Insight into Academic Writing

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РФ 

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ АВТОНОМНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ  
ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ  
«НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИЙ ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ «МИСиС» 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

№ 2212 

Кафедра русского и иностранных языков и литературы

Е.В. Вардашкина 
П.В. Ермакова 
 

INSIGHT INTO ACADEMIC
WRITING 

 

Учебно-методическое пособие для преподавателей 

Рекомендовано научно-редакционным советом Ассоциации  
преподавателей иностранных языков нелингвистических вузов  
в качестве учебно-методического пособия для преподавателей  
в дополнение к одноименному учебному пособию для студентов 
всех специальностей и направлений подготовки высших  
технических учебных заведений по дисциплине «Практика  
иностранного языка» 

Москва  2015 

УДК 811.111(075.8) 
 
В18 

Р е ц е н з е н т ы :  
канд. филол. наук, доц. Е.А. Барсукова (МГУ им. М.В. Ломоносова); 
канд. филол. наук, доц. И.Э. Коротаева (МАИ) 

Вардашкина Е.В. 
В18  
Insight into Academic Writing: учеб.-метод. пособие для 
преподавателей / Е.В. Вардашкина, П.В. Ермакова. – М. : Изд. 
Дом МИСиС, 2015. – 132 с. – Текст англ. 
ISBN 978-5-87623-846-7 

Данное учебно-методическое издание к учебному пособию “Insight into 
Academic Writing” Е.В. Вардашкиной и П.В. Ермаковой, выпущенному в 
2013 г. Издательским Домом МИСиС (№ 2211) для студентов-бакалавров 
технических специальностей, предназначено для преподавателей и имеет 
своей целью помочь как начинающим, так и опытным преподавателям 
эффективно выстраивать работу на занятии с опорой на предлагаемые 
методические материалы. Пособие включает в себя рекомендации к 
поурочному планированию, а также ответы к заданиям и тестам. 
Предложенные варианты работы с материалом и интересные идеи являются 
толчком для профессионального творчества будущих пользователей в 
зависимости от потребностей студентов и учебной ситуации. 

УДК 811.111(075.8) 

The Teacher's Edition of the course-book “Insight into Academic Writing”  
by E.V. Vardashkina and P.V. Ermakova released by MISiS Publishing House  
in 2013 (№ 2211) was created to be of help both to beginning and experienced 
teachers to more effectively and efficiently attain learning targets in the classroom. 
The Teacher’s Edition includes recommendations on how to present practice  
and review the language and skills in each lesson as well as answer keys to the  
exercises and tests. Suggested ways to use the material and creative ideas keep 
teachers interested. The future users are welcome to transform and experiment with 
ideas to the extent needed in various learning situations depending on students' 
needs. 

ISBN 978-5-87623-846-7 
© Е.В. Вардашкина, 
П.В. Ермакова, 2015 

CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................4 
RECOMMENDED CLASSROOM HOURS PLAN..................................5 
WHAT IS ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES?............................6 
What is Academic Writing?....................................................................8 
Genres in Academic Writing ................................................................11 
The Stages of the Writing Process........................................................12 
THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH...............................................20 
What is a Sentence?..............................................................................20 
What is a Paragraph? ............................................................................22 
Paragraph Unity....................................................................................26 
Paragraph Organization ........................................................................26 
Paragraph Coherence............................................................................28 
THE STRUCTURE OF AN ESSAY........................................................32 
Introductions and Conclusions .............................................................33 
Types of Essay Organization in General and Academic Writing.........36 
TYPES OF ACADEMIC ESSAYS  FOR THE IELTS EXAM...............40 
STANDARD TYPES OF ACADEMIC WRITING.................................43 
Comparison and Contrast .....................................................................43 
Cause and Effect...................................................................................44 
Description: Process .............................................................................46 
Interpretation of Data............................................................................52 
KEY TO PRACTICE TIME EXERCISES ..............................................59 
KEY TO GRAMMAR TASKS EXERCISES........................................101 
KEY TO PUNCTUATION TASKS EXERCISES ................................104 
PRACTICE TESTS................................................................................107 
KEY TO PRACTICE TESTS.................................................................119 
REFERENCE LIST................................................................................127 
APPENDIX I. PEER EVALUATION FORMS.....................................128 
APPENDIX II. ESSAY MAKEOVER...................................................130 
 

