English in Todays Research World

English in Today's

Research World

A Writing Guide

John M. Swales Christine B. Feak

m

MICHIGAN SERIES IN ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2012

http://archive.org/details/englishintodaysrOOswal

English in Today's

Research World: A Writing Guide A sequel to Academic Writing for Graduate Students and an advanced junior scholars

text

mainly designed

for

and graduate students

who are not native speakers of English.

John M. Swales and Christine

Illustrations

— ^— PU ISIA

B.

Feak

by Vivian Scott Hixson

MICHIGAN SERIES IN ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

Series Editors John

M. Swales and Carolyn G. Madden

Ann Arbor

The University of Michigan Press

Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2000 All rights reserved

ISBN 0-472-08713-4 Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America © Printed on acid-free paper

2013

2012

2011

2010

6

5

4

3

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

any form or by any means,

electronic,

mechanical, or otherwise, without the written

permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978-0-472-08713-6

Acknowledgments The production of this volume has been a multiyear enterprise. In the process, we would like to acknowledge the many people who have made notable contributions.

we would

First,

like to

thank

all

the participants in

ELI 520 and 600 over the years (now well into three figures)

who have of-

the draft materials. We would especially who have been willing to allow their own writings to be used as illustrative materials, whether under their own names or under pseudonyms. We are also grateful to the following former students ten

made

like to

of the

incisive

thank

Program

comments on

those

all

in Linguistics for various kinds of assistance,

Luebs and Betty Samraj, and

to

two current

Margaret

students, Yu-Ying

Chang and

We are particularly indebted to Yu-Ying for her careful and incisive reading of the prefinal manuscript. We are also most appreciative of the efforts made by Chia-Ho Hua from ELI 520, who took Stephanie Lindemann.

valuable time that

it

away from

his

own research work to

reformat his poster so

could be included in this book. The contribution of Deanna Poos

deserves special acknowledgment. Deanna spent countless hours painstakingly checking our final revisions against the suggestions

our copy level

editor.

during the

Her

made by

attention to detail without a doubt reduced our stress

final

weeks of working on

this

volume.

We have also

appreciated the support and encouragement of our colleagues at the

English Language Institute, Elizabeth Axelson, Carolyn Madden, Susan Reinhart, of

and

Michigan

Julia

Salehzadeh, and that of Kelly Sippell of the University

Press.

Further afield,

we would

like to

acknowledge the feedback we have

received from the following: Diane Belcher and Alan Hirvela of the Ohio State University; Joy Reid of the University of

Wyoming; Davide Giannoni

of the University of Brescia, Italy; Christine Raisanen of the Institute in

Gothenberg, Sweden; Anna Mauranen,

of Tampere, Finland;

and

particularly

sity of Jyvaskyla, also in Finland.

have allowed us

to present

and

now

Chalmers

of the University

from David Wilson of the Univer-

We would

also like to thank those

who

discuss, either individually or together,

Acknowledgments

iv

draft versions of

some

of the materials contained in this book: the

H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies the English

Department

Language Centre

at Central

at the University of

Horace

Michigan,

Michigan University, the University

at the University of Jyvaskyla,

and those who were

responsible for organizing the following conferences: The

ESL Reading-

Writing Connections conference at Ohio State in July 1998; the Latin-

American conference

of university foreign language teachers in

Argentina, in April 1999; and the

LSP Forum

'99 in

Prague

in

Mendoza,

September

1999. Finally,

on a more personal

level,

John would

like to

express his deep

appreciation for the sustaining support of Vi Benner during the long gestation of this

volume and

for again cheerfully putting

up with

the

messy

process of writing a rather complex textbook in a small house. Chris

indebted to Glen, Karl, and Angie for enduring her less pasta "dinners." Their love, it

late nights

is

and count-

encouragement, and support have

made

possible for her to carry out this and countless other projects.

JMS & CBF

Ann Arbor June 2000

—

Remarks to Our Fellow We are aware

that

advanced

Instructors

EAP courses for NNS doctoral

students and more and more research univerwe know, most of these courses are being

faculty are slowly being introduced in sities

across the world.

As

far as

taught by experienced English/ESP specialists or applied linguists with

an

interest in

amount

academic discourse. As a

result,

we have included a

fair

of illustrative material that easily falls within the "comfort

of such specialists.

We know, however, from

feedback

on Academic Writing for Graduate Students (AWG) without

its critics;

in particular, there

zone"

we have received

that this

approach

is

not

have been some complaints about

amount of applied linguistics material in the AWG units devoted to Critiques and Constructing a Research Paper. We hope in this volume to have reached a reasonable compromise between the content expertise of instructors and that of their students. And here we would like to emthe

phasize that our experience has mostly been with classes that attract par-

from a very wide range of graduate degree programs. Of course,

ticipants

instructors of disciplinary-specific courses to

make

have particular

responsibilities

sure that the general materials offered here are supplemented

and hopefully challenged and corrected

—by those drawn from the

specific discipline.

Since

it is

often believed that courses designed for

homogeneous groups

EAP ones, we would like to offer We actually prefer that heterogeneity!

are intrinsically "better" than general

some counterevidence

to this belief.

There are several reasons for

drawn from

this preference. First, since the students are

across the university, they are not directly competing with

each other; second, they

know

that

arguments about the accuracy or

up-to-dateness of the disciplinary content will have class as a whole. Third, students

own academic experiences and uals

little

have an opportunity

to

relevance to the

compare

their

expectations with those of other individ-

whom they might not otherwise meet because they come from very

different departments.

most importantly, have most

in

all

These exchanges can be most enlightening. But

participants soon

common

is

come

to realize that

what they and

a concern with language, with discourse,

Remarks

vi

to

Our Fellow Instructors

with rhetoric. In our view, these benefits more than counteract the possible disadvantages.

In English in Today's Research World (ETRW),

we basically employ a

genre-based approach with a strong focus on rhetorical consciousnessraising. Indeed,

book

to

fields

we go

further than

we

did in

AWG by asking users of this

conduct mini-analyses of the language and discourse

and

with others.

to share their findings

in their

We introduce research

findings about research English wherever appropriate,

"up front" about areas of uncertainty, ignorance, or

and again we are

conflicting findings.

our experience that our participants react better to such expressions

It is

of honesty than to a

hesitancies

seem

more

stridently prescriptive approach, since these

to accord

more

closely with their

research, scholarship, knowledge,

Because

we

anticipate that

considerable expertise in EAP, Certainly,

we prefer to

most

instructors using this

we only offer the occasional

it

would be our

fervent

to see his or her students least a

about

book

will

have

"teaching hint."

think of our fellow practitioners at this level of

teaching as being our professional equals. text,

own attitudes

and knowledge claims.

hope

If this

book

is

used as a

class

that the instructor can also find time

on an individual

basis,

if

not every

week

at

couple of times a month. Class participants are typically engaged

in individual writing projects for

advice,

and suggestions

for

ments and feedback, most [email protected].

which they welcome discussion,

emendation.

Finally,

easily addressed to

we welcome com-

[email protected] and

Contents Introduction

Unit One: The Positioning of the Research Writer Part 1.1.

3

A Writing Processes:

How Effective Are Your

Writing Strategies? 1.2.

4

Written Products: Genres, Genre Networks, and

Genre Plans 1.3.

7

"Research Writer Positioning": Different Approaches to the

Same Data

10

PartB 1.4.

Where Do You Stand?

Cross-cultural Differences in

Research Languages

15

1.5.

Investigating Style: Informal Elements in

1.6.

Academic Writing Academic Names, Autobiography, and Bio-data Notes and Comments for Unit One ,

1.7.

Unit Two: Stepping onto a Wider Stage

Conference Abstract

16

20 25

—the

30

2.1.

A Close Look at the Structure of a Conference Abstract

2.2.

Conference Abstracts across Disciplines

36

2.3.

The Rating

39

2.4.

The Role

2.5.

The Problem

2.6.

Reformulations

2.7.

Conference Abstract

2.8.

Reviewing Conference Abstracts

2.9.

The Ordering

of Conference Abstracts

of a Senior Author:

An Example

of Promissory Abstracts

of

40 42 52 55

Titles

58

Author Names and Short Versions

of Conference Abstracts 2.10.

32

Notes and Comments

for Unit

62

Two

65

Contents

viii

Unit Three: Research on Display

—the Conference Poster

80

3.1.

Introductory Activities

81

3.2.

Poster Layouts

86

3.3.

Types of Compressed Language

90

3.4.

Captions

96

3.5.

Further Notes on the Technical

3.6.

Etiquette

3.7.

Notes and Comments for Unit Three

Noun Phrase

98

on "the Day"

106

Unit Four: The Literature Review

108

114

4.1.

Types and Characteristics of Literature Reviews

115

4.2.

Organizing the Literature: Creating an Architecture

118

4.3.

Citations

128

4.4.

Paraphrase and Evaluation

135

4.5.

A Postscript and a Warning

4.6.

Notes and Comments

for Unit

139

Four

Unit Five: More Complex Literature Reviews

Weaknesses

5.2.

A First Case: Reviewing the Concept of Discourse

148

Reviews

5.1.

in Literature

141

149

Community

150

A Further Perspective

5.3.

English in the Research World:

5.4.

A Second Literature Review Case

162

Using Metadiscourse

169

What about Interdisciplinarity? Notes and Comments for Unit Five

176

5.5.

5.6. 5.7.

Unit

Six:

6.1. 6.2.

6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.6.

Further Steps and Stops on the Dissertation Road

The Dissertation Abstract Thesis and Dissertation Acknowledgments Principled Narratives and Extensive Methods Sections Dealing with Unexpected Results The Problematic Final Chapter Notes and Comments for Unit Six

159

179

187 188

198

206 216

218 221

Contents

ix

Unit Seven: Academic Communications in Support of the

Research Process

228

7.1.

Requests

230

7.2.

Reminders and Responses

238

7.3.

Disclaimers and Apologies

241

7.4.

Submission Letters

243

7.5.

Further Correspondence with Editors

247

7.6.

Notes and Comments for Unit Seven

250

Unit Eight: Academic Communications in Support of a

Research Career

257

8.1.

The Curriculum Vitae

258

8.2.

Fellowship Applications

265

8.3.

Job and Position Applications

268

8.4.

Recommendation Notes and Comments for Unit Eight

273

8.5.

Index

Letters of

283 291

Language Focus Sections Unit

Two

ANote on Moves this

35

+ noun phrase (NP)

Good and Bad News

44

E-mail Messages

60

Unit Three

Gapping

93

Unit Four Articles

and Complex Prepositional Noun Phrases

Ambiguity

125 132

in Citations

Unit Five Citation, Tense,

and Reporting Verbs

157

Uses of Quotation Marks

161

Unit Six Expressions of Gratitude

204

Dangling Modifiers

209

The Use and Position

of "Bare" Participles

210

Unit Seven

The Position of the Request Statement to

+

VERB

235

+ -ing Patterns

236

Article Disclaimers

241

Unit Eight

Gapping in CVs Positive and Less

262 Positive

Language

in

Recommendations

275

Introduction This volume

is

in

many ways

volume

a follow-up

to

our 1994 textbook

Academic Writing for Graduate Students (AWG), also published by the University of

Michigan

Press.

The AWG

text,

while by no means perfect, has

been generally well received by reviewers, instructors, and students, and

we have often been asked

in the years since publication,

one sense then,

this

book

is

for

"more." In

our response to those requests. However,

{ETRW) is also an outcome of our expetwo most advanced writing courses at the Uni-

English in Today's Research World

riences with teaching the

versity of Michigan's English

Language

Institute,

ELI 520 (Research Paper

Writing) and ELI 600 (Thesis and Dissertation Writing). These courses

were

initially

developed by John a decade ago, but more recently Chris

has become increasingly involved in them. In

ETRW,

example, the

then,

we essentially continue where we left off in AWG.

final activity in the earlier

Conference Abstracts. In the the topic of the

first

book concerned

new volume,

For

the writing of

the Conference Abstract forms

substantive unit (Unit Two). However, there are also

some important differences between the two textbooks. Here, attention to more purely linguistic aspects of research English (grammar and vocabulary) has been somewhat reduced, even though 16 Language Focus subsections

have been included. This reduction, along with positive reactions

from many native speakers of English, has persuaded us that of this kind can,

if

used judiciously, also be helpful

who have English as tal.

language or

their first

For this reason the gloss on the

vanced

text mainly

title

to

a

volume

graduate students

who are bilingual

page reads that

this is

or bidialec-

"an ad-

designed for junior scholars and graduate students

who are not native speakers of English." Another difference from rate

AWG is that we have dispensed with a sepa-

Commentary volume. Since

users of English

in Today's

we believe

that a greater proportion of

Research World will be using

individual reference than has been the case with

Notes and Comments (including some "answers") Entries such as "(See

Note X)"

it

for self-study or

AWG, we have provided at the

end of each

unit.

will refer to bibliographic information or to


further explanations

and /or suggested answers. Users

come

will also

across in the notes the occasional appearance of "Teaching Hints" that, as

might be expected, are directed toward classroom

instructors.

ETRW is primarily a book about American written research English. In focusing

course as

is

on

we do not want to imply that

this variety,

German, Japanese, or Mandarin or indeed

eties

this targeted dis-

necessarily superior to research writing in other languages such to other

such as British or Australian English. Rather,

termined by the

fact that

anglophone

this focus

vari-

has been de-

American English has a dominating position

today's research worlds. In a 1995 survey

American (August, 92-99),

it

was

by W. Wayt Gibbs

in

in Scientific

calculated that about 31 percent of the

world's research papers in major journals came from the United States.

Japan was a distant second with 8 percent. (See Unit One, Section

1.3 for

further discussion of this data.)

We have been able to make some use in preparing these materials of recent

developments

in

corpus

linguistics, that

is,

computerized data-

upon which word or phrase searches can be run. We are Ken Hyland of the City University of Hong Kong for making available to us his corpus of 80 research articles drawn from 10 disciplines. If readers of this volume are interested in spoken

bases of texts

grateful to Professor

academic and research English, they are encouraged

to visit the

igan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE)

Web

Mich-

site at

http: // www.hti.umich.edu / micase /

The book

is

organized in the following manner. After an opening

orientation unit entitled "The Positioning of the Research Writer," the

remaining units focus on the main types of text that researchers and scholars need to construct. Units

Two and

Three deal with the Conference

Abstract and the Conference Poster, respectively. The next two deal in

some

detail

with the

many complexities surrounding the construction of

a successful Literature Review. Unit Six then

sections of the Dissertation texts that are not

tribute to

it

itself.

