A section that describes the procedural steps used in your study and the instruments (materials) employed at each step.

Introduction Site of study (where the sample is taken) - place - general characteristics of population Sample (population under study) -age -gender -no of participants Instrument - questionnaires

- marking scheme-framework for analysis

Procedures/Data Collection-Pilot Study

-Data Collection Procedures (step by step description)

Use of simple past tense – to describe actions of research that already occurred

Use of passive voice (to depersonalized the prose)

The writing task was used to examine the employment of metadiscourse by the undergraduate writers.

A total of 625 undergraduates were selected for the study.

The pilot study showed there was a discrepancy in the identification of metadiscourse.

Use simple past when referring to the sample population.

e.g: The student writers were selected from a group of second semester TESL students.

Use simple present when referring to the general population.

e.g: All TESL students have to obtain a minimum of BAND 5 in their MUET examination.

commonly found in the data collection

Active Voice: We administered the questionnaires to the standard 5 students of a national school.

Passive Voice: Questionnaires were administered to the standard 5 students of a national school.

Compound sentence: Same SubjectEg: The data were collected and they were

analyzed. The data were collected and analyzed. (short form)

Compound sentence: Different Subjects

Eg:The data were collected and correlation were calculated.

The data were collected and correlation calculated. (Short form)

Passive voice using “which” clause

The data which were obtained were subjected to an analysis of variance.

The data obtained were subjected to an analysis of variance.

For example, see Cheng and Steffensen, 1996.

Contains◦ Type of analysis used (e.g., ANOVA, t-test,

correlation, chi-square)◦ Statistical findings

Statistical test used (e.g., F test) Statistical significance levels (e.g, p<.05) Means, correlations or other statistics (e.g., SD=5) Reference to tables and figures that show the

findings (e.g., see Table 1)

Language Learning & Technology http://llt.msu.edu/vol14num2/chenbaker.pdf June 2010, Volume 14, Number 2 pp. 30–49 Copyright © 2010, ISSN 1094-3501 30

LEXICAL BUNDLES IN L1 AND L2 ACADEMIC WRITING

Yu-Hua Chen and Paul Baker

In Table 5, it can be seen that the use of NP-based bundles differs the most amongst the three groups of writing. We thus grouped the NP-based combinations further into two structural subcategories to see more precisely how these three corpora were distinguished from each other. These two subcategories are noun phrase fragments with of (NP + of) (e.g., in the context of) and any other noun phrase fragments without of (NPf) (e.g., the way in which). In addition to the relatively low proportion of NP-based bundles when compared with FLOB-J, the Chinese student writing represented in BAWE-CH is notably different from the two groups of native writing in the subcategory of NPf, because there is no NPf bundle in BAWE-CH. In contrast, the NPf bundles present in FLOB-J are mostly used by the British students in BAWE-EN, although there are some slight variations (see Table 6). The NPf combinations found in this investigation are all part of relative clauses, such as the extent to which, the fact that this, or the way(s) in which. It is evident that these L2 students did not use these types of relative clause as frequently as native speakers did.

Discussion

• Interpret results

– Did the study confirm/deny the hypothesis?

– If not, did the results provide an alternative hypothesis? What interpretation can be made?

– Do results agree with other research? Sources of error/anomalous data?

– Implications of study for field

– Suggestions for improvement and future research?

• Relate to previous research

DISCUSSION The analysis in the previous sections set out to compare the use of recurrent word combinations, in terms of their structures and functions, in native expert writing, native student writing and L2 student writing. A deeper investigation, however, suggested that the quantitative analysis needed to be complemented and supported by qualitative analyses which considered an examination of expanded concordance lines. By utilizing such a hybrid methodology, a number of distinctive features, which vary according to level of writing proficiency, have been unveiled.

L2 academic writing has been found to be stylistically more verbose (cf. Lorenz, 1998, 1999) and to show less control of cautious language (cf. Hyland, 1994; Hyland & Milton, 1997). Consider the use of hedging in cautious language for example. L1 Chinese learners of L2 English in the current study are found to show some control of this feature in their academic writing, but do not demonstrate it as diversely and robustly as native writers do.

Figures and Tables

• Tables

– Presents lists of numbers/ text in columns

• Figures

– Visual representation of results or illustration of concepts/methods (graphs, images, diagrams, etc.)

