Study Writing (2nd ed.) – Comprehensive Study Notes

Cover, Authors & Edition

Published by Cambridge University Press (2nd Edition, 2006; 5th printing 2010). Authors: Liz Hamp-Lyons & Ben Heasley. ISBN 978-0-521-53496-3. Produced for students (IELTS 5-7 / TOEFL 480-600 PBT) who can already write correct sentences but need to master academic discourse.

Global Structure of the Course

• 10 learning units ⇒ gradually move from personal writing habits to producing a complete, fully referenced research paper.
• After Unit 1 each unit introduces 4 constant strands: a rhetorical focus, a specialised language focus, a “Principle” of good academic prose, and a process-writing focus (often involving peer/virtual collaboration).
• Appendices: A (peer-review tips), B (assessment criteria), C (marking guidance) + full teaching notes & keys.

Key Principles Introduced

  1. Clarity Principle – predict readers’ needs, define unfamiliar terms, avoid ambiguity.

  2. Honesty Principle – claim only what evidence supports, hedge appropriately, give credit and use citations.

  3. Reality Principle – assume informed readers; omit the obvious, include the essential procedural detail.

  4. Relevance Principle – keep everything in the text clearly related to purpose, audience, thesis.

Unit-by-Unit Core Content

Unit 1 – The Academic Writing Process

• Self-questionnaire on writing habits.
• Contrast academic vs personal style. Formal writing shows complex sentences, full forms, technical lexis, clear organisation.
• Grammar of academic discourse: passive voice, nominal groups, impersonal stance.
• Pre-writing technique: visualising audience–purpose–material.

Unit 2 – Researching & Writing

• Classification & categorisation; linguistic signals: divided into, can be grouped, sorts of…
• Converting classifications into visuals (charts, trees, tables).
• Skeleton of a research paper; headings mapping.
• Internet explorations + maintaining an e-journal.

Unit 3 – Fundamentals & Feedback

• Two comparison/contrast patterns: AAA-BBB vs AB-AB-AB.
• Hedging & boosting generalisations; language tables (e.g. some researchers suggest… vs clearly demonstrates).
• S-P-S-E micro-structure appears.
• Mapping a research field & signalling a research gap (counter-claims, questions, continuing tradition).
• Joining a virtual peer-group and soliciting electronic feedback.

Unit 4 – Definition, Vocabulary & Academic Clarity

• Clause structure of short definitions: X is a Y which/that…
• Restrictive vs non-restrictive and reduced relatives; nominalisations.
• Extended definitions from multiple perspectives (historical, sociological…).
• Pre-writing for vocabulary building; clustering notes.

Unit 5 – Generalisations, Facts & Academic Honesty

• Function of topic generalisation sentences.
• Honesty Principle ➜ hedge when evidence partial (may, might, tend, possible), boost when certainty high (fully, strongly, definitely).
• Interpreting visuals (graphs for world population) and converting to prose.
• Writing a concise literature review; summary vs paraphrase.

Unit 6 – Seeing Ideas & Sharing Texts

• Narrative vs process order; time relaters (then, subsequently, meanwhile).
• Cohesion: repetition, synonyms, pronouns, logical connectors, hyponyms.
• Reading & writing from visuals (pie-charts, bar-graphs, carbon cycle diagram).
• Formal peer-review: criteria sheet (organisation, clarity, vocabulary, grammar) & etiquette.

Unit 7 – Description, Methods & Academic Reality

• Describing processes with sequencers (first, next, finally). Choice of active vs passive.
• Nominalisation for compactness and objectivity.
• Writing a Methods section: enough but not excessive detail (Reality Principle).
• Preparing forms for peer review focusing on academic voice.

Unit 8 – Results, Discussion & Academic Relevance

• Distinguish thesis statement + argument + evidence.
• Language of argument (pro vs con verbs, boosters, stance adverbs; depersonalised critique).
• IMRD: Results = reporting (figures, tables); Discussion = interpreting (sequence connectors – firstly, however, finally).
• Relevance Principle: stay on-topic; omit digressions.

Unit 9 – Creating the Whole Academic Text (Coherence)

• Macro S-P-S-E structure for essays / sections.
• Re-ordering paragraphs, signalling cohesion; connective table (reinforce, contrast, conclude).
• Evaluating a complete introduction: situate field, state problem, propose solution, preview evaluation.
• Awareness of teacher assessment criteria: Genre, Ideas, Organisation, Research use, Language.

Unit 10 – From Research to Paper

• Mini-survey task: design questionnaire, collect ≥12 responses, tabulate, write IMRD report.
• Plagiarism definitions; when to quote, paraphrase, summarise; MLA vs APA citing basics.
• Authorial identity: balancing impersonal stance with a recognisable scholarly voice.
• Final project: 2000-word paper on chosen topic, with full references, applying four principles, peer revision, teacher summative grading.

Appendices (Summaries)

• Appendix A: Peer-review tips – comment on strengths first, make ‘substantive’ not ‘reaction’ remarks, suggest global rather than sentence fixes.
• Appendix B: Assessment matrix – Genre, Ideas, Organisation, Grammar/Vocabulary, Surface features rated Excellent → Weak.
• Appendix C: Differentiates formative vs summative feedback; shows controlled & guided correction codes; provides ‘Formative Feedback Profile’ grid.

Recurrent Language Resources

• Lists/tables for: classification phrases, comparison connectors, hedging verbs (appear, suggest, indicate), boosters (completely, fully), sequencers.
• Passive & nominalisation patterns for concise methods/results.
• Citation patterns: MLA entry format & APA entry format; in-text quotation integration (short quote, block quote, mixed paraphrase + quote).

Process-Writing Strand (Throughout)

  1. Pre-writing – brainstorming, clustering, visualising.

  2. Drafting – focus on audience & purpose, apply structures.

  3. Seeking feedback – peer, virtual, teacher; use criteria sheets.

  4. Revising – respond to formative comments; check principles.

  5. Editing – grammar, mechanics, citation accuracy.

  6. Reflecting – keep e-journal; evaluate own strategies.

Practical Outcomes for Learners

• Ability to move from noting ideas to submitting a 2000-word IMRD paper.
• Competence in classification, definition, comparison, argument, process description.
• Skill in hedging/boosting, cohesive devices, nominalisation, citation.
• Experience giving & receiving structured peer feedback; understanding teacher marking criteria.
• Awareness of plagiarism and methods to avoid it via proper summarising, paraphrasing and referencing.