Academic Writing

What is meant by academic vocabulary?

Academic vocabulary is more formal and stylised than general vocabulary.  It contains subject specific words, and there are generally more nouns than verbs.

Why is vocabulary important?

English is made up of 'layers of words' (Nation and Meara 2010 p47).  There is no single origin of words in English as there have been many influences on the English language over the years.  This can apply even to words that relate to a similar subject.  For example the word cow is of Anglo-Saxon origin, the word beef is Norman French, whilst the word bovine is a technical term.

What does this mean for you?

Learners struggle to understand if they have 80% or less understanding of a text (Schmitt 2008).  There is no escaping the fact that vocabulary is important and a large vocabulary is needed for academic English.

How can you improve your academic vocabulary?

There are a selection of resources linked on this page that will help you improve your general academic vocabulary.  Within Develop@Derby you can complete our quiz to see if you can match different words to their definitions, or check our guide to common University phrases, essay terms and library terms.  You may also find our grammar guide useful.

Analyse:   To look at all sides of an issue, break a topic down into parts and explain how these components fit together.

Argue:   To make statements or introduce facts to establish or refute a position; to discuss and reason.

Annotate:   To expand on given notes or text, e.g. to write extra notes on a printout of a PowerPoint presentation or a photocopied section of a book.

Bias:   A view or description of evidence that is not balanced, promoting one conclusion or viewpoint.

Bibliography:   A list of all the resources used in preparing for a piece of written work. The Bibliography is usually placed at the end of the document.

Citation:   A reference to another source in your work. Citations require less information than an entry to a reference list (author, date and page number (where required)). 

Critical thinking:   The examination of facts, concepts, and ideas in an objective manner. The ability to evaluate opinion and information systematically, clearly and with purpose.

Describe:   To state how something looks, happens or works.

Exemplify:   To provide an example of something.

Glossary:   A list of terms and their meanings (such as this list).

Marking Criteria:   A set of ‘descriptors’ that explain the qualities of answers falling within the differing grade bands used in assessment; used by markers to assign grades, especially where there may be more than one marker, and to allow students to see what level of answer is required to attain specific grades.

Paraphrase:   To quote ideas indirectly by expressing them in other words (Note: A paraphrase should still be accompanied by a citation).

Plagiarism: Copying the work of others and passing it off as one’s own, without proper acknowledgement. See our guide on avoiding plagiarism for further information.

Primary Source:    The source in which ideas and data are first communicated.

Quotation:   Words directly lifted from a source, e.g. a journal article or book, usually placed between inverted commas (quotation marks).

Reference/referencing:   If you include another person’s idea in your assignment, you must give credit to the author through the process of ‘referencing’. Find out more about how to reference through our referencing guide.

Reference list:    A list of sources referred to in a piece of writing, usually provided at the end of a document.

Secondary source:    A source that quotes, adapts, interprets, translates, develops or otherwise uses information drawn from Primary sources.  

Synonym:    A word with the same meaning as another.

Topic:    An area within a study; the focus of a title in a written assignment.

Topic paragraph:   The paragraph, usually the first, that indicates or points to the topic of a section or piece of writing and how it can be expected to develop.

Topic sentence:    The sentence, usually the first, that indicates or points to the topic of a paragraph and how it can be expected to develop.

Adapted from McMillan and Weyers, 2011, pp 247-252)

Abstract - a summary or brief description of a book or article.

Article -  a short piece of research (usually between 1 and 35 pages in length) published in a journal, magazine or newspaper

Back issue – older copies of a magazine or journal

Bibliography - A list of books, journal articles and other references or citations that appear at the end of a book, article or essay

Blackboard – see Course Resources

Boolean searching – the terms and, or and not that can be used in the advanced search options of many databases to narrow or broaden your search

Check out – to borrow a book from the Library

Citation – a quotation from, or reference to a book or author, in support of a fact 

Class number  - see Shelf mark

Copyright – law which protects an author from the illegal use of their work; e.g. there are legal limits on how much you can photocopy from one book or periodical

Copyright Cleared Content - these are book chapters or journal articles that might be linked to from a reading list. They have been been checked for Copyright permissions and digitally scanned

Course resources -this is the part of the University's web site that students use to access course information and learning materials, such as lecture notes, announcements, reading lists etc. It is accessed via Udo, and sometimes called by its trade name, Blackboard.

Current copy - the most recent edition of a journal or magazine

Database – an online collection of  information, usually journal articles or other subject information. You can use databases to search for journal articles suitable for your research. Some have the complete full-text articles, but others only give a brief summary.

Dewey number – the number order in which books are placed on the shelves. See also Shelfmark

Digital Library - the University of Derby's collection of online materials: databases, eJournals, eBooks, copyright-cleared resources, etc.