INTRODUCTION 

The Teacher’s Edition of the academic writing course book addresses 
the immediate teachers’ needs in lesson preparation, delivery and testing. 
The convenient and clear representation of the material allows to save 
time and focus more on the demands of the particular group by tailoring 
the already made lesson plans to the students’ needs. 

It also contains the keys to a range of diverse exercises that are 
designed to help students develop their writing abilities. Thus, teachers 
may think in more depth about the tasks they set and the feedback they 
give to students. Moreover, six tests provided in the book give an 
opportunity for the regular knowledge checks with an additional support 
of a proforma for the feedback sessions. 

The writers of the Teacher’s Edition of the academic writing course 
hope that both categories of the professionals: inexperienced and 
experienced tutors of academic writing will find some fresh ideas and 
continuous support by experimenting with the offered material. 

The authors are grateful to the reviewers E.A. Barsukova, 
I.E. Korotaeva, the Assosiation of ESP teachers on behalf of 
A.K. Krupchenko, their colleagues T.V. Vanicheva and E.N. Shchaveleva 
for invaluable constructive criticism and friendly advice during the 
writing stage. Special thanks to the editor Florence Helbing for her 
stimulating cooperation and scrupulous proofreading of the manual. 

RECOMMENDED CLASSROOM HOURS PLAN 

Autumn/Spring term (34 hours*) 

Lesson 
Topic 
Time 
Exersises 
1 
What is English for Academic Purposes? 
1 hour
pp. 7–9 
2 
What is Academic Writing? 
1 hour
pp. 7–9 
3 
Genres in Academic Writing 
1 hour
 
4–7 The Stages of the Writing Process 
4 hours
 
8–9 Test 1 
2 hours
 
10 
The Structure of a Paragraph. What is a 
Sentence? 
1 hour
p. 12 

11–14 What is a Paragraph? 
4 hours
pp. 12–16 
15 
Paragraph Unity 
1 hour
pp. 16–17 
16–17 Paragraph Organization 
2 hours
 
18–21 Paragraph Coherence 
4 hours
pp. 18–25 
22–23 Test 2 
2 hours
 
24 
The Structure of an Essay 
1 hour
 
25–28 Introductions and Conclusions 
4 hours
pp. 27–33 
29–32 Types of Essay Organization in General 
and Academic Writing 
4 hours
pp. 34–44 

33–34 Test 3 
2 hours
 

Spring/Autumn term (34 hours) 

1–6 Types of Academic Essays for the IELTS 
Exam 
6 hours pp. 47–60 

7–8 Test 1 
2 hours
 
9–12 Standard Types of Academic Writing. 
Comparison and Contrast 
4 hours
pp. 62–70 

13–16 Standard Types of Academic Writing. 
Cause and Effect 
4 hours
pp. 71–76 

17–18 Test 2 
2 hours
 
19–22 Description: Process 
4 hours
pp. 77–81 
23–28 Interpretation of Data 
6 hours
pp. 84–96 
29–30 Test 3 
2 hours
 
31–32 Grammar Exersises 
2 hours pp. 101–103 
33–34 Punctuation Tasks 
2 hours pp. 105–108 
––––––––– 
*1 hour = 45 minutes. 
 2 hours = 90 minutes. 

WHAT IS ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC 
PURPOSES? 

 

Lesson aims 

Stages 
each stage 
may last 
5–10/ 

I 

II 

Lesson 1 

1. Recognize the key features of EAP. 
2. Become familiar with the notions “language skills”, 
“study skills”, “critical thinking skills”. 

