2023年12月23日发(作者：)
气象专业学术英语知识讲座
第一讲 学术英语的一般特征
第二讲 名词短语与名词化结构
第三讲 时态与语态用法
第四讲 转述语与转述动词
第五讲 评价与作者立场
第六讲 语篇互动机制：元话语
第七讲 主位结构分析
第八讲 语篇衔接手段
第九讲 体裁分析与论文引言部分的CARS模型
第十讲 摘要、论文方法、结果和讨论部分的宏观结构
气象专业学术英语知识讲座
第一讲 学术英语及其一般特征
学术英语(EAP)的基本概念、主要研究问题、教学特征及研究发展简史
与普通英语的主要区别（文体正式、高度的专业性、词汇特点（学术英语词汇表、概念外壳名词）、句法特点、模糊语的运用）
主要流派（系统功能语法、体裁分析方法）
批判性阅读与写作
第二讲 名词化结构
积木结构
名词化结构（基本类型，功能）
第三讲 语态与时态
被动语态的运用
主动语态运用的时机
学术语篇中常用的三种时态
时态的语用（语篇）功能？
条件句中的时态
第四讲 主位结构分析
系统功能语法的基本概念
主位、述位
主位化
主位推进模式
摘要语篇中的主位推进
第五讲 衔接与连贯
基本概念
衔接手段
第六讲 论文引言的宏观结构及其语言特征
学术论文的宏观结构
CARS模型及其语步识别
转述语（转述语分型：完整式转述与非完整式转述，转述动词及其分类，转述动词时态的语法隐喻）
第八讲 摘要的宏观结构及其语言特征
摘要定义、作用及类型
宏观结构（语步模式）及其语言特征（时态、语态）
标题语言学特征
第九讲 论文主体部分的宏观结构及其语言特征
方法部分（基本内容及语步模式，对数值模式或资料的描述，数值模拟的描述，对天气形势/天气过程的描述，学术语篇中的祈使句，时态）
结果部分（基本内容及语步模式，指称研究结果，叙述研究结果，说明或评论研究结果，图表说明，时态）
讨论部分（基本内容及语步模式，常用句型，句子副词，时态）
结论部分（基本内容及语步模式，时态）
第十讲 学术语篇中的互动机制：元话语
学术语篇的互动性
Hyland元话语理论模式
学术语篇中元话语的功能（说服的三种手段：气质、动情和说理）
作者立场（基本概念、认知型立场标记语、态度型立场标记语、方式型立场标记语）
Features of academic writing
Introduction
Academic writing in English is linear, which means it has one central point
or theme with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without
digressions or repetitions. Its objective is to inform rather than
entertain. As well as this it is in the standard written form of the
language. There are eight main features of academic writing that are often
discussed. Academic writing is to some extent: complex, formal, objective,
explicit, hedged, and responsible. It uses language precisely and
accurately.
Complexity
Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language. Written
language has longer words, it is lexically more dense and it has a more
varied vocabulary. It uses more noun-based phrases than verb-based
phrases. Written texts are shorter and the language has more grammatical
complexity, including more subordinate clauses and more passives.
Formality
Academic writing is relatively formal. In general this means that in an
essay you should avoid colloquial words and expressions.
Precision
In academic writing, facts and figures are given precisely.
Objectivity
Written language is in general objective rather than personal. It
therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader. This
means that the main emphasis should be on the information that you want
to give and the arguments you want to make, rather than you. For that reason,
academic writing tends to use nouns (and adjectives), rather than verbs
(and adverbs).
Explicitness
Academic writing is explicit about the relationships int he text.
Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the writer in English to make
it clear to the reader how the various parts of the text are related. These
connections can be made explicit by the use of different signalling words.
Accuracy
Academic writing uses vocabulary accurately. Most subjects have words
with narrow specific meanings. Linguistics distinguishes clearly between
"phonetics" and "phonemics"; general English does not.
Hedging
In any kind of academic writing you do, it is necessary to make decisions
about your stance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims
you are making. Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways.
A technique common in certain kinds of academic writing is known by
linguists as a ‘hedge’.
Responsibility
In academic writing you must be responsible for, and must be able to
provide evidence and justification for, any claims you make. You are also
responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source texts you
use.
Complexity
Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language.
Written texts are lexically dense compared to spoken language - they have
proportionately more lexical words than grammatical words. Written texts
are shorter and have longer, more complex words and phrases. They have
more noun-based phrases, more nominalizations, and more lexical
variation.
Written language is grammatically more complex than spoken language. It
has more subordinate clauses, more "that/to" complement clauses, more
long sequences of prepositional phrases, more attributive adjectives and
more passives than spoken language.
The following features are common in academic written texts:
Noun-based phrases, Subordinate clauses/embedding, Complement clauses,
Sequences of prepositional phrases, Participles, Passive verbs, Lexical
density, Lexical complexity, Nominalisation, Attributive adjectives
Examples
Halliday (1989, p.79) compares a sentence from a spoken text:
You can control the trains this way and if you do that you can be quite sure that
they'll be able to run more safely and more quickly than they would otherwise,
no matter how bad the weather gets.
with a typical written variant:
The use of this method of control unquestionably leads to safer and faster train
running in the most adverse weather conditions.
The main difference is the grammar, not the vocabulary.
Other equivalents are given below (p.81):
Spoken Written
Whenever I'd visited there before, I'd Every previous visit had left me
ended up feeling that it would be futile if I with a sense of the futility of further
tried to do anything more. action on my part.
The cities in Switzerland had once been Violence changed the face of once
peaceful, but they changed when people peaceful Swiss cities.
became violent.
Because the technology has improved its Improvements in technology have
less risky than it used to be when you reduced the risks and high costs
install them at the same time, and it associated with simultaneous
doesn't cost so much either. installation.
The people in the colony rejoiced when it Opinion in the colony greeted the
was promised that things would change in promised change with enthusiasm.
this way.
Formality
In general this means in an essay that you should avoid:
a. colloquial words and expressions:
"stuff", "a lot of", "thing", "sort of",
b. abbreviated forms:
"can't", "doesn't", "shouldn't"
c. two word verbs:
"put off", "bring up"
d. sub-headings, numbering and bullet-points in formal essays - but use
them in reports.
e. asking questions.
Precision
In academic writing you need to be precise when you use information, dates
or figures. Do not use "a lot of people" when you can say "50 million people".
For example:
Chemists had attempted to synthesize quinine for the previous
hundred
years
but all they had achieved was to discover the extreme complexity of the
problem.
The volatile oily liquid beta-chloro-beta-ethyl sulphide was first synthesized in
1854, and in 1887 it was reported to produce blisters if it touched the skin. It
was called mustard gas and was used at Ypres in 19I7, when it caused many
thousands of casualties.
It is approximately
eight inches in length and runs from the urinary bladder,
through the prostate gland, under the front of the pelvis, and, passing through
the corpus spongiosum, it ends at the tip of the glans penis in an opening called
the urethral meatus .
Objectivity
This means that the main emphasis should be on the information that you
want to give and the arguments you want to make, rather than you. This
is related to the basic nature of academic study and academic writing,
in particular. Nobody really wants to know what you "think" or "believe".
They want to know what you have studied and learned and how this has led
you to your various conclusions. The thoughts and beliefs should be based
on your lectures, reading, discussion and research and it is important
to make this clear.
