Chapter 3 Part 1在线视频

Hello everyone

I am Lu Fengxiang

from Capital Medical University

Now we are going to talk about Chapter 3

Academic Style at the Phrase Level

Writing a phrase in an academic style

involves using the words that express the intended meaning

clearly and precisely

but also somewhat paradoxically

simply

Why is it paradoxical

Because we usually think that

clear statement needs long and complex explanation

But in fact

good scientific writing at the phrase level

is a balance and check

of three dimensions

clarity

precision and simplicity

In this lecture

you are expected to know

some guiding principles of academic style

at the phrase level

apply the guiding principles in your writing

Clarity is the most significant aspect

of good scientific writing

Next we will talk about

writing clarity at the phrase level from four aspects

proper use of articles

modal verbs

adverbs and noun clusters

Clarity is often dependent on context

and the context of a noun phrase

is set by the article or lack of article

that precedes the noun

Improper usage of articles

inevitably confuses and frustrates communication

no matter how well the noun itself

expresses the intended concept

The rules behind this seemingly simple choice

are both numerous and complex

but there are some guidelines

that can be followed to avoid many mistakes

Let's look at Example 1

We randomly assigned patients

to two different groups

medication group and placebo group

Look at the four nouns

patients

groups

group and group

The first

patients

is obviously both countable and plural

because of the plural suffix –s

There is no article before patients

Is it correct?

The answer is it depends

If the concept of patients

has been identified in the previous sentence

then it refers to particular patients

the concept becomes definite

In such a case

the expression patients

without definite article is not correct

The sentence should be like

We randomly assigned the patients…

If the concept of patients

is the first mention of the noun

then the sentence is expressing

the type of subjects(patients) that were assigned

It is patients

not doctors

nurses

or any other groups

In this case

the noun(patients)

should be indefinite

Its function is to categorize

define the type or category

This sentence is correct

Now let’s look at the second noun

groups

It is also countable and plural

By the context we can assume that

this is the first mention of these two groups

so the noun’s function is to categorize (indefinite)

not refer to a definite group

Now let’s look at the third noun

group

It does not have a plural suffix

so its countability

must be determined by the context

Since this particular group

is one of the previously mentioned two groups

it is safe to assume that

this noun is also countable

but here singular

We can say this is wrong

The noun group requires an indefinite article

The same analysis goes to the fourth noun group

Based on the above analysis

there are two versions

We randomly assigned patients

to two different groups

a medication group and a placebo group

Or we randomly assigned the patients

to two different groups

a medication group and a placebo group

From this example

we can conclude that singular

countable nouns must be preceded by either a

an

or the

Singular and countable noun

without article does not follow

English grammatical rules

Let’s look at Example Two

Computer is a useful tool

Does this sentence

follow the English grammatical rules?

Of course no

But why?

Because Computer

is a singular and countable noun

but no article to modify it

It can be rewritten like

The computer is a useful tool

Or Computers are useful tools

But we have to say these two sentences

are both grammatically right row

However the message each sentence conveys is different

Next let’s move to the uncountable nouns

or mass nouns

Because they are uncountable

they only have one form

Like countable nouns

uncountable nouns

either express a category(indefinite)

or refer to an individual member

of a category(definite)

Now look at Example 3

Medication was injected

Here medication is uncountable noun

It refers to a category

So there is no article

Look at Example 4

The medication was injected

Here medication is a still

uncountable noun

but the definite article

the is used to refer to

a particular member of a category

medication

One thing to mention

some nouns can be either countable

or uncountable depending on the context

So remember

a normally uncountable noun that is conceptualized

as countable will use the indefinite article a/an

Like example 5

A medication was injected

Compare Example 3 and 5

In Example 3

medication is used as an uncountable noun

It refers to a category

So there is no article

But in Example 5

medication is used as a countable noun

So indefinite article a is used

Like articles in a noun phrase

modal verbs set the context in a verb phrase

They can add a sense of possibility

ability

permission

obligation

necessity

intention or prediction

Now look at Example 6

When studying the advantages

and disadvantages of learning methods

it may be necessary

to place learners in artificial situations

in order to observe how they might react

to different stimuli

This can most easily be done

via electronic media (e.g virtual reality)

