Abbreviation
The short form of a word or phrase (See 3.1)
Abstract
A short summary of the aims and scope of a journal article (see 1.2B)
Acknowledgements
A list of people the author wishes to thank for their assistance, found in books and articles
Appendix (plural – appendices)
A section at the end of a book or article contain supplementary information
Assignment
A task given to students, normally for assessment
Authority
A well-known expert on a subject
Back issue
A previous issue of a journal or magazine
Bias
A subjective preference for one point of view
Bibliography
A list of sources an author has read but not specifically cited
Brainstorm
A process of collecting ideas on a topic at random (see 1.4)
Case study
A section of an essay which examines one example in detail (see 4.3)
Citation
An in-text reference providing a link to the source (see 1.3 & 1.8)
Cohesion
Linking ideas in a text together by use of reference words (See 2.3)
Coursework
Assessed assignments given to students to complete during a course
Conclusion
The final section of an essay or report (see 1.11)
Contraction
A shortened form of pronoun and verb e.g. she’s, I’d
Criteria (singular – criterion)
The principles on which something is judged or based
Deadline
The final date for completing a piece of work
Draft
The first attempt at a piece of writing
Edited book
A book with contributions from number of writers, controlled by an editor
Extract
A piece of text taken from a longer work
Formality
In written work, the use of a non-idiomatic style and vocabulary
Format
The standard pattern of layout for a text
Heading
The title of a section of text
Higher degree
A Master’s degree or Doctorate
Hypothesis
A theory which a researcher is attempting to explore/ test
Introduction
The first part of an essay or article (see 1.11)
Journal
An academic publication in a specialised area, usually published quarterly (see 1.2A)
Literature review
A section of an article describing other research on the topic in question (see 4.3)
Main body
The principal part of an essay, after the introduction and before the conclusion
Margin
The strip of white space on a page around the text
Module
Most academic courses are divided into modules, which examine a specified topic
Outline
A preparatory plan for a piece of writing (see 1.4)
Paraphrase
A re-writing of a text with substantially different wording and organisation but similar ideas
Peer-review
The process of collecting comment from academic authorities on an article before publication in a journal. This system gives increased validity to the publication.
Phrase
A few words which are commonly combined (see 1.1)
Plagiarism
Using another writer’s work without acknowledgement in an acceptable manner (see 1.3)
Primary research
Original research e.g. a laboratory experiment or a sociological enquiry
Quotation
Use of the exact words of another writer to illustrate your writing (see 1.8)
Redundancy
The unnecessary repetition of ideas or information (See 2.10)
References
A list of all the sources you have cited in your work (see 1.8)
Register
The level of formality in language
Restatement
Repeating a point in order to explain it more clearly
Scan
A method of reading in which the eyes move quickly over the page to find a specific item
Skim
A related reading technique to quickly find out the main ideas of a text
Source
The original text you have used to obtain an idea or piece of information
Summary
A shorter version of something (see 1.7)
Synonym
A word or phrase with a similar meaning to another (see 3.11)
Synopsis
A summary of an article or book
Term
Word or phrase used to express a special concept
Word class
A grammatical category e.g. noun, adjective