AW-Module 4: Building Academic Flow
⚡️ Selecting vocabulary, reporting verbs, linking devices, and rhetorical patterns
Academic writing becomes readable when vocabulary, sentence relationships, and organizational patterns work together. A writer may have accurate information but still lose the reader through repetitive wording, weak attribution, or a sequence of ideas that lacks a clear logic. This week focuses on the language resources that make an article review sound purposeful and connected: academic vocabulary, reporting verbs, standard phrases, linking devices, cause-and-effect organization, and comparison-and-contrast organization. Students will build a phrase bank, but the aim is not to produce formulaic writing. Useful phrases should support precise thinking rather than replace it. The article-review outline will organize both summary and critical evaluation, allowing students to see where sources are reported, where relationships are explained, and where the reviewer’s own judgment enters the discussion.
Essential Questions
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How do word choice and rhetorical organization help readers follow an academic argument?
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How can writers use conventional academic language without losing precision or authentic voice?
Guiding Questions
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How do reporting verbs communicate a writer’s stance toward a source?
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Which linking devices express addition, contrast, cause, result, and qualification?
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When is cause-and-effect organization more useful than comparison and contrast?
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How can a phrase bank support drafting without creating repetitive or formulaic prose?
Learning outcomes
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Use academic vocabulary and standard phrases appropriately in an article review.
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Select reporting verbs that accurately represent source actions and claims.
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Use linking devices to make logical relationships explicit.
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Organize ideas through cause-and-effect and comparison-and-contrast patterns.
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Create a phrase bank and an article-review outline that integrate summary and evaluation.
Key concepts and vocabulary
| Term | Working definition |
|---|---|
| Academic vocabulary | Words and phrases frequently used to express concepts, relationships, and evaluation in scholarly contexts. |
| Reporting verb | A verb used to introduce a source’s claim, method, finding, or position. |
| Attribution | Language that identifies whose idea or statement is being presented. |
| Linking device | A word or phrase that signals a relationship between ideas, sentences, or paragraphs. |
| Cause | A factor presented as contributing to an event, condition, or outcome. |
| Effect | A result or consequence associated with a cause. |
| Comparison | Analysis of similarities between ideas, sources, methods, or findings. |
| Contrast | Analysis of differences between ideas, sources, methods, or findings. |
| Cohesive tie | A linguistic connection created through reference, repetition, substitution, or transition. |
| Phrase bank | A personal collection of adaptable language patterns organized by rhetorical function. |
Main chapter content
Academic vocabulary should increase precision
Academic vocabulary is useful when it names relationships and concepts more accurately than everyday alternatives. Words such as indicates, limitation, implication, significant, contextual, and consistent can help writers express complex judgments. However, formality does not automatically improve a sentence. Replacing a clear word with a longer synonym may make the sentence less natural or change the meaning. The best vocabulary choice is the one that is accurate, understandable, and appropriate for the discipline.
Students can develop a phrase bank by rhetorical purpose rather than alphabetically. Categories might include introducing a source, stating a purpose, describing a method, reporting a finding, comparing studies, identifying a limitation, and explaining significance. Each phrase should be treated as a flexible frame. For example, “The study provides evidence that…” requires the writer to identify what evidence and how strong it is. A phrase bank supports drafting when it reduces unnecessary searching for language, but it becomes harmful when phrases are inserted without attention to meaning.
Reporting verbs as tools of stance
Reporting verbs do more than avoid repetition of says. They classify what a source is doing and show how the reviewer positions the claim. Neutral verbs such as reports, describes, examines, and identifies are useful for accurate summary. Verbs such as argues, maintains, proposes, and contends present a position. Suggests, implies, and indicates often communicate caution. Demonstrates, establishes, and proves are much stronger and should be used only when the evidence justifies that degree of certainty.