The

final

moves on

to

some

indirectly.

Unit Seven covers written communications "in supis

concerned with those

communications that operate "in support of a research

career."

may have realized, we have not given any direct attention to grant proposals. This the one

one most

most

to

themselves part of a research process product but con-

port of the research process," and the final unit

texts, the

salient

two units switch attention

is

one genre that

likely to

likely to

is

As

readers

the genre of

already well covered by existing

be handled in workshops and seminars, and

be supported by technical writers and editors.

—

One The Positioning of the Research Writer Unit

VS tHxroor "All right, so it's depressing, obscure, and unreadable. The real question is, will they accept it as a dissertation proposal?"

This opening unit

is

different

from the others since

particular type of text. Instead,

we try to

a researcher (or potential researcher).

it

does not focus on a

"situate" the user of this

More than anything,

vides a set of preliminary activities designed to help you reflect sociological, cultural,

and

means by which he or she

discipline.

The unit

is

image as a

divided into two

The three sections of Part A are best worked through

The three

sections of Part

B can be picked up whenever

appropriate.

The layout

of the unit

is

upon

"positioning" of the research writer

creates in writing a credible

competent member of the chosen parts.

as

rhetorical aspects of research writing. Overall,

we are primarily concerned with the the

book

this unit pro-

as follows.

it

at the outset.

seems most


Part

A How

Are Your Writing Strategies?

1.1.

Writing Processes:

1.2.

Written Products: Genres, Genre Networks, and Genre Plans

1.3.

Effective

"Research Writer Positioning": Different Approaches to the

Same Data PartB 1.4.

Where Do You Stand?

Cross-cultural Differences in Research

Languages

Academic Writing

1.5.

Investigating Style: Informal Elements in

1.6.

Academic Names, Autobiography, and Bio-data

1.7.

Notes and Comments

for

Unit

Part

One

A

1.1 Writing Processes:

How Effective Are Your Writing Strategies? We now have a

fairly substantial literature describing

which non-native

speaker (NNS) strategies and attitudes for tackling academic English writing tasks are effective and which are less effective. These conclusions

by individual comments and observations from NNS instructors and advisors. Needless to say, exceptional

are often supported

students and their

individuals can successfully "break the rules."

Task One

Here are 10 possible score

it

as 2;

don't use

it

if

strategies. If

you use

at all or

you use

that strategy a fair

only

rarely, score

it

as

a particular strategy a lot,

amount, score 0.

it

as

1; if

you

Place your scores in the

spaces provided.

1.

Translating or

2.

Spending a

making use

lot of

(human)

translators

time on research and then at a

planning to quickly "write outlines

of

it

up" from your

much later stage

notes, data sources, or

— The Positioning of the Research Writer

3.

Paying attention

to "role-model"

papers in your discipline,

how

noticing in particular such matters as

how phrases are used, and where and why examples or

ized,

illustrations are 4.

the papers are organ-

provided

Having

a

"knows

the ropes"

mentor

of research

(either native or non-native speaker)

and who can

how a

anticipate

might be received by a particular

who

particular piece

set of reviewers

and who can thus advise on which journal or conference a piece might be submitted 5.

to

and why

Relying on native-speaker friends (who are not researchers) to help you with phraseology

6.

Developing a sense of the anticipated audience, particularly with regard to what needs to be said and what does not

7.

Recognizing the need for some

stylistic variation

and acquiring

the linguistic resources to achieve this 8.

Constructing an appropriate author "persona," so that the individual statement maker (or makers in co-authored papers) comes across as a

9.

Engaging

member of the

is

without becoming

for the writing of all the

Believing that "fixing

grammar

community

in judicious co-authorship but

dependent on others 10.

disciplinary

up

the surface"

(i.e.,

"hard parts"

getting the small

points correct, like use of articles)

is

essentially all that

required

Self-evaluation Six strategies

some,

like 4

(3, 4, 6, 7, 8,

and

9,

and

9) are

thought to be good strategies (although

are not always easy to put into effect). These are

positive scores. Put your positive total in the

first

box below

mum will be 12). Positive Strategy Score

your

(the maxi-

Negative Strategy Score


Four strategies

(1, 2, 5,

harm than good,

and

10) are

thought in most cases to do more

especially in the long term. These are your negative

scores; place their total in the

the positive total in the

first

second box above. Subtract their

total

from

space above and place the result in the box

below.

Final Score

The maximum score

is 12:

wide use

use of the four "less good" ones.

Any score

of 8 or

of the six

"good"

strategies

and no

How did you do?

above suggests that you have a good sense of what

search writing in English involves and that you are probably on the to achieving the goal of a fluid

Any score

of 5

and mature

and below suggests

style in research English.

you may be at present rather hesiSuch a score might suggest that

that

tant about research writing in English.

a.

you may be hesitant (perhaps for good reason) about your become an expert writer of research English; and /or

b.

you might be too dependent on

c.

your approach it is

What

to writing

re-

way

others;

may be too

ability to

and /or

"instrumental"; that

is,

you think

just a matter of fixing the surface errors.

is

your reaction

to the following excerpt

from an interview with

Stephen Jay Gould, a paleontologist and author admired for his eloquent writing style? Q: What does writing do for you? A:

It's

the best

as perfect writing.

way

and

Most

to organize thoughts

as elegant a

scientists love

and when the work It's

way

is

as

you

and

to try

can.

and put things

being in the lab and doing the work

done, they are finished. Writing

something they have

to

in

A lot of scientists hate

do

to get the

resentment. But conceptually to them

work

it is

out.

is

a chore.

They do

it

with

not part of the creative

The Positioning of the Research Writer

process.

I

don't look at

it

that

way

at all.

When

wait to write them up. That's the synthesis.

consequences and the meaning. (See Note

It's

I

get the results,

can't

I

the exploration of the

1.)

Task Two Reflect

upon

journal,

you

if

a.

What

b.

Which

is

Send an e-mail response,

your

in a writing

about developing

like to

it?

How might they vary in importance for

1.

a physicist? a historian?

3.

a researcher in public health?

4.

an economist?

Note

possible, to

think the six positive strategies listed above apply equally well

2.

(See

if

comment

you don't use would you most

And how might you go

to all fields?

Which

write a

one other strategy that you use?

of the strategies that

Do you

class, or

are keeping one.

at least

develop? c.

these questions.

be prepared to explain in

instructor,

of

them

is

most

crucial in

your

own field?

2.)

1.2 Written Products:

Genres, Genre Networks, and Genre Plans In Section 1.1

we had

a first look at research writing processes; in this

section we have a first look at research writing (and speaking) products. The category most commonly used today to identify these products is that of genre (originally a French

word meaning

type).

A genre is a recog-

nized type of communicative event. In today's research world, genres are a research paper, a grant proposal, an application conference paper.

As you can

handout), spoken

(e.g.,

see,

genres can be written

a press interview), or both

(e.g.,

common

letter,

(e.g.,

or a

a class

a lecture with a

lot of

board work). More discussion of the concept of genre

Note

3.

is

given in

English

in

Today's Research World

Units Four, Five, Six

Fig.

1

Genres of importance the this

first

to the research

network provides

we mean genres

or audible will see a

and

world form networks. In figure

a representative

that are public, often published,

that typically appear

network of what we

call

1,

sample of "open" genres. By

and

easily visible

on a researcher's CV. Below

"supporting" genres; that

is

this

you

to say,

genres that operate to support or assist an academic or research career. Traditionally, this

second class of genres had largely remained "hidden"

or "closed" (apart perhaps from grant proposals) and

public domain. Today,

more information on help with

was not

in the

these genres

is


becoming

available, especially

through the Web, but some of these sup-

porting genres can pose particular problems for junior researchers.

Task Three

The dual network outlined in figure 1 necessarily provides a highly generalized picture and one perhaps not so well suited to a beginning

How would you want to modify or simplify the figure to suit

researcher.

your circumstances? Are there additional genres that you might want

add? (See Note During the

4.)

final years of

your graduate study and the beginning of

your research career you will

many

genres

to

— seminar

likely

be involved in the production of

talks, a dissertation, research

papers, or grant pro-

posals, for example.

Of

will vary quite a

A dissertation can take years, while writing a letter of

lot.

course, the length of time to produce these genres

might take only an hour or two. Gauging amount of time you need to complete important writing or peaking tasks and knowing your deadlines can help you successfully complete them. One way to get a handle on what lies ahead is to prepare a genre planner a diagram or an outline of work to be completed over the

recommendation

for a student

the

—

course of a year. This can provide a useful road future

and

also help

you prepare

for

what

map

will be

for

your academic

ahead of you.

Task Four

Look over the two sample genre planners in figures 2 and 3, the first from and the second by a postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering. With a partner, if possible, answer the questions a graduate student in film

that follow.

1.

2.

Do you think they have planned

their time well?

How do their academic lives over 12 months compare with yours (and your partner's)?

3.

Plan B from the postdoc strikes us as very ambitious and

be more an example of wishful thinking than of

do you think?

may perhaps

realistic goals.

What

10


January

July

Complete research

Research in Spain; begin film paper on

for film presentation;

prepare the talk

fictional

in

modes

of representing reality

Spain

February

August Write up report on summer research

Present film talk to departmental

audience

March

September

Prepare

summer

Prepare grant proposal for "Spanish-

research grant

proposal

speaking cultures" film series

Begin research for Kentucky conference

paper

in

Revise Chapter One; revise film paper

June

October April

Begin writing second chapter of

Begin and (hopefully) finish writing

dissertation

first

chapter of dissertation

November

May

Prepare abstract for

Write prospectus for dissertation

revise film paper

June No major writing; focus on research

Revise Chapter

Fig. 2.

NYU film conference;

December

Genre planner A (graduate student

Two

of dissertation

in film)

Task Five Prepare a genre planner to cover your next 12 months. 1.3 "Research Writer Positioning":

Different Approaches to the In table 1.1 in

you

will find

some data on where

terms of countries of origin.

make

a different point.

of options

book. However,

The three very

follow the table are designed to

number

research articles

come from,

We believe that these figures should be in-

trinsically interesting for users of this

data to

Same Data

show

that

we

different

also use this

commentaries that

academic writers have a large

even when faced with the task of discussing basic

quantitative information.

The approach adopted and how well

it is

ex-

pressed in words are part of that "research writer positioning" (RWP) that

we have already mentioned.

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12

TABLE


Share of Mainstream Journal Articles

1.1.

% of Total

Country

% of Total

Country China

1.339

japan U.K.

8.244

Israel

1.074

7.924

Belgium

1.059

Germany

7.184

Denmark

0.962

30.817

U.S.

France

5.653

Poland

0.913

Canada

4.302

Finland

0.793

Russia

4.092

Austria

0.652

Italy

3.394

Brazil

0.646

Netherlands

2.283

Ukraine

0.578

Australia

2.152

Norway

0.569

Spain

2.028

0.546

Sweden

1.841

India

1.643

Switzerland

1.640

South Korea New Zealand South Africa Greece

Source:

Adapted from "Lost science

in the

Third World," by W. Wayt Gibbs,

0.426 0.415 0.411

Scientific

American, August 1995, 92.

Task Six

Examine

which is based on the 1994 Science Citation Index. Then read the three commentaries (sentence numbers have been added table 1.1,

for ease of reference)

Text

and answer the questions

Note

5.)

are derived from the papers published in 1994

by

that follow. (See

A 1

The percentages

approximately 3,300

scientific journals

Index (SCI). 2 The 28 countries

included in the Science Citation

listed are those countries that

produced

more than 0.4% of the world's total output. 3 It is significant that a number of countries with large university systems still fall below the 0.4% cut-off point. 4 These include Mexico, Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria, and Venezuela. 5 Overall, the dominating position of the U.S.

30%

of the total output of scientific research papers.

6

striking,

is

None

group Qapan, U.K., Germany, and France) reaches double

with

of the next

figures. 7The

world's two most populous countries, India and China, rank 13th and 15th respectively. tivity is

8

It

seems

clear

from the table that

scientific

produc-

probably even more unevenly distributed around the world

than average per capita income.

13


TextB lr

The figures in the table are based on the small percentage of the

world's scientific journals that database, which

is

is

indexed by the SCI. 2 This commercial

located in Philadelphia,

is

strongly biased toward

English-language journals and those which are located in the most ad-

vanced countries

in the

Northern Hemisphere, because the SCI's

emphasize such

tion criteria

of publication.

3

factors as citational

The percentages and quantity

reflect the quality

illustrated in the table, therefore,

1.3% of the

(15th,

total),

do not

of the scientific research being carried out

internationally. 4 Telling evidence of this

and low percentages given

selec-

impact and regularity

can be seen in the low rankings

for India (13th,

1.6% of the

total)

and China

even though both these countries are known

for

their strong research traditions, especially in theoretical areas.

TextC l

The percentages given

pretations.

2

At

first

in table 1.1 are

sight they

an overwhelmingly dominating position ity as

measured by publications

somewhat article

different perspective

production

open

would seem in

to

emerges when

million,

can note that the percentage for Finland

I

country with a

of Finland,

and

production per

In Unit Four of

of the U.S.

a simple calculation capita,

Finland

is

total

is

actually

4

As

a Finnish re-

population of only about five

about

shows

a

we consider research

working

However, the population

has

mainstream journals. 3 However,

in relation to national populations.

in a

different inter-

terms of research productiv-

in

searcher,

5

two

to indicate that the U.S.

is

fifty

only about

0.8.

times larger than that

that in terms of journal article

more productive than

the U.S.

AWG we offered a number of suggestions for data com-

mentaries. Assess each text in terms of those suggestions. In each case,

"grade" each text as "very good" (/) or "could be improved" (/-).

Work with 1.

Use

a partner

if

possible.

suitable locating phrases ("As

shown

in Table 5") as

necessary.

Text 2.

A

Text B

Concentrate on the key or most interesting Text

A

Text B

Text

C

results.

Text

C

and when

14

3.


"Round" very

precise figures. (In this case,

do not write "30.817" but

"30.8" or "nearly 31%.")

Text 4.

A

_

Open with general comments; problems with the data Text

5.

B

Text

A too

close,

if

C

necessary,

_

by pointing out

set.

B

Text

Do not read

Text

much into

the data

Text

C

and make claims

that are hard to

justify.

Text 6.

A

Text

B

Text

C

Write enough commentary to demonstrate that you have interesting things to say;

do not write so much

that

you bore your audience.

