Academic writing A Handbook for International Students

4 Labelling

When referring to visual information in the text, the word ‘figure’ is used
for almost everything (such as maps, charts and graphs) except tables (see
examples above).
Figures and tables should be numbered and given a title. Titles of tables are
written above, while titles of figures are written below the data.
As with other data, sources must be given for all visual information.
If you are writing a lengthy work such as a dissertation you will need to
provide lists of tables and figures, showing numbers, titles and page
numbers after the contents page.

5 Practice A

 Complete the description of the following table (one word per gap).

Table 1 Projected population changes in various European countries 2015–2050 (millions).

Country Population 2015 Projected population 2050 Change (%)
(millions)

France 62 67 + 5

Germany 71 − 11
82

Italy 57 − 3
60

Poland 38 32 − 6

Portugal 10 − 0.7
10.7

Russia 140 116 − 24

Spain 45 51 + 6

UK 72 + 11
62

(Source: UN) The table a) _________________ the projected population changes

(Source: UN) The table a) _________________ the projected population changes
in various European countries b) _________________ 2015 and 2050. It can be
seen that in a c) _________________ the population is expected to fall, in some
cases (e.g. Germany and Russia) quite d) _________________ . However, the
populations of France, e) _________________ and the UK are predicted to f)
_________________ , in the case of the latter by more g) _________________
10%.

6 Practice B

 Write a paragraph commenting on the main features of the following
chart.

Progress Check 2

These exercises will help you assess your understanding of Part 2 – Elements of
Writing.

1 Give two synonyms for ‘benefit’.
2 What is the difference between vertical and horizontal formats for discussion
essays?
3 What is a counter-argument?
4 Write sentences giving possible causes for the following effects:

a) A rise in unemployment
b) A railway accident
c) A power cut

5 Write three sentences comparing Australia with New Zealand using the
following data.

Australia New Zealand
Area (square kilometres) 270,000

7.6 m

Population 21.5 m 4.3 m

GDP per head $50,750 $32,370

6 Write definitions for:

a) A semester
b) A hammer
c) A midwife

7 Insert suitable examples into each sentence.

a) Certain capital cities are smaller than the commercial centres of their
country.

b) Many varieties of fruit contain vital vitamins.
c)  A few kinds of mammals live in the sea.
d) Most planets in our solar system have moons.

8 In the following, underline any generalisations you find unsafe.
In the past century, photography has gone from being an exclusive hobby to
something accessible to everyone. This is largely due to the invention of the
digital camera. In the last 20 years this has made it simple to take colour
photographs cheaply and to modify pictures easily by using editing
programmes. So now that everyone has a smartphone, with its built-in
camera, photography has become democratic and high-quality photographs
can be produced by anybody.

9 Complete each sentence with synonyms for ‘problem’ or ‘solution’.

a) The main ______________________ facing the engineers was the
extreme cold.

b) The only ______________________ was to repeat the experiment.
c) Sherlock Holmes found an unusual ______________________ to the

mystery of the Missing Mask.
d) The safe disposal of nuclear waste is a ______________________

without an easy ______________________

10 Write a paragraph commenting on the data in the following table.

Table 2 Student survey of library facilities: % students rating facilities as good.

Table 2 Student survey of library facilities: % students rating facilities as good.

Library facilities Undergraduates (%) Postgraduates (%)

Opening hours 72 63

Staff helpfulness 94 81

Ease of using electronic catalogue 65 87

Availability of working space 80 76

Café area 91 95

Availability of short-loan stock 43 35

Quality of main book stock 69 54

(Source: Author)

PART 3
Language Issues

Part 3 deals with the language issues that international students find most
challenging when writing in English. For example, proper use of definite articles,
correct use of punctuation and effective use of a suitable academic style can be
problematic for any student. The units in this part, arranged alphabetically, can
also be studied on a remedial basis when a problem arises.

UNIT 3.1

Cohesion

Cohesion means joining a text together with reference words (he, she,
theirs, the former) and conjunctions (but, then) so that the whole text is
clear and readable. This unit practises the use of reference words, while
conjunctions are examined in Unit 4.5.

1 Reference words

Reference words are used to avoid repetition:

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was a fifteenth-century Italian genius who
produced only a handful of finished artworks. However, they include the Mona
Lisa and The Last Supper, the former perhaps the most famous painting in the
world. Although he is remembered mainly as an artist, he was also an innovative
engineer, scientist and anatomist. His designs include tanks and flying machines,
and although few of these were built in his lifetime, he is still remembered as the
man who saw their possibility.