1. Compare these two paragraphs:
The question of what constitutes "language proficiency" and the nature of its
cross-lingual dimensions is also at the core of many hotly debated issues in the
areas of bilingual education and second language pedagogy and testing.
Researchers have suggested ways of making second language teaching and
testing more "communicative" (e.g., Canale and Swain, 1980; Oller, 1979b) on
the grounds that a communicative approach better reflects the nature of
language proficiency than one which emphasizes the acquisition of discrete
language skills.
We don't really know what language proficiency is but many people have
talked about it for a long time. Some researchers have tried to find ways for us
to make teaching and testing more communicative because that is how
language works. I think that language is something we use for communicating,
not an object for us to study and we remember that when we teach and test it.
Which is the most objective?
2. In general, avoid words like
"I", "me", "myself".
A reader will normally assume that any idea not referenced is your own.
It is therefore unnecessary to make this explicit.
Don't write:"
In my opinion, this a very interesting study."
Write:
"This is a very interesting study."
Avoid
"you" to refer to the reader or people in general.
Don't write: "You can easily forget how different life was 50 years ago."
Write: "It is easy to forget how difficult life was 50 years ago."
3. Examples
Clearly this was far less true of France than ...
This is where the disagreements and controversies begin ...
The data indicates that ...
This is not a view shared by everyone; Jones, for example, claims that ...
. . .very few people would claim ...
It is worthwhile at this stage to consider ...
Of course, more concrete evidence is needed before ...
Several possibilities emerge ...
A common solution is ...
Academic writing is explicit in several ways.
1. It is explicit in its signposting of the organisation of the ideas in
the text (Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad & Finegan, 1999, pp. 880-882).
As a writer of academic English, it is your responsibility to make it clear
to your reader how various parts of the text are related. These connections
can be made explicit by the use of different signalling words.
For example, if you want to tell your reader that your line of argument
is going to change, make it clear.
The Bristol 167 was to be Britain's great new advance on American types such
as the Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-6, which did not have the range
to fly the Atlantic non-stop. It was also to be the largest aircraft ever built in
Britain. However, even by the end of the war, the design had run into serious
difficulties.
If you think that one sentence gives reasons for something in another
sentence, make it explicit.
While an earlier generation of writers had noted this feature of the period, it
was not until the recent work of Cairncross that the significance of this outflow
was realized. Partly this was because the current account deficit appears much
smaller in current (1980s) data than it was thought to be by contemporaries.
If you think two ideas are almost the same, say so.
Marx referred throughout his work to other systems than the capitalist system,
especially those which he knew from the history of Europe to have preceded
capitalism; systems such as feudalism, where the relation of production was
characterized by the personal relation of the feudal lord and his serf and a
relation of subordination which came from the lord's control of the land.
Similarly, Marx was interested in slavery and in the classical Indian and
Chinese social systems, or in those systems where the ties of local community
are all important.
If you intend your sentence to give extra information, make it clear.
He is born into a family, he marries into a family, and he becomes the husband
and father of his own family. In addition, he has a definite place of origin and
more relatives than he knows what to do with, and he receives a rudimentary
education at the Canadian Mission School.
If you are giving examples, do it explicitly.
This has sometimes led to disputes between religious and secular clergy,
between orders and bishops. For example, in the Northern context, the previous
bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Philbin, refused for most of his period of
leadership in Belfast to have Jesuits visiting or residing in his diocese.
For more information see Writing Paragraphs: Signalling.
2. It is explicit in its acknowledgment of the sources of the ideas in
the text.
If you know the source of the ideas you are presenting, acknowledge it.
Do THIS in academic writing
McGreil (1977: 363-408) has shown that though Dubliners find the English
more acceptable than the Northern Irish, Dubliners still seek a solution
to the Northern problem within an all-Ireland state.
NOT
Although Dubliners find the English more acceptable than the Northern
Irish, Dubliners still seek a solution to the Northern problem within an
all-Ireland state.
NOT
Researchers have shown that though Dubliners find the English more
acceptable than the Northern Irish, Dubliners still seek a solution to
the Northern problem within an all-Ireland state.
Accuracy
In academic writing you need to be accurate in your use of vocabulary.
Do not confuse, for example, "phonetics" and "phonology" or "grammar"
with "syntax".
Choose the correct word, for example, "meeting", "assembly" , "gathering"
or "conference".
Or from: "money", "cash", "currency", "capital" or "funds".
Hedging
It is often believed that academic writing, particularly scientific
writing, is factual, simply to convey facts and information. However it
is now recognised that an important feature of academic writing is the
concept of cautious language, often called "hedging" or "vague language".
In other words, it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on
a particular subject, or the strength of the claims you are making.
Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways.
Language used in hedging:
e.g. seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, believe,
1. Introductory
doubt, be sure, indicate, suggest
verbs:
2.
Certain lexical verbs
e.g. believe, assume, suggest
e.g. will, must, would, may, might, could
3. Certain modal
verbs:
4.
Adverbs of frequency
e.g. often, sometimes, usually
4. Modal adverbs
5.
Modal adjectives
6.
Modal nouns
7. That clauses
8. To-clause +
adjective
e.g. certainly, definitely, clearly, probably, possibly,
perhaps, conceivably,
e.g. certain, definite, clear, probable, possible
e.g. assumption, possibility, probability
e.g. It could be the case that .
e.g. It might be suggested that .
e.g. There is every hope that .
e.g. It may be possible to obtain .
e.g. It is important to develop .
e.g. It is useful to study .
EXAMPLES
Compare the following:
1. It may be said that the commitment to some of the social and economic
concepts was less strong than it is now.
The commitment to some of the social and economic concepts was less
strong than it is now.
2. The lives they chose may seem overly ascetic and self-denying to most
women today.
The lives they chose seem overly ascetic and self-denying to most
women today.
3. Weismann suggested that animals become old because, if they did not,
there could be no successive replacement of individuals and hence no
evolution.
Weismann proved that animals become old because, if they did not,
there could be no successive replacement of individuals and hence no
evolution.
4. Yet often it cannot have been the case that a recalcitrant trustee remained
in possession of the property entrusted to him.
Yet a recalcitrant trustee did not remain in possession of the property
entrusted to him.
5. Recent work on the religious demography of Northern Ireland indicates
a separating out of protestant and catholic, with the catholic population
drifting westwards and vice versa.
Recent work on the religious demography of Northern Ireland shows a
separating out of protestant and catholic, with the catholic population
drifting westwards and vice versa.
6. By analogy, it may be possible to walk from one point in hilly country to
another by a path which is always level or uphill, and yet a straight line
between the points would cross a valley.
By analogy, one can walk from one point in hilly country to another by a
path which is always level or uphill, and yet a straight line between the
points would cross a valley.
7. There are certainly cases where this would seem to have been the only
possible method of transmission.
There are cases where this would have been the only possible method of
transmission.
8. Nowadays the urinary symptoms seem to be of a lesser order.
Nowadays the urinary symptoms are of a lesser order.
Responsibility
In academic writing you are responsible for demonstrating an
understanding of the source text. You must also be responsible for, and
must be able to provide evidence and justification for, any claims you
make.
This is done by paraphrasing and summarising what you read and
acknowledging the source of this information or ideas by a system of
citation.
Citing sources
Introduction
One of the most important aspects of academic writing is making use of
the ideas of other people. This is important as you need to show that you
have understood the materials that you have studied and that you can use
their ideas and findings in your own way. In fact, this is an essential
skill for every student. Spack (1988, p. 42) has pointed out that the most
important skill a student can engage in is "the complex activity to write
from other texts", which is "a major part of their academic experience."
