Writing Glossary

This glossary contains the following headwords: abbreviation, abstract, abstract, abstract noun, abstraction, academic integrity, Academic Word List, acknowledgement, acknowledgement, acronym, active, activity verbs, addition, adjective, adjective complement, adjective phrase, advantages and disadvantages, adverb, adverbial, adverbial particle, affix, agent, allegory, alliteration, allusion, ambiguity, anachronism, analogy, analyse, analysis, anaphora, animate noun, annual, anonymous, antecedent, antithesis, antonym, APA style, aphorism, apostrophe, appendix, apposition, approximation, approximator, archaism, argue, argument, article, aspect, aspectual verbs, assertion, assessment, assignment, attribute, attribution, attributive adjective, audience, authentic text, authenticity, author, authoritative, authority, auxiliary verb, backshift, BALEAP, bare infinitive, base form, biannual, bias, bias-free language, bibliography, biennial, binomial phrase, biography, block quote, brackets, brainstorm, capitalization, cardinal number, cataphoric, cause, cause and effect, causative verbs, CEFR, central determiner, chronology, citation, cite, claim, clarify, clarity, classification, classifier, classify, clause, clause pattern, cliché, closed class word, cognate, coherence, cohesion, cohesive, collective noun, collocate, collocation, colon, comma, comma splice, command word, comment, common noun, communication verbs, comparative, compare, compare and contrast, comparison, complement, complex sentence, complex transitive verb, composition, compound, compound noun, concession, concision, conclusion, concord, concrete, concrete noun, conjunction, connotation, construct validity, content validity, content word, context, contraction, contrast, controlling idea, converse, coordinator, copula, copyright, corpus, countable noun, counter argument, cover page, criterion referenced, critique, cross-reference, data, dash, deadline, declarative clause, deduction, define, deixis, demonstrate, demonstrative, demonstrative pronoun, denotation, dependent clause, derivation, describe, descriptor, determiner, diction, direct object, discipline, discourse, discourse analysis, discuss, dissertation, distinguish, ditransitive verb, document, DOI, draft, dropped quote, dynamic verb, ed-clause, edit, edition, editor, effect, elaborate, ellipsis, embedding, empty subject, end-weight, endnote, enumerate, enumeration, epigram, essay, euphemism, evaluate, eventive subject, evidence, exclamation mark, existence verbs, existential there, explain, expletive, exposition, expository, external causer, extract, extraposed subject, extraposition, face validity, feedback, figure of speech, finite clause, finite verb, flow, focus, footnote, foreword, formal words, format, formative assessment, formative evaluation, formulaic writing, freewriting, full stop, function word, future, generalization, genitive, genre, gerund, glossary, gradable, graph, head, header, heading, headword, hedge, hedging, hierarchy, homograph, homonym, homophone, honorific, hook, hyperbole, hyperlink, hypernym, hyphen, hyponym, hypothesis, identifier, identify, idiom, idiomatic, illustrate, implication, indefinite pronoun, indent, independent clause, index, indirect object, inference, infinitive clause, infinitive particle, infix, inflection, ing-clause, instruction word, instrument, intensifier, interrogative clause, interrogative pronoun, intransitive, introduction, irony, irregular verb, it-cleft, italics, iteration, iterative, jargon, journal, justify, language typology, lexeme, lexical cohesion, lexical field, lexical set, lexical verb, lexical word, lexis, linking words, literature, literature review, local subject, logical fallacy, lowercase, main clause, manual, manuscript, margin, mass noun, mechanics, mental verbs, meronymy, metalanguage, metaphor, metonymy, modal verb, modal noun, modification, modifier, monotransitive verb, mood, morpheme, morphology, neologism, nominal, nominalization, non-finite clause, non-finite verb, norm referenced, noun, noun complement clause, noun phrase, object, object complement, object predicative, objective, occurrence verbs, open class word, operator, ordinal number, organisation pattern, outline, pagination, paradigmatic relationship, paradox, paragraph, parallelism, paraphrase, parataxis, parentheses, parenthesis, parentheticals, parody, parse, participle, participle clause, passive, past tense, peer, peer review, perfect, period, periodical, personal pronoun, persuasive, phonology, phrasal verb, phrasal-prepositional verb, phrase, plagiarism, polysemy, possession, possessive, possessive pronoun, postdeterminer, postmodification, predeterminer, predicate, predicative, predicative adjective, predictive validity, preface, prefix, preliminary, premise, premodification, preposition, prepositional object, prepositional phrase, prepositional verb, preprint, present tense, primary source, primary verb, problem/solution, proceedings, process, pro-form, progressive aspect, prompt, pronoun, pronoun agreement, proofreading, proper adjective, proper noun, proposal, proposition, prose, provenance, publication, publish, punctuation, quantifier, question mark, questionnaire, quotation, quotation marks, quote, rebuttal, recipient, reciprocal pronoun, redundant, reference, referencing software, referencing style, reflexive pronoun, refutation, register, reiteration, relative clause, relative pronoun, relativizer, reliability, report, reprint, research, research paper, rhetoric, rhetorical question, root, rubric, run-on sentence, scan, search engine, search string, search term, secondary source, semantics, semi-determiner, semi-modal, sense relation, sentence, sentence fragment, sequence, shell noun, signal phrase, simile, skim, source, source evaluation, spacing, stance, state, stative verb, stem, style, style guide, subject, subject-verb agreement, subject–verb pattern, subject–verb-adverbial pattern, subject–verb-complement pattern, subject–verb–direct object-adverbial pattern, subject–verb–direct object-object predicative pattern, subject–verb–direct object-prepositional object pattern, subject–verb–indirect object-direct object pattern, subject–verb-object-complement pattern, subject–verb-subject-predicative pattern, subjective, subordinate, subordinator, substitution, subtext, suffix, summarise, summarise, summary, summative assessment, summative evaluation, superlative, superordinate, survey, syllogism, synecdoche, synonym, syntagmatic relationship, syntax, synthesis, taboo words, task word, tautology, temporal subject, tense, text, text pattern, that-clause, theme, theorise, theory, thesaurus, thesis, thesis statement, title, to-clause, tone, topic, topic sentence, transition, transitive, transitive verb, typo, uncountable noun, unity, unpublished, uppercase, usage, valency, validity, verb, verb classification: lexical - multi-word verbs, verb classification:main categories, verb classification:semantic domain, verb classification: valency patterns, verb phrase, voice, volume, washback, wh-clause, wh-cleft, wh-word

