Collins Cobuild English Grammar (218 page)

That
’s a good question.

ideas

This
view is also held by Rey and Stiglitz (1988).

actions and events

During
this
process, cracks appeared in the limestone.
This
situation continued for almost two decades.

pieces of writing

As
this
research has shown, customer brand loyalty is very hard to achieve.

You use
such
as a determiner and predeterminer to refer back (
9.29
and
9.30
).

They generally agree on which aspects of police work they like and dislike.
Such
a consensus was originally explained as…
The report highlights the high level of overcrowding in some prisons. In
such
circumstances…

Other words and expressions used for referring back are
previous
,
above
, and
the former
…
the latter
.

The
previous
arguments have pointed to two ways in which the system might be improved.
What is said
above
gives the background to what follows.
The French have two words for citizenship: ‘citoyenté’ and ‘civisme’,
the former
describing the status,
the latter
, attitude and behaviour.

referring forward

To refer forward to sections of the text, you can use:

following
as an adjective, or
the following
, to refer to texts, ideas, and pieces of writing (see
10.43
)

Symptoms of the condition may include any of
the following
: chest pains, headache, difficulty breathing, and joint pain.
The
following
passage summarizes Schmidt’s views:…

the adverb
below
, normally after nouns referring to texts and pieces of writing (see
10.45
)

The trade blockade with India, described
below
, resulted in severe energy shortages.

sentence connectors

Sentence connectors show the relationship between two sentences, clauses, or sections of text. The following are particularly common in academic speech and writing:

The style of your message 

Once you have decided on your message, you need to formulate it so that you can achieve the effect you are aiming for. Common ways of presenting information are described below.

Distancing

Present your text using an impersonal voice. This allows you to focus on the issues rather than on the people involved. The structures below are especially useful for avoiding
I
.

impersonal
it

You can remove focus from people by using impersonal
it
(see
9.31
to
9.45
).

It
is almost an occupational hazard accepted by virologists.

Use impersonal
it
and a passive form of a reporting verb if your message is an opinion held by an unspecified group of people (see
7.69
to
7.73
).

It is
widely
believed
that this substance is harmful.
It is acknowledged
that resources are unevenly distributed.

Note that you can also use a reporting verb in the passive, followed by a
to
-infinitive (see
7.69
).

This substance
is believed to be
harmful.
UVB and UVA
are
both
reported to cause
skin cancer.

there is
,
there are

When you want to say that something exists, or you want to introduce something new, use
there
as a subject (see
9.46
to
9.55
).

There
are several claims to be considered in relation to this perspective.

There
are no fewer than thirteen different species of otter.

research or text in subject position

In a conclusion or an example, do not write
I have discovered…
. Instead, put a word such as
findings
or
results
in subject position.

These
findings
suggest that there are two different processing methods.
The
results
show that this problem is widespread.

the passive

You can use the passive without
by
to describe procedures when the performer of the action does not need to be specified.

The tissue sample
was removed
, analysed and stored.
The engine
was re-tested
after the malfunction.

Note that it is important not to over-use the passive, as it can make your writing difficult to read.

verbs that indicate a change of state

Use verbs such as
continue
,
decrease
, and
increase
to describe events that involve a change of state (see
3.59
to
3.67
).

The situation
continues
to be a cause for concern.
The rate of change
slowed
in the second half of the year.

The result of a change of state can be shown in a subordinate clause beginning with an
-ing
form (see
8.141
).

Prices rose,
leading to
a fall in demand.
Appetite is lessened,
resulting in
weight loss and dietary problems.

Reporting

An important aspect of academic speaking and writing involves reporting (or
citing
) the work of other academics.

Citations can be used to explain the basis of your work, to support and illustrate your arguments, or to contrast your ideas with other writers’ theories.

Citations sometimes take the form of direct quotes; however, the reported information is usually summarized in your own words.

The following reporting verbs are commonly used in academic English to introduce cited material (see
7.5
to
7.11
).

Theses verbs indicate the type of activity reported: