circumlocutions, such as those: listed below. A number of examples may strike the reader as being stilted, and the best advice to anyone who is neither a purist nor bound by explicit stylistic conventions (e.g. those laid down by editorial boards) is to avoid anything which might seem unnatural 1. the present writer (author, reviewer, study etc.J..; this work etc. Examples: i, To the present writer at least, Freud's theories, a8 outlined above, ‘seem to be hardly coherent. It is the thesis of the present work that ry book that...") The present discussion has focussed on the way in which the Renaissance ‘came to Northern Europe. (Instead of: ‘I have been discussing...") /. This study will be especially concerned with the influence of Ossian fon European literature. (Instead of “will be..") ‘¥. This paper will attempt to indagate the links between Nietzsche's writings and twentieth-century fascism. (Instead of “I will attempt...) Cnstead of: will argue in Since these phrases (especially those beginning with the present..) may come across as rather pompous, they should be used with particular caution, 2. Expressions with the Pronoun One Examples: 4. One is tempted to ‘mysticism, in these compositions the influence of oriental |i, For various reasons this hypothesis is badly flawed. One may conclude that it requires drastic reformulation at the very least. (Instead of: “I therefore conclude...) Fee phrases too may sound rather pompous, and should for the same season be used very sparingly. ), Expressions with the Pronoun He fas we can (wil wwe can see that. wwe need to bear in mind... Let us examine (turn to etc). We have attempted to show that... ‘When we analyse (exa1 Hxamples: 1. As we will see, world consumption of fossil Fuels is increasing at an stainable evel, (Instead of: *As T will demonstrate below...”) ii From these figures we can see that world consumption of fossil fuels is increasing. If we are t fully appreciate the gravity of the present eriss, we need to bear in mind the dismal circumstances surrounding i now turn to another neglected problem, namely vy, Lotus examine this in more detail vi We have attempted to show that Hess's originality has been very ‘much overated vii, When we analyse the events of those years, we can easily observe the mechanisms that led to the outbreak of war. J lunsust While such expressions can be found in written contexts, they lend themselves especially to papers delivered at conferences. 4, The Passive Among the various ways of avoiding the first person the use of the pussive deserves special mention, Compare the following sentences: ‘a. In this essay I will try to consider the various arguments. b. In this essay an attemy 1e made to consider the various arguments4. I therefore conclude that the document is a mediaeval forgery ‘bt may (this) be (safely) concluded that the document is mediaeval forgery. One especially important construction involves the conjunction as as will be argued below, as has been argued above et. (instead of: ‘As L will argue.., “As have argued as can be exemplified, illustrated etc. by.- ais (has been, will be cc.) demonstrated, emphasised, shown, suggested ete Examples: Dogs are faithful creatures, as can be illustrated by the many attested instances of their pining away after their owner's death. ‘As was emphasised above, creating a proper atmosphere at home is vital (Not: *4s it was emphasised above...) for a child's wellbeit OF course, overuse of the passive also entails the disadvantage of the language becoming excessively impersonal, even to the point of seeming unnatural. 5. would seem (appear). i. Itwould appear that the author's use of the sources is somewhat arbitrary, 10 say the least. (= I am probably right in concluding that...) ‘The author's use of the sources would seem at the very least to be somewhat arbitrary. (Instead of: “It is my considered opinion ) 6. it is tempting to see (suggest etc,ju., one is tempted to see (suggest the idea seems tempting that. i. How could a person who had problems spelling even simple words, produce so many eloquent speeches? It is tempting to suggest that he simply had a ghostwriter. (Instead of: “I tend to think... te.) In these descriptions of character one is tempted to sce the reflection of earlier, childhood experiences. (Instead of: “I am inclined to see..” ete.) ili, Why does the author fail to mention E. Kantorowiez in his footnotes? ‘Phe idea seems tempting that he simply wishes to conceal his debt {o that writer. (instead of: “I cannot help feeling that.” ete.) { moment's reflection shows that Careful reflection suggests that. » Further reflection shows that Closer observation suggests that. 1. A-moment’s reflection shows that the movement's activities are in ‘complete contrast with its professed ideals. (Instead of: “If you think about it for a moment, | am sure you will agree with me that.” et.) fi, Further reflection shows that the adult's sense of his own ego cannot have been the same from the beginning, TThe two writers are so alike that many people see the influence of one upon the other. Yet closer observation suggests that these similarities perhaps better explained in terms of a common influence. (Instead of “Tope you will agree with my considered opinion that... etc.) W arguably... \lverb has one particular nuance, to be paraphrased as: ‘This is my and if | wanted to I could easily provide evidence or arguments {i support of it. Of all the places in Britain, St Albans has arguably the longest unbroken tradition of Christian worship. It has been a place of pilgrimage at least since Anglo-Saxon times. See also below, p. 64 269239The Avoidance of the Dogmatic In keeping with the ‘spirit of science’, academic English is generally wary of finality and tries to qualify statements wherever possible, to make them tentative and provisional in character. This is especially the: ‘case where hazardous generalisations are involved. Let us look at the following passage: Fyodor Dostoevsky was the nineteenth century's greatest intellectual. His novels merit the closest attention Here the first sentence can be rephrased so as to be less controversial: Many would regard Fyodor Dostoevsky as the greatest intellectual eteenth century's oor more simply: Fyodor Dostoevsky was perhaps the nineteenth century’s greatest intellectual, Fyodor Dostoevsky was possibly. Fyodor Dostoevsky was arguably. Writing in superlatives involves dangers of its own. Thus, in this particular example, calling Dostoevsky “the nineteenth century’s greatest intellectual” without any qualification implies that you have an exhaustive knowledge of all nineteenth-century intellectuals. The danger also extends to “most” Most critics regard Fyodor Dostoevsky as the nineteenth century's greatest intellectual Logically, this implies that you are familiar with the opinions of all critics that have ever written about him, 18 Another form of dogmatism is referred to in English as “begging the uestion” Everyone knows that smoking marijuana leads to drug-nddietion and other setious personality disorders. |i its present form the statement suggests that everyone agrees it to be 4 velfevident truth about marijuana.' It could be rephrased in @ manner ‘ore tentative, less final and absolute: Those who smoke marijuana seem ofte problems such as drug-addiction ete. to fall prey to more serious There is a (marked) tendeney for those who smoke marijuana to fall prey et ‘or possibly: There is some evidence to suggest that those who smoke marijuana et. Hut one can be more delicate still, mindful of how clusive to correlation sll and statistics usually are, and how difficult in practice it often is to yrive at any hard facts: Drug-addiction and serious mental disorders tend to be recurrent problems unong marjuana-smokers. Similarly a statement like The English are profoundly insular in their attude to other cultures {ould be made less erass by means of a complete rephrasing Insularity of outlook is arguably (would seem to be) a pronounced feature ‘of the English character. Insularity of outlook is a recurrent (sali tn character. it, pronounced ete.) feature of the One final example may also prove revealing, Let us consider the following passage: This technique of “begging the question’ especially favoured by politicians.‘There are good reasons for regarding certain types of popular music as highly suspect. Rap, death metal and black metal, for example, are ‘often full of aggression and sometimes can release aggression in the listoners. ‘The second sentence of the above would be improved by means of a rephrasing: I is widely acknowledged, for example, that rap, death metal and black ‘metal are often full of aggression and sometimes can release aggression in the listeners. Of course it could be pointed out that the source of the ‘adverse criticism’ of these various kinds of popular music remains unspecified. Indeed this and similar phrases may be misused in a subtler form of “begging the question”, offering as they do a way of making an unfair ‘generalisation without taking responsibility for it. ‘The greater or bolder the generalisation, the more it pays to give plenty of examples. Let us summarise some of the expressions which might be used in order to avoid sounding dogmatic or unfair 1. apparently, seemingly, appears to... seems to... would appear t0. would seem to.. ete. eg. Tn the course of time Egyptian art appears to have become increasingly eclectic. 2. is a recurrent pattern in..., a salient feature (aspect) of... - consistent(ly) ee. In Britain the Labour Party has consistently shown itself to be more concerned with questions of social welfare than the Conservatives. 4. There is a (marked) tendency for X to happen... X tends to happen... ete. 5. There is lence to suggest that.. " See below, pp. 91-92, evidence Is Widely acknowledged that... Hi seen Feasonable fo assume that... It seems reasonable to W tHits, One may reasonably suppose that... on Lows than a funded miles from Britain's western const lies Irland. It fons reasonable to assume that there has been a great dal of ting and Mfg ecroes te Trish Sea since the carist times ‘One may reasonably suppose that much of the mediaeval population of Wales was genetically descended from the Iron-Age inhabitants. i Honst im part... The peculiarities of Celtic languages might atleast in part be explained by foference to a prehistoric substratum, elements of whose speech survived waves of immigration, The peculiarities of Celtic languages might be explained, at least in part, by telerence to a prehistoric substratum, Nole also the use of the modal might, Generally in academic discourse the modals may, might and could are invaluable as a way of avoiding inality. Using might rather than may emphasises further the provisional character of the statement. here is an element of truth in the notion that... in the notion that Christianity contributed to the fall of the Roman empire In the above example, of course, the statement will require further loveloping and substantiation, "The opposite of One may reasonably suppose that. is One may reasonably doubt whether... CE also It could be reasonably argued that... below, p. 66Non-Acade tie do not agree with the “a verdict in calling it “a just . . (1 doubt whether mat The Academic Register sien ae ‘As with any type of language there are as many different conceptions of, ‘long while there is a break in the academic register as there are people who use it. This is not to say ‘Worrerpondence. Goethe, I or that certain features cannot be isolated that many might consider typical would imagine, had other or even representative of it. The register can perhaps best be illustrated uypations. by setting it side by side with a non-academic equivalent * : His ain source was Gibbon, as we Non-Academic Academie Ht 406 in several particulars, 1 ; 4 ‘After examining various facts and Facts and dates speak against the HP Wa yyo gan make up his or her mind dates 1am convinced itis dangerous assumption that Leonardo was the Hy 44 whether the passage is a later to assume that Leonardo was the author of the Turin Shroud. Bion author of the Turin Shroud : a Brief reflection submits a painless 2. If we think about the problem for ‘a moment, we can find an answer that is easy and simple. Av | have just pointed out, this Petronius appears to be identical Wilh the author of the Sasyricon, 10, 33 A{ first sight you may be genuinely There is no need for me to pursue This line of argument need not be J jipressed by this notion. After this line of argument further. It is pursued further. Suffice itto point to Hy while, however, you will have enough for me to point to one one undisputed fact. yore and more misgivings. undisputed fact, . There is little point in speculating about these matters any further. 12. That Boethius was an open and docided enemy of Cassiodorus can- not be ascertained. 4. 4 ‘There is no reason why we can’t Nothing impedes the notion that the treat the Book of Daniel as a Hel Book of Daniel is a Hellenistic lenistic forgery. forgery Acade S Few will concur with the Speaker's verdict that it is “a just war”. 6. Goethe, it is conjectured, had other preoccupations 7 His main source was Gibbon, as is demonstrated in several particulars. 8 Scholarly opinion is divided as to ‘whether the passage is a Tater inser- tion. 9. Ashas been indicated, this Petronius appears to be identical with the author of the Satyricon. 10. The notion is attractive. However, doubt arises when the evidence carefully scrutinised nL. Little profit will accrue from further speculation in these territories, 2 ‘That Boethius was an open and decided enemy of Cassiodorus eva- des ascertainment. a 23Non-Academic 13. Those who interpret the various sonnets disagree widely. 4 However, if one thinks about the lone-gunman hypothesis for a while, one will begin to have doubts about it. Oswald was, as you will remember, far from being a first-rate marksman. His role, we may surmise, was simply to divert attention away from the real perpetrators. Many have ‘argued that no conspiracy ever existed, but here too I think we are justified in having doubts. Academic 1B. Wide divergences obtain among the interpreters of various sonnets. “ Reflection will suggest _a doubt Oswald, be recalled, was fat from being a first-rate marksman, His role, it may be surmised, was simply to divert attention away from. the real perpetrators. Many have ‘argued that there is little to suggest the existence of any conspiracy, but] here again, doubts might be con-| ceived. ‘The changes in the right-hand column may be summed up as a prefer- ence for impersonal forms (e.g. Suffice it to point out, doubts might be conceived etc.) and a striving for brevity (e.g. The notion is attractive...) In particular, use was made of the following: a) the passive voice (e.g. itis conjectured, it may be surmised) ») abstraction and nominalisation (c.g. Reflection will suggest a doubt.) Apropos this last feature let us juxtapose verbal and nominal ex- pression: Verbal: Nominal: If we think about the problem for ‘a moment, we can find an accep- table solution. Brief reflection submits a painless answer. ‘Those who interpret the various sonnets disagree widely, Wide divergences obtain among, ihe interpreters of various sonnets. 24 1 was argued elsewhere that “English often displays a strong tendency to vole verbal rather than nominal constructions in order to express its Jouning.” This tends especially to be the case in less formal contexts. Unless employed in a presentation for a seminar or none-too-serious wonference paper, academic language is almost by definition far removed fiom informality, hence the preference for nominal expression. * sudvanced Wren English, chapter 1, *Nominalsatons”.1 Heveitviows, America’s financial stability did not collapse, nor did that ‘li Hose Is position in the world. doesn’t have... any more — no longer has } Aitietion’y position has changed, as it has become the only superpower. Contracted and Uncontracted Forms J © Him tive ov bie opponent any more but many smaller one, HH he longer has one big opponent but many smaller ones. doesn’t appear to —> appears not to Negative verbs such as cannot, do not, are not etc. often apy cumbersome and clumsy in many contexts, hence the widespread use of contracted forms (such as can’t, don’t, aren't). In academic writing, however, contracted forms are impossible. A number of phrases exist avoid the original forms and their contracted versions: ‘The inijority of scientists reject Freudian psychoanalysis because it doesn’t jo aceept various inconvenient data jority of scientists reject Freudian psychoanalysis because it appears jeept various inconvenient data oh can’t, couldn't > is unable (o, is ineapable of hhasn’t — has failed to \housands of years diferent religions haven't found grounds for mutual nce 1 For thousands of years diferent religions have failed to find grounds for Inula tolerance People sce that the last government couldn't make any real progress with the country’s problems. b. People see thatthe last government was unable to make any real progress with the country's problems. . People see that the last government was incapat with the country’s problems. of making any real progress hasn’t > has yet to 4 Selene still hasn’t found an answer to this question, }) Nolence has yet to find an answer to this question. doesn’t do anything — does nothing 1, America is one of the world’s worst environmental offenders, and its govern= ‘ment doesn’t do anything to improve the situation. and its government does nothing to improve the situation. Ji dition, contracted forms can sometimes be avoided by means of one \wofll construction. Compare the following: doesn’t > fails to Tho v W The v are especially restrictive; they don’t even use dairy products, rans are especially restrictive, refusing as they do to use dairy products. 1. Their qualifications don’t meet the requirements of today’s world ' Their qualifications fail to meet the requirements of today’s world. 4 Some of the unemployed are to blame for their situation, as they don’t show ny willingness to improve their qualifications. 1) Some of the unemployed are to blame for their situation, showing as they do ho willingness to improve their qualifications. doesn't > refuses to a. The vegans are especially restrictive; they don’t even use dairy products ’. The vegans are especially restrictive; they even refuse to use dairy products. . Ii) practice, however, the uncontracted form (cannot, does not, has not) and doesn’t — nor does will often be perfectly acceptable. The Towers were obliterated and thousands died. Nevertheless, America’s financial stability didn't collapse and that country didn't lose its position in the world,PART TWO. Suggested Exercises: Modify the following sentences in the way indicated above: FUNCTIONS ‘The government doesn’t make any effort to create jobs Such investors don’t take into account the needs of the local — community Definition ‘fen there are situations where there i great demand for employees of a certain speciality, and the eduation system doesn’t provide them, This theory doesn’t take an important fact into account Hf We wish to analyse a problem, it is often essential first to define the {Wale terms of reference. This is especially important when it is a matter af ove ing concepts such as ‘education’, ‘progress’, ‘civilisation’ ele, all of which may be understood in different ways. In history too, AWelinition is important. When did the Middle Ages begin? When did the Henuissance emerge? From what year is Europe to be deemed ‘modem"? Yo even terms whose meaning is more restricted need to be treated Wely cautiously. If we wish to discuss a term like *globalisation’, it is Wilal to make it perfectly clear at the very outset what we mean. In the fullowing examples the discussion of globalisation commences with ‘ilofinition of the term: Ty When people talk sbout “plobaisation’, they tend to be very subjective, The person using the term may mean globalisation in a negative sens, i. the creaiing of + new, global culture atthe cost of national heritage. But tye may also mean’ globalisation in a broader, more positive. sense: Foltining a sense of national pride while becoming a member ofthe glabal Villy, sharing poeal and economic aspects of lie. For the purposes of this essay globalisation willbe taken to mean the later. To bepin wih, it iz important fo focus on the advantages of global Integration, ‘Globalisation’ may be defined in many ways. Some people argue that the form denotes above all an economic phenomenon, involving increasing Interaction of national economies through the growth of international trade find investment. Others put a negative slant on the word, presenting it as 4 worldwide drive towards a global economic system dominated by International corporations and financial bodies that are not accountable to omocratic institutions or national governments. A_more balanced as- ossment might, however, suggest that globalisation is the increase in ‘cross-border economic, social and technological exchange under conditions 29freely chosen by many nations. An altempt will be made to that this phenomenon is a golden opportunity for countries, nations: individual people. ‘AC the outset it needs to be pointed out that international trade investment have been the engines of world growth for more than a century. ‘The process of globalisation has been going on for thousands of years, and fs old as mankind itself, However, what we usually have in mind when talk about globalisation is the economic and social process that rapidly during the 1990s. Globalisation means different things to diffe people, It may mean writing an e-mail toa friend in New Zealand or eating ct ich restaurant, It may also refer to somebody workit for a Japanese firm in Scotland losing his or her job thanks, indirectly, 1 stock market crash in Tokyo. The reality now is that, to varying dege all countries are participants in the global economy. The aim of this to discuss whether globalisation is an opportunity or a threat. Globalisation is commonly understood to_mean the free movement capital, goods, serviees and labour around the world by the big commerci ‘companies which have massive control of the world’s economy, transo ding the boundaries of state and country, The above are different ways of defining globalisation, Note how Pa sage 3 gives illustrations (an e-mail 10 a friend in New Zealand etc.) the way the writer chooses to understand the term, Many would feel th examples and illustrations make the writing more readable and argument clearer. Let us now look at the following passage, which might be found at th beginning of some introduction to philosophy Philosophy may be defined as the evaluation of ideas and systems thought with regard to their objective validity. As such it is concemed wit virtually every branch of leaning, Philosophy, unlike! Uefinition constantly examining the premises which underlie such ideas ‘Thus, for example, itis continually questioning the si terms as “good” and “bad’, “right” and ‘wrong’, What philosophy is the use of intellectual resources to confirm or defend certain preconec; tions without first subjecting them to rigorous criticism. In this it diffe from both theological and ideological thought. "Also: as opposed to ideology. 30 Hf Will be seen that the writer is at great pains to delimit the meaning Wihe ideology, What philosophy is not is. etc.) and to give examples. inples and illustrations are always a good idea, serving to fill out the IB bones of an abstract construct. Vieubulary and Recurrent Phrases: X nay be defined a. X may refer to. X Js commonly understood to mean, X means different things to different people What we usually have in mind when we talk about X is. Hor the purposes of this discussion X will be taken to mean. As such, itis concerned with. What X is not is, by definition unlike, as opposed to for example, to take one example In this AAs suchsae i the European Parliament, or his antagonising of President Bush in ‘ealoyoricaly rejecting any war with Irag Phvases with example, illustration ete. ‘eemmuple (instance) The origins of om [iuanian is distinguished by a number of archaic features: for {\ slill preserves virtually all the cases of the Indo-European moth ‘Jwhe for example (instance)! Exemplification number of languages ~ Basque, for example ~ still Anyone wishing to construct an argument is likely to igh, illustrating his point. Obviously, if appropriate examples and illustrations are given, the more the argument or thesis deserves to be taken seriously indeed, the more examples that are given, the weightier the writer’ credentials. The following items are frequently met with: {i Hurope’s cities there ane huge differences in the price of real estate. Take London, for instance: the price of a new flat in the city centre is Foputed to be higher than in most places in the world. In certain other (upitals, by contrast, real estate is only a fraction of the price. HH take 0 “The origin of certain languages have resisted all attempts at elucidat Filking about the weather is a quintessential feature of British life. ‘Thus to Basque is a good case in point, since it has not been shown to be related Joke one example, a telephone conversation between Family members willbe any other European language. suue to begin with the weather. “What's it like at your end?” the interlocutor Will ask, “It’s been raining cats and dogs here.” “Its been pretty awful here 00," the other will reply. Or to take another example, comments on the weather are Tikely to characterise a chance encounter in a county lane Workaholic is also widely met with in the modem world. Ag , ha ta iluseaton of this pemonality-ype i the man who i 0 wed ois lucky with the weather today,” Mr Appleby will comment, “Oh eo ene aha the very dea of taking a two-week holiday woul Mrs Dimbleby will answer. “The crocuses will be out in no time. drive him to suicide I: Cas case in point llustration, instance, example! point, ‘example..., to take another (example) illustration aye ple (illustration) that suggests itself is, instance (noun) Hope is indispensable for our existence, An illustration that suggests itself is that of people suffering from depression. Bereft of hope, they are unable lo function normally and frequently find life unbearable. ‘The ‘sixth sense” has long been the concern of parapsychologists. A ct ous instance of the sixth sense is premonition, where people reeei hunches" which subsequently prove to be truc. 4Jso; an example (illustration) that readily comes to mind is. instance (verb) this can be illustrated by... Schréder has broken with long-established pattems of Germ: policy. One can instance his humiliation of the French over allocation o} Parents have an all-important role to play in the upbringing of their children, and failure to perform it may have unfortunate consequences. This can be illustrated by the case of the neglected son who goes on 10 * White case in point example, iltiration, and instance are not completely inter changeable, the diffeteces tend to be of nuance rather than of substance. ‘These phrases ae typical of less formal writing 32K first, he became eruel as his might grew, as if he felt he could do 1g he wanted. become a dangerous criminal, or the misunderstood daughter who grows, up to be maladjusted, yth ‘examples can be multiplied (of) 4 00d illustration being... Sometimes sustained government policies can work wonders with the Examples can be multiplied of thet delight in erty, whether it be wironment, istration being the regeneration of the river Tyne: irequent resort to crucifixion, the elevating of mass slaughter to a form of thirty years ago it was a national disgrace, while today it boasts the highest ‘entertainment, or the practising of an especially repulsive form of slavery. salmon-catch in England and Wales. Cruelty is a quality that has often been altributed to the ancient Romans, {hore being good examples (of sth, in sth), there being only one anmple et. let these (above, few) examples suffice to show # Let these above examples suffice to show that poor fiscal policies can have! stoi ia fineaees oanaciinaces ‘Ava time when Celtic art was declining on the Continent Britain was stil producing masterpieces, there being good examples in the Desborough and Let these few examples suffice to show that a many-sided approach is Birdip Mirrors, the Battersea Shield, the Waterloo Helmet, and the famous nscessary ifthe problem of water-shoriage isto be tackled White Horse of Uffington Prenereeenee The rock carvings are found chiefly in Ireland and Comwall, there being ‘only one undisputed example in Scotland and none in England or Wales. Some of the above items may also occur in the form of absolut constructions? Hl; Other Key Phrases a case in point being... ‘Ws ly (was) the case wi Although its mission extends from Rostock fo Vladivostok, from Riga nye Seip, as tae apn Sninoe porciiatyo t Busk'e lel fesse areel For En weetteg sce sepehersing rem bulence, a i the ease with Japan and South Korea a case in point being the plan of action forthe Kaliningrad Oblast, whe iy has recently been accepted by the board of directors. we when, examples being... Differences between British and American English can sometimes lead to bid misundertandings, aswhen British housewife compliments her Certain illegal drugs have markedly hallucinogenic properties ~ examples ‘American counterpart on being “very homely” or when an American man LSD, eestsy and peyote walks into a shop in Britain and asks fr “suspenders” s-being the classic example... ie might think of... an example being... one example being.. --being good example: Some counities have instituted far-reaching recyeling policies, Denman Some populations are especially associated with longevity. One might ‘and Holland being good examples, think of the people of Vileabamba in Peru, the Kashmiris of Hunza, or the In the thirties men who would not have dreamt of taking any radical Abkhazians of the Caucasus, all of whom have produced more than their measures against racial minorities embraced fascist ideas when they be fair share of centenarians. came powerful, Mussolini being the classic example. Even though moder-l§ que need only think of. Information technology hs made our lives a lot easier. One think of the invention of e-mail and the Intemet, by means of an communicate with the whole world * See below. p. 72 Also discussed in English for Writers and Translators, chapter “Lelt- ank Right-Handed Sentences”. 34 35suffice it to quote... suffice it to mention... ‘even in the unlikeliest of situations. Suffice it to quote from his ft ina Paris hotel: “One of us ha gto go, I either me or the wallpaper.” {A large numberof erative geniuses paid dearly for their gift. Sat ‘hention Vincent Van Gogh's endless struggle with mental illness, Ed Cause and Effect “Munch's nervous breakdown, or Robert Schumann’s gradual decline int insanity Avlonce strives to relate cause and effect. Its particular concer is to ed AD Wistingvish @ meaningful from a meaningless correlation. To take one Romance languages, such as French and Italian, are far removed from Lati ‘esumple from history, the Reformation in England was fairly contem- Jiouiry With the Renaissance. Is it correct therefore to attribute the one to liye other? To relate cause and effect — or to state clearly that “the jury is ill out’ — is thus a basie obligation of science. Any genuinely scientific discourse is scrupulous in its relating of (Hie and effect, and secks to do so with maximum clarity. Here are ‘sie important words and phrases expressing causality:! such was the case of... Sometimes passenger frustration can lead to unfortunate results. Such w the case-of the passenger travelling on the Swansea Tine who assaul A ticket ingpectr, or of the commuter forthe 7.13 to St Pancras who b up a slationmaster that is to say... Linguistics is concemed with the study of language: that is to say phonetics, phonology, morphology, and grammar. the ms witness... The teason forthe new tax is the unanticipated budget deficit Never before has there been such a thirst for knowledge about family W/aetor behind..., Contributory factor (in)... history ~ witness the surge of interes in genealogy sites on the Int Britain's excellent health service isthe principal factor behind and how the T901 Census online was deluged by millions of queries ae a see baal it was launched earlier this yea. Reason for... n cause of atmospheric pollution is the burning of fossil fuels. Violence on television must be regarded as an important con fuctor inthe gencral rise in vandalism Additional Note: i Co L tm “ product, Consequence, Effect, Result ‘The phrase **on the example of” does not exist, r va aan When a country undergoes rapid industrialisation, environmental degrada He spoke at length about Shakespeare's mastery of characterisation, taki Lea Eaua eee Hamlet and Othello as his main examples. (**..on the example of by-product. Hamlet and Othello. i wot English) ¢, Give rise to, Lead (in turn) to, Result in. _ Heavy industry often gives rise to pollution, leading in tum to environ- "tn this example commas must be placed before such and afer stalin to indicate th ‘mental destruction, ail Romance languages are meant, Were there no commas, the sentence might be taken = . . . ian that such Romance languages a5 ae similar to French and Halian ae far remo Note also the pattern: “X leads to Y, leading in tur to Z. ico Lain ble Oa oe " For other relevant items, see English for Writers and Translators, chapter “Cause and ° Wess a especially found ines formal wring, especially journalism a insih hap 36 37Because of, By Wis by virtue of its eight hundred years of history that Oxford has le status among the world’s univers Influence, Exert (an) influence on... jue of, In virtue of, On account of, Owing to... Language invariably exerts an influence on the way people pereei the world, Be attributable to, Be due to, Result from... He was given this special award on account of his long years of serviee. NAH, Hy/In virtue of Thanks to... Thanks to Mommsen’s exhaustive work on the subject we now have an ‘excellent survey of Roman institutions. ‘The country’s prosperity is to some degree attributable to 8 susta is of a much higher register than On account of. investment in information technology. In Wales the high frequency of cardiovascular illnesses is largely due the softness of the water combined with unhealthy life-st Inflation results from too much money chasing too few goods. For the simple reason that..., The reason being that... ‘Conditioned by, Determined by, Influenced by... In certain parts of London itis important for tourists to exercise cauti for the simple reason that they are an obvious target for thieves. In the States PC is likely to meet with a timely demise, the reason beit that Americans now have more genuine concerns. With the result that... ‘Our political opinions are often conditioned by our past experiences. Global warming is caused by the consumption of fossil fuels, but itis also influenced by the wholesale destruction of the rain forests. result, Because of this, Consequently, For this reason, Hence, In consequence, That/This is why. Over the years consumption of fossil fuels has intensified, with the resul that atmospheric pollution is now a major problem, |v much of Britain private cars have tended to replace public transport, ‘Asa result traffic congestion has greatly increased Which is why... As a result of, Because of... ‘As a result of the spread of television and electronic media fewer ar fewer people read books. Caused by, Due to, Because of, Owing t These are very dangerous substances, which is why special precautions ‘must be taken, NAB. This phrase means “and this is why” His absence from the meeting was caused by illness. His absence was due to illness. Because of illness he was unable to attend the meeting ‘Owing to illness he was unable to attend the meeting N.B. Many people in Britain preserve a distinction between due to and! owing to. Due to means ‘caused by’, while owing to means “because of ‘Announ (‘His absence’) is caused by something else. A verb (‘was unable to attend’) happens because of something else.‘Norther and Souther Wales are different from each other in that the former "Weliely dependent on tourism, while the later is heavily industrialised, different from... as regards/in respect offin terms of... Aoutlrn and Norther Wales differ in terms of degree of industrialisation: While the South is heavity industrialised, the North is largely agricultural Comparison and Contrast Hhow (wo cultures are different from each other in virtually every single yapeet, They have almost no points of similarity whatsoever. When we are describing something, it is often necessary to point those features that distinguish it from other things. Let us look at th following paragraph, where two ideas are being compared and contrast pared with..., In comparison with..., When set besi years ago the percentage of smokers has declined Compared with hy halt Jp comparison with modern English, Latin has a very small vocabulary Who st be: 1H (ontrast to.... By contrast with... The first point that should be made is that wo super = pacifism and the just war ~ need to be disi concepts have much in common, hoiding that Man ide its Greek counterpart, Latin literature is rather pedestrian ly) contrast ro John’s results, Peter's were simply excellent. In it will be seen ilarities and the one cruci es te eu ee OC See eee ore John's results by contrast with Peter’s were somewhat disappointing difference are brought into sharp focus. The following phrases are ve frequently used in comparing and contrasting: Ho then... ilarity... is that... BpNorhor Wate is monty spicata, hen Sotho Walon ix highly ‘One of the main similarities between Welsh and English literature is that they both begin with heroic poetry, ‘Nolice the importance of the following items in comparing and contrasting: , fs regards ‘Wales, like England, has an ancient literary tration. EA ropard wo similar to... in respect of... Ih respect of in terms of | ‘Wales is similar to Comwall in respect of its Celtic heritage. fii regard to In regard to its heritage, Wales is similar to Cornwall Restee a ieteaeer ies tonne at toeeae ee In rogard to political orientation The Times and The Guardian are very diferent. In respect of repertoire and technique the two singers are comparable The two govemments differ in terms oftheir approach to the crisis With regard tothe interpretation of this passage the foremost autbortes lsngre. "NAB, ***Wales, similarly to England.” 