abbreviation

noun COUNTABLE A shortened form of a word or a phrase. Abbreviations, especially acronyms, are common in reports written for specialists (scientists, economists, etc.). If the text is written for non-specialists, the abbreviations should be written out in full where they are first mentioned in the text. Compare with acronyms.

abstract

noun COUNTABLE A very short form of an article or other text, giving only the most essential information.

abstract

adjective Existing as a thought or feeling rather than as a something concrete, material, tangible. "When asked about media coverage of climate change, 39% claimed that media reporting overall was too abstract, with excessive focus on the future rather than the issues of today.” (Biddlestone and Linden 2021)

abstraction

noun The consideration of the qualities and characteristics of an entity rather than its physical properties.

abstract noun

noun COUNTABLE A noun which references a state, idea, action, process, or quality rather than something concrete or tangible. Examples: truth, happiness, growth, frequency. Abstract nouns are usually uncountable but may have countable uses, e.g friendships. Compare with concrete noun. See more about abstract nouns on the abstract nouns page.

academic integrity

noun phrase UNCOUNTABLE Being honest and truthful about your work. Academic integrity includes a) not plagiarising, b) citing your sources correctly, c) presenting only work which is your own, d) collaborating with others only within the limits of your institution’s guidelines, e) not cheating in exams, f) not submitting work which has been previously submitted. More information about academic integrity is available on the plagiarism faqs page.

Academic Word List

noun phrase A list of words presumed to be more commonly used in academic writing than other types of discourse. It was developed by Averil Coxhead and you can see the reference to her original article in the bibliography. You can see other word lists useful for academic writing on the Vocabulary Page. You can also practice using collocations of words from this list on the Collocation Game Page.

acknowledgement

noun COUNTABLE Recognition of a source of information by stating its origin in a correctly formatted citation. See also attribution.

acknowledgement

noun COUNTABLE A statement of appreciation of help given.

acronym

noun COUNTABLE An abbreviation of a series of words (usually a noun phrase) consisting of the first letter of each word in the phrase. UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; ASEAN: Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Compare with abbreviation.

active

adjective GRAMMAR Describes a verb when the subject of the sentence performs the action. In the sentence, "The boy is washing the dog.”, "The boy” is the subject and performs the action. "is washing” is a verb in the active voice. Compare with the passive.

addition

activity verbs

noun SEMANTICS Activity verbs are verbs which describe actions or events when the subject has the role of agent. Examples are: add, bring, buy, carry, come, follow, give, go, leave, make, move, open, produce, provide, reach, run, show, take, use, work. Activity verbs may be transitive or intransitive.

addition

noun A textual element (sentence, paragraph, section) which adds further information about an argument. These elements are often introduced with adverbials such as "In addition”, "Furthermore” etc. See how adverbials are managed on the adverbials page.

