Tài liệu Teaching academic ESL writing part 21 pdf

Al-though some of the verbs in this class are relatively common in academic writing, others are hardly ever encountered because they often impart per-sonal and subjective tone to formal

Syntactically advanced construction with dual reporting verbs and

infinitives

Smith/The author(s) describe xxx to show that

explain xxx to demonstrate present xxx to emphasize xxx can include such nouns as: data, information, examples, illustrations, facts, statistics, study results, observations

Adverbial constructions and hedges (see also chap 12 on hedges)

According to Smith (2002),

(b) The second or subsequent mention of the author's name/source

The author(s) propose that

report comment point out remark suggest

(c) The second or subsequent mention in a paraphrase from the

same source

The researcher(s)/this scholar goes on to say that

further writes additionally states

2 Reporting information in sentences with inanimate subjects

(a) First or second/subsequent mentions of study results

Smith's (2002) study shows that

proposes emphasizes maintains Smith's (2002) findings point out

The analysis of xxx suggests

The investigation of xxx argues

denies

(b) Advanced structures with object complements

Smith (2002) presents the opinion that

holds the position advocates the view

(c) Advanced constructions with various types of noun clauses and

object complements

Their results help explain that/how/why The study results explain the reasons that

the view the position challenge the argument that

the claim The new findings offer (the) explanations that

When teaching the uses of reporting verbs in references to sources

and literature citations, it may be helpful to present these

construc-tions in columns for students to see clearly how the syntactic

regulari-ties in these constructions can work to the learners' advantage That

is, by simply replacing the subject noun or the verb with various

proxi-mate alternatives, L2 writers can actually come up with a great

num-ber of diverse and contextually appropriate expressions

In real terms, however, few students may need a supply larger than five or six citational expressions, and practicing reporting verbs in the context of ref-erences to sources may help L2 writers become comfortable with their uses

MENTAL/EMOTIVE (THINKING/FEELING) VERBS

On the whole, mental verbs are not popular in academic prose, and their rate of use in academic prose stands at approximately 0.42% in a large Eng-lish-language corpus (Biber et al., 1999) In general, mental verbs refer to

intellectual states (e.g., know, learn, think) and nonobservable intellectual acts (e.g., notice, suspect, trust) Other verbs in this class refer to mental and cognitive processes (compare, calculate, recognize).

The teaching of mental/emotive verbs needs to proceed judiciously Al-though some of the verbs in this class are relatively common in academic writing, others are hardly ever encountered because they often impart per-sonal and subjective tone to formal discourse In classroom teaching, the former can be combined with reporting verbs, and the latter should be

dis-couraged in L2 academic writing Both of these types of mental/emotive are highlighted in this chapter

The most common mental verbs found in academic text are actually fewer than 10 (listed here in declining order of frequency; Biber et al., 1999):

see consider think determine read

find know assume mean

A majority of mental verbs found in published academic text largely de-note cognition, although this class also includes highly emotive verbs such

as bear, enjoy, face, hate, and want These verbs do not refer to physical actions

of any kind and involve "thinking" or, in rare cases, receiving information

(e.g., observe, read, recognize).

In addition to the most frequent verbs noted earlier, other mental verbs

found substantially less often in large English-language corpora include

other verbs that refer to mental/cognitive processes (Leech et al., 2001)

accept confirm estimate note solve

appreciate decide examine notice study

assess determine identify observe suspect

calculate discover intend prefer

choose distinguish interpret prove

compare doubt judge realize

conclude establish learn recognize

Mental verbs refer to "private" intellectual states and acts; for this reason, their uses in academic prose mark the text as somewhat subjective (Quirk et al., 1985) Indeed mental verbs are far more prevalent in conversational

and informal discourse and fiction than academic text Such verbs as at-tempt, plan, try, and want refer to the future time and are often employed in

tentative or personal constructions with an element of uncertainty (Huddleston & Pullum, 2002; Quirk et al., 1985)

In formal papers, NNS students employ substantially more emotive and tentative verbs than do NSs because L2 writers rely on hesitation to avoid projecting an overly confident stance in propositions and claims (Johnson, 1989b), as is considered to be desirable and appropriate in

many non-Anglo-American discourse traditions For example, / will try to graduate in spring sounds more tenuous than I will graduate in spring

An-other reason that NNS writers employ mental and tentative verbs signifi-cantly more frequently is that many learners are exposed to a great deal more informal conversational discourse than formal written prose (Hinkel, 2002a)

In addition to working with common academic verbs, it is also

im-portant to alert NNS writers to the fact that the mental/emotive verbs

are hardly ever encountered in formal academic text and that their

uses may make the text appear conversational and informal

Conversational and Emotive Verbs Not Found in Academic Prose

attempt expect like plan try

believe feel listen remember want

desire hear love suppose wonder

The uses of these verbs may seem somewhat subjective in formal aca-demic writing when discourse is expected to project objectivity, distance, and detachment (Swales, 1990a) For example,

Many American scholars have studied the history of American education They have

tried to find out what made education change I feel that there are different causes for

that (From a student text on early American history and education.)

