Chapter 3

Accuracy in writing

Presented by
sawsan fathi judd
Accuracy refers to how correct learners use of the
language system is ,including their use of
grammar ,pronunciation and vocabulary.
Accuracy is often compared to fluency when we talk
about a learner’s level of speaking or writing.
Example :
A learner might be fluent (make their meaning clear) but
not accurate (make a lot of mistakes)
In the classroom.
Language manipulation activities can help develop
accuracy . These include controlled practice , drills , the
study and application of grammar rules , and activities
that help students to “notice their own mistakes”.
Outline
1. Abbreviations.
2. Adverbs.
3. Articles.
4. Caution.
5. Conjunctions.
6. Formality in verbs.
7. Modal verbs.
8. Nationality.
9. Nouns and adjectives.
10. Nouns. Countable and
uncountable
 Abbreviations
- Abbreviations are an important and expanding feature of contemporary English.
They are used for convenience, and familiarity with abbreviations makes both academic
reading and writing easier. Three main types can be found:
a) shortened words – photo (photograph)
b) acronyms – UNESCO
c) others – NB
1. Shortened words are often used without the writer being aware of the original form.
Bus comes from omnibus, which is never used in modern English, but refrigerator is still
better in written English than the informal fridge. Public house is now very formal (pub is
acceptable), but television should be used instead of the idiomatic telly.
2. Acronyms are made up of the initial letters of a name or phrase.
For example, AIDS = acquired immune deficiency syndrome. They are read as words. The
more official acronyms are written in capitals (NATO), but others use lower case (yuppie).
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which is a real body, whereas yuppie
means young upwardly mobile professional, which is a concept.
4. Other abbreviations are read as sets of individual letters.
They include names of countries, organisations and companies (USA / BBC / IBM), and
also abbreviations that are found only in written English (PTO = please turn over / Rd =
road).
3. All academic subjects employ abbreviations to save time.
Examples from business/economics include:
GDP = gross domestic product
PR = public relations
PLC = public limited company
CEO = chief executive officer
IMF = International Monetary Fund
WTO = World Trade Organisation
4. There are many standard abbreviations found in some types of writing which have a full
stop after them to indicate a shortened form.
For example, St. = Saint. Other examples are govt. (government), co. (company) and Oct.
(October). With type (b) and (c) abbreviations there is no standard pattern for using full
stops, so both BBC and B.B.C. are used.
There is, however, a trend to use full stops less. The important thing is to employ a
consistent style in your work.
5. Abbreviations can be confusing.
PC, for example, can mean Police Constable (in Britain), personal computer and also
politically correct. CD may stand for compact disc or corps diplomatique. PM could be
Prime Minister or post meridiem. It is useful to be aware of these potential confusions.
6. Certain abbreviations are found in all types of academic writing.
They include:
cf. = compare
e.g. = for example
et al. = and others (used in giving names of multiple authors)
Fig. = figure (for labelling charts and graphs)
ibid. = in the same place (to refer to source mentioned immediately before)
6. Other abbreviations are very subject specific and may be special to one
article.
In that case they need explaining:
… the developing countries with the highest per-capita dietary energy supplies (DES)
… one delegate expressed surprise that Call Centres (CCs) should …
 Adverbs
1. Adverbs are used in academic texts in a variety of ways.
Among the most important are:
a) to provide more detail, with verbs and adjectives:
Reasonably good data are available for only …
… decomposition eventually ceases in modern landfills …
b) individually, often at the beginning of sentences, to introduce new
points:
Currently, the Earth’s atmosphere appears to be …
Alternatively, the use of non-conventional renewable energies …
NB. These can be similar in function to conjunctions.
2. Adverbs linked to verbs and adjectives usually fall into three groups.
a) Time (when?)
previously published
retrospectively examined
b) Degree (how much?)
declined considerably
contribute substantially
c) Manner (in what way?)
medically complicated
remotely located
3. Adverbs used individually need to be employed with care.
It is dangerous to over-use them, for they may convey a sense of the
author’s voice commenting on the topic. As the academic writer aims to be
objective, adverbs like fortunately or remarkably may be unsuitable. However,
other, less subjective adverbs can be useful for opening paragraphs or
linking ideas. The following examples are often followed by a comma.
