Academic Writing: Common Patterns, Part Two
2025-01-31
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1The Everyday Grammar team often receives questions about academic writing.
2Students around the world want to improve their academic writing so that they can gain admission - and succeed - in a college or a university.
3In this week's report, we are going to explore one pattern that is commonly used in academic writing.
4You will learn to recognize this pattern, and you will learn how you can use it in your own writing.
5In addition, you will learn about the times you might not want to use it.
6The structure we are exploring is this: noun + a that clause.
7The structure is often used to evaluate, or judge, a topic or idea.
8A that-clause is a group of words beginning with the word that.
9A clause has both a subject and a predicate.
10The predicate shows what is said about the subject.
11The noun might come at the beginning or middle of the sentence.
12Consider the following examples:
13"The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation."
14"This essay is written in the belief that modern historians need to radically change the way they think."
15In the first example, the that-clause follows the noun fact at the beginning of the sentence.
16In the second example, the that-clause follows the noun belief at the middle of the sentence.
17In both cases, the noun plays an important part in showing how a writer evaluates an idea.
18In other words, the noun helps show how the writer is taking a position and making a claim about something.
19Let's study these sentences in greater detail.
20Think back to the first example sentence we gave you,
21"The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation."
22Academic writers often use the noun + a that clause structure to express certainty.
23In the sentence, the noun fact plays an important role.
24When the writer uses the word fact, he or she is showing certainty.
25It shows that the writer does not consider the point to be a subject of debate.
26The that-clause contains the idea that the writer is certain about - the theory of evolution has been a contentious topic.
27Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber are grammar experts.
28They note that academic writers often use nouns or noun phrases such as conclusion, fact, little doubt, and no doubt to express certainty.
29The that-clause can have any number of words or ideas.
30The important point is that it has a subject and a predicate.
31A second common use of noun + a that clause is to express possibility.
32Consider our second example, "This essay is written in the belief that modern historians need to radically change the way they think."
33Here, the noun belief suggests possibility - it is possible for historians to change the way they think.
34Whether this is correct or not depends on the reader's opinion - and the persuasiveness of the author's argument.
35Conrad and Biber note that other nouns commonly used to show possibility include claim and assumption.
36Sometimes writers will use the noun possibility itself.
37The structures we have discussed today are common in academic writing.
38If you are writing for other purposes, you might want to use more direct language.
39Take our example, "The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation."
40You might read this in an academic publication.
41This structure might not be the best choice for other situations - writing an opinion piece in the newspaper or an email to your supervisor, for example.
42In those cases, it might be better to use more direct language.
43For example, you could write, "Here are the reasons why the theory of evolution has been a contentious topic..." Or simply, "People have long debated the theory of evolution."
44Remember: you have many choices to make when you write a sentence.
45Learning when to use certain structures can be a long, difficult process.
46But, we bring this lesson to a close with the belief that you will succeed!
47I'm John Russell.
48And I'm Alice Bryant.
1The Everyday Grammar team often receives questions about academic writing. Students around the world want to improve their academic writing so that they can gain admission - and succeed - in a college or a university. 2In this week's report, we are going to explore one pattern that is commonly used in academic writing. 3You will learn to recognize this pattern, and you will learn how you can use it in your own writing. 4In addition, you will learn about the times you might not want to use it. 5Common Structure: noun+that-clause 6The structure we are exploring is this: noun + a that clause. The structure is often used to evaluate, or judge, a topic or idea. 7A that-clause is a group of words beginning with the word that. A clause has both a subject and a predicate. The predicate shows what is said about the subject. 8The noun might come at the beginning or middle of the sentence. Consider the following examples: 9"The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation." 10"This essay is written in the belief that modern historians need to radically change the way they think." 11In the first example, the that-clause follows the noun fact at the beginning of the sentence. 12In the second example, the that-clause follows the noun belief at the middle of the sentence. 13In both cases, the noun plays an important part in showing how a writer evaluates an idea. 14In other words, the noun helps show how the writer is taking a position and making a claim about something. 15Let's study these sentences in greater detail. 16#1 Showing Certainty 17Think back to the first example sentence we gave you, "The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation." 18Academic writers often use the noun + a that clause structure to express certainty. 19In the sentence, the noun fact plays an important role. When the writer uses the word fact, he or she is showing certainty. It shows that the writer does not consider the point to be a subject of debate. 20The that-clause contains the idea that the writer is certain about - the theory of evolution has been a contentious topic. 21Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber are grammar experts. They note that academic writers often use nouns or noun phrases such as conclusion, fact, little doubt, and no doubt to express certainty. 22The that-clause can have any number of words or ideas. The important point is that it has a subject and a predicate. 23#2 Showing Possibility 24A second common use of noun + a that clause is to express possibility. Consider our second example, "This essay is written in the belief that modern historians need to radically change the way they think." 25Here, the noun belief suggests possibility - it is possible for historians to change the way they think. Whether this is correct or not depends on the reader's opinion - and the persuasiveness of the author's argument. 26Conrad and Biber note that other nouns commonly used to show possibility include claim and assumption. Sometimes writers will use the noun possibility itself. 27What can you do? 28The structures we have discussed today are common in academic writing. If you are writing for other purposes, you might want to use more direct language. 29Take our example, "The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation." 30You might read this in an academic publication. This structure might not be the best choice for other situations - writing an opinion piece in the newspaper or an email to your supervisor, for example. 31In those cases, it might be better to use more direct language. For example, you could write, "Here are the reasons why the theory of evolution has been a contentious topic..." Or simply, "People have long debated the theory of evolution." 32Remember: you have many choices to make when you write a sentence. Learning when to use certain structures can be a long, difficult process. 33But, we bring this lesson to a close with the belief that you will succeed! 34I'm John Russell. 35And I'm Alice Bryant. 36John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 37We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 38_______________________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40evaluate - v. to judge the value or condition of (someone or something) in a careful and thoughtful way 41predicate- n. grammar: the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject 42contentious -adj. likely to cause people to argue or disagree