For this reason, any academic text you read or write will contain the
voices of other writers as well as your own.
In your writing, however, the main voice should be your own and it should
be clear what your point of view is in relation to the topic or essay
question. The object of academic writing is for you to say something for
yourself using the ideas of the subject, for you to present ideas you have
learned in your own way. The emphasis should be on working with other
people’s ideas, rather than reproducing their words. If your view is not
clear, you will be told you have not answered the question or something
similar. It is essential therefore that it must always be clear whose voice
is speaking.
There are two main ways in which you can show your view (Tadros, 1993):
negatively
positively
•
•
•
lack of mention of any other writer
first person pronouns ("I")
comments and evaluations ("two major drawbacks", "of no great merit",
" as X insightfully states", )
It will always be assumed that the words or ideas are your own if you do
not say otherwise. When the words or ideas you are using are taken from
another writer, you must make this clear. If you do not do this and use
another person's words or ideas as if they were your own, this is
Plagiarism and plagiarism is regarded as a very serious offence.
The ideas and people that you refer to need to be made explicit by a system
of citation. The object of this is to supply the information needed to
allow a user to find a source.
You need to acknowledge the source of an idea unless it is common knowledge
in your subject area. It is difficult sometimes to know whether something
is common knowledge in your subject or needs acknowledging. In general,
if your lecturer, in lectures or handouts, do not acknowledge the source
you can assume that it is common knowledge within your subject.
The object of academic writing is therefore for you to present your ideas
in your own way. To help you do this, however, you will need to use the
ideas of other people and when you do this, you need to say where the words
and ideas are from.
There are several reasons for this (See Thompson, 1994, pp. 178-187 for
more information).
1. You need to show that you are aware of the major areas of thought in your specific
subject. This allows you to show how your contribution fits in, by correcting
previous research, filling gaps, adding support or extending current research or
thinking.
2. You need to support the points you are making by referring to other people's work.
This will strengthen your argument. The main way to do this is to cite authors that
agree with the points you are making. You can, however, cite authors who do not
agree with your points, as long as you explain why they are wrong. Do not make a
statement that will cause your reader to ask, "Who says?"
3. If you are a student, you need to show that you have read and understood specific
texts. You need to show that you have read around the subject, not just confined
your reading to one textbook or lecture notes.
4. You must not use another person's words or ideas as your own so you need to say
where they are from.
You usually do this by reporting the works of others in your own words.
You can either paraphrase if you want to keep the length the same,
summarise if you want to make the text shorter or synthesise if you need
to use information from several sources. Do not forget, though, that the
central line of argument, the main voice, should be your own. This means
that you will need to comment on or evaluate any other works that you use.
If you do not do this, you will be accused of being too descriptive, of
not being critical or analytical enough, or of not producing a clear
argument.
There are many ways of refering to other writers - check with your
department for specific information.
•
•
•
The most common system is called the Harvard system. There is no definitive
version of the Harvard system and most universities have their own. But the one
used here - the American Psychological Association style - is well known and
often used, especially in social sciences and business (American Psychological
Association, 1983, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2010).
If you are a humanities student, click here or see Gibaldi (2003) and Modern
Languages Association (1998) for another version of the author-date system.
Many scientists use a numerical system, often called the Vancouver style or BS
1629. Click here or see International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (1991)
for more information.
^
Citing - APA style
There are two ways in which you can refer to, or cite, another person's
work: a) by reporting or b) by direct quotation.
a) Reporting
This simply means reporting the other writer's ideas into your own words.
You can either paraphrase if you want to keep the length the same or
summarise if you want to make the text shorter. See Reporting: Paraphrase
& Summary for more information. There are two main ways (Swales, 1990,
p. 148) of showing that you have used another writer's ideas:
integral
According to Peters (1983) evidence from first language acquisition indicates
that lexical phrases are learnt first as unanalysed lexical chunks.
Evidence from first language acquisition indicating that lexical phrases are
learnt first as unanalysed lexical chunks was given by Peters (1983).
OR
non-integral
Evidence from first language acquisition (Peters, 1983) indicates that lexical
phrases are learnt first as unanalysed lexical chunks.
Lexical phrases are learnt first as unanalysed lexical chunks (Peters, 1983).
depending on whether or not the name of the cited author occurs in the
citing sentence or in parenthesis.
If you want to refer to a particular part of the source:
According to Peters (1983, p. 56) evidence from first language acquisition
indicates that lexical phrases are learnt first as unanalysed lexical chunks.
(At end of essay)
References
Peters, A (1983). The units of language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
^
b) Direct Quotation
Occasionally you may want to quote another author's words exactly. For
example:
Hillocks (1982) similarly reviews dozens of research findings. He writes, "The
available research suggests that teaching by written comment on compositions
is generally ineffective" (p. 267).
(At end of essay)
References
Hillocks, G. (1982). The interaction of instruction, teacher comment, and revision in
teaching the composing process. Research in the Teaching of English, 16,
261-278.
If you do so, keep the quotation as brief as possible and quote only when
it is necessary. You must always have a good reason for using a quote -
and feeling unable to paraphrase or summarise is never a good reason. The
idea of an essay is for you to say something for yourself using the ideas
of the subject; you present ideas you have learned in your own way. The
emphasis should be on working with other people’s ideas, not reproducing
their words. Your paper should be a synthesis of information from sources,
expressed in your own words, not a collection of quotations. Any quote
you use should not do your job for you, but should add something to the
point you are making. The quote should support your point, by quoting
evidence or giving examples or illustrating, or add the weight of an
authority. It should not repeat information or disagree with your point.
Please note, though, that some subjects, for example chemistry, hardly
ever use direct quotation (Robinson, Stoller, Costanza-Robinson & Jones,
2008, p. 545). Check with your department.
Reasons for using quotations:
1. quote if you use another person's words: you must not use another person's
words as your own;
2. you need to support your points, quoting is one way to do this;
3. quote if the language used in the quotation says what you want to say particularly
well.
Reasons for not using quotations:
1. do not quote if the information is well-known in your subject area;
2. do not use a quotation that disagrees with your argument unless you can prove it
is wrong;
3. do not quote if you cannot understand the meaning of the original source;
4. do not quote if you are not able to paraphrase the original;
5. do not use quotations to make your points for you; use them to support your
points.
If you decide to use a quotation, you must be very careful to make it clear
that the words or ideas that you are using are taken from another writer.
This can be done in several ways, either integral or non-integral:
Widdowson (1979, p. 5) states that "there is a good deal of argument in favour
of extending the concept of competence to cover the ability to use language to
communicative effect."
According to Widdowson (1979),"there is a good deal of argument in favour of
extending the concept of competence to cover the ability to use language to
communicative effect" (p. 5).
According to Widdowson, "there is a good deal of argument in favour of
extending the concept of competence to cover the ability to use language to
communicative effect" (1979, p. 5).
According to one researcher, "there is a good deal of argument in favour of
extending the concept of competence to cover the ability to use language to
communicative effect" (Widdowson, 1979, p. 5).
(In all cases at end of essay)
References
Widdowson, H. G. (1979). Explorations in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
When you are using a direct quotation of a single phrase or sentence,
quotation marks should be used around the words, which must be quoted
exactly as they are in the original. However, note the following:
1. You may wish to omit some of the author’s original words that are not relevant to
your writing. In this case, use three dots (...) to indicate where you have omitted
words. If you omit any of the author’s original words, make sure you do not change
the meaning.