Here the reference words function as follows:

Leonardo da Vinci finished artworks Mona Lisa designs
He/His they the former these/their

Examples of reference words and phrases:

Pronouns he/she/it/they

Possessive pronouns his/her/hers/its/their/theirs

Object pronouns her/him/them

Demonstrative pronouns this/that/these/those

Other phrases the former/the latter/the first/the second/the last

2 Practice A

 Read the following paragraph and complete the table.

BUSINESS SHORT LIFE

La Ferrera (2016), a researcher at the University of Leipzig, has researched
the life cycle of new business start-ups in Britain and Germany. She found
that they have an average life of only 3.4 years and considers this is due to
two main reasons: one economic and the other social. The former appears
to be a lack of initial working capital, the latter a failure to carry out
sufficient market research. La Ferrera considers that together these factors
account for approximately 70% of business failures. Her conclusion is that
the failure to do market research is the more serious disadvantage, as this
affects the whole design of the new enterprise.

Reference
La Ferrera Reference word/phrase
She
new business start-ups

average life of only 3.4 years
one economic
the other social

the former…, the latter…
… sufficient market research

the failure to do market research



3 Preventing confusion

To avoid confusing the reader, it is important to use reference words only when
the reference is clear and unambiguous. For example:

Pablo Picasso moved to Paris in 1904 and worked with Georges Braque from 1908
to 1909. He became interested in the analysis of form, which led to cubism.

In this case, it is not clear which person (Picasso or Braque) ‘he’ refers to. So to
avoid this, write:

Pablo Picasso moved to Paris in 1904 and worked with Georges Braque from 1908
to 1909. Picasso became interested in the analysis of form, which led to cubism.

4 Practice B

 In the following paragraph, insert suitable reference words in the gaps.

Famous for?

When Andy Warhol died at the age of 58 in 1987, few people guessed that
a) ____________________ would soon become one of the most valuable
artists in the world. In 2007, total sales of b) ____________________ work
at auction reached $428 million dollars. When, a year later, c)
____________________ painting ‘Eight Elvises’ sold for over $100 million,
d) ____________________ was one of the highest prices ever paid for a
work of art. In e) ____________________ working life, f)
____________________ made about 10,000 artworks, and dealers believe
that g) ____________________ will continue to be popular with collectors
in future. h) ____________________ is because of Warhol’s huge
reputation as a super-cool trendsetter and innovator. i)
____________________ is also remembered for j) ____________________
remark: ‘In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes’, which
seems to forecast today’s celebrity culture.

5 Implied language

In various written forms, certain words may be omitted for convenience. For
instance, in emails the subject (noun or pronoun) is frequently left out:

 (I) Hope to see you on Friday.
 (We are) Looking forward to reading your article.

In other cases, nouns may be implied in order to avoid repetition:

 Various metals are used to make alloys with nickel. One such (metal) is
chromium.

 Oil (production) and gas production have fallen since 2015.
 It is hoped to select suitable candidates from the 10,000 (candidates) who

apply
each year.

In places, a whole phrase might be implied:

They are hoping to reach that goal soon. By 2025 they probably will. (reach that
goal)

Implied language is frequently found in comparisons:

The price of land in rural areas is much less than (the price of land) in cities.

Until you are a very confident writer, it is better not to omit such words or
phrases, but it is useful to understand why it is done.

6 Practice C

 Read the following paragraphs and replace the words in bold with
reference words.

Velcro

Velcro is a fabric fastener used with clothes and shoes. Velcro was
invented by a Swiss engineer called George de Mestral. Mestral’s idea was
derived from studying the tiny hooks found on some plant seeds. The tiny
hooks cling to animals and help disperse the seeds. Velcro has two sides,
one of which is covered in small hooks and the other in loops. When the
hooks and loops are pressed together they form a strong bond.

Mestral spent eight years perfecting Mestral’s invention, which Mestral
called ‘Velcro’ from the French words ‘velour’ and ‘crochet’. The
invention was patented in 1955, and today over 60 million metres of
Velcro are sold annually.

7 Practice D

 Use the following information to write a paragraph about the invention
of nylon, paying careful attention to the use of reference words.

