LOGO Academic Writing Instructor: Zhu Yaoyun @ Shandong University

LOGO

Academic Writing

Instructor: Zhu Yaoyun @ Shandong University

www.themegallery.com Company Name

LOGOContents

1. Abstract writing

2. Notes and bibliographies

3. Paper writing


LOGOThe IMRaD article (Weissberg and Buker 1990)

Materials andmethods

Results

Abstract

Introduction

Discussion

Abstract Introduction

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion

This is a conceptual diagram: It is the width and shape of the boxes that is important, not their depth (i.e. no reference is intended to the length of the section)The whole structure is governed by the Results box.Introduction begins much ‘broader’, making firm contact with the selected audience, at the logical contact point for that audience

---more slides following


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1. Abstract Writing


LOGOYou will learn:

1. What is an abstract? 2. the categorization of abstracts3. Structure of an abstract4. Language points: a. Verb tenses b. Voices: passive vs. active c. Use simple language5. Qualities of a good abstract 6. Steps for Writing Effective Abstracts7. Sentence templates


LOGO1. What is an Abstract?

• A mini paper----One paragraph (-- a condensed version of a full scientific paper; a very concise statement of the major elements of your research project. )• Describes what you are going to discuss, present

or write about • Gives reader and overview of the facts

--Source of new ideas--- Gets reader interested


LOGO2. Types of Abstract

Type Descriptive Abstracts Informative Abstracts

Length Under 100 words 10% or less // one third to one quarter

Contents

purpose, methods, & scope

purpose, methods, & scope+ Details of Results (key facts), conclusions & recommendations

Purpose Tell readers what information the article/paper/report contains (only introduce the subject to readers)

Communicate specific information from the article/paper/report

Effect readers must then read the original to find out the author’s results, conclusions or recommendations

Allow readers to decide whether they want to read the original


LOGOOmits

descriptive-abstract phrasing. Instead, the informative abstract presents the

details of those conclusions and recommendations.

Informative: Based on an exhaustive review of currently available

products, this report concludes that none of the available grammar-checking software products provides any useful function to writers.

Descriptive: This report provides conclusions and recommendations on the grammar-checking software that is currently available.


LOGO3. Structure of an abstract (Worksheet for Drafting an Abstract)

• Introduction/General Purpose(what is the research about? Why is important or interesting and to whom?)________________________________________________________• Research question/Hypothesis(What exactly were you thing to find out?)________________________________________________________

• Methods/Materials(What did you do? How did you do it?)--note: this includes analysis of the data.________________________________________________________

• Results/Findings(What did you find out?)________________________________________________________

Discussion(How do the findings related to your original question/hypothesis?)________________________________________________________• Conclusion(What do you think it means? Why is this important / interesting?)________________________________________________________


LOGO3. Structure of an abstract

Each section is usually one sentence (although there is room for creativity)

Sections may be merged

Now analyze the sample in the Ex. of our textbook


LOGO4.Language points-a. Verb tenses

Re-Read the three samples in the text.

What verb tenses are employed, and why?

Rules of using different verb tenses<Ex.> 《英语科技论文与会议简报 .pdf 》


LOGOMore practice: Which tenses and why?

1A total of 53 samples examine . 2Direct microscopic examination of the samples show 20 different fungal strains, which isolate by culture and identify to the level of genus and/or species (Table 1). 3These findings show that fungi tolerate adverse environmental changes in the vegetative form. 4Table 2 show the results of the tests applied to the isolates. 5None of the fungi strains be able to grow in culture media with 500 to 5000 mg L-1 of anionic surfactant. 6An inhibitory effect on fungal growth and activity be expected from the anionic surfactant level found in the ponds. (cited in Weissberg and Buker 1990)


LOGOMore practice: Which tenses and why?

1A total of 53 samples were examined. 2Direct microscopic examination of the samples showed 20 different fungal strains, which were isolated by culture and identified to the level of genus and/or species (Table 1). 3These findings show that fungi can tolerate adverse environmental changes in the vegetative form. 4Table 2 shows the results of the tests applied to the isolates. 5None of the fungi strains was able to grow in culture media with 500 to 5000 mg L-1 of anionic surfactant. 6An inhibitory effect on fungal growth and activity might be expected from the anionic surfactant level found in the ponds. (cited in Weissberg and Buker 1990)


LOGO4.Language points-b. Use the active voice

NO YESIt can be seen that... We can see that...

34 tests were run We ran 34 tests

These properties were thought desirable

We wanted to retain these properties

It might be thought that this would be a type error

You might think this would be a type error

The passive voice is “respectable” but it DEADENS your paper. Avoid it at all costs.

