External Resources
Below we have collected links to websites that may be helpful when you write. The websites cover various aspects of academic communication, as well as language and grammar. Use them wisely; not everything that is written on these websites may apply to your writing assignment.
Phrasebank, Transition Words, and Reporting Verbs/Summary Markers
The Academic Phrasebank (University of Manchester) is a collection of useful phrases common in academic writing. It can help you find the right phrasing for contradictory evidence, for introducing a source, and more. Use for inspiration. Avoid phrases you feel unsure about; they may mean something different than you think or they may be unsuitable to your specific field.
This List of Transition Words (The Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale University) offers useful transition words that can help you highlight connections in your text. See also the pages on transition words on the UNC and Purdue OWL websites below.
This List of Reporting Verbs (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) helps you choose precise verbs for when you introduce the work of others in your text, making your text more effective.
Academic Word List
The Academic Word List, AWL (Victoria University of Wellington) includes the most frequently used academic vocabulary across different subject fields. Learning these words can enhance your comprehension of academic papers and your skills in academic writing.
Academic Writing and Grammar
Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL) is another comprehensive online resource, with information both about academic writing and writing in English in general. It includes a useful section on basic aspects of English grammar.
The Writing Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) offers a wide variety of handouts on various aspects of writing and other academic tasks. You can, for example, get tips for revising your text or tackling procrastination.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology offers advice on how to write clearer sentences and find the right level of style for your academic texts.
Dictionaries and Thesauruses
Check the meaning of words you want to use in your writing through the use of a dictionary or thesaurus.
Medical Dictionary provides concise and reader-friendly descriptions of medical conditions, medications, anatomical terms, and more.
OpenMD is a medical dictionary featuring illustrations and phonetic pronunciations, compiling data from government agencies, global health organizations, medical journals.
Harvard Medical Dictionary provides an alphabetical list of 1500 medical terms.
IATE (Interactive Terminology for Europe) is a publicly accessible database that displays a broad range of EU terminology sources used across disciplines such as law, science and economics by EU institutions. IATE can be used to translate official terms used in communications across multiple languages. There is no login requirement to access the publicly available part of the IATE; however, users with an IATE account can store search preferences and download target content. The IATE database is continuously updated to improve the reliability of its content.
Merriam-Webster is affiliated with Encyclopaedia Britannica and offers a free online dictionary. They also provide a useful thesaurus.
Dictionary.com also offers both a dictionary and a thesaurus.
Just the word helps you understand the context of words, for example which other words they are usually combined with.
Keep in mind that words also require context to make meaning. Double-check that the dictionary definition is correct, for instance by typing your chosen word into a search engine. What results do you get? How is your chosen word actually being used?
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