Teacher (T)* starts with brainstorming by asking the 
question: What is English for Academic Purposes 
(Academic English)? Ask students (Ss)** to draw a mind 
map with five empty circles including the following points 
to be covered: 
– purpose  
– when EAP is used 
– context 
– to whom it is taught 
– a range of skills 
Ss work in pairs and then the whole class shares its ideas. 
Possible answers: 
– studying at universities 
– higher education (attending lectures, taking notes, reading 
texts, writing essays/reports, conducting research) 
– academic texts, subject-specific vocabulary 
– second/third language students 
– skills (=abilities to do something well): language skills, 
study skills, critical thinking skills 

T asks Ss about the skills they develop when learning a 
language and helps recognize 4 skills (reading, writing, 
listening, speaking). T helps Ss classify these skills into 
2 groups: productive (writing, speaking) and receptive 
(reading, listening). Ss generally should understand that 
listening and speaking are speech-based and reading and 
writing are text-based. EAP’s primary emphasis is reading 
and writing. 
T asks Ss how they would define the notion study skills. Ss 
discuss it in pairs first. Possible answer: skills which 
learners need to possess in order to be able to study 

III 

IV 

effectively. These skills include: 
– time management 
– the ability to take relevant notes 
– research skills 
– the ability to use information technology productively 
– the ability to read and to write at the appropriate level 
(http://www.answers.com) 
‘There is nothing either good or  
bad, but thinking makes it so.’  
William Shakespeare 
T suggests Ss discuss the meaning of the notion critical 
thinking skills. Possible answer: critical thinking is the 
cognitive process involved in evaluating or analyzing 
information related to a particular context, identifying 
problems, seeking solutions to these problems. It requires 
an element of curiosity and doubt. Critical thinking begins 
when Ss start reading and writing. 

Extra activity 
Ask Ss to find out which skills should be applied in the 
following situations. Draw Ss attention to the fact that 
sometimes several skills may be required. 
1. The student formulates his/her ideas into acceptable 
written English language (writing). 
2. The student reads through the material, focusing on the 
information that best relates to the questions formulated 
(reading/study/critical thinking). 
3. The student highlights or underlines information in 
different colours in accordance with its priority (study). 
4. The student presents an argument or arguments for a 
solution to the problem (critical thinking). 
5. The student finds what is appropriate to say, how it 
should be said, and in which social situations (speaking). 
6. The student summarizes the topic by making appropriate 
notes, bringing his/her own understanding into the process 
(reading/writing/study/critical thinking). 
7. The student uses visual techniques to help encode and 
retain information in their memory (study). 
8. The student uses all contextual clues to get the meaning 
of what is being said and how the message is being 

conveyed (listening). 
9. The student constructs the meaning of the text in 
accordance with different genres (reading/study/critical 
thinking). 
10. The student decides how to group ideas for an essay 
(critical thinking). 

What is Academic Writing? 

 

Lesson aims 

Stages 

I 

II 

Lesson 2 

1. Recognize the purpose of writing. 
2. Understand the key features of academic writing. 
‘Talent alone cannot make a writer.’  
Ralph Waldo Emerson 

T encourages Ss to think about the social purposes of 
writing in everyday life (writing short notes, letters, essays 
to communicate the main ideas to the reader). T follows 
with a question on the style of this kind of writing (semiformal/informal). 

T turns Ss’ attention to their academic life. T asks Ss if 
they have to write in the course of studying at university 
and gives them a hint by asking them what they have to do 
when listening to lectures (take notes) or when doing 
research (write reports). T follows with a question on the 
style of this kind of writing (formal). 

T asks Ss to work with the questionnaire given below. T 
reads out the questions and asks Ss to discuss them in pairs 
and then share the ideas with the whole class. Remind Ss 
that the aim of the questionnaire is to prompt them to think 
about the requirements of academic writing and there are 
no right or wrong answers. (Possible answers are given (√) 
in Questions 1–5. Answers to Questions 6–8 depend on Ss 
backgrounds). 