Nylon Wallace Carothers
Inventor: DuPont Corporation (US)
Company: Director of research centre
Carothers’ position: Chemistry student, specialising in polymers
Carothers’ background: (molecules

composed of long chains Strong but fine synthetic fibre
of atoms) 1935
Properties: 1939
Patented: Stockings, toothbrushes, parachutes, fishing lines,
Mass produced: surgical thread
Applications:

UNIT 3.2

Definite Articles

Students often find the rules for using articles (‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’) in English
confusing. This unit focuses on the definite article, ‘the’, and provides
guidelines, examples and practice.

1 Use of articles

Unless they are uncountable, all nouns need an article when used in the singular.
The article can be either a/an or the. Compare:

a) Research is an important activity in universities.
b) The research begun by Dr Mathews was continued by Professor Brankovic.
c) An interesting piece of research was conducted among 200 patients in the

clinic.

In a) research, which is usually uncountable, is being used in a general sense.

In b) a specific piece of research is identified, started by Dr Mathews.

In c) the research is mentioned for the first time, and the word ‘piece’ is used to
‘count’ the research.

 See Unit 3.6 Singular or Plural? – Uncountable nouns

2 Using definite articles

The rules for using the (the definite article) are quite complex.

 Decide why it is used, or not used, in the following examples.

a) The world’s fastest animal is the cheetah.
b) The US was founded in the eighteenth century.
c) The government increased taxation in the 1990s.
d) The French Revolution was partly caused by bad harvests.
e) The New Scientist is published every week.
f) The south is characterised by poverty and emigration.
g) Pablo Picasso, the Spanish artist, was born in Malaga.
h) The River Seine runs through the middle of Paris.
i) The United Nations was founded in 1945.
j) The euro was introduced in 2002.

In general, the is used with:

i) superlatives (fastest)
ii) time periods (eighteenth century/1990s)
iii) unique things (government, world)
iv) specified things (French Revolution)
vi) regular publications (New Scientist)
vii) regions and rivers (south/River Seine)
viii) very well-known people and things (Spanish artist)
ix) institutions and bodies (United Nations)

x) positions (middle)
xi) currencies (euro)

It is not used with:

xii) things in general (bad harvests)
xiii) names of countries (except for the UK, the US and a few others)
xiv) abstract nouns (e.g. poverty, love)
xv) companies/things named after people/places (e.g. Sainsbury’s, Heathrow

Airport)

Note the alternate forms:

The deserts of Australia are expanding.
Australian deserts/Australia’s deserts are expanding.

3 Practice A

It can be difficult to decide if a noun phrase is specific or not. Compare:


Climate change is a serious threat for many people. (not specific)
The Russian climate is characterised by long, cold winters. (specific)
Mobile phones are vital tools for many businesses. (not specific)
The mobile phone she bought was a Samsung. (specific)

 In the following sentences, decide if the words and phrases in bold are
specific or not and whether ‘the’ should be added.

Example:

_________________ inflation was a serious problem for _________________
Brazilian government.
Inflation was a serious problem for the Brazilian government.

a)  _________________ engineering is the main industry in
_________________ northern region.

b)  _________________ insurance firms have made record profits in
_________________ last decade.

c)  _________________ global warming is partly caused by
_________________ fossil fuels.

d)  _________________ mayor has been arrested on suspicion of
_________________ corruption.

e)  _________________ moons of Jupiter were discovered in
_________________ eighteenth century.

f)  _________________ tourism is _________________ world’s biggest
industry.

g)  _________________ forests of Scandinavia produce most of
_________________ Britain’s paper.

h)  _________________ Thai currency is _________________ baht.

i)  _________________ computer crime has grown by 200% in
_________________ last five years.

j)  _________________ main causes of _________________ Industrial
Revolution are still debated.

k)  Three percent of _________________ working population are employed
in _________________ call centres.

l)  _________________ latest forecast predicts _________________ warmer
winters in the next decade.

m)  Research on _________________ energy saving is being conducted in
_________________ Physics Faculty.

o)  _________________ best definition is often _________________ simplest.

p)  During _________________ last recession there was a sharp increase in
_________________ child poverty.

4 Practice B

Note the difference in meaning between:

A government minister (one of several/many)
The Minister of Health (the only one)

 Complete the following text by inserting a/the (or nothing) in each gap.
(Note that in some cases more than one answer is possible).

A Northern model?

