Do you feel as though you forget most of what you read online or on your Kindle or iPad? You may not be alone. A fascinating article delves into research revealing the differences between the way we process information from differing platforms – chiefly physical books vs information from screens. I certainly feel that I […]
Numbers in written work – what are the rules?
Even the most non-scientific academic writing will contain numbers, and there are a series of rules and conventions about how they should be presented. Knowing the rules and applying them consistently will help to make your work look mature and academic – and will save you some head-scratching! Have a look at these sentences: 59% […]
‘Hedging’ – or being cautious in academic writing
British people certainly love their garden hedges, but what does the word ‘hedging’ mean when applied to academic writing? It bears some relationship to the idea of a hedge containing something in a soft, gentle way, unlike the sharp lines of a fence or wall. In everyday speech and writing hedging uses certain words and […]
Should, must, could, need to, ought to … those confusing ‘modal verbs’
In academic work, you often need to make recommendations about things that people, organisations or other researchers should do. If English isn’t your first language, you may find it difficult to work out which of these words (called ‘modal verbs’) you should use. Their meanings can seem to be very similar. Using the wrong one […]
Non-native speakers of English: did you learn the US or the British version of the language?
Although speakers of the two versions can communicate with each other, there is a saying (commonly attributed to the writer George Bernard Shaw) that ‘The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language’. There are some word differences between the two forms of English – particularly in topics such as […]