A Text B Text C How would you briefly characterize the approach (and RWP) of each Text

7.

text? 8.

Which

(See

text

Note

would you

prefer to have written

and why?

6.)

Task Seven

Do one a.

of the following.

Write a B, or

new commentary

for table 1.1. Feel free to

use parts of Texts A,

C as seems appropriate, adding any further commentary that you

wish. b.

Write a commentary on the following two charts. (Science, as you

know, (See

Note

is

the leading U.S. interdisciplinary scientific journal.)

7.)

may

15


Articles

Accepted by Science 25

o

io

-—

U.K.

France

Germany Canada

Japan

-Submitted -

Fig. 4. Articles

science

Nations

submitted from Third World

The percentage of articles accepted in 1994. (Data from "Lost science in the Third World," by W. Wayt Gibbs, Scientific American [August 1995]: 92-99.) Fig. 5.

by Science

the Third World," by W. Wayt Gibbs, American [August 1995]: 92-99.)

in

World

Accepted

countries and acceptances. (Data from "Lost Scientific

PartB 1.4

Where Do You Stand?

Cross-cultural Differences in Research Languages In recent years, there has similarities

and

been considerable research

interest in tracing

differences in research languages. (See

the dominating position of academic English

many people

Note

8.)

Because of

and because of the wish of

to acquire this variety of the language, the great majority

of studies to date

have compared some other academic language with

the English one. These languages include Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, French,

German, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Polish, Spanish, and Swedish. Simplifying somewhat, the overall conclusions point in one basic direction: research English, especially American research English, has a number of features that place

it

toward one end of a number of continua. These

features are listed below.

n

12 Third

16


American academic English,

in

comparison

to other research languages,

has been said to

1.

be more

2.

be

3.

use

4.

have

5.

be more loaded with citations

6.

rely

7.

have longer paragraphs

8.

point more explicitly to "gaps" or "weaknesses" in the previous

explicit

about

its

structure

and purposes

less tolerant of asides or digressions fairly short stricter

more on

sentences with less complicated

grammar

conventions for subsections and their

titles

recent citations in terms of

number

of

words

research 9.

10.

use more sentence connectors (words like however) place the responsibility for clarity and understanding on the writer rather than the reader

Task Eight Reflect

upon your own

first

academic language. Place a check mark (/) list that reflect differences between

before those items in the preceding

academic writing English.

If

in

your native language and American academic

you do not think

guage, do not check

a particular difference holds for

your

lan-

it.

Are there other differences that you think ought

to

be mentioned?

If you are writing for an American audience how much do you think you need to adapt to an American style? Do you think you need to fully "Americanize" your writing, or can you preserve something of your own academic culture in your academic writing? (See Note 9.)

1.5 Investigating Style:

Informal Elements in Academic Writing

A fully formal research writing style was standard in most disciplines until fairly recently. This style

was

associated with objectivity, the experi-

mental method, and the disappearance of the researcher from the

text.

For

/

17


example,

in

1934 Albert Einstein wrote that there

scientific writing. (See

Note

10.)

Although

inate in certain fields, in others the

laxed. This formal

avoidance of the tions such as

academic

first

isn't,

style

need

was no

/

and

and

and philosophy

linguistics (social science),

Among (i.e.,

Ten recent

articles

rid

of.

(arts

and humanities). (See

the features they investigated in the

main

field for analysis.

texts of the 30 articles

notes and footnotes were excluded) were the following.

The use of imperatives ("Now consider The use of 1 1 my I me

3.

Sentences beginning with but

4.

Sentences beginning with and

5.

Direct questions ("Is that correct?")

6.

Verb contractions

academic and research writing.

presents a brief

TABLE

1.2.

summary

are often

in style 1.2,

Number

in

30 Research

Articles

Number of Authors

of

Average per Paper

Using Element

639

21.3

30

my 1 me

1,020

34.0

23

Initial but

349

11.6

23

and

137

4.6

17

Direct questions

224 92

7.5

17

3.1

11

J

Initial

Verb contractions Source:

Adapted from Yu-Ying Chang and John M. Swales, "Informal elements

in

English academic writing: Threats

or opportunities for advanced non-native speakers?" in Writing: Texts, processes, and practices, edited

and K. Hyland (London: Longman,

guides

which

of the researchers' results.

Occurrences

Imperatives

frowned on

Now take a look at table

Occurrences of Six Informal Elements

Element

this case.")

(zvon't, isn't)

As you may have guessed, such uses for

pretty nice. This

fields: statistics (science),

were selected from each

2.

1.

you, of contrac-

(1999) investigated the occurrence of certain "in-

formal" elements in research articles from three

11.)

re-

of vocabulary of Latin, Greek, or

French origin, choosing, for example, eliminate over get

Note

in

has a number of typical features: the

and of colloquial expressions such as

Chang and Swales

/

been

for strict formality has

and second person pronouns

style favors the use of the passive

place for

continues to predom-

this style

1999).

by

C N. Candlin

18


Further Notes 1.

one or more imperatives, but the philosophers used

All writers used

the least. 2.

All the philosophers

and

all

but one of the linguists used

I

/my /me,

but only 4 out of 10 statisticians did. 3.

There was only

1

sentence beginning with and in the 10

statistics

papers, but there were 120 such sentences in philosophy! 4.

None

of the statisticians used verb contractions.

Task Nine Take a photocopy of what you consider

own specialized

from your

be a good but typical paper

to

area and highlight or underline

rences of the six informal elements that material from your analysis that

from interviews, speeches, or

is

you

find.

all

occur-

However, exclude

all

quoted from other authors or comes

transcripts.

Count and tabulate your

find-

may need to count some bits of language more than once; e.g., "But let me explain" would count as an initial but, as an imperative, and

ings.

(You

as a first person singular use.) different verb

you found

Then

list

and count the number

in the imperative

(if

any).

If

you

of each

are in a class,

e-mail your instructor your findings.

The purpose

of this task

acteristics of writing in

your

is

to train

own

your attention on the

field.

In effect,

it

stylistic char-

asks you to skim for

language rather than for content. Technically, the outcome of is

known as

In general,

how

does your

Further Notes?

Which

Have you come

field

compare

What explanations

of these elements

start a

would you

for feel

to those in table 1.2

and

any differences occur

to

in the

you?

comfortable using yourself?

across or been told other prescriptive rules such as "never

sentence with however as the

first

word," or "never use which

introduce a defining or restrictive relative clause"? rules

this process

rhetorical consciousness-raising.

Do you

to

think such

have validity? Have you been told things about academic writing

in

your

own native language that wouldn't work in English?

(See

Note

12.)

19


went on to investigate how a number of inand visiting scholars reacted to the "opporprovided by such informal elements. With one exception, a Thai

Chang and Swales

(1999)

ternational graduate students tunities"

doctoral student in architecture writing a very "humanistic" dissertation, the informants thought having these options fact

more

of a

problem than

somewhat

a solution. In essence, they

available

was

in

argued that devel-

oping a consistent formal style was hard enough. They did not want to

have

whether using

to decide

J

was

"natural" or "egocentric," or whether

when

using an imperative was "crisp and concise" or "bossy," or

be appropriate

adopt a

new

to

it

might

begin a sentence with and. However, subtle pressure to

way of writing might be stronger in some areas For example, this pressure may arise for qualitative re-

informal

than in others.

search in education but not for quantitative research.

Task Ten

Below are some comments from the informants. From your perspective, decide whether you agree or disagree and why. Then,

if

possible, discuss

your reactions with a partner. Imperatives 1.

In reference to figures

wise,

I

think

the full text.

it is I

(e.g.,

See Table

uncommon.

feel

it is

I

1), it is

often use

risky to use

it

it

commonly

used. Other-

only in references, never in

in text. (Visiting

medical scholar

from Japan) I

/My /Me

2.

One good as

3.

I

thing of having co-authors

I

can use we as

many times

for senior scholars (Chinese Ph.D. student in chemistry)

Initial

and and but

4.

used these,

I

that

want. (Korean Ph.D. student in psychology)

Only usable

If

is

my advisor would edit them out!

(Chinese Ph.D. stu-

dent in science) 5.

Although use

it

I

am not sure it is

effectively,

I

feel

dent in architecture)

it is

grammatically correct, since

many

authors

quite tempting to follow. (Thai Ph.D. stu-

20


Direct Questions 6.

I

don't think so. ...

I

think the literature in

my field is very, very

formal, very old-style, nothing elaborated. (Thai Ph.D. student in

engineering) 7.

I

have never used

impact 8.

is

Although

it.

However, I would

like to try

strong. (Visiting medical scholar direct question

sometimes avoided,

is

using

it

because the

from Japan) it

can give a strong

message. (Master's student in urban planning from Korea)

1.6

Academic Names, Autobiography, and Bio-data

We close this opening unit with a few reflections on and about the names

appear

in print

we

use on the

title

observations

pages of our manuscripts or

and on how we describe

ourselves. (The

when we

CV is discussed

in Unit Eight.)

1.

Some academic names were 23 participants 1999.

He looked

are

much more common than others. There

in John's research

their last

names up

listed (Lee,

Wu,

double figures (Zhou,

Liu,

for fall

in the 1998 Social Science Citation

Index. For five of the class there were

names

paper writing class

more than one hundred author

Chang, and Huang). Eight others reached

Tsai, Shin,

Sim,

Nam,

Saeto, Zeng, Sakamoto).

A further four produced single figures (Luong, Swales, Masuda, Kitajima),

and the

final six

names were

unlisted (Chairatananon, Klangsin,

Putthividya, Quartey, Tsuneta, Yook).

Why not look your last name up in an appropriate index MEDLINE, etc.)? How many authors with your last name

Comments? (SCI, SSCI,

are already there? 2.

Are there people with the same

Although "John" and "Christine" are accident neither of us has a

common

Chris has been able to keep her

initials as

well?

common given names, by lucky

family name.

full

academic name (Christine

B.

Feak) throughout her writing and speaking career. However, her master's thesis

from Cornell was written by a certain "Christine A. Beer

As you may have guessed, Beer was her maiden name. name was "John Swales"; thereafter it has been "John M. Swales." There were, in fact, two reasons for this change. One was simply a wish to adopt standard Feak."

Until about 1987, John's authorship

U.S.

21


practice soon after

he moved to America. The other had

Social Science Citation Index. tion,

which uses

initials,

not

chologist.

When he began to appear in

first

between himself and another

"J.

Swales," apparently a medical psy-

So he added the "M."

"solves" one problem,

3.

published scholars.

Some is

known as

at

in all social

who is a

be? (See Note

this

and educational

(and usually for

middle

initial

13.)

two forms

of their

contexts, but another

CVs and

presentations).

professor in the School of Art. She

"Sherry Smith," but her

"Sherril A. Smith."

a

causes another bibliographic one, especially

What might

just for publications

John has a friend sally

it

people, especially in North America, have

name. One they use one

this publica-

names, he noticed some confusion

Although changing one's academic name by adding for

do with the

to

is

academic name

official

univeris

A Korean- American doctoral student in linguistics

Michigan was always known as "Sunny Hyon," but the name on her

dissertation

"Sung-hee Hyon." What are the advantages and disad-

is

vantages of this?

Academic names everyday names or

are typically

their

researcher in our field

is

more formal than

nicknames. But not always.

always

of

that are very long (such as

origin in Thailand or in parts of India),

names such

known

(Indeed there

changing

is

their

name

hard for anglophones

It

to

are hard

pronounce.

names.) Further, a number of Asians choose to adopt an

was

first

name. Some

a Chinese economics student in the dissertation

who was always known as

Hsin.

When he obtained

assistant professor position at another university,

Gene.

of Sanskrit

a long tradition in the United States of immigrants

or at least an anglicized version of their

years ago there writing class

names

have many parts (Islamic

Mohammed Abdulla Al-Kikhya Al-Sennari),

as

to spell (Theresa Rohlck), or are

to

in print as

always

any other similar counter-examples?

Some people have names

English

is

Hamp-Lyons," never "Elizabeth."

Do you know 4.

A well-known

known in person and

"Tony Dudley-Evans," never "Anthony." Another as "Liz

individuals'

looks as though a

new academic

life

an

he changed his name

can

mean

a

new

aca-

demic name.

Do you have (See

Note

opinions about such simplifications or anglicizations?

14.)

22

5.


The name problem, for

women,

their

at least in the

especially for those

academic

careers.

West, can be even more complicated

who change

Consider

their marital status

during

this extract.

littered with the names women have used and disWhiteman eventually disclosed her gender and became Whiteman; this was apparently a precursor to the dropping

But the journals are carded: M.

F.

Marcia Farr of Mr.

Whiteman, and she has now long been known as Marcia

person

I

met

in 1980 as

and has since become Frances

Butler. Similarly,

Joan Carson Eisterhold and then

men met, loved, and cific

Purposes, 16, L.

Farr.

The

Fran Hinofotis became Frances Butler Hinofotis,

lost or left

.

.

.

Joan Eisterhold became

Joan Carson. These are

all stories

of

behind. (Reprinted from English for Spe-

Hamp-Lyons, "More thoughts on academic naming

practices, 73-74, [1997],

Are name changes as a

with permission from Elsevier Science)

result of one's marital status a

the English-speaking world?

problem only

Do women ever change names

in

for

your

culture?

So what

is

your confirmed academic name?

Task Eleven

Now that you have a confirmed academic name, you can put

it

to use in

one of those short bio-data statements that might accompany a grant application or journal article. But before

you do, take

a look at the following

draft bio-data statement for a travel grant application written

our students. What advice might you give her before she draft?

by one of

starts the

second

A CV (see Unit Eight) will accompany the application. As an undergraduate student

in

botany

at the University of Illinois

I

de-

veloped a keen interest in the study of the systematics and biogeography

and had the opportunity to work in Dr. Lindquist's lab. My laboratory experience gave me a taste of what it would be like to be a botanist, and after one year as an assistant at the University Botany Field Station I began my graduate program at the University of Michigan. Since starting the program I have been a of the tropical plant family Malpighiaceae

teaching assistant for Introduction to Botany during the terms. For

ued

two summers, under the guidance

and winter

fall

of Dr. Gupta,

I

my research on the tropical plant family Malpighiaceae,

have continthe results

23


of

which

Dr.

Gupta and

sentation at the 10th

are presenting in the

I

Annual Conference on

tion to this presentation, Dr.

Gupta and

Recently

I

have become more interested

for pre-

Biological Diversity. In addi-

are also

I

we hope will

based on our research, which

form of a poster

working on a paper

eventually be published.

in historic aspects of systematic

botany, particularly the development of classification systems in Linnean

and pre-Linnean periods, an Malpighiaceae.