Norway is a) global leader in b) ___________ use of electric cars: in 2016
nearly 30% of vehicle sales were battery-powered or hybrid models. In c)
___________ past five years sales have increased sharply due to d)
___________ development of better batteries, so now e) ___________
country’s five million people are f) ___________ world’s largest electric
car market. g) ___________ Transport Minister talks of ending sales of cars
powered by h) ___________ fossil fuels by 2025. i) ___________
government is subsidising j) ___________ installation of charging points
on main roads and shopping centres. In addition, drivers of k)
___________ zero-emission vehicles pay no sales tax or parking fees and
may use bus lanes in cities. But this pattern may not be l) ___________
model for other countries: Norway has m) ___________ surplus of cheap
electricity thanks to n) ___________ hydropower, and it taxes petrol and
diesel fuel heavily.

UNIT 3.3

Numbers

Students are often required to write clearly and accurately about statistical
data. This unit explains and practises the language of numbers and
percentages. Presenting data in charts and tables is dealt with in Unit 2.8
Visual Information.

1 The language of numbers

a) In introductions, numbers are often used to give an accurate summary of a
situation:
Approximately 1,800 children between the ages of five and 12 years were
selected.
The earth’s atmosphere appears to be gaining 3.3 billion metric tons of
carbon annually.
Five winters in the twentieth century were more than 2.4° C colder than
average.

The words figures and numbers are both used to talk about statistical data in a
general sense: The figures/numbers in the report need to be read critically.

But number is used more widely:
She forgot her mobile phone number.
Thirteen is an unlucky number in some cultures.

Digits are individual numbers.
4,539 is a four-digit number.

Both fractions (½) and decimals (0.975) may be used.
b) There is no final ‘s’ on hundred/thousand/million used with whole numbers:

Six million people live there.
but:

Thousands of people were forced to move from the flooded valley.

When discussing money, put the currency symbol first: $440 m (440 million US
dollars).

Rates are normally expressed as percentages (e.g. the literacy rate is 75%) but
may also be per thousand (e.g. the Austrian birth rate is 8.7).

It is normal to write whole numbers as words from one to ten and as digits
above ten:

There were 16 students in the class, but only eight came to the lecture.

2 Percentages

These are commonly used for expressing rates of change:

Since 2008 the number of prisoners has risen by 22%.

 Complete the following sentences using the data in the next table.

a) Between 2014 and 2015, the number of students increased by %.
b) The number increased by % the following year.
c) Between 2014 and 2017 there was a % increase.

Students studying Law and Politics 2014–2017

2014 2015 2016 2017
200 300 600 1000

3 Simplification

Although the accurate use of numbers is vital, too many statistics can make texts
difficult to read. If the exact number is not important, words such as various,
dozens or scores may be used instead:

The snow storm closed 47 schools.
The snow storm closed dozens of schools.

a couple 2
few a small number, less than expected
a few approximately 3–6 depending on context
several approximately 3–4
various approximately 4–6
dozens of approximately 30–60
scores of approximately 60–100

 Rewrite the following sentences using one of the words or phrases in the
preceding list.

Example:

Only three people attended the meeting.
Few people attended the meeting.
a) 77 students applied for the scholarship.
b) Since 1975, 53 primary schools have been rebuilt.
c) The students thought of four good topics for their project.
d) Five names were suggested but rejected for the new chocolate bar.

e) Last year 49 books were published on biogenetics.

4 Further numerical phrases

The expressions listed here can also be used to present and simplify statistical
information. For example:

The course fees rose from $1,200 to $2,500 in two years.

could be written:
The course fees doubled in two years.

If appropriate, roughly/approximately can be added:
The course fees roughly doubled in two years.

one in three One in three engineering students is
twice/three times as many a from China.
five/tenfold increase Twice as many women as men study
to double/halve business law.
the highest/lowest There was a fivefold increase in the
a quarter/fifth price of oil.
the majority/minority The rate of infection halved after 2001.
on average, the average The lowest rate of home ownership was
a small/large proportion in Germany.
A fifth of all employees leave every
year.
The majority of births are in hospital.
On average, each judge hears two cases
per day.
The website generates a large
proportion of their sales.

NB: 5–20% = a small minority 21–39% = a minority
 40–49% = a substantial/significant minority 51–55% = a small majority 56–

 40–49% = a substantial/significant minority 51–55% = a small majority 56–
79% = a majority

 80% + = a large majority Rewrite each sentence in a simpler way, using a
suitable expression from the preceding list.

a) In 1973, a litre of petrol cost 12p, while the price is now £1.20.


b) Out of 18 students in the group, 12 were women.


c) The new high-speed train reduced the journey time to Madrid from seven
hours to three hours, 20 minutes.


d) The number of students applying for the Psychology course has risen from
350 last year to 525 this year.


e) More than 80% of students in Britain complete their first degree course; in
Italy the figure is just 35%.


f) Tap water costs 0.07p per litre, while bottled water costs, on average, 50p per
litre.


g) The rate of unemployment in Europe ranges from 23% in Greece to 3% in
Norway.


h) 57 percent of the members supported the suggestion, but of these, 83% had
some doubts.



5 Practice

 Study the data in the following table and write sentences using suitable
numerical phrases.

Selected Olympic Games 1896–2012

Year Host Sports Events Athletes % Women
1896 Athens 9 43 241 0.0 %

1924 Paris 17 126 3,089 4.4 %

1964 Tokyo 19 163 5,151 13.2 %

1992 Barcelona 32 257 9,356 28.9 %

2008 Beijing 28 302 10,942 42.4%

2012 London 28 302 10,700 45%

Source: IOC

a) At the Paris Olympics in 1924 a small minority of athletes were female.
b)
c)

d)
e)
f)

UNIT 3.4

Passive and Active

The passive voice is more common in academic writing than in other
genres, making it more impersonal and formal, but the passive should not
be overused. This unit explains where it is appropriate to use the passive
and provides practice in developing a balanced style.

1 Active and passive

The passive is used when the writer wants to focus on the result, not on the cause
or agent:

Jupiter’s moons were discovered in 1610. (passive)
Galileo discovered Jupiter’s moons in 1610. (active)

In the first sentence, the emphasis is on the moons, in the second on Galileo. So
the passive is often used in written English when the cause or agent (a person or
thing) is less important or unknown.

Aluminium was first produced in the nineteenth century. (by someone)
The colony was abandoned in the 1630s. (for some unknown reason)

The cause of the action can be shown by adding ‘by…’:

The city was flooded by a severe hurricane.

The passive is also used in written work to provide a more impersonal style:

The findings were evaluated. (not ‘I evaluated the findings’)

 See Unit 3.7 Style

2 Structure Past participle
constructed
All passive structures have two parts: developed
reorganised
Form of the verb to be
is
was
will be

 Change the following sentences into the passive to make them more
impersonal.

a) We collected the data and compared the two groups.
b) I interviewed 120 people in three social classes.
c) They checked the results and found several errors.
d) We will make an analysis of the findings.
e) He asked four doctors to give their opinion.
f) She wrote the report and distributed ten copies.

3 Use of the passive

The passive tends to be commonly employed in certain situations:

a) Describing a process
Urea can be made cheaply by mixing ammonia and carbon dioxide.
What causes this antibody to be produced is unclear.
Printed skin might eventually be employed for grafts.

b) Describing a piece of research
The results were adjusted to allow for the variation.
It was found that the smallest were the most effective.
The process was discovered in the 2000s.
One study was conducted in America and published in 2011.

In both of these situations the use of the passive puts the emphasis on the action
and not on the people involved.

  Change the following sentences from active to passive.

a) The researchers exposed the vaccines to temperatures below the limit.
b) Some historians believe that the Atacama desert was too dry for animal life.
c) Dr Weber suggests that foreign competition can damage them.
d) They researched the life cycles of three main bee species.
e) She argued that prisons had a negative effect on the inmates.

4 Adverbs with passives

Adverbs are frequently inserted into the passive structure to add information:
Emigration was largely banned until 1991.
The vaccine was accidentally frozen.

 Underline the passive forms in the following paragraph and add
suitable adverbs to each from the box.

MARS MANIA

In the past it was commonly believed that creatures lived on Mars. Due to
the similarity of size with Earth, the planet was thought to have a climate
that would permit life. It was discovered that Mars had four seasons,
although they were longer than their equivalents on Earth. In the late
nineteenth century, straight lines seen on the surface of Mars were
considered to be canals, built by Martian engineers. An invasion of Earth by
superior beings from Mars was described by H.G. Wells in his novel War of
the Worlds. Even today it is claimed that primitive life exists on the planet.



commonly graphically occasionally generally ridiculously additionally

 See Unit 4.4 Academic Vocabulary: Adverbs and Verbs

5 Practice

Overuse of the passive can make a text seem very formal. A balanced style mixes
both active and passive.

