Byline: Diana Gómez

Professor – Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures

In order to communicate effectively as well as to make contributions in terms of their research in our globalized world, it is important that our students are capable of writing academic texts in both Spanish and English. While an impressive number of our students have attained a high level of communicative proficiency in English and have developed their interpersonal skills, they must also develop their ability write in a specific genre: English for Academic Purposes (EAP). EAP refers to a specific type of English, primarily used by university-level, non-native English speakers who use English in their professional or academic endeavors (Wallwork, 2016). In this article, I will describe several tips on how to write academic texts according to this particular literary genre.

When the majority of native Spanish speakers write in English, they tend to write in the same manner that they speak. Many students do not make a concerted effort to incorporate a more formal academic registrar into their writing. Moreover, there exists a clear tendency in their English writing to lump multiple thoughts together in the same sentence. In terms of reading comprehension, this makes it more difficult to understand the main ideas. Grammatically, this prose is incorrect in the event that a student is not mindful of run-on sentences.

This trend has a big impact in students’ writing in English when exposed to writing scientific texts such as articles, lab reports, summaries, case studies, among others.

When writing in English for Academic Purposes students need to be aware of the different academic markers that allow them to produce a more structured paper that meets the standards in English for the scientific community. Some tips to take into account when writing academic texts in English are:

• Research the type of text you will write.

• Read different academic texts that use this particular style of EAP and pay attention to the different requirements of the academic genre that you are about to write.

• Compare the academic genre with your own native language; be cognizant of similarities and differences.

• Make an outline of your ideas.

• Be direct in your writing and avoid convoluted, circuitous language.

• Proofread your document.

Being cognizant of stylistic differences in academic writing across languages will ultimately strengthen your research.

If you would like to watch the video you can go to bit.ly/2Bw2dNt

References: Wallwork, A. (2016). English for Academic Research: A Guide for Teachers. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32687-0