I

am now

in

interest that

my

I

third year

plan to link to

and

will

my work on my

be finishing

required coursework this semester. (223 words)

Task Twelve Write your

own 200 to 250-word bio-statement.

Task Thirteen

We are often asked to provide as part of a conference program or as part of an article a short 50-word bio-statement. A colleague comes to you and

have

says, "I

to write

one of those short bio-data statements; please

me of what I need

help me." You reply, "Well, remind

to

know." This

is

the response.

As you know my name from

Sri

Lanka, where

is

Dushy

me a

I come Colombo University. I took to do a Ph.D. in history be-

or Dushyanthi Gunesekara, and

have a lectureship

come

a leave of absence to

cause they gave

I

at

to this university

teaching assistantship. I've been here for three

my main research is on the origins of ethnic conflict in my country, particularly during the British colonial occupation of what years now, and

was then Ceylon. I work mostly with thority

Bill

who is a leading auWe have an article com-

Johnson,

on the recent history of the subcontinent.

ing out next year in the Journal of Oriental History, and that tion,

wants the bio-data. although

I

That'll

have had several pieces

Lanka Historical Gazette.

I

have got

year to do archival research.

Is this

the kind of thing

I

am

would you want

in local journals

a travel grant to

go

to

fluent in both Sinhala

this journal

such as the

Sri

London next and Tamil.

you want?

Highlight the parts of this account that you questions

it's

my first quote-unquote real publica-

be

to ask?

would keep. What

further

24


Task Fourteen

Look

at this

statement written by a former student and answer the ques-

tions that follow.

It is

written in the appropriate style but

is

not perfect in

other ways.

Y. S.

Lee

is

currently a

GSRA in the Department of Mechanical Engineer-

ing and working on the mechanical behaviors of spot welding.

ceived his BS in mechanics from Beijing University and

Chinese

Academy

He

re-

MS from the

of Sciences. His major research interests are solid

mechanics and spot welding. (48 words)

1.

Lee began his statement with what he

some major information

is

Can you

gaps.

currently doing, but there are

find

them?

How can they be

corrected? 2.

Notice also that Lee uses the

word

currently. Let's

assume

this bio-data

will be attached to a published paper. Considering that there

may be a

time lag between the time of submission and time of publication (during which time he a 3.

may actually finish his

degree),

do you think

this is

good strategy?

Rather than beginning with where he

is

by describing

What

his educational history.

now, Lee could have started are the possible advan-

tages or disadvantages of this type of beginning? 4.

What posed

5.

are the advantages of stating several research interests as opto

perhaps only one?

Here are some other kinds of information

that our students

have

in-

cluded in their bio-data statements. Which of these should be included?

And

in

Names

what circumstances? of journals

you have published

in

Special fellowships or funding

Names

of

Can you (See

well-known people

in the field

you have collaborated with

think of other kinds of information that

Note

15.)

you might include?

25


Now here is a revised version of Lee's bio-data statement. What changes have been made? Y. S.

Lee received his master's degree from the Chinese

Sciences in 2000.

He

is

a graduate research assistant in

Academy

of

mechanical engi-

neering at the University of Michigan. His major research interests in-

clude solid mechanics and spot welding, the

latter of

which

is

the focus

of his forthcoming Ph.D. (50 words)

Now write your own bio-data summary (or rewrite that of Ms. Gunesekara). But before actually writing

your

own bio-data statement, read

through a few of them in journals in your is

typically included?

miss

it."

that are

to the notes.

of information

How is it organized?

1.7 Notes

"Welcome

What kind

field.

There

and Comments is

quite a lot going

for Unit

on

here,

One

and you won't want

to

(See Unit Four, Note 2.) Here we provide possible answers to those tasks more closed ended, references and citations as needed, further remarks

on the

linguistic characteristics of research English,

neous

entries.

and

a

few other miscella-

The notes and comments have been designed with both the inde-

pendent student and the

class instructor in

mind. For the

have occasionally added "Teaching Hints"; these are

latter in particular

italicized

we

and placed within

parentheses.

Notel Dreifus, C. 1999. Primordial beasts, creationists,

December

31.

Note 2 (sample responses

for

York Times,

a.

One

Task Two)

further strategy apparently

keep a "word book"

and expressions

and the mighty Yankees. New

common among

our class participants

is

to

—a notebook for writing down useful or helpful phrases

that the reader

would

like to incorporate into his or

her

own

writing. b.

Many junior graduate students stress the importance of finding a mentor (Strategy 4). Many international students, especially when beginning their degree programs, look for mentors among their co-nationals, especially students or researchers more senior to them. Often these "informal" arrange-

ments work very an advisor.

well, particularly with

such important matters as choosing

26

c.


We don't offer complete answers here, but clearly collaboration (Strategy 9) may be harder for the historian than the physicist. On the other hand, stylistic development

(Strategies 7

and

8) will

be more important for the historian than

for the other three.

Note 3

Names letter,

that refer only to the means of

names

are not

tive purpose.

specific

However, a

enough

to

fessional to

life

phone

call

sufficiently indicate

call or a

communica-

or an application letter

said, particular instances of a

organization (the

similarities in style

used

solicitation

do not

would be

be a genre. Genres are part of the history of a culture and are

always evolving. That ities in

communication, such as a phone

of genres since they

and

same kinds

genre typically share similar-

of beginnings, middles,

and ends)

as well as

common in modern pro"a means of getting jobs done when language is

content. Genres are increasingly

because they are

accomplish them." This powerful comment comes from Professor James

Martin of the University of Sydney,

who has been the leading proponent of a

genre-based approach to language and literacy in Australian schools. The reference

is

Martin,

R. 1985. Process

J.

full

as follows.

and

text:

perspectives on discourse, edited

Two by

aspects of

human

J.

D. Benson and W.

semiosis. In Systemic S.

Greaves. Norwood,

NJ: Ablex, 248-74.

Note 4 (sample response

for

Task Three)

Master's students, in particular, are likely to be working within a simpler and

more

restricted genre

network and one that

will likely include

such "school or

pedagogical genres" as the term paper, the essay, or the lab report. (Task Five Teaching Hint: Depending on the size of the class have one or two students

present their genre plans each week either on an overhead or in a handout. Stress that

you do not want every possible

detail.

Ask for comments

at the

end of the short oral

presentations.)

Note 5

The source

for the table

is

the following article.

Gibbs, W. Wayt. 1995. Lost science in the Third World. (August): 92-99.

Figures 5 and 6 have also been taken from this source.

Scientific

American

27


Note 6 (sample responses 1.

Text

A has no location statement and C

Both B and 2.

Text

Task Six)

for

so could be questioned in this regard.

are fine.

A does this well, we think, and

interestingly includes

countries missing from the table! Text B leaves

up

it

comments about

to the reader to

under-

stand the table (except for the references to India and China). Perhaps a bit risky? Similar

comments can be made about Text

3.

All three texts

seem

4.

Text

to

do

this

OK. Should

it

C.

be "31%" in Text A?

A moves from general to specific, and its author has no problems with

the data

Text

set.

B

opens with criticism; Text

C

view

gets to an alternative

rather quickly. 5.

We think in each case the writer-researchers have adopted an interesting "position" for themselves; each

6.

Given

seems

to

have some

intelligent points to

"unusual take" on the data, Texts B and

their

make.

C could have been a

little

longer. 7.

Text

A is basically an interpretation of the

the author can (as

There

is

some

out the data Text B the

we have

assumed

to

be accurate and not misleading

very different, since

development of the

Text A, but

it

although in sentences 3 and

which countries are not

4,

there!

nice highlighting as well as a speculative final sentence. Through-

is

is

table,

seen) cleverly note

needs

to

data.

It is

be because

it

challenges

all

any way.

in

the assumptions built into

perhaps rather more fluently written than it

offers persuasive

argumentation rather

than a summative interpretation. The problem remains, however, that the author of Text B does not quite

know how

to deal

with the data. What would

be a reasonable figure for the share of a wider pool of journal

articles

coming

from the United States? Text

C

offers a re-analysis of the data

and does so from

the

announced

perspective of a researcher from a small country. Perhaps the writer should

have provided the reader with the outcome of the simple calculation, showing that

if

Finland had been as populous as the United States

have risen 8.

Since this

to

is

its

proportion would

40 percent (other things being equal).

an open-ended question, no answer can be given.

Note 7 Notice that in table

1.1

and

in figure 5

country names are given in "legend

mat," while in the actual commentary those that refer to federations of

kind will need the definite the

article (the U.S., the U.K., the

European Community).

for-

some

former Soviet Union,

28


Note 8 The most complete scholarly survey is

Ulla Connor's

volume

to date of this

Contrastive Rhetoric

growing area of

special interest

(New York: Cambridge

University

Press, 1996).


As many readers

for Task Eight)

will recognize, the final question (regarding

whether research

writing should be "Americanized" for an American audience) raises

debated

issues.

ficient" for

American

Here we

everybody

just

mention that some argue

same way, and

to write in the

—given the figures in table

that

that

it

hotly "ef-

way might as well be

and so on. Others argue

1.1,

some

would be more

United

that the

States should not be allowed to develop this kind of cultural domination.

One

arguments makes an analogy between biological diversity and academic

set of

cultural diversity, suggesting that in turn limit creativity

and

if

alternative rhetorics are suppressed this

may

originality.

(Task Eight Teaching Hint: If time permits, the above activities could be restructured as a

prepared panel discussion.)

Note 10 Einstein, Albert. 1934. Essays in science.

Note

New York: The Philosophical Library.

11

Chang, Yu-Ying, and John M. Swales. 1999. Informal elements and

ing: Texts, processes,

practices,

in English

academic

advanced non-native speakers? In Writ-

writing: Threats or opportunities for

edited by C. N. Candlin and K. Hyland.

London: Longman.

Note 12 (sample analysis

for

Task Nine)

We took a paper from a leading APA-style journal in our field published by Sage Publications. (P. Eubanks. Conceptual metaphor as rhetorical response: A reconsideration of metaphor, Written Communication 16 [1999]:171-99.) This

and substantial

Working

article.

instructed,

fairly fast, the task

Imperatives J

As

/my I me

Our

46 (mostly

and

3

Direct questions

3

/)

(One was

was

and

all

a long

notes.

findings were as follows.

9

5

Contractions

texts in quotation

took us about an hour.

Initial but

Initial

we ignored

a section heading.)

29


Imperative verbs: Consider theses

and

3, let

(me)

referring to a published

suppose

3,

2, see 1 (this last

work)

Overall, the results are quite comparable to those in table

ments occurred, although only the

being in paren-

1.2.

person usages were

first

Five of the six ele-

common and were

especially frequent in explaining analytic procedures. Verb contractions

appear

to

be an option for

for stylistic effect. In fact,

sentence fragment:

"And

this journal,

although

initial but

and and can be used

one of the examples of and occurred for

do not

in this striking

good reason."

Note 13 While the change problems 1987.

for

to

"John M. Swales" reduces identity confusion,

anybody who might want

As John knows

to his cost, the

to cite his

work

it

minor name change can be very annoying

authors and editors. Moreover, the SSCI thinks there are two people,

and

"J.

best to to

it.

M. Swales," with

make

Hence

has created

before and after about

identical publications!

a decision about your academic

The moral

name

"J.

of this story

is

early in your career

for

Swales" that

and

it is

stick

the inclusion of this section in Unit One.

Note 14

We certainly do not have any firm opinions here. This is a sensitive matter of cultural identity and cultural affiliation. We think it is an individual choice. Note 15 (sample responses 1.

Task Fourteen)

a GSRA is? No institutional affiliation? No A GSRA is a graduate student research assistant.

Would everybody know what degree program?

2.

for

This might depend on whether the journal will allow an update in the biodata at a later date.

3.

Certainly, the history in item

2.

On

approach

the other hand,

is less

it is

susceptible to the rewriting issue raised

standard journalistic practice to put the

"freshest information at the top." 4.

Two

or three research areas

would

indicate your versatility;

might indicate that you are not yet "settled down" 5.

The

first

two

are just fine, especially

fellowships are indeed

somewhat

most of our participants or not

would seem

to

if

in

your

more than

the journals are well regarded

"special."

that

interests.

and the

"Name-dropping" turns out with

be highly controversial; the wisdom of doing

to be highly field dependent.

this

Unit

Two

Stepping onto a Wider Stagethe Conference Abstract

flf«ENCy|

fPTS MA NO SCR HERE

UlPOSUCTION

COM FERENCE ABSTRACTS £ X |T HE.RE.

I

Wftlf

The

first

"genre"

text written in

deal with in detail

is

the conference abstract (CA), a

support of an oral presentation.

A good reason for starting

CAs is that they are likely one of the first texts

with will

we

submit

Your goal

to

an outside audience

in writing a

posal reviewers,

j

that a graduate student

—one outside your own

institution.

CA is to "sell" your research to the conference pro-

who in fact may have very little

time to carefully read

and assess your proposal. Highlights of this unit include the following. 2.1.

A Close Look at the Structure of a Conference Abstract

2.2.

Conference Abstracts across Disciplines

2.3.

The Rating of Conference Abstracts

2.4.

The Role of a Senior Author:

2.5.

The Problem

2.6.

Reformulations

An Example

of Promissory Abstracts

30

Stepping onto a Wider Stage

—the Conference Abstract

2.7.

Conference Abstract

2.8.

Revising and Reviewing Conference Abstracts

2.9.

The Ordering

2.10.

Notes and Comments

of

Titles

Author Names and Short Versions of CAs for

Unit

Two

Unlike the abstract that precedes a research paper, ent texts and is

31

must stand on

their

CAs

are independ-

own. Moreover, whether your abstract

accepted for a conference or not depends entirely on the impression

that

it

makes on

the

CA reviewers. Since your purpose in writing and

submitting a CA is to have an opportunity to present your work, your CA must be somewhat promotional — must "sell" your work. it

Task One Consider the following questions and answer them for your area of study. If

a

1.

you are unable to answer a question based on your own experience, ask more senior person in your field. The

CA typically has to be submitted months ahead of the actual conHow far in advance of a conference are CAs usually submitted

ference. in 2.

your

field?

may

accept nearly

all

received; major national or international ones

may reject up

to 75 per-

Some

small regional or local conferences

cent of the

CAs

received.

What

the

CAs

are typical acceptance rates for confer-

ences in your field? 3.

The

CA is a freestanding (and often anonymous) document that has to

impress a review committee. Are

That

is,

names 4.