He stated, "The ‘placebo effect,’ ... disappeared when behaviours were studied
in this manner" (Smith, 1982, p. 276), but he did not clarify which behaviours
were studied.
2.
If you need to insert material (additions or explanations) into a quotation, use
brackets, ([...]).
Smith (1982) found that "the placebo effect, which had been verified in
previous studies, disappeared when [his own and others’] behaviours were
studied in this manner" (p. 276).
3.
If the material quoted already contains a quotation, use single quotation marks for
the original quotation (‘...’).
He stated, "The ‘placebo effect,’ ... disappeared when behaviours were studied
in this manner" (Smith, 1982, p. 276), but he did not clarify which behaviours
were studied.
4.
If the direct quotation is long - more than two or three lines, it should be indented
as a separate paragraph with no quotation marks.
According to Smith (1982, p. 276):
The "placebo effect," which had been verified in previous studies,
disappeared when behaviours were studied in this manner. Furthermore,
the behaviours were never exhibited again, even when real drugs were
administered. Earlier studies were clearly premature in attributing the
results to the placebo effect.
(In all cases at end of essay)
References
Smith, G. (1982). The placebo effect. Psychology Today, 18, 273-278.
^
Secondary sources
In all cases, if you have not actually read the work you are referring
to, you should give the reference for the secondary source - what you have
read. In the text, you should then use the following method:
According to Jones (as cited in Smith, 1982, p. 276), the ....
(At end of essay)
References
Smith. G. (1982). The placebo effect. Psychology Today, 18, 273-278.
Language
Reporting - Paraphrasing and Summarising
Reporting uses paraphrase and summary to acknowledge another author's
ideas. You can extract and summarise important points, while at the same
time making it clear from whom and where you have got the ideas you are
discussing and what your point of view is. Compare, for example:
Brown (1983, p. 231) claims that a far more effective approach is ...
Brown (1983, p. 231) points out that a far more effective approach is ...
A far more effective approach is ... (Brown, 1983, p. 231)
The first one is Brown's point of view with no indication about your point
of view. The second one is Brown's point of view, which you agree with,
and the third is your point of view, which is supported by Brown
Here are some more expressions you can use to refer to someone's work that
you are going to paraphrase:
If you agree with what the writer says.
The work of X indicates that ...
The work of X reveals that ...
The work of X shows that ...
Turning to X, one finds that ...
Reference to X reveals that ...
In a study of Y, X found that ...
As X points out, ...
As X perceptively states, ...
As X has indicated, ...
A study by X shows that ...
X has drawn attention to the fact that ...
X correctly argues that ...
X rightly points out that ...
X makes clear that ...
If you disagree with what the writer says.
X claims that ...
X states erroneously that ...
The work of X asserts that ...
X feels that ...
However, Y does not support X's argument that ...
If you do not want to give your point of view about what the writer says.
According
It is the view of X that ...
The opinion of X is that ...
In an article by X, ...
Research by X suggests that ...
X has expressed a similar view.
X reports that ...
X notes that ...
X states that ...
X observes that ...
X concludes that ...
X argues that ...
X found that ...
X discovered that ...
Quoting
Sometimes you may want to quote an author's words exactly, not paraphrase
them. If you decide to quote directly from a text, you will need an
expression to introduce it and quotation marks will need to be used:
As X said/says, "... ..."
As X stated/states, "... ..."
As X wrote/writes, "... ..."
As X commented/comments, "... ..."
As X observed/observes, "... ..."
As X pointed/points out, "... ..."
To quote from X, "... ..."
It was X who said that "... ..."
This example is given by X: "... ..."
According to X, "... ..."
X claims that, "... ..."
X found that, "... ..."
The opinion of X is that, "... ..."
Concluding
After quoting evidence you reach a conclusion:
The evidence seems to
It must therefore be
The indications are
It is clear therefore that ...
Thus it could be
The evidence seems to be
On this basis it may be
Given this evidence, it can be
Reporting - paraphrase, summary & synthesis
One of the most important aspects of academic writing is making use of
the ideas of other people. This is important as you need to show that you
have understood the materials and that you can use their ideas and findings
in your own way. In fact, this is an essential skill for every student.
Spack (1988, p. 42) has pointed out that the most important skill a student
can engage in is "the complex activity to write from other texts", which
is "a major part of their academic experience." It is very important when
you do this to make sure you use your own words, unless you are quoting.
You must make it clear when the words or ideas that you are using are your
own and when they are taken from another writer. You must not use another
person's words or ideas as if they were your own: this is Plagiarism and
plagiarism is regarded as a very serious offence.
The object of academic writing is for you to say something for yourself
using the ideas of the subject, for you to present ideas you have learned
in your own way. You can do this by reporting the works of others in your
own words. You can either paraphrase if you want to keep the length the
same, summarise if you want to make the text shorter or synthesise if you
need to use information from several sources. In all cases you need to
acknowledge other people's work.
^
Continue to:
Paraphrase
Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is writing the ideas of another person in your own words.
Paraphrasing is useful when you are using the work of others to support
your own view. See Rhetorical functions in academic writing: Providing
support
When paraphrasing, you need to change the words and the structure but keep
the meaning the same. Please remember, though, that even when you
paraphrase someone's work, you must acknowledge it. See Citation.
Look at this example:
Source
It has long been known that Cairo is the
most populous city on earth, but no-one
knew exactly how populous it was until
last month.
Paraphrase
Although Cairo has been the world's
most heavily populated city for many
years, the precise population was not
known until four weeks ago.
The following stages may be useful:
1. Read and understand the text.
2. Make a list of the main ideas.
a. Find the important ideas - the important words/phrases. In some way mark
them - write them down, underline or highlight them.
b. Find alternative words/synonyms for these words/phrases - do not change
specialised vocabulary and common words.
3. Change the structure of the text.
a. Identify the meaning relationships between the words/ideas - e.g.
cause/effect, generalisation, contrast. Look at Paragraphs: Signalling for
more information.
b. Express these relationships in a different way.
c. Change the grammar of the text: change nouns to verbs, adjectives to
adverbs, etc., break up long sentences, combine short sentences.
4. Rewrite the main ideas in complete sentences. Combine your notes into a piece of
continuous writing.
5. Check your work.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Make sure the meaning is the same.
Make sure the length is the same.
Make sure the style is your own.
Remember to acknowledge other people's work.
1. Read and understand the text. See Reading: Strategies for help here.
2. Find the important ideas, write down the important words/phrases and
find alternative words, or synonyms. Keep specialised vocabulary and
common words.
Examples:
a. Paul Ekman from the University of California has conducted a long
series of experiments on how nonverbal behaviour may reveal real inner
states.
Paul Ekman who works at the University of California has performed a
sequence of investigations on the way nonverbal behaviour may disclose
real internal conditions.
b. There are reckoned to be over 4,000 plant species used by forest
dwellers as food and medicine alone.
There are calculated to be more than 4,000 plant species utilised by
forest inhabitants just as foodstuffs and drugs.
c. Memory is the capacity for storing and retrieving information.
Memory is the facility for keeping and recovering data.
d. Research and publications are accumulating in each of the four fields of
anthropology at an exponential rate.
Studies and books are gathering in all of the four areas of anthropology
at a very fast speed.
e. It is worth looking at one or two aspects of the way a mother behaves
towards her baby.
