English Academic

# English Academic Writing Guide

## Language Conventions

### Hedging Language
| Direct | Hedged (Preferred) |
|--------|-------------------|
| This proves | This suggests / indicates |
| The results show | The results demonstrate / reveal |
| X causes Y | X is associated with Y / X contributes to Y |
| This is the best | This appears to be the most effective |
| All studies agree | Most studies suggest / The majority of evidence indicates |

### Academic Voice
| Avoid | Use Instead |
|-------|------------|
| a lot of | numerous / substantial / considerable |
| big | significant / substantial / considerable |
| small | minor / negligible / marginal |
| good | favorable / beneficial / positive |
| bad | adverse / detrimental / negative |
| think | suggest / argue / contend |
| show | demonstrate / illustrate / reveal |
| use | employ / utilize / adopt |
| get | obtain / acquire / achieve |
| find | identify / observe / determine |

### Common Mistakes

#### Articles (a/an/the)
- Use "the" when referring to something specific
- Use "a/an" when introducing something for the first time
- Zero article for general concepts: "Machine learning is..." not "The machine learning is..."

#### Tense Usage
| Section | Typical Tense |
|---------|--------------|
| Abstract | Present (findings) + Past (methods) |
| Introduction | Present (background) + Past (specific studies) |
| Literature Review | Past (individual studies) + Present (general knowledge) |
| Method | Past |
| Results | Past |
| Discussion | Present (implications) + Past (findings) |

#### Connectives
| Purpose | Words |
|---------|-------|
| Addition | furthermore, moreover, in addition, additionally |
| Contrast | however, nevertheless, conversely, on the other hand |
| Cause | therefore, consequently, as a result, thus |
| Example | for instance, for example, such as, to illustrate |
| Sequence | first, second, subsequently, finally |
| Summary | in summary, to conclude, overall, in closing |

## Paragraph Structure

Each paragraph should contain:
1. **Topic sentence** — states the main point
2. **Evidence** — data, citations, examples
3. **Analysis** — interpretation of evidence
4. **Transition** — link to next paragraph

## Common Patterns

### Introducing a Gap
- "However, few studies have examined..."
- "Despite growing interest in X, little is known about..."
- "A gap in the literature exists regarding..."

### Stating a Purpose
- "The purpose of this study is to..."
- "This paper aims to..."
- "The present study seeks to..."

### Reporting Results
- "The results indicate that..."
- "Analysis revealed a significant..."
- "Consistent with our hypothesis..."