• Captions

– Must be stand-alone

Figures and Tables

• Guidelines for Figures and Tables

– High resolution

– Neat, legible labels

– Simple

– Clearly formatted

– Indicate error

– Detailed captions

Table 6. Similar NPf Bundles in FLOB-J and BAWE-EN Corpus ____________________________________________________

FLOB-J BAWE-EN Bundle the degree to which (5)*

the extent to which (6) the extent to which (8)

the fact that this (4) the fact that the (8)

the fact that they (4)

the way in which (14) the ways in which (4)

the way in which (7)

____________________________________________________Total type 5 type 4

token 33 token 27 __________________________________________________________*raw frequency is indicated in brackets, and this practice is

used throughout this paper.

Conclusions are shorter sections of academic texts which usually serve two functions.

- to summarise and bring together the main areas covered in the writing, which might be called "looking back";

- to give a final comment or judgement (may also include making suggestions for improvement and speculating on future directions)

Conclusions may be optional in research articles where consolidation of the study and general implications are covered in the Discussion section.

However, they are usually expected in dissertations and essays.

Summary of Findings Research Contribution Limitation Recommendation for Future Studies

Summary of FindingsThis study has shown that ....These findings suggest that in general ....One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that ....It was also shown that.... This study has found that generally .... The following conclusions can be drawn from the present study .... The relevance of X is clearly supported by the current findings. This study/research has shown that .... The second major finding was that ....

Research Contribution This work contributes to existing knowledge X by providing ....

This is the first study reporting an advantage in those who .... This is the largest study so far documenting a delayed onset of ....The X that we have identified therefore assists in our understanding of the role of .... These findings enhance our understanding of .... This research will serve as a base for future studies and .... The current findings add substantially to our understanding of ....The current findings add to a growing body of literature on ....The study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of ....The methods used for this X may be applied to other Xs elsewhere in the world.The present study, however, makes several noteworthy contributions to ....

Limitation Finally, a number of important limitations need to be

considered. First, .... The generalisability of these results is subject to certain limitations. For instance, …. A number of caveats need to be noted regarding the present study. The most important limitation lies in the fact that ....The current investigation was limited by ....The current study was unable to analyse these variables.The current research was not specifically designed to evaluate factors related to ....The current study has only examined ....The project was limited in several ways. First, the project used a convenience sample that ....However, with a small sample size, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be transferable to ....

Recommendation for Future Studies This research has thrown up many questions in need of

further investigation.Further work needs to be done to establish whether ....It is recommended that further research be undertaken in the following areas: Further experimental investigations are needed to estimate .... What is now needed is a cross-national study involving ....More broadly, research is also needed to determine ....It is suggested that the association of these factors is investigated in future studies. Further research might explore/investigate .... Further research in this field/regarding the role of X would be of great help in ....

An abstract is a very concise statement of the major elements of your research project. It states the purpose, methods, and findings of your research project.

An abstract is a condensed version of a full scientific paper.

Complete — it covers the major parts of the project/case

Concise — it contains no excess wordiness or unnecessary information.

Clear — it is readable, well organized, and not too jargon-laden.

Cohesive — it flows smoothly between the parts.

Moves Function/Description Question asked

Move 1: Situating the research <STR>

Setting the scene for the current research(topic generalization)

What has been known about the field/topic of research?

Move 2: Presenting the research <PTR>

Stating the purpose of the study, research questions and/or hypotheses

What is the study about?

Move 3: Describing the methodology <DTM>

Describing the materials, subjects, variables, procedures

How was the research done?

Move 4: Summarizing the findings <STF>

Reporting the main findings of the study

What did the researcher find?

Move 5: Discussing the research <DTR>

Interpreting the results/findings and/or giving recommendations, implications/applications of study

What do the results mean?

So what?

Abstract The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to

explore how Iranian EFL female freshman university learners listen to English texts in classrooms and what are their perceptions towards the use of meta-cognitive processes and strategies while listening to English texts. It involved a total of 6 freshmen selected purposively from an Islamic Azad University in Esfahan, Iran for the semi-structured interview. The data gathered were transcribed, analyzed and coded utilizing open-coding and axial-coding. The findings supported the use of four key factors in the meta-cognitive strategies such as planning and evaluation, problem-solving, personal knowledge, and directed knowledge to contribute EFL learners understand English listening texts. The study implies that the use of meta-cognitive strategies should be explicitly infused in the teaching and learning listening activities in classrooms.