The grammar surrounding the verb also matters. A reviewer may write “The authors argue that…” for a proposition, “The study examines…” for a topic, or “The researchers attribute the change to…” for a causal explanation. Students should check whether the subject is the authors, the article, the study, the findings, or the data. Each subject performs different actions. Data do not usually argue, and authors do not literally demonstrate a statistical relationship without the support of their methods and evidence. Precise attribution prevents sources and reviewers from being confused.
Linking devices and logical relationships
Linking devices guide the reader by making relationships explicit. Addition markers such as furthermore and in addition extend an idea. Contrast markers such as however, in contrast, and whereas show difference. Cause-and-result markers such as because, therefore, consequently, and as a result connect conditions and outcomes. Qualification markers such as although, despite, and nevertheless show that a claim remains valid within a complication. Exemplification markers such as for example introduce specific support.
A transition cannot create logic that is not already present. Adding therefore between two unrelated sentences does not establish causation. Writers should first identify the relationship, then choose the device. Variety is useful, but forced variation can be distracting. Repeating however may be less problematic than using an inaccurate synonym. Cohesion also comes from repeated key terms, pronoun reference, parallel structure, and predictable topic development. Transitions are one part of flow, not a complete solution.
Cause-and-effect and comparison-and-contrast organization
Cause-and-effect organization is useful when a review examines why a problem occurs, what factors contribute to it, or what consequences follow. Writers must be cautious because association does not automatically establish causation. An article may report that two variables occur together without proving that one causes the other. Language such as is associated with, may contribute to, or is linked to can represent the evidence more accurately than causes.
Comparison-and-contrast organization is central to article reviews because evaluation often depends on standards or alternatives. A reviewer may compare an article’s purpose with its method, its conclusions with its evidence, or its findings with another study. Point-by-point organization usually creates stronger analysis than discussing one source completely and then the other. In a point-by-point structure, each paragraph focuses on a criterion such as sample, method, argument, or relevance and considers both items in relation to that criterion.
Outlining summary and evaluation
An article review needs a controlled balance between summary and critical response. The outline can begin with identification of the article and its purpose, followed by a concise account of the context, method, and main findings. The critical section should then evaluate specific dimensions such as clarity of argument, adequacy of evidence, methodological fit, relevance to English language teaching, limitations, and implications. Summary provides the object of evaluation; it should not occupy the entire paper.
This week’s work includes building a phrase bank, replacing informal or repetitive wording, practicing reporting verbs and linking devices, drafting source-summary and attribution sentences, analyzing rhetorical patterns in model reviews, and producing an outline for the assigned article or articles. Students should test the outline by asking whether each section has a clear function and whether the evaluation follows logically from the summary. A strong outline makes the later draft more coherent because it establishes relationships before sentences are polished.
From concepts to this week’s deliverable
The academic phrase bank should be organized by rhetorical function rather than alphabetically. Useful categories include introducing a topic, reporting a source, indicating agreement, marking contrast, explaining cause or consequence, adding evidence, interpreting a pattern, and qualifying a claim. Within each category, students should record complete examples and note grammatical patterns. For instance, “X argues that…” requires a clause, while “According to X…” is followed by a noun phrase or clause without a reporting verb. Building the bank this way makes it a decision-making resource: the writer first identifies the relationship between ideas and then chooses language that expresses that relationship accurately.
The article-review outline should also make the relationship between summary and evaluation explicit. A reader needs enough summary to understand the article’s purpose, approach, and findings, but the review cannot remain a sequence of reported details. Each main point should prepare for an evaluative judgment about relevance, evidence, method, clarity, contribution, or limitation. Cause-and-effect and comparison-and-contrast structures can help organize those judgments, provided the writer does not overstate causal relationships or compare unlike features. Before drafting, students can annotate the outline with intended reporting verbs and linking devices. This small step reveals repetition, weak logic, and missing transitions before they become paragraph-level problems.