Time Relating ideas
Recently clearly
increasingly obviously
Originally (not) surprisingly
presently alternatively
Currently similarly
Traditionally (more) importantly
5. The following adverbs are used to describe changes in the rate of something:
Small Medium Large
Gradually substantially quickly
slightly significantly sharply
Marginally steadily dramatically
slowly considerably rapidly
Note that certain adverbs are mainly used to describe changes in time:
Production in Russia rose slowly from 1920 to 1929. Others are commonly used to show
changes in amount:
The birth rate increased slightly after the revolution.
 Articles
1. Unless they are uncountable, all nouns need an article
when used in the singular.
The article can be either a/an or the. Compare:
a) Research is an important activity in universities.
b) The research begun by Dr Mathews was continued by
Professor Brankovic.
c) A survey was conducted among 200 patients in the
clinic.
In (a) research, which is usually uncountable, is being used
in a general sense.
In (b) a specific piece of research is identified.
In (c) the survey is not specified and is being mentioned
for the first time.
In general, the is used with:
a) superlatives (most famous)
b) time periods (eighteenth century/1980s)
c) unique things (government/moon/earth)
d) specified things (knowledge of most employees)
e) regions and rivers (south/River Trent)
f) very well-known people and things (English novelist)
g) institutions and bodies (World Health Organisation)
h) positions (middle)
It is not used with:
i) names of countries, except for the UK, the USA and a
few others
j) abstract nouns (poverty)
k) companies/bodies named after people/places
(Sainsbury’s, Sheffield University)
 caution
- A cautious style is necessary in some areas of academic writing:
Primary products … usually have low supply and demand
elasticities …
… multiple factors may lead to a psychiatric consultation
… some parameters might depend on the degree of water content
in the sand
… women tend to value privacy more than men
… other studies suggest that some permanent modal shift will
occur
Areas where caution is particularly important include:
a) outlining a hypothesis that needs to be tested, (e.g. in an
introduction)
b) discussing the results of a study, which may not be conclusive
c) commenting on the work of other writers
2. Caution is needed to avoid making statements that are too
simplistic:
Poor education leads to crime.
Such statements are rarely completely true. There is usually an
exception that needs to be considered. Caution can be shown in
several ways:
(modal verb) Poor education can lead to crime.
(adverb) Poor education frequently leads to crime.
(verb/phrase) Poor education tends to lead to crime.
-Another way to express caution is to use quite,
rather or fairly before an adjective.
a fairly accurate summary
quite a significant correlation
a rather inconvenient location
NB. quite is often used before the article. It is often
used positively, whereas rather tends to be used
negatively.
When referring to sources, the verb used indicates
the degree of caution appropriate. Compare:
Widmerpool (1999) states that junior doctors work
longer than … (positive)
Le Bas (1983) suggests that more training would
result in … (cautious)
Other verbs that imply tentative or cautious findings
are:
think/consider/hypothesise/believe/claim/presume
 Conjunctions
- Conjunctions are words and phrases such as and or but
which join parts of a sentence together. There are six main
types of conjunctions:
a) Addition: Furthermore, child mortality rates must be
examined.
b) Result: Prices are rising worldwide, thus encouraging
investment.
c) Reason: Owing to the strike today’s classes are cancelled.
d) Time: Thirdly, the role of the architect will be reviewed.
e) Example: Various writers have examined the issue, for
instance VanExel (2000).
f) Opposition: Although this study concentrates mainly on
peak-time travellers …
 Formality in verbs
A feature of most academic writing is a tendency to use
rather formal verbs to express the writer’s meaning
accurately:
… supply of energy required to accelerate the growth …
… the development that is envisaged here needs to be not
only sustainable …
In spoken English we would be more likely to use speed up
and imagined.