CAs

in

your

field blind

reviewed?

does the review committee select papers without seeing the

of the authors (and their institutional affiliations)?

Because of these characteristics, most

CAs need

to create a research

space for themselves prior to reporting the actual findings. the it

first

half of the

As

a result,

CA may be devoted to "justifying the topic." Indeed,

has been persuasively argued that the conference abstract

more like a research grant proposal than a journal Would this be true for your field? (See Note 1.)

is

much

article abstract.

32

5.


Conference abstracts often have rigorous word or space

number of words allowed never seems the typical word limits in your field? 6.

Because the

to

limits,

and the

be quite enough! What are

CA is a challenging and complex promotional genre, it

usually requires several drafts.

If

you can arrange

leagues and friends can be quite helpful.

it,

input from col-

Who could you (or would

you) turn to for help? (See

Note

2.)

2.1

A Close Look at the

Structure of a Conference Abstract

own field, applied linguismany abstracts

One

recent study of conference abstracts in our

tics,

suggests the following five-part structure, although

will not

have

all five

parts, or

"moves" (Yakhontova,

T.

1998. Cultural

variation in the genre of the conference abstract: rhetorical

and

linguistic

dimensions. Paper read at Conference on English as a conference lan-

guage, 14-17 January, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany).

1.

Outlining the research field

2.

Justifying a particular piece of research/study

3.

Introducing the paper to be presented at the conference

4.

5.

Summarizing the paper Highlighting its outcome /results

Task Two

Here

now

is

Tatyana Yakhontova's

own conference abstract on conference

numbers have been added here and elsewhere for it carefully and mark up its "moves." Does it fit Tatyana's own model? abstracts! (Sentence

ease of reference.) Read

Cultural Variation in the Genre of the Conference Abstract: Rhetorical and Linguistic Dimensions lr

The conference abstract

is

a

common and

significant role in disseminating

important genre that plays a

new knowledge within scientific com-

munities, both national and international.

2

As

a genre with the specific

features of "interestingness" created to attract the attention of reviewing


— the Conference Abstract

33

committees, the conference abstract has been investigated by Berkenkotter

& Huckin (1995) and Swales (1996). 3 However, the issue of cultural

variation in the genre has not yet

become

a subject of research, although

the conference abstract, like other genres of academic discourse, can be

presumed 4

to reflect national proclivities in writing.

This paper attempts to describe the cultural-specific differences of

English versus Ukrainian and Russian conference abstracts on the level of their cognitive structure

and language, and

to

provide some tentative

explanations of the cultural and ideological backgrounds underlying these rhetorical

and

textlinguistic preferences. 5 It will also

be shown

how

the

inherited cognitive patterns of Slavic writers interplay with the acquired

stereotypes of English scientific discourse in the abstracts they construct in English. 6 These texts, hybrid ing,

from the viewpoint of

their cultural shap-

can be regarded as evidence of the transition period typical of both

sociopolitical

and

intellectual life of

Ukraine and other

states of the for-

7

mer Soviet Union. As a result, this study raises a broader question: To what extent is it necessary to adopt the English conventions of this genre in order to be accepted and recognized by international fora? 8

This issue will be discussed in connection with the pedagogical im-

plications arising

from the findings and observations of

this study.

(minor editing)

(See

Note

3.

Task Three

Now, do 1.

the following with a partner,

if

you have one,

for Tatyana's text.

Highlight or underline any words or phrases that you see as "promoting" or "selling" the abstract.

2.

The

abstract contains

pared

some

in this text (the sentence a.

disseminating (SI)

b. subject (S3) c.

proclivities (S3)

d. tentative (S4) e. f.

g.

interesting

academic vocabulary. Be pre-

to explain the meanings of the following words as they are used

interplay (S5)

hybrid (S6) fora (S7)

number

is

in parentheses).

34

3.

As


is

typical, the

discourse.

CA contains a fair amount of meta-

second half of the

its name suggests, metadiscourse is discourse about diswhen we write about our own text, such as "This paper has

As

course, as

argued that ..." Consider the following. a.

(S4) This

b.

(S5)

It

c.

(S7)

As

paper attempts

will also

be shown

is

how

.

.

.

.

.

.

a result, this study raises a broader question:

d. (S8) This issue will

What

to describe

be discussed

in connection

the purpose of the metadiscourse?

with

Do you

.

.

.

.

.

think

all

of

it is

necessary? 4.

Notice

how Tatyana

alternates here

and 7 and the passive

between the active

in sentences 5

and

8.

What

is

in sentences 4

Why

the effect?

does she sometimes use the future rather than the simple present? 5.

Would you have used

6.

Notice the subtle difference between, for example, "This paper" and

"The paper."

by Finnish One

/

in this abstract (or

if

a co-authored

CA)?

How do you react to the following commentary on this

linguist

Anna Mauranen?

rhetorical effect that this

solidarity

we

produces

between reader and

writer.

is

It

an impression of closeness and

has the effect of bringing the

reader round to the writer's orientation, or point of view, by implying that the writer as well as the reader are both "here,"

on the same

looking at things from the same perspective. (See Note

Would

it

be safer to say that in using

this

a writer

is

side,

4.)

trying to "bring the

reader round to his or her orientation"? 7.

The

text is 254

words

long, so

it is

fine for overall length.

consists of only eight sentences, thus giving

of about 32 words. This all

is

However,

it

an average sentence length

which overyou think so,

quite high for academic English,

averages around 25 words per sentence. Too high?

If

what suggestions do you have? 8.

How do you react to Tatyana's argument that there may be a connection

between academic

texts

and

sociopolitical

and ideological

Do you have any examples either for or against this claim?

forces?


35


9.

The

final

of the

sentence does not seem to be as well thought out as the rest

CA. (A very common

situation, in fact!)

How do you feel about

the following alternatives? a.

Eliminate the sentence altogether

b.

Replace

it

with "Finally, the pedagogical implications of these

trends and tensions are discussed." c.

Replace

it

with "The paper closes with some suggestions for teach-

ing the English conference abstract to Ukrainian and Russian aca-

demics." d.

(See

Do something else.

Note

If so,

what?

5.)

Language Focus: A Note on Moves

we introduced the term move withwe mean by In linguistic description

In the discussion of Tatyana's abstract,

out explaining more precisely what

we see two

it.

types of terms: formal descriptors and functional descriptors.

Formal descriptors include terms such as paragraph,

sentence,

and

verb,

while functional descriptors would include description, suggestion, and

Move is a functional term that refers to a defined and bounded communicative act that is designed to achieve one main compurpose statement.

municative objective. Because

move can range from a

it is

a functional category the length of a

single finite clause to several paragraphs.

To help you better understand what look at a genre that you

may be

is

meant by

a move, let's take a

familiar with: the journal editorial,

some-

times entitled "From the Editors" or "Editor's Note." The purpose of the editorial

is

to allow the editor(s) to

some general aspect

of the journal

make

a

and/or

more personal comment on to discuss its content.

36


Task Four

Read through this portion of a journal editor's comment. Identify the moves the different communicative objectives just as we did for Tatyana's CA. Put a box around the parts of the text that seem to go together. We anticipate that you will find that the text has (more or less)

—

—

four moves.

The journal

is

issues a year.

key words

growing, especially following our decision to

The introduction

to facilitate

of blind reviewing

sively

no

.

.

by

.

for their article entitled

a vote of the

members

.

.

The winner

.

determined exclu-

first,

account for

to

.

.

—the editors have Moreno and .

In the second,

we also acknowledge the invaluable assistance of the

tional readers for the journal, those

Editorial or

is

of the Editorial Board

Sanchez develop a theoretical model a year

and the inclusion of

for the best article published in 1997

vote. This issue contains seven articles. In the

Once

to six

database searching have also gone smoothly. The

winner of the 1998 McArthur prize goes to

move

who are not official members

.

.

addiof the

Advisory Boards. For 1997 those readers were: Mary Abbott,

Richard Alexander, Angela Antonioni

.

.

.

Do you

think the order of the

moves you

think

could be changed?

can be changed, in what way? (See Note

it

.

If it

identified

is

"fixed," or

do you 6.)

2.2 Conference Abstracts across Disciplines So

far

we have

focused on an abstract from the humanities.

We now need

to travel further afield.

Task Five

Now take a look at this abstract submitted to an automotive safety conference by two researchers, one from Australia and one from France. The abstract tory.

you

was submitted

to the section dealing

We have shortened identify?

Draw

a

the results section

with crash

tests in the labora-

somewhat. What moves can

box around each move. Are these the same as those

suggested by Tatyana?


^ead biomechanics

research

is


37

often interested in head or impacted

structure modeling, but less often the study of impact

itself.

2

In studies

using an analytical approach, epidemiological studies, and in studies of structure aggressiveness, researchers often use a

approach 3

to

model

the structure

and

a single

lumped parameter

mass

Often, in experimental studies, the real structure

cal

model

(rigid

of the

head which

a single

is

mass

impacted by a physi-

is

in structure

and behavior

head form or Hybrid 3 head).

A collaboration between Institution

4

model the head.

to

strated that this

may be

approach

(analytical or physical)

any interpretation

of

1

and

Institution 2 has

two

criticized for

modeling of the head as

reasons.

5

First,

mass

a single

demonthe

rules out

head injury mechanisms. 6 Second, the modeling

of

head by a single mass produces a very different head-structure force

the

interaction than that

head model 7

The

if

a

more bio-faithful

used.

objective of this joint study

analytical

model

is

which would be produced

method

of the head.

to analyze 8

is to

propose an experimental and

head impact which uses a more

In the past

numerous

studies have

realistic

shown

the impor-

tance of brain-skull decoupling on the mechanical behavior of the head

under impact. 9 In the proposed approach,

this

phenomenon

will

be

taken into consideration. 10

component

In the experimental

dummy head teristics.

"Bimass 150"

n The impacts

analytical

is

dropped onto beams with

are compared.

model can simulate

as intercranial dynamics.

.

.

12 .

.

.

The

results

different charac-

show

that the

the experimental force interactions as well

13 .

of the study, the recently published

The

that the experimental or theoretical

results also

show

14 .

.

.

We conclude

modeling of the head mechanical be-

havior has an important influence on the structure response and that this

has to be taken into consideration in the analysis of structure aggressiveness. 15 It also appears that the

of a

From

head injury mechanism

Note

for a given impact.

C. Raisanen, The conference forum as a system of genres (Goteborg,

versitatis

(See

proposed approach permits the prediction

7.)

Gothoburgensis, 1999). Permission for use granted by

Remy

Sweden: Acta UniWillinger.

38


The

1

title

of the abstract

is

Which

missing.

of these

do you think would

work? Why?

—Influence of

Experimental and Theoretical Modeling of Head Impact

Head Modeling Brain Decoupling and

Its

Influence on the Mechanical Behavior of the

Head under Impact Theoretical Modeling of

Head Impact

for Predicting

Head

Injury

Mechanisms using "Bimass 150" 2.

The

abstract contains

What would be What would be graph

some instances

the effect

if

S7 and

(e.g.,

the metadiscoursal phrases were

the effect of

to the first

of metadiscourse

moving

removed?

the third (metadiscoursal) para-

paragraph?

3.

How would you rate the "positioning" of these research writers?

4.

More a.

detailed questions

In SI the beginning phrase ested in

b.

.

.

.

sounds a

little

Head biomechanics

"funny."

was used only

as a

noun

techniques had a big impact on to

.

often inter-

somewhat

recently

How does impact as a verb sound

you? Institution 2.

A collaboration

between Institution

1

Why is this?

As you may know, -ed passive participles can be used as modifiers. The first example in the CA is impacted in SI. How many other instances of such participles can

(See

.

is

as in The development of new cloning

S4 opens with the strange phrase

and d.

.

research

How might you reformulate it?

In S3 the authors use the verb impacted. Until

impact

c.

S9).

Note

you

find?

8.)

Task Six

Study a couple of conference abstracts from your

borrowed examples from colleagues or to

and

different

you have

for

instructors).

from Tatyana's model and

any differences

that

you

field

text?

find? (See

(your

own and /or

How are they similar

What explanations might Note

9.)


2.3


39

The Rating of Conference Abstracts

Of course, finding an appropriate structure for your conference abstract and providing a suitable scene setting are only part of the story. There are additionally the matters of offering "interestingness" and of projecting a convincing and authoritative image. The Berkenkotter and Huckin study (see Note 10) referred to in Tatyana's abstract examined the properties of high-rated and low-rated abstracts submitted to the annual College Composition and Communication Convention in the United States. Table 2.1 shows basically what they found. TABLE

2.1.

Abstract Descriptors

Low-Rated Abstracts

High-Rated Abstracts Topics were of current interest to

experienced members of the community.

Topics were of lesser interest.

A problem was clearly defined.

No clear problem was defined.

Problem was addressed

Problem,

in a novel way.

if

defined, received less interesting

treatment. Special terminology

was current

or

"buzzy"

Terminology was standard.

Several explicit and implicit references to

Fewer

the scholarly literature.

C

Source: Data from Berkenkotter and Lawrence Erlbaum, 1995).

Of will

course,

have

its

citations

N. Huckin, Genre knowledge

T.

and allusions were used.

in disciplinary

communication (Hillsdale, NJ:

and as Berkenkotter and Huckin readily concede, each

own perceptions

as to

"winning" one. Certainly, other

what makes

fields,

may may

perhaps especially in science,

not associate "interestingness" so closely with novelty. Rather, they

value the cumulative addition of a

field

a conference abstract a

new

piece of evidence, such as a piece

of research that confirms or updates previous findings.

Task Seven

Assume

that

you have been appointed as a member of the review comfield. You have been asked to make a list

mittee for a conference in your of the qualities that the that they accept. that

Make

committee should be looking that

may be helpful as you

list.

for in the abstracts

Here are two examples from our students

think about

this.

40

English

in


Environmental Sciences

Mechanical Engineering 1.

Novelty, originality

1.

Urgency of the problem

2.

Applicability

2.

Good supporting

3.

Completeness

3.

Applicable to real world

4.

Hot

(See

data

topic

Note

11.)

2.4 The Role of a Senior Author:

As English language

instructors

and

researchers,

An Example

we are probably capable, draft abstract in our own

at least

most of the time, of assessing whether a

field is

well constructed and has that elusive quality of "interestingness."

We are usually guessing in your fields and are probably better at asking questions rather than providing solutions. Here

Some

years ago, John

was helping an

is

a case in point.

