Academic phrasebank
When reading papers, I often come across the same phrases time and again. They seem so well honed to the situation that I’m envious about how the writer dreamt them up. Stealing them isn’t quite plagiarism, but then they don’t regularly fit the exact situation that I’m looking for.
Imagine cutting and pasting them into a file, or even better a database that’s ready for any eventuality. Banking them over time so that they are always available.
Then imagine that you did this and made it available to everyone…
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/
Well, John Morley has already done it, and he’s made it available to everyone. The academic phrasebank is a fantastic resource:
How to find something you need
- Look across the top for different sections of text that you are currently writing.
- Then look down the left hand side to see the type of language function that you need. Click on something that looks applicable and watch the database open up.
Getting started & English as a foreign language
It strikes me that this is going to be a fantastic resource for those of you who are not writing in English as your home language. And for those of you who just need a few words to get started.
It’ll also be useful when you are wanting to wordsmith your introduction or abstract.
Enjoy!