The following are formal verbs used in academic writing
to adapt to to carry out to characterize to
clarify to concentrate to be concerned with
to demonstrate to determine to discriminate
to emphasis .
 Modal verbs
-Modal verbs used in academic
writing tend to have three main
meanings:
a) Ability
May and can are similar but can is
more common:
The assessment … may be made in a
variety of ways
… with smaller samples this method
cannot be used …
... one faculty can have more than
one academic programme …
b) Degrees of certainty
Will and should are used for predictions
of near certainty (will is stronger):
… in the knowledge that the parent will
be there when needed
Improved facilities should lead to lower
staff turnover
May and might both suggest possibility:
Landfill carbon sequestration might
supplement fossil fuel combustion …
… multiple factors may lead to a
psychiatric consultation …
Would and could are used in conditional
situations (not always with if):
… or would we conclude that the
observation is uninformative?
… estimates of the model’s parameters
could conceivably be computed …
c) Degrees of obligation
Must suggests strong obligation;
should is for recommendations:
To obtain a total estimate … several
approximations must be used
A primary research emphasis …
should then be on identifying …
 Nationality language
1. Most nationalities have a regular pattern of nouns and
adjectives.
Germany is a leading industrial economy. (country)
The German capital is Berlin. (adjective)
German is spoken by over 100 million. (language)
Germans/The Germans like wine. (people)
Most national adjectives end in -an/-ian/-ish/-ch/-ese/-i.
2. Some nationalities are less regular.
Holland/The Netherlands is located between Belgium and
Germany.
The Dutch capital is The Hague.
Dutch is related to German.
Dutch people often speak English well.
Country People Country People Country People
Denmark Danes Iraq Iraqis Switzerland Swiss
Greece Greeks Pakistan Pakistanis Chile Chileans
Poland Poles Thailand Thais Portugal Portuguese
The definite article is used with a few countries:
The United Arab Emirates
The United States
The United Kingdom
The Czech Republic
With national adjectives ending in –an/-ian it is possible to
say, for example:
Italians/The Italians/Italian people have enjoyed opera for
over 200 years.
With other endings the first form is not possible:
The Japanese/Japanese people like watching sumo
wrestling.
NB. England is not a political unit. Although it is possible to
use English people/English food, the nationality is British.
The country’s name is Britain or the United Kingdom.
 Nouns and adjectives
1. Compare these sentences:
The efficiency of the machine depends on the precision of its construction.
Precise construction results in an efficient machine.
The first sentence uses the nouns efficiency and precision. The second uses
adjectives: precise and efficient. Although the meaning is similar the first
sentence is more formal. Effective academic writing requires accurate use
of both forms, which can be easily confused.
Complete the gaps in the table below.
Noun Adjective Noun Adjective Noun Adjective
Height reliability heat
Strong confident true

Width probability necessity

Long dangerous relevant
 Nouns :countable and uncountable
Most nouns in English are countable, but the
following are generally uncountable, i.e. they are
not usually used with numbers or the plural
accommodation information scenery
Advice knowledge staff
behaviour money traffic
Commerce news travel
data permission trouble
education progress vocabulary
Equipment research weather
Furniture rubbish work
2. Another group of uncountable nouns is used for materials:
wood/rubber/iron/coffee/paper/water/oil/stone
Little wood is used in the construction of motor vehicles.
Huge amounts of paper are used to produce magazines.
Many of these nouns can be used as countable nouns with a rather
different meaning:
Over twenty daily papers are published in Delhi.
Many woods in the county have a long recorded history.
3. The most difficult group can be used either as countable or
uncountable
nouns, often with quite different meanings.
She developed an interest in bio-genetics.
The bank is paying 4% interest on six-month deposits.
Other nouns with a similar pattern are used for general concepts
(love/fear/hope).
Most people feel that life is too short. (in general)
Nearly twenty lives were lost in the mining accident. (in particular)
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