adjective

noun COUNTABLE GRAMMAR A word which provides more information about the noun to which it is attached (either preceding the noun or with a copula verb).

adjective complement

noun COUNTABLE GRAMMAR An adjective complement is the post-modification of an adjective phrase of which there are three types: 1) a prepositional phrase; 2) an infinitive clause; 3) a that clause.

adjective phrase

noun COUNTABLE GRAMMAR An adjective phrase consists of a head (an adjective) and optionally pre-modification in the form of an adverb and/or post-modification in the form of an adjective complement.

advantages and disadvantages

noun COUNTABLE A text organisation pattern in which an item or items are described in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. See the advantages and disadvantages page to see how this in managed in an authentic text.

adverb

noun COUNTABLE GRAMMAR A word which provides more information about a verb, adjective or adverb to which it is attached.

adverbial

noun COUNTABLE GRAMMAR An adverb phrase used to provide circumstantial information about a clause, to indicate the writer’s stance, or to link units of discourse by indicating their relationship.

adverbial particle

noun phrase COUNTABLE GRAMMAR A group of words which are often attached to verbs to create multi-word verbs with new meanings. They are also used to create extended prepositional phrases. Examples: about, across, along, around, aside, away, back, by, down, in, off, on, over, past, round, under, up. To create a multi-word verb (phrasal verb): sit down, stand up. To create an extended prepositional phrase: up in the sky, down in the dumps.

affix

noun COUNTABLE MORPHOLOGY A group of letters attached to the beginning or end of a word which changes the meaning or form of that word. See also prefix and suffix.

agent

noun COUNTABLE SEMANTICS A subject which has the role of initiator in a sentence. The verb following the subject must be transitive. For example, "Teachers encourage kids to strengthen the skills they have and help them gain new ones as they advance from grade to grade" (Negussie 2022). "Teachers" is the subject (an agent) and "teach" is a transitive verb.

backshift

verb The movement from present to past tense in reported speech. Direct speech: “Why are they talking to me like I’m a child?” the listener might think. “I understand them just fine.” (Wade 2022) ; Reported speech: The listener wondered why they were talking to her like a child since she understood them just fine. In reported speech 'are' and 'understand' are backshifted to 'were' and 'understood' (and the pronouns have changed).

cataphora

noun The use of a word or phrase to refer to something mentioned later in a text.

dash

noun Dashes are used to enclose various elements such as dependent clauses and parenthetical material.

ed-clause

noun A particle clause (past participle) often used as a post-modifying clause of a noun phrase, and as part of an adverbial.

feedback

noun Information provided by a reviewer or examiner on the value of a piece of writing with suggestions about how it might be improved.

glossary

noun A list of definitions and explanations of words and phrases, such as this one, explaining terms used in a particular content area, arranged alphabetically. This writing glossary contains over 550 headwords. It contains entries of use to students and teachers of academic writing. As well as definitions, most entries contain examples from authentic texts and links to further information elsewhere on this site. There are also many cross-references to facilitate rapid consultation of unfamiliar terminology. The glossary is fully searchable.

headword

noun The headword is the word found at the beginning of an entry in a glossary or a dictionary. It is the word which is explained or defined in the glossary or dictionary entry.

idiom

noun A fixed phrase in which normal rules of grammar may be broken and whose meaning may not be obvious from the words themselves.

lexical cohesion

noun Cohesion in text created by reiteration (repetition) of words or phrases. This repetition might be of the same words, synonyms, superordinate terms or general (shell) nouns.

main clause

noun A clause which can stand alone as a separate sentence, unlike a dependent clause which only has sense when attached to a main clause.

nominal

noun A noun, noun phrase or any word or phrase which is used as a noun such as adjectives and complement clauses.

object

noun An object is the "thing" which is affected by a transitive verb. It may be a noun, noun phrase, noun clause or a pronoun.

paraphrase

noun Text rewritten in different words or phrasing in order to simplify or summarise the original text.

quotation

noun The actual words written or spoken and reported in a text - a quotation is enclosed in quotation marks (parentheses) and should be normally be accompanied by a citation.

reference

noun A pointer to the source of information, normally formatted in a specific way in order that the reader may locate the source easily.

signal phrase

noun A phrase used to introduce a quotation or a paraphrase.

topic sentence

noun A sentence which provides the controlling idea (the subject matter) of a paragraph, section, or an entire piece of writing.

unity

noun A sense of focus and coherence in a paragraph achieved when every sentence in the paragraph is related to the topic.

wh-clause

noun A clause which begins with a wh-word (who, what, which, where, when, why, how, whether, whatever, whichever ) and acts either as a dependent interrogative clause or a nominal relative clause.