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Jan 9, 2023 · You should use “big words” to maintain greater specificity and avoid filler words, like very or quite. A different word can help to change your tone, maintain a literary device, or help you get your message across.
- Alvin Park
- Staff Writer
- admin@yourdictionary.com
Which dictionary is best for you? Review three of the most popular: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate, Webster’s New World College, and American Heritage.
The phrases, and the headings under which they are listed, can be used simply to assist you in thinking about the content and organisation of your own writing, or the phrases can be incorporated into your writing where this is appropriate.
- In order to. Usage: “In order to” can be used to introduce an explanation for the purpose of an argument. Example: “In order to understand X, we need first to understand Y.”
- In other words. Usage: Use “in other words” when you want to express something in a different way (more simply), to make it easier to understand, or to emphasise or expand on a point.
- To put it another way. Usage: This phrase is another way of saying “in other words”, and can be used in particularly complex points, when you feel that an alternative way of wording a problem may help the reader achieve a better understanding of its significance.
- That is to say. Usage: “That is” and “that is to say” can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: “Whales are mammals.
- Collocation. One thing that can make student writing sound awkward is an odd choice of collocation. Sometimes a choice that would be fine in everyday English or spoken academic contexts, such as do research stands out as too informal in academic writing, where conduct or undertake research might fit better.
- Dependent prepositions. A wrong choice of preposition may seem like a trivial error, and in speech it will usually be overlooked. But in academic discourse, where precision is highly valued, frequent minor errors can give the impression of intellectual sloppiness and inaccuracy.
- Following constructions. You can do a similar thing with the constructions that typically follow particular words (focus on doing, demonstrate how/what …).
- Parts of speech. EAP students need to develop a particular dexterity in swapping between parts of speech, whether they’re trying to find an appropriate paraphrase or construct a complex noun phrase.
Which dictionary to use: Use the Oxford English Dictionary as your source. Always. There is no substitute. The OED is available online through the Penn Library site: from the library home page, select Reference Shelf, then Oxford English Dictionary, or http://dictionary. OED.com/entrance.dtl.
A dictionary is one of the most important tools during your time studying at a university. A good dictionary can help you understand your subject better, improve your communication and improve your grades by making sure you are using words correctly.
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