Abstract A generic analysis of research articles can

cover a wide variety of issues; among them are rhetorical features. A crucial part of rhetorical features of research article is the use of metadiscourse that can help to make the text persuasive and acceptable to a discourse community (Hyland, 2005). The underlying principle behind metadiscourse use is the view of writing as socially engaging: in particular metadiscourse reveals the ways writers project themselves into their discourse to declare their perspectives and commitments to the readers.

The present paper focused on interactive metadiscourse markers in result and discussion sections of academic research articles across four disciplines, namely, English Language Teaching, Civil Engineering, Biology, and Economics to clarify the manner of metadiscourse use among disciplines. Sixteen research article result and discussion sections (4 from each discipline) were sourced from four international reputed refereed journals for analysis. Results indicated that there were some cross-disciplinary similarities and differences in the use of interactive metadiscourse markers. Results of this study can be of value especially for novice research article writers who belong to disciplinary communities in focus and as they attempt to get an entry into their own particular research community.

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Citation In Academic Writing

Academic research and writing - built on the work of others.

In preparing your work, you are expected and encouraged to draw on a wide range of sources as part of a highly desirable scholarly activity.

In doing so, you must acknowledge your use of these sources.

This is known as ‘citing’ or ‘referencing’. Citation is a fundamental feature of academic

writing.

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it clarifies ownership by informing your reader when particular information has been taken from another source.

It also demonstrates that your ideas and conclusions are based on research.

By providing details of the source, you help your reader to locate, verify and follow-up the cited information or idea.

Not citing sources where necessary is dishonest and may be a breach of copyright or Plagiarism

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When you do any of the following in your writing:

Paraphrase or summarise an idea, argument or analysis from another source

Quote exact words from another source Copy or adapt a graph, image, diagram or

table from another source Copy a procedure or method from another

source Present factual information, data or results

from another source

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There are two parts to citing a source: A brief reference to the source is given at

the place in the writing where the source has been used. It is known as in-text citation.The brief citation contains enough information identifying detail to direct the reader to the full citation. Depending on the citation style used, the brief citation generally contains the author’s surname, year of publication and/or page number.

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In-text Citation

Information Prominent

Noticing technique in second language acquisition... . (Ellis, 2007; p.23)

Author Prominent

Le (2009) suggests that

lexical bundles...

Information Prominent

Noticing technique in second language acquisition... . (Ellis, 2007; p.23)

Author Prominent

Le (2009) suggests that

lexical bundles...

How do I cite a source?

How do I cite a source?

A full citation for each cited source is given in a list at the end of your piece of writing. The full citation contains enough information identifying details of the source to allow the reader to locate the source. Depending on the citation style used, the full citation generally contains the author’s name, year of publication, title, and publication or retrieval details.

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A citation style is a set of rules detailing how to construct and format citations for a variety of source material.

There is no universal or ‘correct’ style. Different citation styles have been developed to suit the requirements and preferences of particular publishing houses or study disciplines.

Most citation styles are based on either the ‘in text’ system, which requires sources to be cited within the main text; or the ‘documentary note’ system, which requires sources to be cited outside the main text in footnotes or endnotes. Both systems require a full citation for each cited source to be presented in a list at the end of the piece of writing.

Although all citation styles require the same basic information to be provided, the details required may vary for each individual style.

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APA style (based on the in text system) e.g:Book by one author

Sheril, R. D. (1956). The terrifying future: Contemplating color television. San Diego, CA: Halstead.

Book by two authors Kurosawa, J., & Armistead, Q. (1972). Hairball: An intensive

peek behind the surface of an enigma. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: McMaster University Press.

Chapter in an edited book Mcdonalds, A. (1993). Practical methods for the apprehension

and sustained containment of supernatural entities. In G. L. Yeager (Ed.), Paranormal and occult studies: Case studies in application (pp. 42–64). London, England: OtherWorld Books.

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Article in a journal with continuous pagination (nearly all journals use continuous pagination)

Rottweiler, F. T., & Beauchemin, J. L. (1987). Detroit and Narnia: Two foes on the brink of destruction. Canadian/American Studies Journal, 54, 66–146.

Kling, K. C., Hyde, J. S., Showers, C. J., & Buswell, B. N. (1999). Gender differences in self-esteem: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 470–500. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.470

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MLA style (based on the in text system) Australian style (formerly AGPS) (based on

the in text system) Chicago concise note style (based on the

documentary note system)

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