“We” = you and

the reader

“We” = the

authors

“You” = the

reader


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4.Language points-C. Use simple, direct language

A special case: noun/noun phrases e.g. ‘salt marsh succession’ . This phrase means – succession in salt marshes ( 盐泽 , 盐沼 , 盐碱滩 ) To shorten the phrase, it is very common in scientific

English for the second part (in salt marshes) to be moved in front of the headword (succession)

When this happens, the part that moves is always written in its SINGULAR form (salt marsh) and the preposition is omitted

A good way to remember this construction: ‘food for dogs’ is ‘dog food’


LOGO4.Language points

-C. Use Use simple, direct language

NO YES

The object under study was displaced

horizontally

The ball moved sideways

On an annual basis Yearly

Endeavour to ascertain

Find out

It could be considered that the speed of

storage reclamation left something to be

desired

The garbage collector was really slow


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英文摘要的人称及词类

近些年来，摘要的首句多用第三人称 This paper… 等开头，现在倾向于采用更简洁的被动语态、不定式或分词短语开头。

例如： To describe… ， To study… ， To investigate… ， To assess… ， To determine … ，… are developed ， Based on… ，

行文时最好不用第一人称，以方便文摘刊物的编辑刊用。

4.Language points-C. Use Use simple, direct language

To- do structure


LOGO4.Language points

-C. Use Use simple, direct language Use of –ing and -ed

尽量采用 -ing 分词和 -ed 分词作定语，少用关系代词 which ， who 等引导的定语从句。

----- 使用关系代词引导的定语从句不但会使句式变得复杂，而且易造成时态混乱（因为定语和它所修饰的主语、宾语之间有时存在一定的“时间差”。用 -ing 分词和 -ed 分词作定语，简化语句的同时，还可以减少时态判定失误


LOGO4.Language points-C. Use Use simple, direct language

A special case:noun/noun phrases

e.g. ‘salt marsh succession’ This phrase means – succession in salt marshes

To shorten the phrase, it is very common in scientific English for the second part (in salt marshes) to be moved in front of the headword (succession)

When this happens, the part that moves is always written in its SINGULAR form (salt marsh) and the preposition is omitted

A good way to remember this construction: ‘food for dogs’ is ‘dog food’


LOGO 5. Qualities of a Good AbstractAn effective abstract has the following qualities: 1. uses one or more well developed paragraphs: these ar

e unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone.

2. uses an introduction/body/conclusion structure which presents the article, paper, or report's purpose, results, conclusions, and recommendations in that order.

3. follows strictly the chronology of the article, paper, or report.

4. provides logical connections (or transitions) between the information included.

5. adds no new information, but simply summarizes the report.

6. is understandable to a wide audience. oftentimes uses passive verbs to downplay the autho

r and emphasize the information. From http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html

yy

downplay ['daunple] [词典释义]vt. 1. 将...轻描淡写 2. 贬低;低估


LOGO6. Steps for Writing Effective Abstracts

To write an effective abstract, follow these steps: 1. Reread the article, paper, or report with the goal of ab

stracting in mind. Look specifically for these main parts of the article, pa

per, or report: purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendation.

Use the headings, outline heads, and table of contents as a guide to writing your abstract.

If you're writing an abstract about another person's article, paper, or report, the introduction and the summary are good places to begin. These areas generally cover what the article emphasizes.



2. After you've finished rereading the article, paper, or report, write a rough draft without looking back at what you're abstracting. Don't merely copy key sentences from the a

rticle, paper, or report: you'll put in too much or too little information.

Don't rely on the way material was phrased in the article, paper, or report: summarize information in a new way.



3. Revise your rough draft to correct weaknesses in organization. improve transitions from point to point. drop unnecessary information. add important information you left out. eliminate wordiness. fix errors in grammar, spelling, and punctua

tion.

4. Print your final copy and read it again to catch any glitches that you find.


LOGO6.2 Steps for Writing Effective Abstractssummary writing is an exercise in compression:----omit the details ---reduce the examples.---simplify the descriptions.---eliminate all repetitions.--compress wordy sentences and change phrases to

words.Or make phrases do the work of clauses or sentences: ---use the shortest possible transitions. E.g. but, then,

yet, and for vs.on the contrary, at that time, in this way, at the present time 和 for the purpose of.


LOGO6.2 Steps for Writing Effective AbstractsEx1. His courage in battle might without exaggeration be ca

lled lion-like. Ex2 The account the witness gave of the incident made ever

yone that heard it laugh.Ex3. Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, Lushan Mountain,

and Yellow Mountain, were visited by only a few people in the past. Today, better wages, holidays with pay, new hotels on those mountains, and better train and bus services, have brought them within reach of many who never thought of visiting them ten years ago.

---use general words instead of specific words.Ex4. She brought home several Chinese and English novels,

a few copies of Time and Newsweek, and some textbooks. She intended to read all of them during the winter vacation.


LOGO6. Databanks

The purpose of this paper is to examine-- The paper is divided into /falls into five parts

concerning the five aspects of ----- respectively. Part I covers ------ Part II describes ------ Part III introduces ------ Part IV considers ----- Part V establishes ------- The paper shows that ------ Results are obtained concerning ------

Recommendations of ------ are provided.


LOGO6. Databanks

This paper investigates the relationship between three different views of -----

We show that -------- We argue that ------ We also discuss that---- -- We find that------

This report presents an analysis of ------ A comparison between X and Y is made. It concludes that ------

In this paper, ------ is treated, ------ are defined. ------ are derived. It is shown that ------

This paper examines data from an ongoing project which analyzes------ The data are -- ---

We analyze----- Also, we analyze --- Our data show that ------

Documents

LOGO Academic Writing Instructor: Zhu Yaoyun @ Shandong University