Dissertation – a long essay on a specific subject., especially one written for a final year University course

eBooks - Electronic (Online) books identical to the print version

eJournals- Electronic (online) journals.

Eduroam - wireless internet access. Derby students and students from other participating Universities can log in on their laptops and devices.

Electronic resources - These are any resources found online, e.g. databases, eJournals and eBooks

FAQ – frequently asked questions

Full text – the entire online book, journal or article

Harvard – the main referencing style used in the University (although there are others). There are many 'styles' of Harvard referencing - we use the specific version from Cite Them Right at the university.

Index – an alphabetical list that usually appears at the end of a book, to help you find the pages where a specific subject is mentioned

Inter Library Loans (ILL) – the service where we borrow books or supply journal articles from other libraries if we do not have them in stock at Derby

ISBN – International Standard Book Number – the unique identifying number of published books

ISSN – International Standard Serial Number – the unique number that identifies each journal title

Issue (verb) – to borrow a book or other item from the library. For example you would use a self-issue machine to borrow a book

Issue (noun) – a specific part or month of a journal

Journal – an academic magazine, that deals with a particular subject or professional activity, e.g. a medical journal. They include reports about research and are issued at regular intervals, usually with volume numbers and dates; also called periodicals, magazines or serials

Keywords – single words or short phrases that best define the main points of your research topic

Library Search – the system for searching many of the Library’s online resources in just one search to find books, media, journal articles and more

Literature  Review – a description of the literature available on a topic, often completed before beginning work on a dissertation

Loan period – the length of time that you can borrow a book for.  All books are issued for one week and auto-renew.

Oversize  - large books that do not fit on the main shelves and may be kept in a separate sequence

PDF- are files that show the full text of an article just as it appears in the printed version. It stands for Portable Document Format. In order to download pdf files onto your computer, you need a pdf reader. Adobe Acrobat is the best known, and available to download for free

Peer review – the process by which a journal article is checked by a panel of experts to ensure it contains genuine scholarly research

Periodical - see also Journal. A publication issued at regular intervals. Magazines and journals are types of periodical

Plagiarism – the copying, summarising or paraphrasing of someone else’ ideas,  but not acknowledging or referencing them correctly, and so passing them off as your own work

Reading List – an online reading list of the books and other materials that your lecturer recommends. You can find them on your Module page on Course resources

Recall –an email from the library asking you to return a book that you have borrowed

Record- an individual item in a database

Reference – details of a book, journal or other material that you have used in your work

Reference Only book – one that cannot be borrowed and must be read in the library. Spine labels on the book will show if it is for reference only

Referencing – acknowledging the books and other sources that you have used in your work, usually by having a reference list or bibliography at the end of your work, and citations within the work

Reserve / Reservation-  you can reserve books to collect later or to have them sent to a different site for collection

Return – to bring a book back to the library

Self issue – to use the self service machines to issue books to yourself

SED (Secure Electronic Delivery) – part of the Inter Library Loans Service, when a journal article is sent as an email attachment

Shelfmark – the numerical system in which the books are arranged on the shelves, where the number represents the subject e.g. 650 for business, 340 for law etc. 

Stack – the rolling storage shelves in the libraries, used for keeping the journals and older material in

Thesis – a longer piece of original academic work, often written for a higher degree, such as a PhD

University of Derby ID Card - the plastic card given to students on joining the University. It is your University identity card, Library card, and can be an access card to some University facilities at evenings and weekends

UDo - short for University of Derby online. This is the gateway, or main webpage, to online services for students and staff. Course Resources and electronic resources can both be accessed from UDo

UDORA – the University’s research repository for staff and research publications.

Username – your username to log into the University’s online systems is your student number, and is printed on your ID card

Vault – part of the Kedleston Road Library on the entrance floor

VLE- stands for Virtual Learning Environment, the generic name for Course Resources or Blackboard

Paraphrasing

A good paraphrase involves changing a text, so that it is quite different from the source, while retaining the meaning.

Three top tips for paraphrasing are:

• Use synonyms (words that have the same meaning as the original)
• Change the word class (e.g. adjective, noun, verb)
• Change the word order

The best way to paraphrase is to read the text, put it to one side and then explain it in your own words.

If you can't make a class:

You can listen to recordings, but it is best to come in person if you can so you can ask questions

If a class is about something you already know:

The classes are designed to build up your knowledge and skills - so give it a good go!  Commit to a series of classes to give yourself the best chance and experience.

If you can't access the Teams site or navigate it:

Go to the FAQs channel in the Team or email englishsupport@derby.ac.uk.

If you send work to the English support email:

Plan ahead, send clear questions for us to answer, and send a section of work ahead of the deadline.  We may take up to a week in busy times to respond so make sure you are getting advice as you go along.