It is useful to observe several features of how a mother acts when she is
with her small child.
Note: This is not enough by itself. You also need to change the words and
the structure of the text.
3a/b. Identify the meaning relationships in the text and express them in
a different way.
Examples:
a. Many invertebrates, on the other hand, such as snails and worms and
crustacea, have a spiral pattern of cleavage.
b.
c.
d.
e.
In contrast, many invertebrates, such as snails and worms and crustacea,
have a spiral pattern of cleavage.
Similarly, the muscles will not grow in length unless they are attached to
tendons and bones so that as the bones lengthen, they are stretched.
Likewise, if the muscles are not attached to tendons and bones so that as
the bones lengthen, they are stretched, they will not grow in length.
Besides being a theory about the basis and origin of knowledge and the
contents of our minds in general, empiricism is also sometimes a
methodology.
Not only is empiricism a theory about the basis and origin of knowledge
and the contents of our minds in general, it also sometimes a
methodology.
As opposed to this, Locke is often supposed to be saying that, in
addition to properties, things have a "substratum" which "supports" their
properties.
Locke is often supposed to be saying, on the other hand, that, in addition
to properties, things have a "substratum" which "supports" their
properties.
Consequently in a sense one may speak of the Common Law as
unwritten law in contrast with Statute Law, which is written law.
In a sense, therefore, one may speak of the Common Law as unwritten
law in contrast with Statute Law, which is written law.
Note: This is not enough by itself. You also need to change the structure
of the text.
3b/c. Change the grammar of the text:
For example:
i. change nouns to verbs
a.
b.
This rewriting of history was not so much a matter of a new start.
This rewriting of history was not so much a matter of starting
again.
Here he lives with the labourers in one of the barrack rooms, and
out of his small earnings makes a start at having a house built.
Here he lives with the labourers in one of the barrack rooms, and
out of his small earnings starts to have a house built.
The Normans invaded in 1066.
The Norman invasion took place in 1066.
The bomb exploded and caused many casualties.
The explosion caused many casualties.
ii.
change verbs to nouns
a.
b.
iii.
change adverbs to adjectives
a.
b.
iv.
He wrote frequently.
He wrote on frequent occasions.
Politically, it was a bad decision.
From a political point of view, it was a bad decision.
We can relate a study of this kind to texts in other media too
A study of this kind can be related to texts in other media too.
In this treatment the teacher can use a variety of techniques to
elicit the language learners already know.
In this treatment a variety of techniques is used to elicit the
language learners already know.
Given the extent to which deforestation increased markedly in the
four southern states during 1987 and 1988, it is heartening news
that during the early part of the 1989 dry season the burning
seemed to have been curtailed somewhat, due to a combination of
policy changes, better controls on burning, and most important of
all an exceptionally wet "dry" season.
Deforestation increased markedly in the four southern states
during 1987 and 1988. On account of this, it is heartening news
that during the early part of the 1989 dry season the burning
seemed to have been curtailed somewhat. The reason for this is a
combination of policy changes, better controls on burning, and
most important of all an exceptionally wet "dry" season.
In 1851 the average family size was 4.7, roughly the same as it
had been in the seventeenth century, but the 1½ million couples
who married during the 1860s, which the historian G. M. Young
described as the best decade in English history to have been
brought up in, raised the figure to 6.2.
In 1851 the average family size was 4.7, roughly the same as it
had been in the seventeenth century. However, the 1½ million
couples who married during the 1860s, which the historian G. M.
Young described as the best decade in English history to have
been brought up in, raised the figure to 6.2.
Tropical forests are defined here as evergreen or partly evergreen
forests. They grow in areas receiving not less than 100 mm of
precipitation in any month for two out of three years. The mean
annual temperature is 24-plus degrees Celsius. The area is
essentially frost-free.
Tropical forests are defined here as evergreen or partly evergreen
forests, in areas receiving not less than 100 mm of precipitation
in any month for two out of three years, with mean annual
temperature of 24-plus degrees Celsius, and essentially frost-free.
change active verbs to passive
a.
b.
v.
break up sentences
a.
b.
vi.
combine sentences
a.
b. The third National Government followed upon the resignation of
the Liberal ministers and of the free trader, Snowden. This
happened in September 1932. After this it became little more than
a Conservative government. A few ex-Labour and Liberal
politicians were added. They all owed their seats to an electoral
pact with the Conservatives.
The third National Government followed upon the resignation of
the Liberal ministers and of the free trader, Snowden, in
September 1932, after which it became little more than a
Conservative government, with the addition of a few ex-Labour
and Liberal politicians, all owing their seats to an electoral pact
with the Conservatives.
Note: This is not enough by itself. You also need to change the words and
the structure of the text.
Summary
Summary
A summary is a shortened version of a text. It contains the main points
in the text and is written in your own words. It is a mixture of reducing
a long text to a short text and selecting relevant information.
Summarising is useful when you are using the work of others to support
your own view. See Rhetorical functions in academic writing: Providing
support
A good summary shows that you have understood the text. Please remember,
though, that even when you summarise someone's work, you must acknowledge
it. See Citation.
Look at this example:
Source
The amphibia, which is the animal class
to which our frogs and toads belong,
were the first animals to crawl from the
sea and inhabit the earth.
Summary
The first animals to leave the sea and
live on dry land were the amphibia.
The phrase "which is the animal class to which our frogs and toads belong"
is an example, not a main point, and can be deleted. The rest of the text
is rewritten in your own words.
Try this exercise.
The following stages may be useful:
1. Read and understand the text carefully.
2. Think about the purpose of the text.
a. Ask what the author's purpose is in writing the text?
b. What is your purpose in writing your summary?
c. Are you summarising to support your poins?
d. Or are you summarising so you can criticise the work before you introduce
your main points?
3. Select the relevant information. This depends on your purpose.
4. Find the main ideas - what is important.
a. They may be found in topic sentences.
b. Distinguish between main and subsidiary information.
c. Delete most details and examples, unimportant information, anecdotes,
examples, illustrations, data etc.
d. Find alternative words/synonyms for these words/phrases - do not change
specialised vocabulary and common words.
5. Change the structure of the text.
a. Identify the meaning relationships between the words/ideas - e.g.
cause/effect, generalisation, contrast. Look at Paragraphs: Signalling for
more information. Express these relationships in a different way.
b. Change the grammar of the text: rearrange words and sentences. Change
nouns to verbs, adjectives to adverbs, etc., break up long sentences,
combine short sentences.
c. Simplify the text. Reduce complex sentences to simple sentences, simple
sentences to phrases, phrases to single words.
6. Rewrite the main ideas in complete sentences. Combine your notes into a piece of
continuous writing. Use conjunctions and adverbs such as 'therefore', 'however',
'although', 'since', to show the connections between the ideas.
7. Check your work.
a. Make sure your purpose is clear.
b. Make sure the meaning is the same.
c. Make sure the style is your own.
d. Remember to acknowledge other people's work.
4b/c. Distinguish between main and subsidiary information. Delete most
details and examples, unimportant information, anecdotes, examples,
illustrations, data etc. Simplify the text. Reduce complex sentences to
simple sentences, simple sentences to phrases, phrases to single words.
Examples:
a. People whose professional activity lies in the field of politics are not, on
the whole, conspicuous for their respect for factual accuracy.
Politicians often lie.
b. Failure to assimilate an adequate quantity of solid food over an extended
period of time is absolutely certain to lead, in due course, to a fatal
conclusion.