8 not correct Ay regards is perhaps the least formal, and in respect of the most formal. one difference between... is that.... whereas/while... One of the main differences between Britain and Continental Europe is that Bri generally 40 4Classification Here are a few items of cl vocabulary that frequently recur when classifications are being made: fication is an essential aspect of scien« distinguish In England itis possible to distinguish at least a dozen dialects Germanic languages can be clearly distinguished from others on the basi of their grammar, morphology and vocabulary. distinguishing features ‘Scottish brochs share certain distinguishing features: for example, they ha inward tapering walls, litelled entrances, chambers, galleries and stairs crite ‘There are no undisputed criteria for determining whether Monmouthshit belongs to England or Wales. consist of, comprise ‘The surviving Celtic family of languages comprises Irish, Scottish Gael Welsh and Breton. arrange, categorise, classify, divide, group, subdivide All animals may be divided into vertebrates and invertebrates. Vertebrat ‘may be subdivided into mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes. (also: subclassify, subgroup, subcategorise.) wer the headings of “urgent” oF ‘applicant has a work permit. Visa-applications will be classified u “normal”, depending on whether t ‘These phenomena can generally bi inged into three groups/categories ‘The languages of Europe may be divided into Indo-European and non-Indo-European, The former, comprising all except Basque, Hungati find Finnish, may be further grouped into centum and safem dialec fnccording to whether palatal stops become palatal or alveolar fri Indo-European languages fall into two main groups, depending on/a 1 the presence or absence of ete. Nolo also the phrases that are used with the verbs. 19 the basis of ted above: Adopendi ecording to ocording to whether depending on whetherAssessment of Data ‘After we have presented our evidence and given examples, it is alway 1 good idea to spell out their significance. Unfortunately, the reader is too often left to collect the various strands for himself. A step-by-s assessment and recapitulation of the preceding discussion is never unwel come. Here are a few commonly used phrases: It can be seen from... that..., As ean be seen from... It-can be seen from the table that inflation has been steadily falling om the chart, economic output is steadily increasing, ‘The data would seem to suggest that... The figures reveal/show that.. From the figures it is clear/apparent that... ‘The data would seem to suggest that over the past decade average Ii ‘expectancy has been increasing, ‘The figures reveal that the overall number of unemployed people decreased, From the figures it is apparent that there has been a net increase in t ‘numbers of those emigrating. On the basis of the above data/facts ete. it is possible to conelud infer/predict ete. that... From these/the above data/facts ete. we can assume/conclude ete. that. On the basis of the above data itis possible to predict that in 20 years” tr there will be three times as many unemployed as now. From these facts we can conclude that the number of applicants will e in the next five years PART THREE REFERENCE Elements of Academic Discourse _ Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, Discourse Markers plish, whether or not in specifically academic contexts, tends to be thanwoterised by the use ofa very large number of words and phrases developing the discourse and in particular bringing out the relationship of ‘Wiel sentence to the one preceding. An active knowledge of such items as hone listed below will facilitate and clarify what you wish to say. The ‘uijority of them are to be found at the beginning of the sentence or clause ‘Fo make the material more manageable, a tentative division into some (wenily sections has been undertaken. Items whose meaning, and function ‘lonely overlap have been grouped together. 1) Words and Phrases Which Express Reference ction with... With respect (0... connection with this whole problem of language acquisition, it is worth bering that a number of the greatest writers of English did not Wolually have that language as their mother tongue. With respect to this problem one should draw attention to a number of Tact. is much to be said for this approach. As for the others, they are hardly worthy of serious consideration, NA, This phrase is often disparagingAsta. {/so: While itis true that a number of individuals tried to preserve 4 degree of integrity, the fact remains that the government as ‘A general consensus has yet to emerge with regard to the causes a wale coosiatod of cron “ ‘global warming. As t© the phenomenon of acid rain the situation is ee ‘Cennted (thar)... (nonetheless/s N.B. This phrase is used especially in changing the subject, in whi eee recess case it generally begins the sentence. they should be carried out in an unprofessional manner. (= Even if we Were fo admit that such projets...) Il ete... In respect of... In terms of... ‘Grynied that the defendant's plea of diminished responsibility is accepted, In respect of size and appearance as well as its general condition ¢ Wwe sill have to account for all the elaborate preparations that he made facility is quite acceptable. It is only the location that is undesirable olive he committed the deed, In terms of cinema, theatre and cultura life in general, the country (= Bren if we were to accept the defendant's plea...) experienced stagnation forthe past twenty-five years. (= As far as cinema WAyywever (much). Much a. De ee era However interesting the subject may be, itis never likely to appeal to wider audience. Il: Words and Phrases with a Concessive Force Much as the author's scholarship impresses, the book can hardly be Admittedly... but..., To be sure... but... doomed a success, ( = However much...) Much as the President desired reforms, he was compelled to give in to Various pressures. ‘The reconstruction of the events is generally convincing. A number inconsistencies ean, admittedly, be found, but they tend to be of lit significance Male how However (much) and Much as tend to be used with phrases, The new study is not, to be sure, particularly original, but it is certainlyjg SApeNNiny emotion (‘However interesting’, ‘Much as the scholarship very exhaustive — {iyienses’, ‘Much as he desired...” ete.) ‘True... (but...) “This form of whan development is generally considered a failure. Tw, if HIE Words and Phrases provided many basic facilis for countless people, but the social a with an Adversative or Contrastive Force environmental costs greatly outweighed these , But there agai N.B. True is often followed by a new sentence beginning with However Hilt then (agai or Nonetheless, The Americans do not give the Kurds weapons, but then again the Kurds - Alo not need the weapons. ( = but it should be understood that...) it is true (that)... but/yet (the fact remains that). Ii seems that the editors are going to be sued for libel. But then their Its true that his contribution was far from negligible; yet the fact remai Inagazine always did express itself in a dangerously outspoken way. ‘that his ideas were wholly derivative (© But on the other hand we must bear in mind that...) ‘A number of individuals did, i is true, try to preserve a degree of integrit Tho book mercilessly dissects Freudian psychoanalysis. But there again ns that the government as a whole consisted of cronies. his distinguished Harvard professor never has had a good word 0 say aabout any of the twentieth century's psychogurus. (= But if we give m thought t0 the matter...) on the other hand... ‘1 tho one hand the book is well constructed; on the other hand it shows sly oF having been written in haste N.B. Note the use of the emphatic forms in the two final example “always did express itself” instead of “expressed itself”, “ne hhas had” instead of “has never had” wy Votin ‘Av 0 subject, nuclear physies is extremely dificult, Sull, that is no reason By contrast... ‘WWE include it in the syllabus, (= Nevertheless....) ‘The first brother was a generous man. The second, by contrast, was mise Al frst sight there is little to distinguish this island from others in the ‘on the other hand...) Hebides: like them it is barren, rocky and windswept. Yet some indefin- Not to be confused with: Conversely (p. 55), On the contrary (p. 48), Baw energy makes Lona quite unique. Nils, Yet is not normally followed by a comma. The word is used ally to introduce an unexpected or highly remarkable fact. On the contrary... Many people suppose that Captain Bligh drove his men to mutiny. On the opposite i the case the mutners soe to jstiy hemi 4V) Words and Phrases Expressing Qualification y blackening is name. Albeit (Oy his return he was welcomed by some people, albeit few. This phrase is especially used in correcting a mistaken belief. Despite... For all..., In spite of.... Notwithstandin; The judge accepted the defence’s version, albeit with great misgivings. (© though, although...) For all the impressive advances made by modern medicine, many condition remain incurable, ( = Norwithstanding...) ds Notwithstanding can go before or — less frequently ~ after the word fal peace Asi stands, his interpretation cannot be accepted. Slightly moxified, however, it ean east some valuable light on the problem, (= in ts present Notwithstanding these particular inconsistencies, the basic thesis of form ote) book is sound These particular inconsistencies notwithstanding, the basic thesis of tha AL wny rate. book is sound. The Wars of the Roses were not, it now seems, primarily a dynastic struggle: this, at any rate, isthe tenor of recent study. ( = at least, ‘certainly... (Yet) the fact remains that. The book has its weaknesses. The fact remains, however, that it is still When the great composer wrote this testament, he was perhaps not exactly best available survey of the subject. suicidal, but at any rate deeply depressed, (= at east, certainly...) 7 | His sketches of famous people are, if not exactly scintillating, certainly Informative, (= Although the sketches may not be brilliant...) If... (then). Ifthe first elegy is uninspired, then the second is utterly soporific, (= While, Whereas...)For one thing... for another... Vii Words and Phrases Expressing Reflect ‘The interpretation is untenable: for one thing it does not explain all hl ynsidering.., Giver cevidenee; for another itis so obviously tendentious. aisha eee iecad ‘Faking into account/consideration, it not least... : Cee When... taken into account/consideration... ‘The book assembles a multitude of facts; the scholarship is sounds organisation is very clear; and last but not least, the style is very attractive Considering her disabilities, this artist's achievements are quite remarkable Cf. also below, under Then..., Given the terrible economic situation, it is not surprising that there Let alone... To say nothing of... Not to mention... aes In the face of mounting criticism lecided t0 order ‘This historical forgery does not even contain one single realistic detail, I seni ne uname meen dea oot alone a convineing narrative. {In view of the country's debt problem such policies are very meaningful Faking her disabilities into consideration, it is remarkable how the artist ‘was able to be so prolific The prince is hardly credible as @ prospective monarch, in view of Camilla-saga, to say nothing of subsequent revelations. ‘The Beatles have many fans around the world, not to me constituency’ of Liverpool, where they are especially revered. i) Let alone and Not to mention are informal. ji) Not to mention should be reserved for sentences where the mainlg, IN the light of... verb is affirmative. Thus it would be inappropriate in the first tw examples (“does not even...", “is hardly credible... When these circumstances ar of the weiter is not very high. taken into consideration, our assessment In the light ofthis new archaeological evidence it will be necessary ‘o reasess our picture of prehistoric man. Then... In Britain the decline of Christianity has many causes. The first and 1 tibvious isthe afflucnce ofthe 60s, The second isthe influence ofthe m media, propagating hedonistic pattems of behaviour, Then there is thal |/jo: (When) viewed from this perspective. svidespread perception of established churches as being out of touch wi the ‘modern ‘world. Last but not least, there is the competition from “Nev Considering that..., Given the fact that..., In view of the fact that..., Age” movements, Secing that... Since. (When) seen in this ight... (When) seen in this light, these facts become much more significant fering that he was present at the event, i is surprising he provides us 9 Tittle information about the negotiations. (= When one realises that... When one considers that...) What is/was more... “The theory is internally consistent and well thought out. What is more, it solidly based on the available evidence. ( = Furthermore, Moreover...) Given the fact that the econom supe In view of the fact that the country's future is at stake, such p are simply necessary. situation is unlikely to improve, it 1g that so many people go abroad.that the influence of the classies on Ben Jonson is so gre it makes sense to search for some of the sources of inspiration, Inasmuch as..., Insofar as... uch as he is a danger to himself, he ought to be put in an institution, To the degree that...) Insofar as the study is based on extensive research, it deserves due attenti VII: Words and Phrases Expressing Logicality or Rationality Accordingly... “The President's advisers Jeamed that huge anti-American demonstratio were being planned in certain capitals, and accordingly modified hi tour-schedule. (= for that reason...) In consequence... ‘The professor decried the poor attendance figures for his lectures; in consequence, he said, all further ones had been cancelled. N.B. This expression is especially formal Ergo... He went further and called Freudian psychoanalysis a ‘science’ where empirical evidence was subordinate to other elements: ergo, not a scienet N.B. This expression is uncommon. It is sometimes used to indicat a false train of reasoning: Bush embodies Europeans’ stereotypes of America’s shadow side: he is from Way Down South, is plain-spoken and wears a cowboy hat Ergo, he must be violent, narrow-minded and parochial, ‘Therefore. 