ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH Adrian Wallwork English for Academic Correspondence Second Edition English for Academic Research Series editor Adrian Wallwork Pisa Italy This series aims to help non-native, English-speaking researchers communicate in English. The books in this series are designed like manuals or user guides to help readers fi nd relevant information quickly, and assimilate it rapidly and effectively. The author has divided each book into short subsections of short paragraphs with many bullet points. More information about this series at h ttp://www.springer.com/series/13913 Adrian Wallwork English for Academic Correspondence Second Edition Adrian Wallwork English for Academics Pisa Italy English for Academic Research ISBN 978-3-319-26433-2 ISBN 978-3-319-26435-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-26435-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016932948 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 T his work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. T he use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. T he publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper S pringer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Pref ace Who is this book for? This book is part of the English for Research series of guides for non-native English academics of all disciplines who work in an international fi eld. EAP trainers can use this book in conjunction with: E nglish for Academic Research: A Guide for Teachers. What does this book cover? How is it organized? English for Academic Correspondence covers all the types of email you will need to write in your academic career: emails and letters, both formal and informal, to edi- tors, colleagues, and professors. It also covers how to write and respond to a refer- ee's report, along with some brief suggestions on how to write a research proposal and a research statement. How are the chapters organized? Each chapter has the following three-part format: 1) F actoids / What the experts say In most cases, this section is a brief introduction to the topic of the chapter. Occasionally, the factoids are simply interesting in themselves and have no particu- larly relevance to the chapter in question. However, they can be used by EAP v vi teachers as warm-ups for their lessons. All the statistics and quotations are genuine, though in some cases I have been unable to verify the original source. The fi nal two chapters do not have this section. 2) W hat's the buzz? T his is designed to get you thinking about the topic, through a variety of useful but entertaining exercises. These exercises are designed to be done in class with an EAP (English for Academic Purposes) teacher/trainer, who will provide you with the keys to the exercises. The fi nal part of each W hat's the buzz? section is a brief outline of the contents of the chapter. 3) The rest of each chapter is divided up into short subsections in answer to specifi c questions. How should I read this book? T his book is designed to be like a manual or a user guide—you don’t need to read it starting from page one. Like a manual it has lots of short subsections and is divided into short paragraphs with many bullet points. This is to help you fi nd what you want quickly and also to assimilate the information as rapidly and as effectively as possible. You can use the Table of Contents as a checklist of things to remember. I am a trainer in EAP and EFL. Should I read this book? If you are a teacher of English for Academic Purposes or English as a Foreign Language you will learn about all the typical problems that non-native researchers have in the world of academia. You will be able to give your students advice on writing effective emails and getting referees and editors to accept your students' papers. In addition, you will fi nd opportunities for generating a lot of stimulating and fun discussions by using the factoids and quotations, along with the What's the buzz? exercises. Y ou can supplement your lessons with the three exercise books (writing, grammar, vocabulary) that are part of this E nglish for Academic Research series, plus the teacher's book that contains notes on how to exploit all the books: E nglish for Academic Research: A Guide for Teachers. vii Are the emails and other examples in this book genuine? Are they in correct English? A ll the emails are based on real emails. I have changed the names of the writers and their institutions, and in some cases I have changed the research topic that the writer refers to in his/her email or letter. The referees’ reports and replies to these reports are also genuine - although in some cases you might fi nd this diffi cult to believe! Unless otherwise stated, all the examples are in correct English. Differences from the fi rst edition T here are three main differences from the fi rst edition. Firstly, each chapter now begins with Factoids and a W hat’s the buzz? section. Secondly, there are three new chapters (Chapters 7, 8 and 9) on writing cover letters, reference letters and research proposals. Thirdly, Parts 3, 4 and 5 of the original edition (on telephoning, under- standing native speakers, and socializing) have been incorporated into a completely new book: E nglish for Interacting on Campus. This means that this second edition is entirely focused on correspondence. Adding the new chapters and keeping the old parts would have led to a tome of over 400 pages! Other books in this series This book is a part of series of books to help non-native English-speaking r esearchers to communicate in English. The other titles are as follows: English for Presentations at International Conferences English for Writing Research Papers English for Academic Research: A Guide for Teachers English for Interacting on Campus English for Academic Research: Grammar, Usage and Style English for Academic Research: Grammar Exercises English for Academic Research: Vocabulary Exercises English for Academic Research: Writing Exercises Contents 1 Subject Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 What’s the buzz? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.2 Write the subject line imagining that you are the recipient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.3 Combine your subject line with the preview pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.4 Use the subject line to give your complete message . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.5 Consider using a two-part subject line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.6 Be specifi c, never vague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.7 Include pertinent details for the recipient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1.8 Examples of subject lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 Salutations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.1 What’s the buzz? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.2 Spell the recipient’s name correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.3 Use an appropriate initial salutation and be careful with titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.4 Avoid problems when it is not clear if the recipient is male or female, or which is their surname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.5 Be as specifi c as possible when addressing an email to someone whose name you do not know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2.6 If in doubt how to end your email, use Best regards . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2.7 Don’t use a sequence of standard phrases in your fi nal salutation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2.8 Ensure your signature contains everything that your recipient may need to know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 2.9 Avoid PSs and anything under your signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 3 Structuring the Content of an Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 3.1 What’s the buzz? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3.2 Plan your email and be sensitive to the recipient’s point of view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 3.3 Begin with a greeting + recipient’s name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 ix