Lack of food causes death.
c. The climatic conditions prevailing in the British Isles show a pattern of
alternating and unpredictable periods of dry and wet weather,
accompanied by a similarly irregular cycle of temperature changes.
British weather is changeable.
d. It is undeniable that the large majority of non-native learners of English
experience a number of problems in attempting to master the phonetic
patterns of the language.
Many learners find English pronunciation difficult.
e. Tea, whether of the China or Indian variety, is well known to be high on
the list of those beverages which are most frequently drunk by the
inhabitants of the British Isles.
The British drink a large amount of tea.
f. It is not uncommon to encounter sentences which, though they contain a
great number of words and are constructed in a highly complex way,
none the less turn out on inspection to convey very little meaning of any
kind.
Some long and complicated sentences mean very little.
g. One of the most noticeable phenomena in any big city, such as London
or Paris, is the steadily increasing number of petrol-driven vehicles,
some in private ownership, others belonging to the public transport
system, which congest the roads and render rapid movement more
difficult year by year.
Big cities have growing traffic problems.
Synthesis
A synthesis is a combination, usually a shortened version, of several
texts made into one. It contains the important points in the text and is
written in your own words.
To make a synthesis you need to find suitable sources, and then to select
the relevant parts in those sources. You will then use your paraphrase
and summary skills to write the information in your own words. The
information from all the sources has to fit together into one continuous
text. Please remember, though, that when you synthesise work from
different people, you must acknowledge it. See Citation.
The following stages may be useful:
1. Find texts that are suitable for your assignment.
2. Read and understand the texts.
3. Find the relevant ideas in the texts. Mark them in some way - write them down,
take notes, underline them or highlight them.
4. Make sure you identify the meaning relationships between the words/ideas - use
colours or numbers.
5. Read what you have marked very carefully.
6. Organise the information you have. You could give all similar ideas in different
texts the same number or letter or colour.
7. Transfer all the information on to one piece of paper. Write down all simiar
information together.
8. Paraphrase and summarise as necessary.
9. Check your notes with your original texts for accuracy and relevance.
10. Combine your notes into one continuous text.
11. Check your work.
a. Make sure your purpose is clear
b. Make sure the language is correct
c. Make sure the style is your own
d. Remember to acknowledge other people's work
Synthesis
Genres in academic writing
Introduction
Students are asked to write many different kinds of texts. Depending on
your subject, these could be essays, laboratory reports, case-studies,
book reviews, reflective diaries, posters, research proposals, and so on
and are normally referred to as genres. These different genres, though,
can be constructed from a small range of different text types.
If, for example, you are asked to write an essay to answer the following
question:
Discuss possible solutions to the problem of international credit
control.
You could answer it in the following way:
1. Define credit control, say what it is and give an example;
2. Explain why international credit control is a problem in business today, support
your explanation by evidence from your reading;
3. Describe some possible solutions to the problem of credit control in an
international context, again support your suggestions with evidence from your
reading;
4. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each of the possible solutions;
5. Decide which solution you would prefer and give reasons.
So in order to answer the question you need to be able to write texts to
do the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define
Give an example
Explain why
Support your explanation with evidence
Describe a solution
Describe advantages and disadvantages
Choose
Explain why
Bruce (2008) calls these various texts cognitive genres, but I have called
them Rhetorical Functions: see Functions.
Here, we will pull together these different functional text types to show
how the larger genres (or part genres) you are expected to write can be
constructed from these shorter functional texts.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Essays
Reports
Case Studies
Research proposals
Book reviews
Brief research reports
Literature reviews
Reflective writing
9. Introductions
10. Research methods
11. Research results
12. Research discussions
13. Writing conclusions
14. Research abstracts
Genres in academic writing: Writing introductions
The purpose of the introduction is to show your reader what you are doing
in your writing. It is also helpful to explain why you are doing it and
how you are doing it.
For that reason, there are usually three main parts in the introduction.
The most useful description is given by Swales (1990, pp. 137-165):
Research Report Introductions
1. Establish a research territory
show that the general research area is important, central, interesting,
problematic, or relevant in some way.
introduce and review items of previous research in the area.
↓
2. Establishing a niche
indicate a gap in the previous research by raising a question about it,
or extending previous knowledge in some way.
↓
3. Occupying the niche
outline purposes or stating the nature of the present research.
indicate the structure of the RP.
Analysis
Identify the moves in the following introduction:
Use Of A Writing Web-Site By Pre-Masters Students On An English for
Academic Purposes Course.
A. J. Gillett, University of Hertfordshire
Introduction
1During the past 10 years, the availability of computers in educational
institutions has increased dramatically (James, 1999).
2Progress in computer
development has been made to the point that powerful, inexpensive computers
with large capacities are available in many classrooms and libraries for student
use.
3Many students also have purchased and are purchasing computers for
their own use at home.
4Most studies seem to agree that the microcomputer will
continue to hold an important role in education in the future.
5For example,
James (1999) and Smith (2000) suggest large increases in the numbers of
computers both in educational institutions and the home in the near future.
6As
far as education is concerned, Shaw (2001) identified three main uses of
computers: the object of a course, an administrative tool, and a means of
providing instruction.
7Fish and Cheam (2002) cite four uses of computers as a
means of providing instruction: exercise, tutorial, simulation and problem
solving.
8A wide range of computer programmes are now therefore available in
all these areas for individual and classroom use.
9However, even though many studies have reported an increased use of
computers in education, there has been very little research reported on the
effectiveness of such use.
10The purpose of the present study is therefore to
ascertain the effectiveness of using computer-assisted instruction as compared
to traditional classroom instruction in an EAP writing class.
Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the text.
ELEMENT
Sentence 1
Sentence 2
Sentence 3
Sentence 4
Sentence 5
Sentence 6
Sentence 7
Sentence 8
Sentence 9
Sentence 10
^
Move 1: Establishing a research territory
Note particularly the language used in the first two sentences to express
Move la.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The increasing interest in ... has heightened the need for ....
Of particular interest and complexity are ....
Recently, there has been growing interest in ....
The development of ... has led to the
The ... has become a favourite topic for analysis ....
The study of ... has become an important aspect of ....
A central issue in ... is ....
The ... has been extensively studied in recent years.
Many recent studies have focused on ....
Move 2: Establishing a niche
In many ways, Move 2 is the key move in Introductions. It connects Move
1 (what has been done) to Move 3 (what the present research will do). Move
2 thus establishes the reason for the study. By the end of Move 2, the
reader should have a good idea of what is going to come in Move 3.
Move 2s establish a niche by indicating a gap. Probably the most common
way to indicate a gap is to use a "negative" subject. Presumably, negative
subjects are chosen because they signal immediately to the reader that
Move 1 has come to an end. Note the following uses of
little
and
few:
•
•
However, little information/attention/work/data/research ....
However, few studies/investigations/researchers/attempts ....
Of course, not all RP Introductions express Move 2 by indicating an obvious
gap. You may prefer, for various reasons, to avoid negative comment
altogether. In such cases, a useful alternative is to use a contrastive
statement.
•
•
•
•
•
•
The research has tended to focus on ...,rather than on ....
These studies have emphasised ...,as opposed to ....
Although considerable research has been devoted to ... , rather less
attention has been paid to ....
The previous research ... has concentrated on ....
Most studies have been content to ....
So far, investigations have been confined to ...