If the reaction is positive

this must indicate the likelihood

that learners will respond well in real life

1) May be

this is possibility

might react

this is possibility

can mostly easily be done

this is ability

must indicate

this is necessity

will respond

this is prediction

In academic writing

modal verbs are often used to soften claims

and show uncertainty

or tentativeness of result interpretations

Instead of writing

“The reason for this change is …”

academic writers may write

“The reason for this change

might/may/can/could be…”

showing that they admit

that many other factors

could have influenced the change

The common modal verbs

used for this purpose include could

may and might

Also common are the verbs appear to and seem to

as well as adverbs of probability

like perhaps

possibly

probably

likely

unlikely

Let’s look at the following sentences

to understand greater or lesser degrees of certainty

Clearly

the patient’s blood lipid level is declining

(positive and assertive)

The evidence seems to suggest that

the patient’s blood lipid level is declining

(suggesting likelihood)

It may/might/could be the case

that the patient’s blood lipid level is declining

Expressing less likelihood

Adverbs are movable within a sentence

but the meaning of the sentence

does change when the adverb is moved

Look at the placement of

Significantly in the following examples

Example 7

The heart rate increased

significantly more in the experimental group

than in the control group

Example 8

The heart rate

increased more significantly in the experimental group

than in the control group

Example 9

The heart rate

increased significantly more

in the experimental group than in the control group

For Example 7

the difference between the increase

in the experimental group

and the increase in the control group

is being compared and the difference was significant

More is comparative

significantly is modifying the comparative more

They together describe the difference

between the increase in the experimental group

and the increase in the control group

For Example 8

the difference between the significance of the increase

in the experimental group and the significance

of the increase in the control group

is being compared

and the experimental group’s significance was greater

More is modifying significantly

turning significantly into its comparative form

They together are describing the increase

in the experimental group

as compared to the control group

The significance was greater

For Example 9

the increase in both groups

was significant

but in this sentence

the increase in the experimental group

is being compared

with the increase in the control group

and the increase in the experimental group was greater

significantly is modifying the verb increased

The increase was significant

and the increase was greater

in the experimental group

The above analysis sounds a tongue twister

but tells us that

adverbs affect academic writing

and their placement

can alter the way an action can be done

Noun clusters are extremely common

in academic writing

A noun cluster occurs

when one or more nouns

is moved to a position

directly in front of another noun

to function as an adjective

It is important to understand that

although it seems that

the phrase has more than one noun

it does not

Only the final noun

is actually functioning as a noun

and only the final noun

can be treated as a noun

Look at Example 10

Example 10

The heart rates were continuously

monitored throughout the study

The noun heart is functioning as an adjective

not a noun

Notice how the verb

agrees with the plural noun rates

not with heart

In fact

because heart is functioning as an adjective

it cannot be made plural

Example 11

Antibiotics abuse has caused

an increase in antibiotics-resistant diseases

This is not a correct sentence

Example 12

Antibiotic abuse has caused

an increase in diseases

that are resistant to antibiotics

This is grammatically right

Example 13

The abuse of antibiotics has caused an increase

in diseases that are resistant to antibiotics

This is also a correct sentence

In academic writing

we’d better avoid noun clusters

A lack of clarity

is the first problem with noun clusters

and the second problem is that

the noun cluster contains

too many ideas in too small a space

Example 14

We used a sensitive

protein function monitoring system

In this example

the “real” noun is the last word

system

But what does the system do?

Is it a sensitive system

that monitors protein function?

Or could it be a system that monitors

sensitive proteins?

From this sentence

we can’t say which is the correct meaning

Articles and prepositions

are often used to untangle noun clusters

So this sentence could be rewritten like

We used sensitive system

to monitor protein function

Or

We used a system

to monitor the function of sensitive protein