Building complex sentences in academic writing

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Introduction Good academic writing provides detailed information and ideas in a concise way, and for this reason it often uses complex sentences and long noun phrases. The simplest noun phrase is just a noun. A more complex one may have an adjective or several adjectives before it. The noun can also have a prepositional phrase after it. One sentence can contain many noun phrases. The relationships between them are created through connectives, prepositions and relative pronouns. For example: Emerging markets are considered to be volatile. + such as those in Africa + and Latin America + which are dependent on commodity prices + by most fund managers becomes Emerging markets such as those in Africa and Latin America, which are dependent on commodity prices, are considered to be volatile by most fund managers. Task 1 Add the details to the sentences in bold below to make longer, more complex sentences. NB The details are not in order. In the last one, you will need to make some changes to the original sentence. 1. A human skeleton was found. or slave

at a depth of 237cm

probably that of a servant

next to a stone wall

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Building complex sentences in academic writing

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2. The Poor Law Amendment Act caused profound change. of the workhouse system

in the way poverty was viewed

of 1834

over the subsequent 40 years

and led to the implementation

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3. Laws need to be changed. for non-EU nationals

to avoid contravention of human rights legislation

in Germany

governing employment contracts

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Building complex sentences in academic writing

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4. Kant was considered eccentric at the time. due to the prevailing conservative attitudes

the moral philosophy of

of many in society

highly unusual

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5. This article examines proteins. and the production of many enzymes

an important component

P28

in cancer protection

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Task 2 Write a summary of a short article (or, perhaps, one section of a larger article). Start by writing brief bullet points containing key information then try to put that information together into longer, more detailed sentences, as above.

Building complex sentences in academic writing

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Teaching notes Level: upper-intermediate (B2). Learners: EGAP. Objectives:

to raise awareness of why complex sentences and long noun phrases are used in academic writing

to give learners practice in building complex sentences. Timing:

Introduction: 5 minutes Task 1: 20 minutes Task 2: 40 minutes.

Suggested answers

1. A human skeleton, probably that of a servant or slave, was found at a depth of 237cm next to a stone wall.

2. Over the subsequent years, the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 caused profound

change in the way poverty was viewed and led to the implementation of the workhouse system.

3. Laws in Germany governing employment contracts for non-EU nationals need to be

changed to avoid the contravention of human rights legislation.

4. The moral philosophy of Kant was considered highly unusual and eccentric at the time due to the prevailing conservative attitudes of many in society.

5. This article examines the P28 protein, an important component in the production of

many enzymes and in cancer protection.