Move 3: Occupying the Niche
The third and final step is to show you want to fill the gap (or answer
the question) that has been created in Move 2.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The purpose of this paper is to ...
The purpose of this investigation is to ...
The aim of this paper is to ...
This paper reports on the results obtained ....
This study was designed to ...
In this paper, we give results of ...
In this paper, we argue that ....
This paper argues that ....
We have organise the rest of this paper in the following way ....
This paper is structured as follows ....
The remainder of this paper is divided into five sections ....
Example
Identify the moves in the following introductions:
THE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY AND SPECIFIC HEAT OF EPOXY
RESIN FROM 0.1 TO 8.0K.
The thermal properties of glassy materials at low temperatures are still not
completely understood. The thermal conductivity has a plateau which is usually
in the range 5 to 10K and below this temperature it has a temperature
dependence which varies approximately as T. The specific heat below 4K is
much larger than that which would be expected from the Debye theory and it
often has an additional term which is proportional to T. Some progress has
been made towards understanding the thermal behaviour by assuming that there
is a cut-off in the photon spectrum at high frequencies (Zaitlin and Anderson,
1975a, b) and that there is an additional system of low-lying two-level states
(Anderson et al., 1972; Phillips, 1972). Nevertheless more experimental data
are required and in particular it would seem desirable to make experiments on
glassy samples whose properties can be varied slightly from one to the other.
The present investigation reports attempts to do this by using various samples
of the same epoxy resin which have been subjected to different curing cycles.
Measurements of the specific heat (or the diffusing) and the thermal
conductivity have been taken in the temperature range 0.1 to 80K for a set of
specimens which covered up to nine different curing cycles.
(Kelham and Rosenburg, 1981)
An elaborate system of marking social distance and respect is found in the
morphology of Nahuatl as spoken in communities of the Malinche volcano area
in the Mexican states of Tlaxcala and Puebla. The complexity of the
morphology involved, the semantic range of the elements, and the variation in
the system in use raise questions of considerable interest for our understanding
of the form and function of such systems, both in Nahuatl itself and in other
languages.
A system of elements usually referred to as 'honorifics' or 'reverentials' is
reported by all the grammarians of Classical Nahuatl (cf. Olmos, 1547; Molina,
1571a; Carochi, 1645; Simeon, 1885; Garibay, 1970; Anderson, 1973;
Andrews, 1975). Similar systems are reported for several modern varieties of
Nahuatl (cf. Whorf, 1946 for Milpa Alta in the Federal District; Pitman, 1948
for Tetelcingo in Morelos; and Buchler and Freeze, 1966 and Buhler, 1967 for
Hueyapan and Atempan in northern Puebla). None of these reports, except for
Pittman's describes the system in much detail. The present account is based on
materials collected in 1974-75 and during the summer of 1976 in a linguistic
survey of Nahuatl-speaking communities on the western and south-western
slopes of the Malinche volcano.
In recent years applied researchers have become increasingly interested in the
interpersonal relationships with manager-subordinate dyads. The majority of
studies have focused on actual similarity between managers and their
subordinates as related to managers' appraisals of subordinates' performance
(Miles, 1964; Nieva, 1976; Rude, 1970; Senger, 1971), subordinates' job
satisfaction (Huber, 1970) and subordinates' evaluations of their managers.
(Weiss, 1977). A few studies have examined the extent to which subordinates
congruently perceive their managers (referred to here as "subordinate's
perceptual congruence"). These studies suggest that subordinates who are more
perceptually aware of their superiors' work-related attitudes receive higher
performance evaluations (Golmieh, 1974; Green, 1972; Labovitz, 1972) and
are more satisfied with their superiors (Howard, 1968).
Each of these previous studies has researched only a part of this complex
dyadic interpersonal relationship. First, none of the studies has examined the
effects of a manager's congruent perception of a subordinate's work-related
attitudes (i.e., "manager's perceptual congruence"). Second, no studies can be
found that directly compare the relative importance of actual similarity with
that of perceptual congruence. Third, none of the previous studies has looked at
interpersonal perception by the manager and by the subordinates
simultaneously within the same dyad.
The purpose of the present field investigation was to study both actual
similarity and perceptual congruence and to examine them from the perspective
of both the manager and the subordinate. The study investigated the
relationships of these perceptual processes in two important organizational
outcomes: subordinates' satisfaction with work and supervision, and managers'
evaluations of subordinates' job performance. Specifically, the study examined:
(a) the relative magnitude of perceptual congruence and actual similarity with
these two organizational outcomes; (b) whether the more congruently a
subordinate perceives the manager (subordinate's perceptual congruence), the
more satisfied the subordinate will be; and (c) whether the more congruently a
manager perceives the subordinate (manager's perceptual congruence), the
higher the subordinate's performance will be evaluated.
Reference
Swales, J. M. (1990).
Genre analysis.
Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Genres in academic writing: Research report methods
The method describes the steps that you followed in conducting your study
and the materials you used in each step.
Research Report Methods
The method describes the steps that you followed in conducting your study
and the materials you used in each step. The methods section of the report
clearly describes these materials and procedures. The elements included
in the method section and the order in which they are presented may differ
from department to department. However, the list in the following box is
typical and provides you with a good model (Weissberg & S. Buker, 1990,
p. 92).
ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN METHODS SECTION
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Overview of the Experiment
Population/Sample
Location
Restrictions/Limiting Conditions
Sampling Technique
Procedures*
Materials*
Variables
Statistical Treatment
(* always included)
Analysis
Read the following example of a method section from the field of computer
assisted language learning and teaching. The study investigated the use
of the World-Wide-Web for teaching writing in a British university.
Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the
selection. (NOTE: Some sentences may contain more than one element.)
Use Of A Writing Web-Site By Pre-Masters Students On An English for
Academic Purposes Course.
A. J. Gillett, University of Hertfordshire
Method
1Two groups of international students on a one-year Pre-Masters English for
Academic Purposes course, each comprising 50 students were taught academic
writing by different methods and compared.
2In each group there were 50
students from five different academic departments - computer science,
business, engineering, life sciences and law.
3The subjects were selected from
the second semester - Semester B - of the University of Hertfordshire
International Bridging Programme in the 2004-2005 academic year.
4This
programme accepts only students from a narrow English Language Proficiency
band (IELTS 5.00 - 5.5).
5Thus, comparable language level among the test
subjects was insured.
6The subjects were selected from the 250 students on the International Bridging
Programme on the basis of performance at a satisfactory level in the Semester
A examination.
7Students who had performed below the minimum level on the
semester A examination were excluded.
8This criterion was employed to ensure
competent understanding of the tasks and adequate motivation.
9One group - Group A - studied English writing in the traditional way in a class
with a teacher.
10This class met for 2 hours each week in a classroom for 12
weeks and was supplemented with written homework assignments given by the
teacher each week.
11The second group - Group B - met together in a class with
a teacher for one hour per week for 12 weeks and were assigned a homework
task of spending one hour per week doing exercises from the UEfAP web-site
(Gillett, 2005).
12The test instrument employed in this study was a revised version of the
University of Hertfordshire English Language Writing Test (Roberts, 1997),
which permits the assessment of academic written language performance.
13It
consists of an academic reading text and comprehension questions, followed by
a discursive essay on the subject of the reading text.
14Both groups A and B were given the same written examination at the end of
the semester.
15The students took the examination under standard university
examination conditions as part of their end of semester examination.
