Academic English and Written Communication
Academic English and Written Communication tests whether you can build and defend an argument in clear, cited, formal prose under time pressure. Examiners reward a precise thesis, signposted paragraphs, and evidence handled honestly, not long sentences or rhetorical flourish.
Core rules
- Thesis: state a contestable claim and the line of reasoning in one or two sentences. A thesis is not a topic ("This essay discusses trade") but a position ("Trade liberalization raises aggregate income while widening within-country inequality").
- Paragraphs: one claim per paragraph, then evidence, then analysis linking back to the thesis. Topic sentences should be readable on their own.
- Hedging: match the strength of the claim to the evidence. "The data suggest", "this is consistent with" and "in most cases" are appropriate; "proves" rarely is.
- Citation: paraphrase and cite, or quote and cite with a page number. Changing a few words while keeping sentence structure is patchwriting, not paraphrase.
- Cohesion: use connectors that signal real logical relations (however, therefore, in contrast), not as decoration.
Worked example
Weak: "Globalization is bad for workers." Stronger: "While trade liberalization has raised average incomes in emerging economies, adjustment costs have fallen disproportionately on routine-manufacturing workers in advanced economies (Author, 2021). This essay argues that compensation policy, not withdrawal from trade, is the appropriate response." The revision names a mechanism, concedes a countervailing benefit, hedges the claim, and signals the essay's structure.
Traps
- Describing a debate instead of arguing a position.
- Using evidence that supports a different claim from the one actually made.
- Over-hedging until the thesis disappears ("it could perhaps be argued that...").
- Citing a source you have not understood, or citing only to decorate a sentence.