 Read the following and change some of the passive forms into active.

MAKING BREAD

Bread is traditionally made from wheat flour, salt, water and yeast. The
wholemeal or white flour is mixed with a little salt and yeast, and then
lukewarm water is gradually added. Other ingredients such as chopped nuts
or seeds may be included. Then the dough is mixed until a soft ball is
formed, which can be kneaded by hand. In the kneading process the dough
is vigorously pounded and reshaped so that all the ingredients are fully
combined. After being thoroughly kneaded the dough is left for a few hours
to rise. When this is finished the dough is again worked by hand to shape it
into loaves or rolls. After two more hours the loaves will have risen again,
due to the action of the yeast. They are baked in a hot oven for about half
an hour and then allowed to cool.

UNIT 3.5

Punctuation

Accurate punctuation and the correct use of capital letters help the reader to
understand exactly what the writer means. While some aspects of
punctuation, such as the use of commas, can be a matter of individual style,
correct punctuation in areas such as quotation is vital.

1 Capital letters

It is difficult to give precise rules about the use of capital letters in modern
English, where nowadays there is a tendency to use them less than before.
However, they should always be used in the following cases:

a) The first word in a sentence In the beginning …

b) Days and months Friday 21st July

c) Nationality words Indonesia and the Indonesians

d) Languages Most Swiss speak French and German

e) Names of people/places Dr Martin Lee from Sydney, Australia

f) Book titles (main words only) Power and the State

g) Historical periods The Bronze Age, the Great Depression

h) Names of organisations Sheffield Hallam University

i) The first person pronoun By Monday I had finished the book

  NB: Seasons are not capitalised (The course began in autumn)

2 Full stops (.) [US: period]

These are used to show the end of a sentence:
The first chapter provides a clear introduction to the topic.

They are also used with certain abbreviations formed from the first part of a
word:

govt./Jan./p.397

But do not use full stops with acronyms such as:
BBC/UN/VIP

 See Unit 4.2 Abbreviations

3 Commas (,)

These are one of the commonest punctuation marks, but also one of the hardest
to provide guidance for, because comma use is partly a matter of individual style.
It may be useful to think of commas as providing a brief pause for readers, to give
them a chance to make sense of a chunk of text. Overuse can slow down the
reader, but equally the lack of commas can be confusing. Some instances of
necessary comma usage are:

a) after introductory words or phrases:

However, more cases should be considered before reaching a conclusion.

b) around examples or comments (these are phrases that can be left out
without loss of meaning): Certain crops, for instance wheat, are susceptible
to diseases.

Nationalism, it is widely recognised, has a positive and a negative side.

c) before some conjunctions:

Three hundred people were interviewed, and most of these expressed
approval.

d) in lists of three or more items:

Tomatoes, beans, cabbages and potatoes were all genetically modified in
turn.

e) finishing direct speech:

‘Don’t forget the deadline’, the teacher told them.

f) to show contrasting elements:

It was well written, but badly spelt.

g) with a group of adjectives:

It was a long, rambling, humorous and controversial book.

4 Apostrophes (’)

These can be one of the most confusing features of English punctuation. They are
mainly used in two situations:

a) to show contractions He’s the leading authority on Hegel.

NB: contractions are not common in academic English. It is usually better to
write the full form:

a) b) with He is the leading authority on Hegel.
possessives
The professor’s secretary (singular)
Students’ marks (plural words ending in ‘s’) Dickens’s
novels (names ending in ‘s’)
Women’s rights (for irregular plurals)

NB: It’s is the contraction of it is It’s possible the course will be cancelled.

The third person singular possessive form is its ‘Civilization and its Discontents’
(Freud) There is no need to use the apostrophe with generic plurals: 1980s, HGVs

5 Semicolons (;)

Semicolons are used to show the link between two connected clauses, when a
comma would be too weak and a full stop too strong: Seven people applied for the
post; six were shortlisted and then interviewed.

Nobody questioned the results; they were quite conclusive.

Semicolons are also used to divide up items in a list when they have a complex
structure, as in a multiple citation: (Maitland, 2006; Rosenor, 1997; New Scientist,
2006b; University of Michigan, 2000).