Book Report

Academic Writing for Graduate Students Essential Tasks and Skills

(3rd edition)

Asst. Prof. Dr. Siriluck UsahaDepartment of English for Business Communication

School Liberal Arts

Academic Writing for Graduate Students Essential Tasks and Skills

I. About the Book

II. Target Readers

III. Approach and Organization

IV. What is learnt from the book?

I. About the Book

I. About the Book

II. Target Readers

Graduate Students

Non-native graduate students

EFL/ESL teachers

III. Approach and Organization

Approach: Analytical & rhetorical

Rhetorical Conciousness Raising Cycle

Organization: Varied tasks & activities, basic orientation to writing an article for publication

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

IV. What is learnt from the book?

How to write articles for publication? I. Reasons for publication

II. Overall shape of a research articleIII. Four sections: IMRDIV. Genre analysis

Definition Why GA?

V. Abstracts VI. IntroductionsVII. MethodsVIII. ResultsIX. Discussion

1. Reasons for Publication

Sharing findings and contributions (in English) to scholars communities

Competition against other research papers for acceptance and recognition

Academic promotion and research funds

Graduation requirement

2. The Overall Shape of a Research Paper

3. Four Sections: Four Different Purposes

4. Genre Analysis

Genre analysis focuses primarily on the organizational structure of texts and the conventional linguistics features associated with a particular genre. That is, each text type conforms to the culturally expected way of constructing texts belonging to the variety. For example, research article introductions have expected textual conventions that are different from research article methods sections (Kanoksilapatham, 2012)

Definition of Genre (Swales, 1990)

Why Genre Analysis?

“To be successful in a publishing research work, scientists, like scholars of other disciplines, need to be able to express the findings and contributions in English . Moreover, they need to present the findings and contributions in a manner that is acceptable and conforming to the requirements of the target journal.” (Swales, 1991 quoted in Kanoksilapatham, 2004, 230)

The goal of genre analysis is to identify the rhetorical organization of texts belonging to a given genre.

Genre Analysis and Research Articles

The genre analysis applied to research articles of each academic discipline elucidates the textual structural conventionally followed by scientists in their respective disciplines.

Based of this notion, the terms ‘move’ and ‘step’ are invented to refer to textual units of analysis.

‘Move’ refers to a text segment that performs a communicative function.

‘Step’ is a subunit of a move that, in turn, contributes to the move’s communicative function.

Swales’ (2004) model for research article introductions

Move structure for biochemistry research article (Kanoksilapatham, 2005)

Introduction Section

Move structure for biochemistry research article (Kanoksilapatham, 2005)

Methods Section

Move structure for biochemistry research article (Kanoksilapatham, 2005)

Results Sections

Move structure for biochemistry research article (Kanoksilapatham, 2005)

Discussion Section

5. Research Article Abstracts

The abstract is the first part that can be read for getting information about a research article within a few minutes.

Most researchers often focus on skimming abstracts and key words.

Hyland (2002) states that “the abstract is generally the readers’ first encounter with a text, and is often the point at which they decide whether to continue and give the accompanying article further attention, or to ignore it” (p. 63).

According to Pho (2008), “acquiring the skills of writing an abstracts is therefore important to novice writers to enter the discourse community of their discipline” (p. 231).

Rhetorical Moves in Article Abstracts

Language Use in Abstract

Introduction Move: Present simple/ Present perfect Purpose Move: Present/ Past simple Method Move: - Action verb (use, investigate, compare) - Passive voice (was used, was

stimulated) - Past simple

Product/Result Move: - Perceptive verbs (found, seen, shown, indicated)

- Passive voice - Past tense Conclusion Move: - Interpretive Verbs (summarize,

conclude, elucidate) - Use hedging words such as

might, may should, plausibly, possibly

Practice: Identify Rhetorical Moves in Abstract

6. Introduction Sections

Creating a Research Space

It is widely recognized that writing Introductions can be slow, difficult, and troublesome for many writers.

The Introductions of RPs typically follow the pattern in the following figure in response to kinds of competition: Competition for readers and competition for research space.

The rhetorical pattern has become known as the create-a-research-space model (or CARS) by Swales (1990).

Swales’ Model 2004

Language Focus: ‘Move 1- Establishing a research territory’

In Move 1 certain fixed phrases tend to occur as shown in the table below.

Language Focus: Citation and tense

Language Focus: Citation and tense

Language Focus: ‘Move 2- Establishing a niche’

Language Focus: ‘Move 2- Establishing a niche’ Negative Openings in Move 2

Language Focus: ‘Move 2- Establishing a niche’

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 1- Announcing present research descriptively and/or purposively’

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 1- Announcing present research descriptively and/or purposively’

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 1- Announcing present research descriptively and/or purposively’

Purpose statement and tense

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 1- Announcing present research descriptively and/or purposively’

Completing an Introduction

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 1- Announcing present research descriptively and/or purposively’

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 1- Announcing present research descriptively and/or purposively’

Google Scholar hits for some Move 3 Step 1 expression obtained in May 2012

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 2- Presenting research questions or hypotheses’

Listing research questions

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 5- Announcing principal outcomes’

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 6- Stating the values of the present research’

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 7- Outlining the structure of the paper’

Language Focus: ‘Move 3 Step 7- Outlining the structure of the paper’

7. Methods Sections

Peacock (2011) examined 288 RP Methods sections in published, data-driven papers from the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, Business, Language and Linguistics, Law, and Public and Social administration (36 papers from each field).

He proposed the existence of seven ‘moves’ in Methods sections.

Seven Move in Methods Section by Peacock (2011)

Language Focus: Linking Phrases in Methods Sections

Language Focus: Linking Phrases in Methods Sections

Frequency of Purpose Clause Types and Verbs

8. Results sections

Data versus Results

Results versus Discussion

Outline of Results Sections in Three Fields

Structure of Data Commentary

Data Commentary

Location Statements: 4 patterns

Location Statements: 4 patterns

Special verb agreements: Exercise

Making comparisons

Commentary in results sections

Commentary found in results sections

Concluding a commentary

Specific ways of moderating or qualifying a claim: Likelihood

Specific ways of moderating or qualifying a claim: Likelihood

9. Discussion/ Conclusion Sections The Structure of Discussion/Conclusion Sections

Expressions of limitations

10. Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Academic Writing for Graduate Students Essential Tasks and Skills

I. About the Book

II. Target Readers

III. Approach and Organization

IV. What is learnt from the book?

Thank you