Suggested weekly learning sequence
A productive learning sequence for this chapter begins with a diagnostic response to the essential question, “How do word choice and rhetorical organization help readers follow an academic argument?” Students should first record an individual answer and then compare it with examples, course criteria, and peer interpretations. A short concept-sorting activity using Academic vocabulary, Reporting verb, Attribution, and Linking device can make important distinctions visible before students work on a full draft. The instructor can then model one decision aloud, showing not only the completed example but also the questions, alternatives, and evidence that led to it. Students apply the same process to a small portion of their own project and receive formative feedback before extending the work independently.
The second part of the week should move from practice to production. Students use the guiding questions—“How do reporting verbs communicate a writer’s stance toward a source?” and “Which linking devices express addition, contrast, cause, result, and qualification?”—as checkpoints while working toward the stated outcomes, especially the ability to use academic vocabulary and standard phrases appropriately in an article review and to select reporting verbs that accurately represent source actions and claims. A brief peer conference should focus on one high-impact feature rather than attempting to correct everything at once. Students then revise, annotate the evidence of their decision-making, and complete the week’s deliverable: Academic phrase bank; reporting-verb and linking-device practice; source-summary and attribution sentences; article-review outline. The final five minutes of class can be used for an exit reflection identifying one decision the writer can now justify and one question that must be carried into the next chapter.
🗓️ Wednesday
- Complete article review 1
- Complete GenAI output and reflection.
- Submit assignment to Teams.
Thursday
1. Topic: Feedback and Learning
Original direct quotation
“Feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement, but this impact can be either positive or negative” (Hattie & Timperley, 2007, p. 81). (Sage Journals)
A. Paraphrase: What was modified?
Feedback is one of the strongest factors affecting student learning and performance, although its effects may be beneficial or harmful (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).
B. Paraphrase: What was modified?
Although feedback can improve or harm student learning, its considerable influence on academic achievement makes it particularly important (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).
C. Paraphrase: What was modified?
Learning and achievement can be strongly influenced by feedback, which may be positive or negative (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).
D. Paraphrase: Structure + emphasis + vocabulary modified
Because comments provided to learners can either support or interfere with their progress, the way feedback is used can substantially affect academic success (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).
Changes: The sentence has been reorganized, the vocabulary has been replaced, and the emphasis has shifted from the power of feedback to how feedback is used.
Additional examples of paraphrasing
2. Topic: Sleep and Memory
Original direct quotation
“These findings suggest that poor behavioural choices around bedtime contribute to the trade-off between improved encoding capacity and reduced consolidation efficiency” (Crowley et al., 2026, p. A35). (OUP Academic)
A. Paraphrase: Vocabulary modified
The results indicate that unhelpful habits before sleep contribute to a balance between better initial learning and weaker memory consolidation (Crowley et al., 2026).
Main change:
findings → results
poor behavioural choices → unhelpful habits
encoding capacity → initial learning
reduced consolidation efficiency → weaker memory consolidation
B. Paraphrase: Different emphasis
The ability to retain newly learned information may be weakened by bedtime behaviors, even when adolescents show stronger initial encoding abilities (Crowley et al., 2026).
Main change: The original gives relatively equal attention to encoding and consolidation. The paraphrase places greater emphasis on the possible problem of retaining information.
C. Paraphrase: Structure modified
A trade-off between improved encoding and reduced memory consolidation appears to result partly from poor choices made around bedtime (Crowley et al., 2026).
Main change: The original begins with “These findings suggest…”, whereas the paraphrase makes the trade-off the grammatical subject.
D. Paraphrase: Structure + emphasis + vocabulary modified
Adolescents’ nighttime routines may be especially important for long-term learning because unhealthy bedtime habits can interfere with the brain’s ability to stabilize recently learned information (Crowley et al., 2026).
Changes: The sentence structure is substantially different, technical vocabulary has been simplified, and the emphasis has shifted toward the educational importance of bedtime routines.