Iranian student in electrical en-

gineering prepare a draft conference abstract for the major biennial conference

on

sensors.

The

abstract

needed

to

be about 600 words long and

be accompanied by a number of drawings. The third draft of the opening is shown on the left of the next page. As you can see, the opening of the abstract draft on

paragraph

flat.

True,

it

identifies a

to this need,

but

it

need and goes on

the

left is

rather

in S3 to offer a (partial) solution

seems rather unimaginative and overreliant on techni-

was the third draft and seemed about the best a "lab rat" and a "grammar rat" could do after working together. The whole draft abstract was submitted to the lab director and senior professor for

cal detail.

However,

this

editing, a professor incidentally

He

offered

minor

widely admired

for his technical writing.

edits for the rest of the abstract but totally rewrote the

opening paragraph. Professor Kenneth Wise's version

is

on the

right.

A comparison of the third draft with the fourth draft (the submitted version)

enough

shows

that the former text

—in the narrow and rather

was static

situated

—understandably

world of technical problem

solving within a laboratory setting. Draft

4,

on the other hand, takes a

confident and dynamic sweep across the field as a whole. In SI certain questions are immediately identified as "major issues." things are

likely to evolve. Finally,

identified

by the senior

in the rapidly

moving

Then

in S2 certain

research front

professor, the definition of standards

is

currently



41

3rd Draft

4th Draft with Dr. Wise's revision

Present measurement and automated

!

control systems need to have sensors with

with increasing amounts of on-chip or

higher

reliability

and accuracy than

practical with discrete

components.

and

is

isolated

In addition, issues such as

As

integrated transducers are

module

circuitry,

electronic system

where

combined

and how much

electronics to include with the "sensor"

cost optimization of testing, packaging

become major issues. 2 Integrated

and interfacing with higher

particularly those associated with

level control

in-

to partition the

sensors,

systems have provided the motivations to

automated manufacturing, are

change microsensors from "isolated

evolve into smart peripherals, and the

components"

definition of appropriate sensor interface

to "integrated

system

likely to

3 elements." This paper describes the

standards

design of an addressable VSLI smart

national committees. 'TTiis paper describes

sensor capable of handling

up

to eight

is

currently the subject of three

a possible organization for

sensors with 12 bit accuracy, introduces a

and appropriate

custom designed bus, and describes a new

device described

method

programmable,

for data

compensation.

such devices

The

interface protocols.

addressable,

is

self-testing,

with a bidirectional

compatible

and

digital sensor bus,

offers 12-bit accuracy using internally-

stored compensation coefficients.

design

is

The

sufficiently flexible to allow

upward-compatible sensor designs inserted in existing

to

reprogramming the host system and

accommodate From John M. Swales, Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Cambridge University Press, 1990. Reprinted by permission.

the subject of three national committees.

indicates insider expertise

Such

This

be

equipment without will

differing sensor features.

Research Settings, 211. Cambridge:

last

observation, in particular,

and thus communicates an authoritative

authority, as this account has suggested,

may well

voice.

require the assis-

tance of an experienced scholar in your area of interest.

The episode we have described had abstract

was one

needed

of

its

happy ending. The

of the 64 accepted for the conference. In fact, at this

particular conference

numerically.

in fact a

it is

The fourth

the reviewers'

draft

custom

was placed

high quality.) (See Note

12.)

to

rank the submissions

third! (If further

evidence

is

42


2.5

The Problem of Promissory Abstracts

Academics and researchers make plans

for the future, as in the genre

1.2. Alas, we often promise more than we can When looking to the future, we tend to assume a perfect world, one without illness, loss of data, technical problems, and so on. We may need to submit a CA to a conference with less of the work done than we anticipated as the deadline for submission approaches. We are now faced

plans in Unit One, Section deliver.

with writing a "promissory abstract," that

is,

one that

done by the time the conference comes around

projects

in several

what

will

be

months' time.

Task Eight

Read through the following

abstract

The Role


that follow.

of Natural Variation in

Changing Amphibian 3 Populations a

numerous

In the last several years,

researchers

Doyle 1998; Lee

(e.g.,

1997) have noted serious declines in the populations of

many

of the

nearly 5,000 species of amphibians. 2 This reduction has caused concern

because amphibians are generally regarded as sensitive indicators of the planet's overall health.

3

Although much recent research has pointed

to

habitat destruction, particularly the drainingb of wetlands, as the cause of the declines, the declines

ring in areas far

once abundant golden toad 4

and apparent extinctions are widely occur-

removed from human populations, c

in the

cloud forests of Costa Rica.

In order to provide a better understanding of the dwindling d

phibian population,

am-

my research will investigate whether the declines and

extinctions are in fact indicative of a 5

as in the case of the

Analyzing data from as

far

worldwide environmental

back as the 1700s,

I

will

show

that

crisis.

amphibian

populations are subject to year-to-year natural environmental variations,

such as droughts and floods, that can

and

that

much

of the decline

trusion. 6 Along this

increasing

numbers

and limbs, can

same

vein, e

Frogs, toads,

and salamanders

The removal

of water

c.

An

animal similar

to a frog,

this

same

less to

do with human

will also investigate

in-

whether reports of

by natural environmental changes.

but with rougher, drier skin. Toads live mostly on land.

shrinking

Continuing

egg laying and larvae survival

have

of abnormalities in amphibians, such as missing eyes

a.

e.

I

affect fact

also be partly explained

b.

d. Declining,

may in

line of thinking


1.

Do you


43

think that the research described in the abstract has actually

been done? What

in the abstract

might suggest

to a

reviewer that

it

has

not actually been completed? 2.

What,

if

any, changes could be

made

so that

it

appears that some of the

work has been completed? 3.

What

experience do you have with promissory abstracts?

written one, were

you able

to actually

If

you have

come through with what you

promised? Submitting a promissory abstract entails a certain number of

risks.

For

you may not actually get the work done in time, which may cause withdraw your paper. For another, you may not get the results that you had hoped for. However, sometimes you have little choice but to one,

you

to

write a promissory abstract, especially

when

abstract deadlines

may be

8-10 months before the actual conference and you have just begun your research. In such cases that

you need

may give you away. Keep

to

in

be especially careful

mind, though, that

if

to

avoid language

an abstract includes

only a research purpose and methodology without any substantive sults, the

many

reviewers will likely conclude that

conferences require you to include

work has been completed.

(See

Note

it is

some

re-

promissory. Moreover,

results as proof that the

13.)

Task Nine

A colleague has asked you to look over the following CA for a sociology conference on the impact of technology on society.

might you

offer for

In order to

What

suggestions

improvement?

meet our growing population's demand

have increasingly turned

to genetic engineering.

for food, researchers

Put simply, genetic en-

gineering involves inserting a gene from a plant or an animal into another organism. While the transfer of genetic information can occur naturally between similar kinds of plants or animals, genetic engineer-

ing allows researchers to insert any gene into another organism. For

example, researchers developed a tomato that stays on the vine longer

and holds up well during shipping because biotechnology allowed them to

slow the ripening process.

44

English

The

in


FDA has declared that the engineered

toes bred

tomato

is

as safe as toma-

by conventional means. Moreover, since the tomato has

characteristics of a conventional tomato, the

all

the

FDA will not require the

tomatoes to have special labels identifying them as genetically engineered.

Although the

sumer

FDA maintains that the tomatoes are completely safe, con-

reaction to

them has been mixed. Thus, growers and marketers

are very concerned given the potential for

economic

loss or profit

from

such products. This paper presents the result of recent research on con-

sumer

reaction to genetically engineered produce. Preliminary results

reveal that

consumer reaction

cally altered food

(See

Note

is

and the type

highly dependent on the type of geneti-

of alteration induced

by the engineering.

14.)

Task Ten

Now write your own draft conference abstract of 200-300 words based on one of your

own

research interests.

Language Focus:

this

+ noun phrase (NP)

We have seen several examples so far of sentences in CAs opening with this

as part of a

noun

phrase, such as

This paper attempts to describe

The


There

is,

.

.

is

however, another use of

to

propose

this

.

.

kind of sentence subject. Con-

sider the following sentences.

This issue will be discussed in connection with the pedagogical implications.

In the proposed approach, this phenomenon will be taken into consideration.

This device links the current sentence with the previous one by putting "old" or "given" information before "new" information at the beginning of the sentence.



45

Consider the following statement.

The government expects

1.

a

budget surplus

for the next year. This

surprised economists.

First notice that the writer

has a strategic choice as to

how much

"old"

in-

formation to place at the beginning of the second sentence. Which of the following do you prefer? This surprised economists. This announcement surprised economists. This unexpected announcement surprised economists. This unexpected announcement by the government surprised economists.

In

AWG we described this structure as this + summary word. In this more

advanced work,

we would

times be seen as being

how

like to

interpretive,

suggest that the noun phrase can someor designed to persuade the reader

to "read" the previous sentence.

Which of the following opening nouns do you consider as summary (S) and which as interpretation (I)? 2.

The graduate students said they wanted

to

be functioning

a final examination.

S a.

This statement surprised the instructor.

b.

This request surprised the instructor.

c.

This hope surprised the instructor.

d.

This desire surprised the instructor.

e.

This demand surprised the instructor.

f.

(See

Of

I

This ultimatum surprised the instructor.

Note

15.)

course, the

position.

this

+

NP structure is not necessarily confined

to the subject

46

So


far in this section

we have

focused entirely on the important role of

in maintaining links across sentences. arise

between the

means

roles of this

up where

of "picking

Consider

this sentence

and

it

this

However, confusion can sometimes

(and between these and they) as a

the previous sentence

left off."

and the beginnings of the following sentences.

Which do you accept/prefer and why? 3.

The weather It

This

c.

This

e. f.

g.

h.

January was

much warmer than usual.

was the second warmest on record. was the second warmest on record.

a.

b.

d.

in

was even warmer than December. It was even warmer than December. It

has led to large savings in snow removal

This has led to large savings in

costs.

snow removal

costs.

may be connected to global warming trends, It may be connected to global warming trends.

This

As you have probably sentences and

this for

realized,

it

is

the last two.

the correct choice for the

It is

used

the previous sentence (the weather), while

to refer to the

this refers to

first

main

two

subject of

the proposition

asserted (the above-average temperature in January).

So

far so

good. But

now

let's

look at a more complex case.

Make your

choices below.

4.

The vowel sounds

can be adequately described in terms of

tongue position (unlike in French where the amount of

their

ing

in English

is

also important).

a.

They have

b.

These have several advantages.

c.

This has several advantages.

d. It

several advantages.

has several advantages.

lip

round-


47

This can be plotted on a two-dimensional grid.

e.

It can be plotted on a two-dimensional grid. They can be plotted on a two-dimensional grid, These can be plotted on a two-dimensional grid.

f.

g.

h.

As


far as

a-d are concerned, the answer

is fairly

obviously

this

since the

follow-up sentence refers to the classification scheme in general. Indeed, there

would be

a

good case

for following this

with a

summary noun,

such as

4c.

This system /classification has several advantages.

For e-h the situation

is

much more complicated. We can see

introduce the appropriate

this

if

we

noun phrases.

4e.

This tongue position can be plotted on a two-dimensional grid.

4f.

The tongue position can be plotted on

4g.

The vowel sounds can be plotted on

4h. These

a two-dimensional grid.

a two-dimensional grid.

vowel sounds can be plotted on a two-dimensional

In both pairs, the

noun phrases from sentence 4

we might expect 4f and 4g to be

grid.

are simply repeated, so

the preferred choices. While 4e

are certainly possible, notice that the subjects

move

and 4h

the discourse forward

and do not actually provide further information about the noun phrases themselves.

This

4j.

It

41.

the following sentences.

moves in both vertical and horizontal planes. moves in both vertical and horizontal planes. They number about 20 in most dialects. These number about 20 in most dialects.

4i.

4k.

Compare

Here there would indeed be tion in is

a preference for

it

and

they,

while the situa-

e-h has a more open-ended meaning. In such circumstances, there

therefore a case for repeating the

noun

least in part (This position; These sounds).

phrase, as in the alternatives, at

48

So

far


we have focused on the use of this + NOUN. In some cases, however, this + NOUN may be necessary to establish an unambiguous

expanding

Read the following short

reference within the text.

ocean birds

—the albatross and the white-chinned

choices following 5

5.

do you

prefer?

text that discusses petrel.

Which

two

of the

Why?

has been estimated that about 9,000 white-chinned petrels are inad-

It

vertently caught annually in longline fishing for hake in the Southern

Hemisphere. In addition, more than 40,000 albatross are hooked and

drowned every year

after trying to eat the

squid bait used on fishing

lines set for bluefin tuna. a.

It is

b.

This

c.

threatening the continued existence of these ocean birds. is

threatening the continued existence of these ocean birds.

This level

is

threatening the continued existence of these ocean

birds. d.

This level of mortality

is

threatening the continued existence of

these ocean birds.

In terms of of

it

grammar any

in choice a results in

hooking and drowning? caught? Choice to

something

b,

of the four choices can follow.

an unclear reference. Is

it

on the other hand, might be

the reader to pause

c

it

better since this often refers

perhaps being caught, eating, hooking,

might actually be somewhat confusing, causing

and ask what

level

the writer

is

referring

for example, refer to the level of fishing activity. Finally, clearest

meaning

However, the use

the fishing lines or the

the fact that these birds are inadvertently

larger; in this case

and drowning. Choice

Is

for the reader,

who may not have

number

could,

immediately consid-

of white-chinned petrels

ered that

it is

tross lost

each year that poses the threat to their existence.

specifically the

to. It

d conveys the and

Now take a look at 6 and the options that follow. Which option (or options)

do you

prefer?

Why?

alba-


6.


Web-based learning approaches often use

a

paradigm

49

that completely

separates learning material and assessment. The typical learner experi-

ence

to "cover" a specific learning

is

module and then immediately

complete a short assessment process (usually multiple choice) that tests for

immediate

to return to the

recall of the information.

module

or

move on

The learner

to the next

is

then free

based on performance

within the assessment.

has some serious instructional shortcomings, however (Elstein

a.

It

b.

This has

Ramsden 1993; Page 1995; White and Gunstone 1992). some serious instructional shortcomings, however (Elstein Ramsden 1994; 1993; Page 1995; White and Gunstone 1992). This approach has some serious instructional shortcomings, however (Elstein 1994; Ramsden 1993; Page 1995; White and Gunstone 1994;

c.

1992). d.

some serious instructional shortcomings, howRamsden 1993; Page 1995; White and Gunstone

This assessment has

ever (Elstein 1994; 1992). e.