1 think, Therefore I am, ‘The doctor realised that the situation was critical, He therefore decided 1 drastic expedient ‘One point of view on the Ulster conflict is this: the area is inhabited predominantly by people who wish to remain part of the United Kingdom; therefore it seems reasonable that the wishes of the majority ought to be respected Therefore is used especially in contexts where the logical relation ship requires especial emphasis. 1 follows that... From the above observations it follows that the more the Ieamer has preserved his youthful flexibility, the more he will adapt to the new language. iso. It can be deduced that..., We can deduce that... vil : Words and Phrases Expressing Correspondence Any more than... Drugraddicts cannot be blamed for their indulgences, any more than coholies or chain-smokers may be blamed for their self-destructive habits The phrase may be perceived as a negative counterpart of just as. Compare the following sentences: Our Chief Accountant is very obliging, just as his colleagues are (Our Chief Accountant is never obliging, any more than his colleagues are Hy the same token..., Conversely. We do not put people in prison who cannot live without cigareties. By the same token it seems obvious that we should not lock up drug-addiets for indulging in their vices. (= For the same reason...) It is Sometimes said that an artist is a special kind of man. One might ‘conversely argue that every man is a special kind of artist. Ifa woman dreams of being a scientist, barrister or company direetor, she should not renounce her plans only because of the traditional stereotypes. Conversely, a man who prefers bringing up the children to making a carcer does not deserve ridicule.Correspondingly... Concomitantly..., Understandably... The fans had an especially fearsome reputation, The local police cor: respondingly went fo great lengths to prevent trouble, taking ruth action when necessary. (= accordingly...) ‘The Vietnam War took an ever-greater toll on human Iife. Concomitantly the Peace Movement grew ever more vociferous. He gave an interminable lecture about something, quite different from whi the audience had been expecting. Understandably, many people left feelin very frustrated. According (0. A fiscal policy should be structured according to the wealth distribution of the population. ( = in keeping with... s0 as to take account of...) In accordance with... ‘The officials can only act in accordance with existing regulations. (= ina way that does not violate...) In accordance with the treaty Israel withdrew from Sinai According to whether... Grades should be given accord real ability Cf. Depending on whether..., above, pp. 42-43. hel the candidate displays any Again. ‘When we examine his plots, we find they strongly resemble Shakespeare's, If we look at his vocabulary and phraseology, we find the same apparen borrowings. And when we study his imagery, we are struck by the strong similarities. Again, when we examine the metre and prosody we cannk bbut notice the writer's heavy indebtedness. (= To examine this from yeb ‘another angle...) AAs the case may be... ‘Most English words can be categorised according to their Latin or Germani etymologies, as the ease may be. (= depending on the nature of each case...) As with... As with the previous chapter, this one will also begin with a brief Jummary of the problems discussed. ( = As was the case with.) ‘As with all science, there is some way to go before conclusive proof is cslablished, but the evidence emerging from scientific research into red \wine is very encouraging indeed. iy Way of analogy... To take the analogy further. by way of analogy, imagine the human mind as a kind of toyal cour, with a king. surrounded by his ministers. Then, to take this analogy further, “positive thinking” involves the king sending. out ent directives until the ministers finally get the message. Just as the book is well written, so its appearance is very elegant. ords and Phrases Expressing Relevant Facts Av matter of fa Wily phrase expresses certainty. Sometimes it carries an additional Jiynee of contrast. Cf. In fact... In actual fact... In point of fact Helow, p. 62. 1 Gortainey Fhe meeting was attended by a variety of extremist groups. As a matter of fit there were quite a few plainelothesmen there as well. (Incidentally...) J Additional mance of contrast: Aipocialists might suppose that in their works they are not expected to fake a dull subject interesting. Asa matter of fact that is precisely ‘hat they are expected to do, (= fa reality... Cf. In fact 2, p. 62.) Wneldentan It Wy also worth mentioning that. ‘(ne also should not overlook the fact that...Allin all itis a fascinating depiction of Elizabethan theatre. Incidental the book contains interesting glimpses of sixteenth-century social mores. Hayeclally as/since..., Espectally in view of the fact tha ‘The more so as... The more so considering..., The more so when. ‘he loss so (as/when...) Thete is no need to recapitulate his main points, have done so already. In this connection. specially as many others ‘This phrase can be used to mention relevant facts. Sometimes, howe — SE oe For Europe confeontation with the Arab world spells danger ~ the more so 1. The mentioning of a relevant fact: 0 the West is heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil Homo sapiens’ future is far from assured. In this connection it Vor Europe confrontation with the Arab world spells danger ~ the more so ‘emphasise that only 70,000 yeurs ago he came very clase to extinetion and ths Weat's navy Gependence voll tenposts ae worldwide population dropped to perhaps 2000, There are good reasons to suspect his testimony ~ the more so when we The marking of a transition. ‘lise that itis contradicted by those of the other witnesses. The rapid spread of graffiti art throughout Europe and America pres curious phenomenon, In this connection it would be illuminating to anal the social composition of its greatest exponents. Protestants argue that there is no necessary deduction from Peter's primacy lo the primacy of the Pope ~ the less so in the absence of any historical ‘evidence that Peter exercised an office of an episcopal nature at Rome. Curiously.... Curious as it may seem..., Interestingly... Intriguing] Remarkably... Significantly... Surprisingly... Surprising as it may Biretless to say. No wonder (that). ute ordered the waves of the incoming tide to halt their advance. Needless to say, his command went unheeded. Many of the king’s relatives were murdered by the rebels. Curiously, ‘vn life was spared Wve to work under great stress. No_won ‘tondeney to die prematurely. ‘There are good prima facie grounds for suspecting that Mozart was at le familiar with Bach, Interestingly, additional evidence has recently come light to corroborate this suspicion. Nh, No wonder (that)... is rather informal Two coaches were involved in a head-on collision. Remarkably, there almost no injuries. Ai Words and Phrases Which Focus, Specify, or Define ‘There are good reasons for treating such apocryphal works. with suspicion. Significantly, most early Christian writers also make no mentolf’ Wy 1X 1 mean.n of these texts Music as such is not dangerous, but when itis combined with words, it can pose a threat (© society. By ‘threat’ I mean that teenagers often model thomselves on their idols. They experience the lyrics very literally, even Finally the writer decided to leave England, America having more exci ross whose content is deatctve. “opportunities to offer. More to th ‘war was clearly coming and ‘wanted to avoid conscription Name More to the point.... More relevantly..., More importantly... ‘That is to say... ‘The book will be a useful guide to students. More importantly, it will regarded by other specialists asa standard work for many years to comes In any discussion of the war itis important to menti frequently overlooked: namely, that Saddam has been ‘ous LUN resolutions, ‘point that is breach of numer-Ii) the Pentagon people talk as if the troops in Vietnam failed to do their Every prospective visitor to London should be warmed about a p jest, The point is their best was simply not good enough, nuisance, namely the muggers and pickpockets. The author of these articles, that is to say a certain journalist, was. prosecuted, (| (s0) surprising is that. Hor book finally appeared five years ago. What is so surprising is that someone actually went to the trouble of reviewing it More specifically... To be more specif ‘The library needs new books and materials of all kinds. More specif Surprisingly enough.... Amazingly enough.. the dictionaries there need to be replaced. - | Words and Phrases Which Express Certainty Strictly speaking... ind (all) question... Without question..., Unquestionably... Strictly speaking, death may be said to have oceurred when elect > ‘activity in the brain has ceased, Also: Legally speaking, Medically speaking etc. Hoyond question, the combustion engine has proved a mixed blessing to Humanity Unquestionably he sueceeded in making the firm profitable, Which is to say that.... Which means that. Wi bys fact that..., It is beyond doubt that..., There is no denying ‘The new owners have decided that all excess personnel are tobe dismissed gaging the fact that... ‘The simple fact is that... which is to say that they will all be given a month’s notice. Tee Marlowe's death is shrouded in mystery, but it is a fact that he was Increasingly viewed as persona non grata in certain quarters, Its beyond doubt ‘ilar disorders. (But contrast: Doubtless. wat smokers run an especially high risk of cardiovas- No doubt... p. 62.) There is no escaping the fact that the vast majority of people who claim Political asylum do so for economic reasons. XI: Words and Phrases Expressing Empha: Above all... First and foremost... Gibbon’s history is as panoramic as it is learned. But above all itis a work of literature What is one to say about such poor acaclemic standards? ‘The simple fact is that for many years now our Academy has been starved of resources. (Also: The fact of the matter is that...) ‘The Vietorian Age was first and foremost an age of reform, HAs general Precisely... ‘accepted that... Many suppose that he had no interest at all in becoming Prime Minis In fact, however, that was precisely his intention, is generally accepted that homo sapiens first came to America via the Hering Straits. i . . Wty a case of... ‘That is precisely the point, The point is (that)... There is no cause for concern. It is a ease of the papers being temporarily mislaid | keep hearing the argument that if people were paid more they woul ‘work better. But that is precisely the point: my own employees would sti be lazy no matter how much I paid them, "CF also below, p. 85, at consensus.It transpires that... ‘The flat-carth hypothesis has tong since been abandoned, Th {ie for the phlogiston theory. It emerges that. me holds From documents which have recently come to light it transpires that ‘Queen's historian was in fact a spy. iI) Words and Phrases Expressing Doubt or Possibility In point of fact... These phrases express certainty. Sometimes they carry an additi Fensonably be doubted whether... nuance of contrast. HMlnio was the first to mention Atlantis, and yet it may reasonably be doubted 1. Certainty: Whethor that island was ever more than a figment of his imaginatio ‘One might suppose that with such views the Puritans would have been ridicule bby many contemporaries. In actual fact that is precisely what happens Alnty still prevails as to (whether). (= indeed...) ho exact circumstances of the massacre are still shrouded in mystery. In Additional nuance of contrast : rticular, uncertaimy still prevails as to whether the demonstrators had Even until a few decades ago many intellectuals believed that religion ve oe intention oF overthrowing the government slowly dying. In point of fact the very opposite has proved to be the «: Ss (= In reality. CE. As a matter of fact 2, p. 57.) {In particular Alemonstrators, prevails as to the exact motives of the Frankly... To be quite frank... ; feinains an open question whether... It remains to be seen whether... The editors of the Malian Journey have decided to omit the excursus Bi bemains to be seen is whether metaphysics. To be quite frank, itis a lot of pretentious rubbish No fr he has proven himself a skilful tactician, It remains to be seen ‘Whether he will be able to solve the country's economic problems. In any case..., In any event The candidate's results were very poor. But he would have filed the exalil Wjgijgy in any case because of his severe speech defects, (= no matter what gear results might have been...) Whethe the case) must remain speculative this site is indeed the grave of Attila must for the time being Cf. also: At any rate.., above, p. 49. Fomain speculative. Doubtless..., No doubt... ‘Fie question is whether... What is at issue is whether Remarkably, none of the defendants chose to appeal against the dee The identity ofthe killer is not at issue. The question is whether the kil sentences, Doubtless they all realised that there was no prospect Wis premeditated, success. (= One assumes that... One supposes that...) He iny well be that... ‘This/That is (certainly) true for... This/That is the case with... biedeeeaatneaas tras ce The last few days have been among the most dificult in the Prime Minstcrs career. 