16The tests
were marked using the following categories: task achievement; communicative
quality; organisation; ideas, content and relevance; and grammar and
vocabulary, by two experienced writing examiners and moderated in the
standard way to ensure reliability.
17In this way it was possible to see the
relationship between the students' main academic subjects, and the
improvement in their writing ability depending on the teaching method.
18A 3 x 5 analysis of variance was used to test for academic department,
method of teaching and language achievement differences.
^
Exercise
Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the text.
ELEMENT
Sentence 1
Sentence 2
Sentence 3
Sentence 4
Sentence 5
Sentence 6
Sentence 7
Sentence 8
Sentence 9
Sentence 10
Sentence 11
Sentence 12
Sentence 13
Sentence 14
Sentence 15
Sentence 16
Sentence 17
Sentence 18
^
Example
In early 1982 telephone interviews were conducted with a statewide probability
sample of 2,083 registered voters in a major southwestern state. The interviews
were conducted for a state agency and addressed various voting-related
attitudes and opinions.
Within this context, a split ballot (experimental) design was employed whereby
approximately each quarter of the sample was asked age utilizing a different
question format. Three open-end and one closed-end question formats were
investigated:
•
•
•
•
How old are you?
What is your age?
In what year were you born?
Are you 18-24 years of age, 25-34. 35-49, 50- 64, 65 or older?
Each question format was drawn from previous research and was selected to be
illustrative of one approach to asking age. The particular question format used
when asking an individual study participant his or her age was randomly
determined prior to the interview. Interviewers made no determination as to
what age question format was employed for a specific study participant.
All interviews were conducted from a centralized, supervised interviewing
location and began with an interviewer asking to speak to a prespecified
individual. The interviewer then introduced himself/herself and stated who was
conducting the study and asked for the potential study participant's cooperation.
The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, of which the age question was
number 15.
Actual age data were available from the state agency for 1,324 of the
individuals interviewed. Therefore, following the completion of an interview it
was possible to compare an individual's reported age with his or her actual age.
This in turn permitted inferences as to which question format produced the
most accurate age data as well as which format resulted in the lowest refusal
rate or nonresponse rate.
Language
Passive voice is common and so is past tense:
Telephone interviews
were conducted.
The interviews
were conducted for a state agency.
A split ballot design
was employed .
Each quarter of the sample
was asked.
Three open-end and one closed-end question formats
were investigated.
Each question format
was drawn from previous research and
was selected
to
be illustrative of one approach to asking age.
The particular question format ...
was randomly determined prior to the
interview.
All interviews
were conducted from a centralized location.
The interviewer then introduced himself/herself and
stated who was
conducting the study and
asked
for the potential study participant's
cooperation.
The questionnaire
consisted of 20 questions, of which the age question
was
number 15.
Actual age data
were available from the state agency for 1,324 of the
individuals interviewed.
Therefore, following the completion of an interview it
was possible to compare
an individual's reported age with his or her actual age.
This in turn
permitted inferences as to which question format
produced the
most accurate age data
as well as which format
resulted in the lowest refusal rate or nonresponse rate.
Genres in academic writing: Research report results
Presenting Results
The results section of the report clearly describes the findings of the
study. It is usually presented both in diagrams and text.
Research Report Results
The results section of the report clearly describes the findings of the
study. It is usually presented both in diagrams and text. The elements
included in the method section text and the order in which they are
presented may differ from department to department. However, the list in
the following box is typical and provides you with a good model. You might
need to repeat this several times if you have different diagrams and
charts.
Make sure, though, that you do not start to interpret the results. This
will take place in the dicussion section, which comes next.
ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN RESULTS SECTION
•
introduction to the results
↓
•
statement showing where the results can be found
↓
•
statement presenting the most important findings
↓
•
statement commenting on the results this may include:
o
summary of the results
o
re-organisation of the results to show trends and tendencies
o
conclusion from the results
Diagrams
When the information has been collected, it is usually analysed using
various statistical techniques. It is then presented in tables, graphs
or charts.
1 Tables
Country of Origin of Students on Foundation
Course
Female
30
2
1
1
3
2
40
8
7
4
1
1
Male
China
Japan
India
Pakistan
Thailand
Malaysia
Tables:
•
•
•
•
are efficient, enabling the researcher to present a large amount of data in a small
space
show exact numerical values
present quantitative data - they need interpreting
they emphasise the discrete rather than the continuous.
They do not easily show:
•
•
•
•
the number of students on the course
the percentage of female students
the percentage of female students from China
relationships or trends.
^
2 Pie charts
Pie charts can be used to show the sizes of various parts of the results
in relation to each other and in relation to the whole sample.
In the pie chart above:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
the circle represents the total number of students on the course
each segment represents the number of students from one country. It shows that
there are students from 6 countries
it clearly shows the largest number of students come from China
it also shows that about 10% of the students come from Japan
it shows that fewer students are from Malaysia than India
it shows that a similar number of students come from India and Japan.
it does not show how many students there are altogether.
it does not show how many students there are from a particular country.
it does not show small differences between countries.
^
3 Histograms
Histograms (or bar or column graphs) can also be also used to describe
results. However, they more clearly show the relationship
of different parts of the sample to each other. They do not clearly show
the parts in relation to the whole.
Look at the histogram above. This clearly shows:
•
•
•
•
the proportion of male to female students
which country has the most students
which country has the fewest women
the number of students from India.
It does not easily show:
•
•
•
the number of students on the course.
the percentage of female students.
the percentage of female students from China.
^
4 Line graphs
Graphs are often used to show the results of studies, especially when they
involve some kind of change over time. This usually involves two
groups of measurements which are known as
variables.
The graph above shows the differences in the English test score of the
students on the course.
•
•
•
•
The two variables are the length of time the students have studied English and the
students' test scores.
The length of study causes the change. (This is called the independent variable
and the other - the test score - the dependent variable.)
The length of study is on the horizontal (x) axis.
The test score is on the vertical (y) axis
Line graphs show well:
•
•
•
trends & tendencies - you can see that the test score generally increases as the
length of study increases.
that a typical student who has studied for 12 months has a score of 4 on the test.
that a typical student who has scored 6 on the test will have studied for 18
months.
Look at the second graph below:
•
•
•
•
•
The independent variable is now the test score.
The dependent variable is the number of students who obtained a particular score.
The highest score is 7 the lowest score is 1.
The most common score is 5
8 students achieved a score of 4.
^
5 The average
The average is a measure of central tendency. It is related to the middle
point in a range of scores and is found in many different kinds of research.
It can be calculated in three main ways. Most commonly, it refers to what
mathematicians call the
mean.
This is calculated by adding all the scores
together and then dividing by the number of scores. For example, if five
students obtain the following test scores: 2.5, 3, 3, 4 & 5, then the
average test score (the mean) is 17.5 (the total) divided by 5
(number
of students) = 3.5. You can see in this case, though, that none of the
students actually obtained a score of 3.5.
Sometimes it is not useful to calculate the average in this way. For
example, we may want to see which score on the test was most frequently
obtained. This kind of average, referring to the most frequent score, is
called the
mode,
and is also a very useful average. In this case the mode
is 5. 10 students obtained a score of 3.
The third useful average is the
median
- this is the middle score obtained
by the students on the test. In this case the median is 3.
^
6 Dispersion
Dispersion is the spread of scores. Whereas the various averages will give
us information about central tendency, it does not give very much
information about the group as a whole. We need to know more about a set
of scores than the mean can tell us.
