Academic Writing for International Students of Business

1 Using generalisations

Generalisations are used to give a basic picture of a topic. Compare:

54.9% of Spanish companies employ fewer than ten people.

The majority of Spanish companies employ fewer than ten people.

Although the first sentence is more accurate, the second is easier to understand and remember.
The writer must decide when accuracy is necessary, and when a generalisation will be
acceptable. For example, the graph below shows the London stock market’s performance during
one day:

Generalisations

UNIT

2.8

Generalisations are often used to introduce a topic. They can be powerful

statements because they are simple and easy to understand, but they must be used

with care, to avoid being overly simplistic or inaccurate. This unit explains how to

generalise clearly and effectively.

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FTSE 23 November