3. Topic: Social Media and Adolescent Well-Being
Original direct quotation
“Relational interactions contribute to both closeness and disconnection; self-expression facilitates affirmation alongside concern about others’ judgments” (Weinstein, 2018, p. 3597). (Projects at Harvard)
A. Paraphrase: Vocabulary modified
Social exchanges can produce both connection and isolation, while sharing one’s identity can provide validation as well as anxiety about other people’s opinions (Weinstein, 2018).
Main change:
relational interactions → social exchanges
closeness → connection
disconnection → isolation
affirmation → validation
concern about judgments → anxiety about opinions
B. Paraphrase: Different emphasis
Concern about how others respond is one possible consequence of adolescents expressing themselves on social media, even though these platforms can also create feelings of connection and validation (Weinstein, 2018).
Main change: The original presents positive and negative effects relatively evenly. The paraphrase emphasizes concern about other people’s reactions.
C. Paraphrase: Structure modified
Both closeness and disconnection can result from online social interactions, and both affirmation and concern about judgment can result from online self-expression (Weinstein, 2018).
Main change: The original uses:
interaction → contributes to result
The paraphrase reverses this:
result → can result from interaction
D. Paraphrase: Structure + emphasis + vocabulary modified
Adolescents’ experiences online are not simply positive or negative: communicating and presenting themselves to others can simultaneously strengthen social bonds and create feelings of insecurity (Weinstein, 2018).
Changes: The sentence is reorganized around the larger idea of mixed social-media experiences, the vocabulary is substantially different, and the emphasis shifts from specific categories to the overall complexity of online interaction.
APA References
Crowley, R., Ricketts, J., Henderson, L., Gaskell, G., & Tamminen, J. (2026). 0080 Poor sleep hygiene in adolescence is associated with disrupted encoding and consolidation of newly learned words. Sleep, 49(Supplement_1), A35. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsag091.0080 (OUP Academic)
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487 (Sage Journals)
Weinstein, E. (2018). The social media see-saw: Positive and negative influences on adolescents’ affective well-being. New Media & Society, 20(10), 3597–3623. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818755634 (Sage Journals)
A useful distinction for students
The examples illustrate that good paraphrasing is more than replacing words with synonyms. Students can think of three major tools:
Vocabulary → Which words and expressions can I express differently?
Structure → How can I reorganize the grammatical relationships between ideas?
Emphasis → Which part of the author’s idea will I foreground for my own discussion?The strongest paraphrase normally uses all three simultaneously while preserving the author’s original meaning and still citing the source.
Practice Parphrasing
Example 1: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety
Direct quotation
Horwitz et al. (1986) define foreign language anxiety as: “a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learning process” (p. 128). (Cambridge University Press)
Example 2: Interaction and Second Language Acquisition
Direct quotation
Long (1996) argues that negotiation for meaning:
“facilitates acquisition because it connects input, internal learner capacities, particularly selective attention, and output in productive ways” (pp. 451–452). (Wiley Online Library)
Example 3: Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language
Direct quotation
MacIntyre et al. (1998) observe:
“A related observation is that many learners have noticed that their willingness to communicate (WTC) varies considerably over time and across situations” (p. 545). (Wiley Online Library)
[!quote] Student Paraphrasing Task
For each quotation, write four versions:
Vocabulary: Change the vocabulary while keeping roughly the same organization and emphasis.
Structure: Change the grammatical and organizational structure while keeping the original meaning and general emphasis.
Emphasis: Reorganize the information so that a different aspect of the author’s idea receives greater attention.
Full paraphrase: Change vocabulary + structure + emphasis simultaneously.
After each version, include an APA parenthetical citation:
(Horwitz et al., 1986)
(Long, 1996)
(MacIntyre et al., 1998)Page numbers are required for the direct quotations. For the students’ paraphrases, APA does not require a page number, although students may include one when it would help readers locate the original idea.
References
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x (DOI)
Long, M. H. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 413–468). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012589042-7/50015-3 (CiNii Research)
MacIntyre, P. D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x (DOI)