Nonetheless, despite their apparent subjectivity and personal tone, cer-tain mental verbs can be used effectively in the references to sources similar

to reporting verbs:

assess calculate conclude confirm observe note

However, it is advisable that L2 writers employ these verbs with caution

In the following example, the author's description appears to be some-what personalized and even slightly obsequious (mental/emotive verbs are underlined):

Biologists like to work with each other because they feel that they need knowledge

from other fields, such as chemistry and physics They think that one person cannot

work alone We can notice the same in other fields, such as geology, when they share

information, and everyone likes to take part that is related to his major When

biolog-ical research starts a new project, we want to listen to one another and plan what we

will do because we expect to get results together Knowledge grows rapidly in this

world, and biologists try to keep up with the current knowledge by working together

to design research After research design is evaluated, we can recognize what went

well and what didn't (Extracted from a students' paper about research

de-sign in biology.)

Due to the preponderance of mental verbs in this text, it may need to be thoroughly and laboriously edited to make the text appear more detached and objective (Also repeated uses of first-person pronouns, characteristic

of formal written discourse in various non-Anglo-American rhetorical tra-ditions, seem to be distracting See chap 6 on pronoun functions and uses.)

LINKING (BEING/BECOMING) VERBS

Linking verbs refer to a syntactic "link" that exists between the subject on the left-hand side of the verb phrase and the subject complement on the right-hand side of the verb (see also chap 3):

Deviance is_ universal; however, each society has a different view of what is_ deviant,

and it changes from generation to generation Even when it might appear that almost

all societies agree on some general category of action as deviant , careful examination will show that they differ in their definitions of what specific acts are to be included in the

category (Charon, 1999, p 145)

Symbols are the basics for human thinking, and thinking in turn is_ basic to what we

do in situations (Charon, 1999, p 173)

In these texts, the subject deviance is linked to the adjectives universal and deviant or the subject it is connected to the complement clause that all societies agree on some general category of action as deviant Similarly, the noun symbols is linked to the complement phrase the basics for human thinking, and thinking is linked to basic to what we do in situations In many cases, the function of the verb be can be taught as subject approximately equal to (~) or directly

refer-ring to the complement For example:

Jane is tall (i.e., tall refers directly to Jane) One of Jane's characteristics (*) tall.

John is a student (i.e., a student directly refers to John) One of John's characteristics (~) student.

Symbols are basics for human thinking (i.e., symbols [~] basics for human thinking, and vice versa).

Although the fact that linking verbs are not very numerous in English, they are by far more predominant in academic text than in any other genre (Biber et al., 1999)

Highly Common Academic Linking Verbs

appear become keep remain stay

be grow prove seem turn out

The most common copula/linking verbs are be and become, and be is em-ployed over 20 times more frequently than any other linking verb Be often

marks stative constructions (Huddleston & Pullum, 2002; Quirk et al., 1985)—that is, states and/or existence, but not actions, activities, or men-tal/emotive processes

Other linking verbs prevalent in academic prose include seem and appear, which refer to likelihood or strong possibility (e.g., the economy seems stable) In addition, seem and appear refer to the process of reasoning or conclusions from

reasoning that may not be completely certain (Chafe, 1985, 1986) In academic texts, these verbs are usually employed as hedges (Huebler, 1983; Hyland, 1998; see chap 12 on hedges) Various linking verbs that refer to continuation,

such as remain, keep, and stay, are far less common than be, become, seem, and ap-pear (e.g., This definition might seem simple enough; Mankiw, 2001, p 208).

The verbs be and become are followed by adjective complements in a vast majority of their uses (e.g., be important, become necessary) According to the

Biber et al (1999) corpus analysis, the most common adjectives that accom-pany linking verbs in academic text are:

true important possible necessary present

different difficult likely available useful

On the other hand, adjectives of subjective evaluation such as nice, good, wonderful, terrible, good, pleasant, terrific, or terrible are not employed in

aca-demic writing

In academic prose, the verb be is very frequently followed by a noun

phrase Additionally, linking verbs can be followed by complement noun clauses and, rarely, prepositional phrases (Leech & Svartvik, 1994)

The reason that an economy's income is_ the same as its expenditure is_ that every transaction has two parties (Mankiw, 2001, p 206)

Gross domestic product (GDP) is_ the market value of all final goods and ser-vices produced within a country in a given period of time Usually, the inter-val is_ a year (Mankiw, 2001, p 208)

Although domestic quantity supplied and domestic quantity demanded differ, the steel market is_ still in equilibrium (Mankiw, 2001, p 182)

Impersonal it-cleft constructions prevalent in academic writing are almost

always followed by a linking verb (Quirk et al., 1985; see chap 6 on pronouns):

It is the existence of values that underlies facts.

and it is reasonable to conclude that there is some "higher" being that is the

ra-tionale behind such inconsistency.

It is at this point that the concept of moral worth plays a role in his [Sorley 's] theory.