1¢ may well be that he will not survive the forthcoming Several European capitals have severe trafic problems. Thi ole of no confidence. In that ease there would have to be a general true for Athens, Paris and London ‘Hocton 63‘There are (certain) grounds for supposing that.... “There are grounds for supposing that life may exist elsewhere in the Uni It is valid to speculate that... Why were remains of prehistoric man found precisely here? It is vali eculate that the Neanderthals had gone to this watering place bees they knew they would find prey. ‘One suspects that..., One cannot but suspect that... It is tempting / One is tempted to suggest that. ‘One wonders whether..., One cannot but wonder whether. It is tempting / One is tempted to wonder/ask whether. His speeches were always so perfect and written in highly sophisticated language. One suspects that he had a ghost-writer. Why Londoners tolerate all the endless traffic jams is very curious. I is tempting to suggest that they prefer things that way So far the US has failed to provide any convincing evidence of Iraqi non-compliance. One cannot but wonder whether such evidence actually exist, XD Words and Phrases Facilitating Discourse sas it were..., ..in a manner of speakin; He decided to bring this unhappy chapter of his life to an end, as it we ‘and emigrate to Australia, In writing his autobiography the ex-Prime Minister has, in a manner of speaking, given his enemies one more stick to beat him by. AS such... |. Our company is producing several computers with the most advanced tech logy. As such, we will be in a strong position on the international mark (= Since this is our situation...) 2. The course will be dealing with phonetics, grammar, syntax, morphology, all other aspects of the English language as such. ( = properly so called...) 64 FD Hip ossay is isabethan ti x so much a critique of Shakespeare: it is rather a critique of ature as such. (= in general...) Be they... or. aditionally, democracies are better than dictatorships at coping with ies, be they droughts, floods or epidemics. ( = no matter whether they are...) NY) Words and Phrases Occurring in Argumentative Contexts Mier alt... Incompetence, when found in doctors, is unacceptable: after all, the proper performance of their skills isa matter of life and death. ( = le us not forget...) Ay will be argued below..., As has been/ was argued above... As will be arg in character. d below, the causes of this war were primarily economic NM, These phrases often occur with other verbs, e.g. emphasise, note, Auygest ct. Yor be it from me/ the present writerispeaker to criticise/imply! Aiguest.. (but. w be it from me to criticise the intemational reli ‘much still needs to be done. efforts, but frankly Absentecism is becoming @ major problem of this House, Far be it from the present speaker to suggest that some people are not doing their jobs: it 's only that my honourable colleagues should be slightly more concerned for their reputations. NB. The above expressions are often used to express sarcasm. Vor that matter... To sum up, Dublin is a charming old city. But most towns and cities in Ireland are old and charming for that mater. 65for that matter, are skiing Some claim that if people worked harder they would be better paid. Yet ‘mountaineering. Is that any reason to prohibit them? cine might with equal justice argue that if people were better paid they Would do ther jobs beter. Horse-racing is a dangerous sport. So, for then... (Let us) imagine/suppose for the sake of argument. Lot us, for the sake of argument, imagine a Middle East without ‘Arab-Israeli conflict, Would, then, the problems of that region disapp Nothing could be easier than to demonstrate tha the British are profoundly overnight? colonial in many of their attitudes ‘Nothing could be easier than to demonstrate that... ‘Suppose the painting were not genuine: then, we would sil have to expla how the canvas is 300 years old. ‘Phew... With all due respect to... N.B. In the above contexts them has the meaning of ‘in that case’. ‘Tiieve phrases are used to indicate the writer’s disagreement, especially ‘hon a “big name” is involved: It could be reasonably argued that...’ It could be reasonably argued that the Internet is dangerous because provides all sorts of eriminals with a means of communication which Pp. Jifficult or impossible to detect. With all due respect to Marx, it is difficult to accept that all history is basically social history Tote are no valid reasons for supposing that “short, sharp punishments” tue the answer to Britain's increasing lawlessness, pace Mrs Thatcher: ice Freud there is little real evidence for the existence of a ‘superego’ It is widely supposed that..., One might think/suppose that. One might have supposed that.... It might be supposed that wo Its widely supposed that marijuana isa harmless dru iis widely spon al ma Occasionally one can come across the notion that socialism is simply Christianity in practice. If, so the argument yoes, there were a fairer mple diet would result in vitamin distibution of the means of production, then the Kingdom of God would be realised. ¢ argument goes/went... ‘One might think that such deficiencies. In fact, quite the opposite is the ease. Note the use of modal might, and the frequent patter for these phrase NN. This phrase is generally used for arguments which the writer plans to be followed by in fact. W disprove Auvely.. It would be better to say that. Schliemann’s identification of Hisarlik as the fabled city of Troy has surely been vindicated by subsequent excavations NW, Sureh (Vet) one might equally argue that... Will agree” (Yet) one might just as well argue that. (Yet) one might with equal/greater justice say/argue that... The p But this does not mean that such efforts ak It is a commonplace to say that an artist is a special type of man. It wo bee better to say that every man is special type of atist. has the meaning: “as I assume that any reasonable person int 1 am trying to make is (simply) that... in vain, The point [ am trying (o make is simply that they need to be more systematic: "Cf. also above, p. 21 66 67Also: The firstsecond ete. point I would like to make is that, ‘There are some/those who argue/say that... ‘There are those who argue that the country should be behind a prot ‘wall of trade barriers. Unfortunately their voice is all to0 loud. ‘There is a general consensus that... ‘There is a general consensus that noise pollution is a serious and ‘growing problem. Also: It is generally accepted/recognised that... ‘There is an element/grain of truth in.., There is much truth i (Often there is more than a grain of truth in ancient folk tales, ‘There is every/good reason to... ‘There is every reason to treat this theory with circumspection, take his account with a large pinch of salt. is good reaso ‘There is much to be said for... There is something to be said for... There is much to be said for the notion that love of tradition is the abiding feature of the British mind-set, To take the argument further..., To take the argument (a/one step). further... It used to be widely held that women should stay at home and look a the domestic sphere, that the man should be the breadwinner, and ‘woman's interference in men’s traditional domain would have catastroy consequences. Indeed, to take the argument a step further, a ‘ci woman’ was considered almost by definition to have renounced femininity. Which is more than one can say for... {At least the work forms a cohesive whole, which is more than one can {for certain other of his compositions. AVE: Words and Phrases Which Generalise or Summarise All things considered... Altogether... On the whole... The material is interesting and the discussion is skilfully organised. Allin all, itis a remarkable book. Hivondly speaking..., Generally (speaking)... Broadly speaking, the geography of Britain divides into two main zones. Hy and targe... bby and large our graduates end up becoming teachers {jo: Generally (speaking)... In the main.... On the whole.. {wn word..., In other words... To put it more simply... His policies were effective, consistent, and well thought out ina wor god He was informed that the company had gone into receivership. In other words, he was likely to lose his job. Hut bluntly/crudely..., To put it bluntly/crudely... Not to put too fine a point on During his career the doctor poisoned at least 215 of his patients. To put it bluntly, he is Britain’s greatest mass-murderer The prince is forever embarrassing the monarchy. Not to put too fine 4 point on it, his behaviour resembles that of a bull in a china shop. On balance... ‘The school has its dark sides and not all students are satisfied, On balanc however, it is a good school. (= When everything is taken into con sideration...) Globalism has its good and its bad aspects. On balance, however, it may be deemed to be more of an opportunity than a threatN.B. This phrase is especially useful in introducing the final paragraph an essay, as in the following example: ‘On balance the arguments for capital punishment outweigh the argumet against. When all the arguments have been examined, the only conclusi that suggests itself is the maintenance of the death penalty XVII: Words and Phrases Typical of Concluding Remarks ‘The foregoing discussion has attempted to. The foregoing discussion has attempted to examine the links be British university campuses and extremist groups. So much, then, for...; for the rest... ‘So much, then, for the elements of this art; for the Fest, constant Application is indispensable if itis to be mastere ‘Taking a longer view... In the short term the reforms will eause considerable hardship. Takin a longer view, however, they will benefit the country enormously. Also: In the longer term... In the final analysis... At the end of the day... Inthe final analysis the idea of pacifism is profoundly naive. Calling for the abandonment of the pettol-driven automobile is bo utopian and unrealistic. At the end of the day each of us benefits from this invention in one way or other. (= Jn the final analysis...) N.B. At the end of the day, which is rather informal, is especiall favoured by journalists. and politicians. Aulfice it to say/mention that... Let us not dwell on this thesis any longer. Suffice it to say that it is now generally rejected by scholars the There are, then, three main objections to this theory. (= as we have seem.) Hi would seem that... From the foregoing discussion it would seem that one should be tolerant of other people's tastes, even if they are not terribly sophisticated, Ind To conclude, it would seem that globalisation is ind «threat than an opportunity N.B. Imagine an essay entitled “Is Globalisation More of a Threat Than sn) Opportunity?” The above example would open the concluding para- raph by taking up the essay title. more of It is hard to eseape the obvious conclusion (that...) Lis difficult to resist the conclusion that... The only conclusion that suggests itself is that In the end itis hard to eseape the obvious conclusi ‘man exists It is difficult to resist the conclusion that the disaster to the space shuttle |: Words and Phrases Which Often Mark a Transition iy way of comparison..., By way of contrast... The work bears all the hallmarks of a master. Let us, by way of contrast, tum to one which is far less accomplished,By way of example... | Miscellaneous Words and Phrases ‘The Beatles often use simple metaphors to express some striking vation about British reality. Let us, example, turn to a from one of their early albums. \ phrase is often used wrongly or clumsily. Compare the following See also pp. 32-36. Jn. *He worked under, among others, Klimt, Makart, Czeschka On a more sombre note... sand Mallia. First ofall I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you here 1, He worked under such figures as Klimt ete finding the time to take part in our symposium. I'm sure it will be a ss The new) ovement recsived|algreat boos! fom, among orice. siuecess... On a more sombre note it is my sad duty to announce the d Walter Gropius and Oskar Kokoschka ‘of one of our most longstanding participant. 2h, The new movement received a great boost, notably from N.B. This phrase tends to occur in speeches. Cf. also: On a lighter note. Walter Gropius ete On a more personal note..., On a more philosophical note.... On a quit Deserta cred omens cliente aemecrest teen different note... etc. and a steam engine, 3b, Heron's inventions include a thermoscope et. assy onl froautn-—) Morag Ce tooo Of cach of the above alternatives the second is to be preferred. In 3a the ase among others is especially unsatisfactory: it is unclear whether Hloron was only one of the people to invent a thermoscope, a siphon and {steam engine, or whether it was Heron who invented those things and ther things as well Note also two alternative ways of giving a footnote: So much for the problems facing nature conservation in the Pennines. Passing on now to the Lake District, we can say that they are somewhat ferent in character. Moving on now from the nineteenth century we can see how much the same tendencies grow in magnitude in the following period, Also: Going on to..., If we turn to... Turning now t0.., To turn NOW tO. To move on fromvto..., To pass on fromvto..., To change the subject ‘There are also various phrases for referring back: Coming back to.... Going back to... Retuming to... To come back to... To g0 back 10.., TO ret t0.., Marx's ideas have been widely criticised by many thinkers." "By Weber, Heidegger and Popper among others " Notably by Weber, Heidegger and Popper. In this final example, however, both options are equally acceptable. So much, then, for... se of them being... So much, then, for the Classical Period, Let us now turn to the Romantics, aa aar nanan The Internet undoubtedly has its darker aspects, one of them being the possibility of frequent contacts being opened up with criminals of every deseription ‘This/That brings us to... This/That brings us on/back to... As we have seen, several of England’s greatest writers had no Formal ‘education, This brings us back to the basic question of whether education is really indispensable. (= Thus we must once again consider...) in his/her/its/their own right... Goethe was not only a great writer but also a man of science in his own right. Also: This brings us to our/the next point, namely. n BOnly to... ‘After two days the rescuers finally reached the tent, only to find climbers dead from exposure. The author makes this sweeping generalisation about “European civil tion”, only to contradict himself two pages later. Selected Collocations so it was believed/held... ‘The campaign could be dated to the second century, so it was hel Kielow is a list of vocabulary likely to be found in academic language, together In the last few years, however, a remarkable inscription has come to light With frequent collocations. For each item the same pattern of organisation has necessitating a new hypothesis. jonerally been adhered to, exemplified by the word argument: . ; adjectives (e.g. a cogent argument) te theory, being thet b) verbs which may take argument as the direct object Given the nature of the exposure the boy was vaccinated in a manner (e.g. put forward an argument) similar to the immunisation of dogs, the theory being that what had be verbs where argument may appear as the subject proven to be effective for dogs would also work for humans, (eg. an argument arises) «) set phrases (e.g. there is much to be said for this argument) ©) typical prepositions (eg, an argument about sth) ‘The book has been written with the needs of a wide audience in mind. 1) examples With this idea in m With... in mind... nd, he reexamined the evidence. account, |. accurate, biased, colourful, detailed, full, graphic, one-sided, true, vivid an — of sth ‘The discussion lacks a coherent logical structure, Worse 2. take sth into —, take ~ of sth the “evidence” that is produced is profoundly flawed. eg, Worse still... ‘Also: What: was even worse was that In such a project various factors need to be taken into —. This flies in the face of. oy ) glaring, implicit, inherent, insoluble, latent, obvious ) avoid, clear up, involve, resolve an — ©) appear, arise, emerge ) fraught with — ©) an ~ inherent ee, ‘The archaeology of the Stone Age is fraught with ambiguities. ‘The ambiguities inherent in the concept of ‘freedom’ have never been satisfactorily resolved In some cases it is believed that the more times a remedy diluted, the more potent it becomes. This fl scientific wisdom, which states that diluting a liquid will weaken sth 15iguous es. syste ee toewes eT inherently -, profoundly -, subtly — Scholars have so far filed to ~ the significance of this evidence. 4) ambiguous, balanced, (profoundly) flawed, forthright, ground- analogy breaking, idiosyncratic, ill-conceived, intriguing, lackadaisical, mis- guided, novel, original, pragmatic, promising, rational, scholarly, scientific ) discredit an ~ adopt, offer, take an ~ to sth ©) entail, involve, overlook ©) an ~ to sth eg, close, superficial draw, make, perceive, point out, see an ~ take the ~ further argue from ~ an ~ between sth and sth, an — with sth by (way of) -; on the ~ of sth eg ‘The word workaholic has been formed by ~ to the word alcoholic ‘This — to the problem is now widely discredited Scholars have tended to adopt widely divergent ~ es to the issue Some dictators conceive of their position vis-a-vis their subjects ‘The ~ entails a measure of oversimplification. Indeed, it overlooks the = of the human organism: just as the brain is the seat ‘one important fact. intelligence, so their dominance is self-evident. Indeed, they woul take the — further and consider it their mission to impose thei pe “rationality” on any ‘undue emotionalism’. 1 point, ~ about sth, ~ that... analysis ee ‘One might ~ that euthanasia is immoral, but such an approach careful, incisive, in-depth, longitudinal, meticulous, painstaking, pen- overlooks certain crucial considerations. trating, thorough attempt, make, offer, provide an ~ argument upon =, upon closer — 4) balanced, circular, cogent, compelling, conclusive, convincing, de- in the final -, in the last ~ rivative, devious, dubious, esoteric, feeble, flawed, flimsy, ground- an ~ of sth less, hollow, impressive, incontrovertible, ingenious, intrigui eg. invalid, irrefutable, logical, original, persuasive, plausible, power- The novel offers a penetrating ~ of civilisational decline. ful, (highly) questionable, rational, sinuous, solid, sophisticated, Upon — ofthe data it became clear that something unusual was happening sound, specious, spurious, telling, tendentious, tenuous, unconvin- Upon closer ~ it became apparent thatthe document was a forgery cing, unimpressive, unsound, untenable, valid, weak, weighty In the last ~ the idea of pacifism is profoundly naive. an —a fortiori, a posteriori, a priori appreciat oa . "Note the use of the modal might, followed by the conjunction but, (Cf. above, often = ‘grasp’, ‘have some insight into’, ‘understand’ pp. 21, 66) 16 nThe — conceming the legality of the US-led invasion is esoteric, insofar as it has been vindicated by the aftermath, ‘The over whether fish are capable of feeling pain has long been ‘a subject of dispute between fishermen and animal rights activist, }) accept, advance, come up with, controvert, confute, defend, demoli deploy, dismiss, drive home, examine, lose the thread of, lose track offer, paraphrase, present, press home, produce, put forward, recapit late, reformulate, refute, retract, tackle, take issue with an; marshal back up an — with sth, base an — on the observation that... follo artic a line of ~; support an — with the observation that...; present evider in support of an —; reach a conclusion by using a certain line (typ of -; reduce an ~ to its simplest form; take the — one step further fascinating, interesting, invaluable, riveting, splendid, useful, valuable ‘an ~ arguing that... \write an — publish, submit an ~ for publication be concemed with, be devoted to sth; examine sth about, on sth ce He submitted his ~ to a distinguished journal His ~ on the Reformation has been widely criticised for its numerous carry little conviction, fail (0 convince centre around (upon, on) sth; hinge upon sth; revolve around sth; proceed the — does not stand up to closer scrutiny important —s speak against sth d) for the sake of —! ‘so the ~ goes’ the ~ being that wsume there is much (sth) to be said for this ‘it may be safely —d that ilinetof= vibe slace doe ix would be premature to ~ that, it is open to ~ whether..; itis beyond ~ that... the point is open (beyond) ~ an — about, against, concerning, for, in favour of, in support o supporting sth premature, reasonable, risky, safe, unjustified, valid the — that, the ~ (over) whether... make an — about sth eg cheek, revise an This ~ ‘proving’ the existence of God carries little conviction. on the basis of an Her ~ hinges upon one single piece of “evidence 1 about, regarding sth These objetions having been refuted, the ~ ean proceed. the ~ behind / underlying a theory; the ~ that.. Important -s speak against this assumption. on assumption ygerous, erroneous, implicit, justifiable, logical, mistaken, plausible, ‘The Government is placing renewed emphasis on public transport, the ~ being that that is the most effective way to improve air quality ‘The gist of his ~ is that dreams are merely a product of waking life, as opposed to being a reflection of the Subconscious. Its open to ~ to what degree, if any, mankind has benefited from 1 was, he insisted, a justifiable and logical ~ that the order for the killing came from the Milosevie family. Science is always checking its -s. (On the basis of an erroneous ~ regarding historical development Hegel formulated his bizarre theory. ‘The theory arises from the ~ that. iomiorenerey ‘At the basis (root) of ancient astronomy lay the ~ that the sun goes around the earth aes Underlying this theory was a dangerous -, Cf. above, p. 67, B 9Also Anportant ar speak against this — bibliography exhaustive, painstaking, selective, sketchy, threadbare assemble, compile, prepare a be equipped with, be provided with, conclude with a — aon sth ~ of primary sources; a ~ of secondary literature eg. ‘The study concludes with an excellent —, comprising both prim sources and secondary literature, book compendious, formidable, illuminating, important, informative, int esting, interminable, leamed, lucid, magisterial, magnificent, origi rebarbative, seminal, soporific, splendid, thought-provoking, useful well-researched analyse, be about, be concerned with, examine, explore, focus on, into, offer a discussion of sth, present, purport to be about sth, purport discuss sth, touch on sth the ~ charts the history of sth the ~ is addressed to those who...; the book will appeal to those Who... a~ on sb (sth), a ~ about sth Also The — amply repays study, case 1. = arguments in favour of a position or theory compelling, convincing, fair, flawed, good, overwhelming, prima facie, strong, weak assemble, build up, establish, make, marshal, press, underpin a — back up one’s ~ with the argument that... ( = produce arguments in favour of a certain position or theory) There is a good ~ for arguing that the ~ against, for (doing) sth ( = reasons) ee. In his book he builds up a convincing ~ for the adoption of renewable energy. ‘These new revelations only serve to underpin the Opposition’s -. ‘A fair — can be made for the existence of a prehistoric body of folklore. ‘The ~ marshalled by the White House for invading Iraq was deeply flawed. TThere is a good ~ for arguing that NATO forestalled Soviet domination ‘of Western Europe. ‘Many Europeans consider the ~ against capital punishment to be ‘overwhelming, 2. = example, instance ; obvious, shocking, eg. It (This) is an obvious ~ of the writer misinterpreting the evidence. Cy also ease in point, above, pp. 32, 34. 3. = the truth (with the article the) i. if that (this) is the - then... ee There seems to be a consensus that teachers have too litle time to prepare for classes. If that is the -, then the Government should remedy the situation. is not true fof sth]) ii, but that (this) is not the ~ (with sth) (= eg. Many world leaders are loath to take a clear stand on certain ‘moral issues, but this has never been the — with the Pope. as is generally the ~ (with sth) eg British football fans have a well-deserved reputation for violence, | as is especially the ~ with those who travel to the Continent to support their teams, is the ~ may be! * Cf. above, p56Hie that (thin) The soldiers were classified according to whether they had seen active serviee. Indo-European languages may be classified as centum and satem dialects, alatal or alveolar fieatives. | inumediate, major, primary, principal, root, seconda according to whether palatal stops become palatal of th oe te US visa-appications will be classified under the headings of “urgent ‘or “normal”, depending on whether the applicant is married to an American citizen. comparison! 