1. What is academic writing? 
□ a mechanical exercise 
□ groups of grammatically correct sentences 
√ the clear expression of ideas, knowledge and information 

□ a form of self-expression 
□ a way of exploring, addressing and expressing academic 
issues 
□ a way of communicating results or information 
2. How important are these points for good academic 
writers? H high importance, M medium importance, L low 
importance. 
H M L 
√ □ □ reading a lot 
□ √ □ studying grammar 
□ √ □ studying vocabulary 
□ □ √ imitating other writers 
√ □ □ writing a lot 
√ □ □ inviting others to comment on your writing 
√ □ □ going back and thinking again about what you have 
written 
√ □ □ rewriting repeatedly until you are satisfied 
□ √ □ understanding the process of writing 
3. How important are the following when writing academic 
texts? 
H M L 
□ √ □ grammatical correctness 
□ √ □ spelling and punctuation 
√ □ □ an appropriate style 
√ □ □ overall organization 
□ √ □ vocabulary 
√ □ □ good/creative ideas 
√ □ □ relevance of subject content 
√ □ □ response to the task 
4. Which of the following can be used to support your ideas 
when writing academic texts? 
√ facts 
√ statistics 
√ examples 
□ the news 
√ information from books, articles, reports, the Internet 
√ the views and attitudes of others 
√ research data 
5. Which of the following contribute to successful academic 

writing? 
√ presenting information clearly and precisely 
√ distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant material 
√ recognizing key beliefs 
√ identifying competing points of view 
√ demonstrating excellent reasoning and problem-solving 
abilities 
√ understanding the context for which you are writing 
6. What type of academic writing have you done in the past 
in English or in your own language? 
□ course work 
□ essay 
□ report 
□ note-taking 
□ abstract 
7. What do you have difficulty with when writing in 
English? 
□ content 
□ ideas 
□ grammar 
□ organization 
□ vocabulary 
□ spelling 
8. What do you do when you have difficulties with you 
writing? 
□ ask the teacher to help 
□ rewrite several times until you are satisfied 
□ ask for peer feedback  
□ try to think about the task again 
□ revise grammar  

T encourages Ss to summarize the key features of academic 
writing: 
– formal style 
– precise and relevant response to the task 
– clear organization and expression of ideas 
– using facts, statistics, opinions as supporting information 
– fluent use of appropriate language 
– accurate use of complex structures 

Turn to ex. 1, p. 7. Say this task will help Ss focus on their 
problem areas. T asks Ss to work with the task individually. 
Ss circle issues that they would like to focus on most. Then 
discuss the points they’ve chosen with the whole class. 

Do ex. 2, p. 8 to give Ss more practice with this issue. 
Draw Ss’ attention to the fact that very often the successful 
completion of the task depends on Ss ability to understand 
the task itself. Suggest a free ongoing discussion about the 
word units given in the task. 

Genres in Academic Writing 

 

Lessons aims 

Stages 
I 

II 

III 

IV 

Lesson 3 

1. Understand the difference between general and 
academic contexts. 
2. Distinguish the difference between academic writing 
done in class and professional academic writing. 
3. Become familiar with the notion genres of academic 
writing. 

T encourages Ss to work in pairs more on understanding 
the differences between general and academic contexts. 
Possible answer: academic context relates to education at 
college or university level, includes specific vocabulary 
and 
complicated 
grammatical 
structures 
(passive 
constructions, complex sentences). 

Ss do ex. 3–4, p. 8–9 as check points. Pairs work 
independently. T circulates around the class and helps Ss if 
they struggle with answers. The idea behind this task is to 
encourage learning from each other, to share their 
language learning experience. 

T splits Ss into mini groups and asks them to discuss how 
writing assignments done in class (essays, reports) are 
different from professional academic writing (case studies, 
research works, results for publication). 

T has Ss brainstorm a range of academic genres 
(=particular types of writing with certain features) and 
describe the purpose of these texts. T writes different 

III 

IV