It is through physical and mental adversity that happiness or pleasure are not properly to be construed at the end of our conduct (All citations from

Schoedinger, 2000, pp 280-283)

In teaching, a small chart may be helpful to explain the syntactic regular-ities of the structure and uses of linking verbs

Common Structures with Linking Verbs

It is important to note, however, that the structures with linking verb + adjective are often overused in L2 academic discourse As a result, a text that relies too much on linking verb + adjective constructions may appear sim-plistic and overly descriptive.

The use of predicative adjectives with linking verbs (be wealthy, be impor-tant) limits the amount and type of information that a sentence can convey

(i.e., predicative adjectives can only refer to states or particular properties of the subject; Chafe, 1994) For example,

In history, science grows more complex, and it grows from general to specific When

science is_ still new, scientists do not have to have a special kind of knowledge They work

in general knowledge But when knowledge is_ more complex, scientists begin to choose special part from knowledge as a whole Their jobs become more specialized This special

approach in science is_ important because scientists can accurately make conclusions The new approach in research is_ important because by this approach scientists can ex-plain a phenomenon or solve a complicated problem When science is_ mature, then re-search needs more special knowledge, and technical knowledge becomes essential.

(From a student paper on the history of science.)

To deal with a high number of simplistic linking verb + adjective struc-tures, the issue of sentence compactness needs to be explicitly addressed For example, if the predicative adjective is moved and placed in front of the subject noun, the second half (the predicate) of the sentence can be "freed up" to include more information (see chap 9 on adjectives)

science is complex -> complex science (requires specialized knowledge)

science is mature —>• mature science

technical knowledge becomes essential -> essential technical knowledge (can lead to more accurate conclusions)

jobs become specialized —> specialized jobs

In classroom instruction, the teaching of copula and linking verbs often takes place at the beginning levels of proficiency because the uses and func-tions of these verbs are relatively uncomplicated However, as the students' proficiency continues to increase in the course of language study, more di-verse constructions and text functions of other lexical verbs should be brought to the forefront

LOGICAL-SEMANTIC RELATIONSHIP VERBS 3

In formal academic texts, certain verb classes refer to concepts, causes, proofs, embodiments of knowledge, and other complex relationships be-tween actions and events (Halliday, 1994) The function of logical-semantic relationship verbs is to refer to the construction of knowledge by establish-ing cause and/or providestablish-ing proof for events or denotestablish-ing a change in the state of affairs Although the lexical content of some of these verbs is ad-vanced, their contextual uses do not need to be

accompany allow (for) approximate belong to change

account (for) alternate (with) arise (from) cause combine (with)

3 Some of these verbs are mentioned earlier in this chapter among the essential academic verbs.

complement contrast (with) follow involve represent

conflict contribute (to) imply involve resemble

consist of decrease include occur result (in)

constitute depend on illustrate precede result (in)

contain develop increase reflect

contradict differ from indicate replace

As with other types of lexical verbs, a productive approach to teaching relationship verbs can take place in the form of collocational expressions that can be learned in chunks Collocations are combinations of two or more words that tend to be found together in text and discourse (Schmitt, 2000) These can include relationship verbs in combinations with nouns, prepositions and prepositional phrases, or other verbs A few examples are presented next (for Teaching Techniques, see the next sec-tion of this chapter)

Identical Verb and Noun Forms

cause (verb) cause concern

cause problems, cause inconvenience (noun) a root cause, an underlying cause

with good cause, without cause

a cause for concern

a common cause; a lost cause

a cause of death change (verb) (leaves) change color

change (from xxx) to yyy (change from stocks to bonds) change jobs

change direction, change course, change gears (conversational) change the subject (conversational)

change sides change one's mind change hands (one million shares changed hands) change places with

(noun) to be/represent a change (the new policy represents a dramatic change)

a change for the better

a change of heart (= to change one's mind)

in change, loose change, small change

For many learners, it is easier to work with relationship verbs and collocational expressions as lexical entities in contexts rather than trying to assemble phrases from their component parts (Nation, 2001; Wray, 2002) For example, collocational practice can take the form of news reportage and restatement of information from the Business section of a newspaper (e.g.,

"And now we bring you the latest from the stock market") Other alternative formats for verb practice can take formal business plans or presentations to

"the board of directors" or a company president, or poster sessions with for-mal explanations to report information to fellow-professionals, "stock hold-ers," or potential "investors."

The key consideration in learning practice is to give learners an oppor-tunity to use the lexical and syntactic structures that they would not other-wise have in their casual and informal interactions For example, many relationship verbs can be employed in somewhat formal academic writing and presentations

Verbs and Attendant Forms and Expressions

combine combine to do xxx

combine business with pleasure combined with xxx (acid combined with alkali) combined effort/action, combined income combination in combination with

a winning/perfect combination

a combination of factors, combinations of (numbers/variables) develop develop an idea, a plan (of action),

develop a relationship (with customers) develop into (a long-lasting peace, a full-scale war) (designed/created/positioned) to develop (markets/products) develop land

develop film develop an illness developed country—developing country development child development

a new development, a significant development

Another popular venue for exposure to and usage of academic and ad-vanced verbs is the traditional work with prefixes and suffixes However, the teaching of prefixes and some types of suffixes may need to account for a few caveats