4») rough; favourable, invidious, odious, unfavourable; apposite, illumi- nating, inapposite change (noun) 0) demwyraer suggest a — considerable, dramatic, drastic, far-reaching, great, long-overdue, Canora ‘marked, momentous, needed, perceptible, radical, rapid, slight, slow, ey stalin, striking, sudden, sweeping 6 bring about, effect, engineer, make a -; necessitate (a) ~; undergo (a) ~ i ies eee een make itself felt, occur, take place beyond — ~ @~ in sth; a ~ of sth; a — from sth (in)to sth else ne (vith sth), in — (with sth) es . sb (st In the past century great -s have taken place in the way man perceives Ge Ge the universe. eg. ‘A ~ of approach is necessary. The Middle Ages were accompanied by a ~ from slavery to serfdom 45 the characteristic form of economie organisation. For a long time now seientists have observed subtle -s in the ‘One ought not to compare food from a microwave oven with tradi tional home cooking. ' are simply odious. (= It is simply unfair to compare the Wo.) The — of contemporary homo sapiens to a destructive pest has often earth's climate. beeen made. Unfortunately English wines do not stand ~ with French ones, classify? A — of the two manuscripts suggests a common authorship. - ~ as; ~ by3 ~ among There is no ~ ire two studies. (= The one study is infinitely X may be classified (into Y and Z) according to (whether), superior to the other i 2 1 two writers shoul ¥¢ mentioned in the same breath: they are depending on (whether), on the basis of (whether)... ~ under oes a ee y the (towing) headings Air travel is much faster than rail, but is more expensive by ~ 7 ‘The vocabulary of Latin is tiny in ~ with that of modem English ‘The site was classified as unsafe. A ~ of a totalitarian police state to a giant octopus is not altogether The books are classified by subject. mappa Cigarettes may be classified according to nicotine content ‘A ~ of British football fans with their European counterparts is highly illuminating. " For im any case, ef above, p. 62 = * See also above, pp. 42-43, " See also above, pp. 40-41 82Willy moans 10 claim a similarity between H mud meal 10 a work of art). By contrast, W (0 discuss similarities and differences (e. Joiball fans with their European counterparts) ‘oflen applies to comparison to/with (e.g. “The — homo sapiens to a destructive pest...", “A — of a total Pollce-state (0 a giant octopus...”, but “A ~ of British football Will their European counterparts... b) challenge, destroy, disturb, overturn a ~ ©) emerge, exist ©) a that, a — as regards, regarding sth eg “The book overturned the prevailing ~ as regards the origins of hhomo sapiens. No ~ as yet exists regarding the provenance of the Etruscan. Debate continues as to this question, without a general ~ emerging, - scholars that the Indo-European eonelude There is a now a broad ~ among scholars that the Indo-Europ. from sth languages originated in the Black Sea region. that... work on an optimistic (pessimistic, sombre) note eg. From a study of the sources one ean only ~ that standards of moral have greatly changed. He -s his study of civilisation on a sombre note. 8. conclusion! Iv is the author's ~ that the Vikings were not the first Europeans to a) erroneous, foregone, hasty, inescapable, inevitable, invalid, reach America obvious, premature, reasonable, satisfactory, startling, surprisin ‘The provenance of the manuscript has long, been a bone of ~ among tenable, unavoidable, valid scientists. ') arrive at, come to, draw, reach a ~ (that...) avoid, escape, resist a ~ (that...) context ©) prove premature, prove mistaken {) divorce sth from its proper -, take sth (completely) out of ~ the ~ suggests itself that. see sb (sth) in (his/her/its proper) -; see sb (sth) in (within) the only ~ that would suggest itself is that. the — of sth the inescapable ~ is that ©) in the ~ of; in the broad (narrow) — of sth 4) (o bring a discussion to a satisfactory — eg. e ‘ontention bizarre, curious, ill-founded rebut, refute a his — is that... it is a bone of — \is — that... Bad scholarship often takes quotations out of His ~ that combustion was caused by phlogiston proved premature. If this writer is seen in the ~ of his era, he is less remarkable, Inthe end it is hard to escape an obvious =: as long as man exists hhe will always have the capacity for violence. contradiction Its difficult to resist the ~ that these exotic place names are 4) apparent, basic, fundamental, glaring, hidden, inherent, irrecon- explicable by the arrival of refugees, cilable, latent, unresolved consensus, b) avoid, involve, resolve a ~ (with respect to sth) a) broad, existing, fragile, general, prevailing ©) appear, emerge 4) ain terms " See also above, pp. 70-71 ©) a~ between two things ea 85,controversy 4) acrimonious, animated, bitter, fierce, furious, heated, ly, perennial, prolonged, tortuous, unending }) arouse, cause, engender, fuel, generate, precipitate, st engage in — ©) arise, flare up, rage; continue; burn itself out, die down centre around (on), focus on, hinge on (upon), revolve around, surround sth 4) be a source of ~ ©) @~ between two persons, with sb about, around, centering on, concerning, on, over, with regal to sth about whether, as to whethe eg. Throughout his life he engaged in lively ~ with his contemporaries o a range of issues. Recently a ~ has flared up around these remarkable findings. The whole ~ hinges upon the alleged deathbed confession, ‘The fiercest ~ revolves around whether cutting back on fossil fuels ‘would make much difference to global warming. At the moment there is a bitter ~ as fo whether such policies promote economic growth, convention establish, lay down, set a ~ break (with), defy, flout, ignore, violate a it is an accepted ~ that. ia (singular: eriterion) fixed, obvious, reliable, strict, stringent, valid apply; establish, lay down; fulfil, meet, satisfy be valid, obtain ~ for (doing) sth eg, ‘There are no obvious ~ for determining whether the town of Monmouth is Welsh or English ic carping, harsh, malicious, severe, uninformed, unkind; impartial -s claim, feel, note, point out, are unanimous that a of sb (sth) 86 gi dant, savage, scathing, severe, sharp, stinging, strong, sweeping, uncon- structive, uninformed, unsparing, veiled, vitriolic, withering, criticism brasive, adverse, acerbic, astringent, blistering, brutal, cogent, dam- destructive, devastating, excoriating, ferocious, harsh, hostile, mor- astute, intelligent, penetrating, perceptive balanced, constructive, fair, friendly, measured, mild, restrained, so- ber; valid hair-splitting, petty, trivial textual express, offer — of sth arouse, come in for, face, give rise to, provoke, take — revise, temper, water down one’s ~; subject sb (sth) to ~ is levelled at sb (sth) ~ of sb (sth) eg. In veiled ~ of the United States the Prime Minister referred to certain countries “returning to their old ways”. Recently this theory has come in for a great deal of ~ from both cethnologists and archaeologists. Inthe light of these discoveries he was forced to revise his earlier ~s Also: Popper reserves his most scathing ~ for Hegel, adverting with derision to this “flat-headed charlatan”. data 1, (In academic and scientific writing data generally functions as 4 plural noun) a) available, existing; illuminating, inconclusive, random, remark- able, revealing, spurious, sufficient, suggestive; raw, scientific, statistical ») cite, collect, describe, evaluate, gather, present ~ doctor the — ©) be available, exist be illustrative of sth, indicate, suggest sth support the hypothesis that. ©) — on sb (sth); ~ pertaining to sb (sth) eg. ‘These ~ are presented below. 87tre highly suspect. The possibilty exists that hhave been doctored. suggest that it is highly unlikely that the Thowe fig ‘the original The existing This notion does not appear to be borne out by the 2. (Un the context of information technology data may be treated 4 singular.) download, feed in, process, retrieve, store, transfer ~ ee, ‘This ~ has yet to be fully processed, The ~ pertaining to the conference was retrieved from the hard drive, debate ) acrimonious, animated, brisk, candid, frank, heated, illuminating, intense, interminable, lengthy, lively, open, valuable; wide-ranging b) arouse, cause, fuel, generate, give rise to, lead to, provoke, stir up a enter into a; bring sth up for —; come up for ~ ©) arise, continue, die down, take place centre around (on), focus on, hinge on (upon), revolve around, surround sth 4) be a source of -, be a matter for ~ ©) among people, - between two persons, with sb about, as (0, centering on, concerning, over, surrounding, with regard to sth as to whethe: ee, ‘The book has provoked a lively ~ among scholars of many fields In her book she enters into the ~ surrounding organ transplantation, ~ continues as to the influences which underlie prehistoric Britain, ‘The ~ hinges on whether nature or nurture isthe Key factor in individual development ‘The nature of Minoan society cot among specialist, There is much ~ as to whether Gulf War Syndrome even exists, les 10 be a matter for intense definition a) broad, narrow, precise, useful, vague, woolly classical, classic, customary, dictionary, standard, usual b) formulate, give, provide, write a ~ of (for) sth; elude — d) be within, correspond to, fall outside the — of sth ex, Such behaviour falls outside the usual ~ of honesty. dogree certain, considerable, great, high, insignificant, large, marked, mini- al, remarkable, slight, small, some to a (certain, minimal, large ete.) {0 some ~; to no small ~ (= 10 a considerable -) to such a ~ as to be; to such a ~ that...; to what eg In the humanities a certain ~ of inexactitude is admissible, ‘To a certain ~ such criticism is justified. ‘The researches carried out were compromised to such a ~ as to be of questionable value Cf, extent differ 1 0 be different = from one group to another; ~ from the norm ete. noticeably, sharply, slightly, spectacularly, substantially, wildly ~ in (respect of) sth 10 be of a different opinion —with sb about (on) sth 2, discussion ) animated, brisk, candid, frank, fraught, heated, lively, open illuminating, lucid, magisterial, masterly, original, useful, valuable copious, elaborate, exhaustive, extensive, interminable, lengthy, tortuous, wide-ranging ‘group, panel, round-table the above, concluding, ensuing, foregoing b) furnish, offer a — arouse, provoke, stir up (a) ~ bring sth up for —; come up for chair a ) be devoted to, centre on, focus on sth, pertain to sth#) clear, dubiow linguistic, substantive, verbal b) dra on, of sth Halwen the " to a new level » fine, nebulous, subtle, tenuous aw, make a — blur a ©) appear, emerge ea ex. emerge eg. 2, eg. emphasis heavy, essential ~ that, ex. Foot lis tis 1. it thus -s that...: from this it —s that = from sth reveal itself (as sth) lay, place, put ~ on sth , for, to Preparation is ~ for a successful outcome. between, ‘The ~ between substantive, A clear ~ “Middle East” and ‘Near East’ is linguistic rather th ‘needs to be drawn between these two approaches, becomes clear, turns out that...) Fram the newly discovered evidence its that Napoleon was indeed In the coming years water will — as one of the world’s most intractable problems, Particular, special (should)... notes and liography are generally ~ in any formal dissertation. ‘0 proceed carefully ~ that the facts (should) be fully documented. evidence admissible, alleged, ample, anecdotal, circumstantial, cogent, com- pelling, conclusive, concrete, contradictory, convincing, curious, definitive, direct, documentary, falsified, firm, flawed, fragmentary, growing, hard, impressive, incontestable, incontrovertible, increas- ing, indisputable, interesting, intriguing, imefutable, material, pri- ma facie, reliable, satisfactory, shaky, solid, sparse, strong, sub- stantial, suggestive, tainted, tenuous, undeniable, unquestionable, wide-ranging b) adduce, furnish, give, introduce, offer (up), present, produce, pro- vide — for (in support of, supporting, to support) an ar- gument (assertion, hypothesis, theory etc.) cite sth as assemble, collect, compile, dig up, find, gather, marshal, unearth ~ for (in support of, supporting, to support) sth, of sth augment, corroborate (the) ~ for sth classify discuss, interpret, piece together, review (the) ~ for sth dismiss, distort, doctor, do violence to, fabricate, falsify, ignore, misinterpret, misrepresent, overlook, overtax, play down, sup- press, tamper with, twist, withhold (the) -; take (the) — out of context accept, acknowledge, admit the — question, take issue with the — reexamine, reassess, take a new look at (the) ~ in the light of sth appear, come to light, emerge, tum up; be forthcoming, bear out, contradict, corroborate sth (a claim, statement etc.) point to, suggest (sth) 4) there is (ample, little, no, some) — to suggest that..., to contradict sth a body of -, a piece of -, a trail of -, a wealth of —; the bulk of the ~ in the light of this — use (misuse) of — claim (state) sth without a shred of ©) about, concerning, for, of, regarding sth; against sb that... °°)