This approach to assessment has

comings, however (Elstein 1994;

and Gunstone (See

Note

some serious instructional shortRamsden 1993; Page 1995; White

1992).

16.)

Task Eleven Provide an expanded

this

PREPOSITION + NOUN) adjective

might also help

+

summary word phrase

to

(this

complete the following.

If

+

NOUN +

you feel an do not hesitate

to establish the best connection,

to use one.

1.

Over the

last

hundred

years, the

increasingly imbalanced.

North American

The percentage

diet has

become

of calories derived

from

complex carbohydrates has dropped, while the proportion of

fat

calories has risen dramatically. This is

an important factor

in the

growing

rate of cardiovascular disease.

50


2.

Researchers once believed that poor nutrition led to brain

and cognitive

shown

that

mental

ability,

brain

disability in children.

damage

However, recent studies have

young malnourished animals did poorly on

tests of

such as maze running, not because they had suffered

damage but because they had no energy. Lacking energy, they

withdrew from everything

in their

animals. Also, mothers did

more

environment, including other

for the less active infants, further

hindering their development.

These studies have led researchers disability in

to

conclude that cognitive

malnourished children can partly be attributed

to

reduced interaction with the environment and people. This has led to greater optimism that

programs

to

improve the

social

and academic

skills of

disadvantaged

children can counteract past deficits. 3.

The invention

gun or

lit

lock,

of the wheellock

ember

match, to ignite the gunpowder. After the invention of the wheel-

guns could be concealed yet kept ready to

pause

to light a

for instant action

without

match. This

forever changed the role these

Note

a major achievement. Previous

locks required an external heat source, such as a glowing

having

(See

was

weapons played

in society.

17.)

Task Twelve

Complete the blanks

in the following

CA with suitable nouns. Above the

nouns you provide indicate whether you think they

are

"summarizing"

A single summary noun may not be sufficient; you may need a noun phrase (NOUN + prepositional phrase such as this shift in or "interpretive."

attitude).

Up

until the 1980s, the typical

immigrant

to the

not well educated, and had few marketable

United States was poor,

skills.

Over the

last

however, increased global economic interdependence has given

decade, rise to

— Stepping onto a Wider Stage

—the Conference Abstract among

growth

in transnational

migration

middle

class. In fact, in

some urban

class migrants

have

51

the generally well educated

areas of the United States middle

a stronger presence than poorer, struggling

grants. Despite this

,

work and psychological

theories of migration

immi-

however, social

and acculturation have

continued to focus on poorer immigrants and U.S. -born minority populations (Sherraden

& Martin,

1994;

Drachman,

1992;

Mayadas

& Elliot,

1992; Jabob, 1994).

As

a migrant population, the middle class has a unique set of prob-

lems that

is

often exacerbated since this group

social services

and other support mechanisms

is

unable to gain access to

for the less well off. This

has led to a unique set of vulnerabilities.

Among this population,

the group least understood

is

that of grad-

uate and postdoctoral students and their families (academic migrant families),

number

who have come

of

to the U.S. for

education opportunities. The

academic migrants in the U.S.

is

not insignificant, with more

than half a million students and scholars studying in the U.S. annually triple the

number 20

years ago.

This paper reports on a recent investigation of the problems faced

by graduate students,

scholars,

and

their families at a large

midwestern

university. Preliminary analysis of a survey questionnaire reveals that after migration,

while

men perceive

women believe

their lives as

their lives

have

since they typically maintain the

must

learn to navigate the "ins"

having changed very

drastically changed, especially

home, care

for

and "outs" of

a

young

new

children,

their countries for the sake of their

uprooted

husbands' education often

report greater feelings of frustration and homesickness. tation concludes

and

culture. This

may explain why women from

little,

by describing interventions

for

.

.

.

This presen-

migrant students and

scholars that reflect the complicated nature of their vulnerability.

Note the number of summary phrases. Does note the location of the metadiscoursal

this

seem about right? Also phrases. (See Note 18.) it

52


2.6 Reformulations In a reformulation, another person rewrites without consultation

what

she or he understands the original writer to be saying. In this process the reformulator attempts to impose greater clarity and explicitness on the original. If

it

works,

procedure should achieve three purposes.

this

1.

It

should improve the language of the original;

2.

it

should offer clarification of the original message;

it

may well

3.

reason

reveal places where the reformulator has — for whatever —misunderstood or misinterpreted the original writer's meaning.

Although some experts

L2 writing argue that the reformulator

in teaching

we prefer to use

should not be the instructor,

ourselves for this task.

Our

reasoning provides a fourth purpose.

4.

We can reveal something of the thinking that underlies the changes we have made.

Samiri Hernandez-Hiraldo's Conference Abstract

Below

is

Samiri's draft conference abstract as originally written.

time she wrote pology.

Her

the draft,

first

Samiri

language

is

was

At the

a third year Ph.D. student in anthro-

Spanish, and as

we will immediately see,

she

writes academic English quite fluently and with an extensive academic

vocabulary. Read through Samiri's

draft

first

and compare

it

to the

second

one that follows. Highlight the changes that you notice in the reformulated text.

Are

all

of these changes for the better?

If so,

why?

If

not,

why

not? Try to anticipate Samiri's reactions. Religious Coexistence in Puerto Rico

The recent dramatic changes in the religions and the new religious movements all over the world counter modernization theory and histori1

cal materialism. 2 Religious studies

of religion

is

due

demonstrate that the continuing role

to its capacity for restructuring

forms (Wuthnow 1988

& Kepel

canists interested in conversion

1994).

3

Anthropologists and Latin Ameri-

emphasize the

religion in the articulation of local

and assuming various

and global

role of

world /traditional

specificities,

so necessary


for coexistence (Stoll 1990, the


Comaroffs 1993

&

Hefner

53

1993).

Prevailing paradigms, however, limit their analysis by concentrating exclusively in the ideological

and

by considering the more palpable or heroic mani-

scriptural analysis,

point of view, and by elevating the

official

festations of coexistence that are, religious conferences, assemblies, ecu-

menical agencies, academic seminars, special purpose groups,

paper elaborates the processes of religious coexistence pality of Puerto Rico. 6 From archival research,

and participant observation, to patterns of coexistence.

7

results

They

show

5

etc.

in a small

This

munici-

interviews

life histories,

that types of conversion relate

also demonstrate that coexistence

is

determined by the interplay of processes from above and from below, by the immediate social contact of the daily

discursive aspects of doing ritual or the

life

and by discursive and non

whole

religious experience.

Now here is Samiri's revised, post-reformulation version. It is not identical to the full reformulation

did not accept

all

given in Note 19 because Samiri (quite rightly)

of the suggestions for change.

Anthropological Insight:

The Case 1

of Religious Coexistence in Puerto Rico

Recent dramatic changes in religions, especially the resurgence of old

and the

rise of

new

religious

movements

in

many

areas of the world, run

counter to the assumptions of both modernization theory and historical materialism. 2 In

gion

is

due

fact,

research suggests that the continuing role of

to its capacity for restructuring

and assuming various

native forms (Wuthnow, 1988; Kepel, 1994).

3

More

reli-

alter-

specifically, Latin

Americanists, anthropologists and other specialists interested in religious

conversion have stressed the religions

have contributed

way

in

which both

traditional

to the articulation of local

and world

and global

specifics,

thus preserving religious belief within changeable and /or pluralist societies (Stoll, 1990;

Comaroff

& Comaroff,

1993; Hefner, 1993). Prevailing

paradigms, however, limit their analyses by concentrating on ideological or scriptural interpretations,

by elevating the more

by privileging the

visible or "heroic"

official

point of view, and

demonstrations of coexistence

as manifested through religious conferences or assemblies, or through

ecumenical agencies or academic seminars. 5 In contrast this

to this orientation,

paper investigates the processes of religious coexistence

in a small

municipality in Puerto Rico at a more basic level. 6 Using a combination of archival research,

life histories,

interviews and participant observation,

54


this

study will allow an evaluation of the relationship between con-

version and coexistence processes.

7

More

specifically, the

demonstrate the extent to which religious coexistence the interplay of processes at various levels lar

engagement and the immediate

We give below lie

is

determined by

The

social contact of daily

the thinking behind the revisions of the

details of the thinking

title

help Samiri;

maybe

after she

it,

and the

first

that under-

Note

19.

Not

we do not know whether we have done enough

the abstract

wrote

life.

and classroom discussion

the remaining parts of the reformulation can be found in

being anthropologists,

soon

and popu-

official

point of view, and from the discursive/non-discursive aspects of

ritual

sentence.

—from the

study will

is still

to

not specific enough. Regardless,

she was thinking of submitting a version of

for a

it

conference in Puerto Rico. Rationale for the Suggested Changes

(Key:

O = the original; R = our reformulation; J = our justifications for the

changes;

C

= class opinions)

Title

O: Religious Coexistence in Puerto Rico R: Anthropological Insight:

The Case of Religious Coexistence

in Puerto

Rico J:

We didn't like the original title much; it seemed also

seemed very narrow and

specific for

to

be rather

dull;

it

an anthropological confer-

ence, especially as Samiri appeared to be arguing for a different

approach the

first

to the

phenomenon. So, we chose a title split by and the second specific.

a colon,

part being general

C: General agreement, including from Samiri.

First

Sentence

O: The recent dramatic changes in the religions and the

movements

all

new

religious

over the world counter modernization theory and his-

torical materialism.

R: Recent dramatic

and the

rise of

run counter materialism.

changes in religions, especially the resurgence of old

new

to the

religious

movements

in

many areas of the world,

assumptions of modernization theory and

historical


J:

OK, is

but

this looks like a great start,

always somebody

And does

apply."

who will

she

— the Conference Abstract all

object,

mean changes

over the world looks risky. There

"But in in

in.

Does the

ory (whatever that to start

with the definite

new

the change because

C: Class decided

by

Note

put that "especially"

it

article (The recent

will

make

modernization the-

very interesting question of whether

now

.)

.

.

or with the indefinite

looks like a switch from old

We could go either way; so let's make

information.

a

good discussion point

in class.

a clear majority that the "breaking story" strategy

was more effective than would not be The. (See

let's

rise of religion actually counter is)? Finally, a

(Recent). In fact, the deletion of the

information to

my country this doesn't

terms of religions declining as

well as religions gaining? Probably not, so

phrase

55

you know"

the "as

strategy.

The

first

word

19.)

2.7 Conference Abstract Titles

Given the word and space constraints lot of

weight. Although abstracts

for abstracts, abstract titles carry a

may need

to

be considerably shortened

as they are revised, often the titles can remain long

and convey

information. Indeed in recent years, biology in particular has

notorious for the length of

a lot of

become

its titles.

Task Thirteen

Here are 17

titles

titles

and opening sentences from an area of study

your own. first

Finally, considering that the title

and

that

first

seems

sentence

closest to

make

the

impression on the reviewer, decide in each case whether

a.

they are basically

b.

they need

c.

of unedited draft CAs from interwe have worked with. Look at the

and opening sentences

national students or visiting scholars

OK as they are;

some minor editing; they require some substantial work.

For

at least

one of the cases you marked as requiring substantial work,

offer a trial reformulation. Include

the suggested changes.

some account

of the thinking behind

56


Business 1.

Marketing and Economic Development: One More Time

One

of the problematic issues in

whether marketing

is

a

economic development 2.

macromarketing

is

the question of if

a consequence of marketing.

Psychology and Rapid Social Change The outcome

is

consequence of economic development or

China

in

of the rapid transformation of

China

and market-oriented society involves not only

to a

political

democratic

and economic

changes but crucial psychological factors as well.

Anatomy / Medicine 3.

The Medical

Geneticist's Perspective

on NDI Research

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI)

is

an inborn error of water

homeostasis that presents in early infancy. 4.

A Novel Target of Cancer Treatment Currently metastatic cancers remain incurable diseases.

Chemistry 5.

Chemical Speciation of Thallium

in Natural

Waters Using Catio

Exchange Resin Thallium

is

a potential pollutant,

which

is

more

toxic than lead

and

mercury. 6.

Quantitative and Regulatory Aspects of Polymorphism It is

increasingly important to fully characterize solid state

ceutical systems at the bulk, particulate,

and molecular

pharma-

levels.

Engineering 7.

Low Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Film Transistors with In-situ Doped Source and Drain

We have fabricated novel polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (poly-Si TFTs)

ment

poly-Si

employing

in-situ

doping process

CMOS TFT technology.

in order to imple-


8.

— the Conference Abstract

57

The Worst Case Scenario Generator In recent years, the auto industry has been focused

systems, which can help the drivers to avoid

on active safety

traffic accidents.

English Language Teaching /Education 9.

Syllabus Design in ESP: Teachers' Problems in Estonia

One

of the problematic issues in

ESP teaching

is

the choice of the

suitable syllabus. 10.

The Effectiveness of Teacher Questions

in Eliciting

Responses

from ESL Students Education ESL

teachers ask questions of their students to encourage students to

practice speaking English. 11.

How Asynchronous Learning Technologies May Expand the Need for

Computer

Skills Training of

The Web has become one

Education Majors

of the

most informative and diversified

educational tools available to university instructors.

Theater 12.

Arthur Miller's Holocaust Plays

An American

dramatist, Arthur Miller achieved his major success

with his early works, such as Death of a Salesman and The 13.

Do

the

Crucible.

New Technologies Create New Opportunities for Perform-

ing Arts?

Brenda Laurel said

in

her book Computers as Theatre (1991) that

new

media are dramatic because of the way they present information.

Anthropology 14.

"Hoabinhian" Lithic Assemblages from Lang

Kamnan Cave,

Western Thailand The

status of "hoabinhian" has long

for several decades.

been questioned by archaeologists

58

15.


A Case Study of Agroecosystem Health in Honduras: the Roles of Livestock in Agricultural

Focusing on

Communities

Small scale livestock production in the Tascalapa watershed of Hon-

duras

is

an important method

which semi-subsistence farmers

in

secure their livelihoods.

Sociology 16.

Analysis of Socio-cultural Influences on Japanese Families and the Social Welfare Policies in the Future This paper examines the following questions: will influence the cultural

norms

developed and will develop; and policies in the U.S.

modate with the

in

how will

and Japan need

what has influenced and

Japanese families;

to

how

they have

current social welfare

be adjusted in order

to

accom-

transitions in social circumstances of Japanese

and

other families? 17.

The Ethnic Relations between Caucasian and Chinese Workers

in

California from 1849 to 1882 This paper talks about the

work

of Bonancich

and Hechter and sug-

gests several factors affecting the process of institutionalizing dis-

crimination: the

number of migrant workers,

the growth rate of the

migrant workers, the economic situation of the area, the number of migrant workers in the threatening jobs, and the organizational strength of the local workers.

(See

Note

20.)

2.8 Reviewing Conference Abstracts

By now, if you are taking a class, you will have submitted your revised CAs. Depending on the size and composition of the class, the instructor will divide you into two or more review panels. The (imaginary) regional conference is multidisciplinary, covering all fields. You might, for example, be divided into different fields of study. Whatever the outcome, you will not be reviewing your own CA!



59

Task Fourteen

Appoint a review panel

chair.

The chair

will then ask

you

to rate

each of

the abstracts as one of the following.

1

= strong /excellent

—must be included in the program

possible —should get on the program 3 = problematic/unconvincing/weak— only include space needs to be

2 = fairly

good

if

at all

if

filled

Use

up

this score sheet.

Name of abstract group Abstract

1.

2.

3.

4.

Number Score

_ _ _ _

_

6.

__

7.

8.

The panel chair

make

5.

will then call a short

final decisions.

receive

any one

_ _ meeting

to tally the rankings

Not more than 50 percent

and

of the abstracts should

of the ratings (1-3).

When the panels reconvene,

a representative of each panel should then

announce which abstract received the highest rating and why. Congratulations will

be

in order. Before the class breaks up,

each participant should

choose an abstract and agree to send an e-mail message to the author giving the panel's rating and explaining

should also be sent Language Focus. this

why the rating was given. A copy of

to the instructor.

But

first,

look at the following

60


Language Focus: Good and Bad News E-mail Messages Good News The good news messages are

relatively easy.

Take a look

at these

two sent

out by two of our former students. 1.

congratulations! Your abstract was evaluated by our panel

Hi,

as among the best of those received.

We very much hope that you

will be able to present at the conference.

If this is not pos-

sible, please let us know within a few days since we have a

waiting list. Once again, congratulations. 2.

Hi

(name)

We thought your abstract was excellent;

.

indeed,

it

received an overall rating of 1.2. In consequence, we have reserved

place on the conference program for your paper. Please

a

confirm as soon as possible that you will be attending.

What do you

think of this e-mail message sent to Chris regarding a con-

ference proposal?

To:

Christine Feak

Subject: Case reading skills for students of law

Your proposal has been accepted for presentation at the ESP

Reading and Writing Conference in Seattle. You will receive official notification by mail shortly. This mailing will also include the time of your presentation as well as regis-

tration information. There is no need to reply to this e-mail message unless you

need to provide

a

change of address. Your official notifica-

tion letter will be sent to the address below:

Thank you

Did you note the absence have? (See Note

21.)

of

any congratulations? What

effect

does

this

.

.



61

"Bad news" usually requires some preparation. Also the communicator of to "hide behind" the panel! Consider the following

bad news may wish messages.

1

Unfortunately, due to the unusually large number of applicants and the limited amount of space on the program, the review com-

mittee was unable to accept your abstract this year. If you would like further details, please feel free to e-mail me. In the meantime, 2.

good luck with your future research.

A large number of strong abstracts were submitted to this year'

s

conference, and we have only space to select the very

best. After carefully reviewing your abstract, we cannot recom-

mend that your paper be accepted at this time. However, we were sufficiently impressed by your work to place you on list.

If this is acceptable to you,

On behalf of the review committee, 3.

a

waiting

please let us know ASAP. (name)

Although the committee was interested in your project, we did not feel that your study would be "ready" for this year's con-

ference. We remain confident,

however,

that you will be suc-

cessful next time.

Recommendations and Suggestions

When sending a pelled to offer

"bad news" message many of our students felt comsome kind of explanation for the rejection or some advice,

as in the following. Please notice the difference in verb

1.

Your abstract would have been more acceptable

if

form between

you had included

a

sentence describing the methodology, (too late now!) 2.

Your abstract would be more acceptable a sentence describing the methodology,

if

you were to/could include

(maybe not too

late!)

Notice also the role of a "prefacing" conditional designed to give the recipient space

and

to

make

the advice

seem

less

imposing.

62

3.

If


you

are planning to resubmit a version of this abstract to another

conference,

you might

made by members 4.

If

you

week, 5.

If

like to

consider the following points which were

of the review committee:

.

.

by the end on

are in a position to submit a revised version

we would

you were

suggest that you focus attention

to revise

your abstract

.

of this

.

for another occasion, the sub-

committee's advice would be to give more emphasis to the purpose of the research

and

less to the

previous

literature.

Task Fifteen

Now send your e-mail message to one of the abstract authors informing him

or her of your committee's decision.

Task Sixteen Prepare your third and final draft of your tion the

comments made by

own CA taking into considera-

the committee.

2.9 The Ordering of Author Names and Short Versions of Conference Abstracts

No doubt you have worked hard on your conference abstract; we hope you are pleased with the final result

and

will actually

conference. In the real world, of course, your

associated with a to order

CA.

If

there are other

them, a decision which

Partly because of the

submit

it

an upcoming

to

name may not be

names you

will

need

the only one

to decide

how

may require considerable thought.

way citation indexes

(like the

work, the ordering of names can be important

SCI and the SSCI)

—and can give

rise to stress.

Task Seventeen

What 1.

are

your preferences and /or expectations?

Ceteris paribus (other things being equal), alphabetically.

names should be ordered


2.

The

first


name should be

that of the person

63

who did most of the

writing. 3.

The

first

name should be

that of the

4.

The

first

name should be

that of the person

5.

The

first

name should be

that of the

most senior person.

person

who did most of the work. who needs the

first-name

credit the most. 6.

Irrespective of

any other

work with

same people on

the

(See

Note

The

final bit of

name should rotate when you CAs and publications.

factors, the first

different

22.)

business concerning your successful

produce a shorter version

to

short versions are typically

easy task. The 50-word

CA may well be to

appear in the conference program. These

no more than 50 words

summary should convey

paper and function as an advertisement to

—not necessarily an

the key points of the

attract

an audience.

Task Eighteen

Once again here

is

Tatyana's abstract, followed by three versions of a

50-word summary of her paper. Can you identify the third (final) drafts of the

first,

second, and

summary?

Cultural Variation in the Genre of the Conference Abstract: Rhetorical and Linguistic Dimensions lr

The conference abstract

is

a

common and important genre that plays a new knowledge within scientific com-

significant role in disseminating

munities, both national and international.

2

As

a genre with the specific

features of "interestingness" created to attract the attention of reviewing

committees, the conference abstract has been investigated by Berkenkotter

& Huckin (1995)

and Swales

(1996).

variation in the genre has not yet

3

However, the issue of cultural

become

a subject of research, although

the conference abstract, like other genres of academic discourse, can be

presumed 4

to reflect national proclivities in writing.

This paper attempts to describe the cultural-specific differences of

English versus Ukrainian and Russian conference abstracts on the level of their cognitive structure

and language, and

to

provide some tentative

64


explanations of the cultural and ideological backgrounds underlying these rhetorical

and

textlinguistic preferences. 5 It will also

be shown

how

the

inherited cognitive patterns of Slavic writers interplay with the acquired

stereotypes of English scientific discourse in the abstracts they construct in English. 6 These texts, ing,

hybrid from the viewpoint of their cultural shap-

can be regarded as evidence of the transition period typical of both

sociopolitical

and


Ukraine and other states of the

for-

mer Soviet Union. 7 As a result, this study raises a broader question: To what extent is it necessary to adopt the English conventions of this genre in order to 8

be accepted and recognized by international fora?

This issue will be discussed in connection with the pedagogical im-

plications arising

a.

As to

a genre

this study.

with specific features of "interestingness" created to appeal

reviewing committees, the conference abstract has been attracting

some this

scholarly attention. However, the issue of cultural variation in

genre has not been addressed. This paper describes and interprets

the differences abstracts. (50 b.

from the findings and observations of

among

English, Ukrainian,

and Russian conference

words)

Conference abstracts (CAs) are an important "gatekeeping" genre with interesting promotional features.

Although these features are known

in general terms, cross-cultural preferences

and modifications have

little studied. Here, I compare English CAs with those written by Ukrainian and Russian specialists and explain those differences in cultural and ideological terms. (50 words)

been

c.

The conference

abstract

is

a

common and important genre that plays new knowledge within scientific

a significant role in disseminating

communities. This paper describes the culture-specific differences of English versus Ukrainian and Russian conference abstracts.

It

then

provides an explanation of the cultural and ideological backgrounds

underlying these differences. (50 words)

Do you think Tatyana needs a

fourth version?

If so,

why?

(See

Note

23.)

.


2.10 Notes and


65

Comments for Unit Two

Notel Faber, B. Rhetoric in competition:

The formation

of organizational discourse in

Conference on College Composition and Communication abstracts. Written Communication 13 (1996): 314-54.


for

Task One)

1

Answers have ranged from two months

2.

Most

participants observe that

it is

to

much

up

to a year.

easier to get a poster accepted than

a presentation; indeed, often an attempt to give a presentation gets

graded"

to

an opportunity

3.

Blind reviewing seems to be an increasing practice in most fields.

4.

Some

science fields, such as chemistry

results oriented; their

CAs are

and

less like

biology,

seem

to

be

be from about 150 words

The range seems

6.

Advisors and supervisors are often willing to be helpful here.


for

SI

about 600.

fits

her

own model

quite well, although

a partial exception.

is

and

to

Task Two)

Broadly speaking, Tatyana's abstract there

much more

grant proposals.

5.

to

"down-

to exhibit a poster.

Outlining the field

S2.

53

Justification

54

Introduction of paper

55 and S6

Summary

57

?

58

Discussion of consequences

Note that

in S7,

of details

Tatyana does not so

much

"highlight the outcome" as she uses

her research "to raise a broader question." This strikes us as an interesting variant.

Note 4 Mauranen, A.

1993. Cultural differences in academic rhetoric:

Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

A

textlinguistic study.

66

Note 1

SI


5 (sample responses for Task Three)

common

/ important / significant role /

both national and international

53 not yet become a subject of research / national proclivities 54 cultural and ideological backgrounds underlying these rhetorical and textlinguistic preferences

55 inherited cognitive patterns 2.

.

.

.

acquired stereotypes

—spreading —topic proclivities —tendencies tentative provisional, preliminary — interplay —interact with hybrid —in case made up of elements from two different kinds of texts fora —plural of forum, in case a conference or professional meeting disseminating (SI)

subject (S3)

(S3)

(S4)

(S5)

this

(S6)

this

(S7)

3.

The metadiscourse that

it is

read the

intended to help guide the reader through the text so

is

way

the author intended

it

to be.

Metadiscourse

is

quite

common in North American academic writing; however, it is less common in the academic writing of other cultures. For a fuller discussion see pages 169-74 in

Unit Five. The question of whether

Some

bate in our classes.

necessary typically generates de-

students feel that

condescending. Others find 4.

it is

In S5 the use of the passive

it

is

it is

and perhaps even

gratuitous

quite helpful.

useful as a stylistic variation. In this

way

can avoid using show with an inanimate subject and also avoid using I pare the alternative wording: In addition, of passive voice keeps the focus It's

had already completed the work wants

to

5.

.

.

and so

stylistic variation, will,

Most

in S7.

it is

the future. Tatyana

not "promissory"

or perhaps she just

as something the audience can

I is

appropriate in any academic text raises considerable dis-

of our students argue against using

promotional, as

we found

in

I

since

it

sounds too

a single author. Students in the sciences have generally said we

cases 6.

and

is

much

Perhaps using tion,"

this

but whether

self-

Unit One. Using we seems more acceptable, but

then the question arises as to whether we can always be used, even is

Com-

In S8 the choice

to.

Whether or not cussion.

in the abstract,

emphasize her intent by using

look forward

.

why she sometimes uses

could simply be a

It

intend to show

on the question raised

hard to say with certainty

(see Section 2.5).

I

she

preferred over

when there is

fine in all

J.

can help "bring some readers round to an author's orientait

necessarily does seems

open

to question.


7.

One

possibility

is

to

the reader. Another

These

ing.

texts

remove some

to

It

9.

of the appositives

and put the informa-

sentence. For example, in S6:

and

as evidence of the transition period typical


Ukraine and other

states of the for-

Soviet Union.

seems reasonable

texts

own

can be considered hybrids from the viewpoint of their cultural shap-

of both sociopolitical

8.

its

As hybrids, they can be regarded

mer

67

break S4 into two sentences to ease the cognitive load on is

tion contained there into 6


and

to

may be

us that there

sociopolitical

and ideological

a connection

between academic

forces.

In our experience, almost everybody answers this question (correctly)

depends on the context."

ing, "It

the last sentence could be

the conference has a theoretical orientation,

If

left out. If it is a

conference with

teachers attending, keep the original or replace is

a conference

work

by say-

many language

with the b alternative.

it

with a particular focus on Slavic academics, then

c

If it

would

well.


The journal

is

issues a year.

words

for

Task Four)

growing, especially following our decision to

The introduction

to facilitate

of blind reviewing

.

.

for their article entitled

.

to six

and the inclusion

of key

database searching have also gone smoothly. The

winner of the 1998 McArthur prize goes to

move

for the best article published in 1997 .

.

.

The winner

is

determined

Board

—the editors

have no vote. This issue contains seven

articles. In the first,

Moreno and

Sanchez develop a theoretical model

account for

exclusively

Once

by a vote of the members

a year

we also acknowledge

of the Editorial

to

... In

the second,

who are

not

official

members

the Editorial or Advisory Boards. For 1997 those readers were:

Abbott, Richard Alexander, Angela Antonioni

first

move

tains a specific in the issue.

those

.

.

.

of

Mary

.

deals with general business of the journal, while the second con-

announcement. The third summarizes the contents of the

The

who had

.

the invaluable assistance of the

additional readers for the journal, those

The

.

final

one

is

devoted

to professional courtesy, namely,

helped the journal by providing reviews.

articles

thanking

68

The and


third

after

move

is

and

likely fixed

Move

well as the nature of the business.

only once a year.

If

there

is little

what comes before

obligatory; however,

probably depends on whether there

"business" to be taken care of as

is

and Move

2

example, likely occur

4, for

or no pressing business, the beginning

may

also

include a general introduction to the issue, discussing current concerns or directions of the field.

Note 7 (sample analysis

for 2

f

Task Five)

Head biomechanics

research

is

often interested in

head

or impacted structure modeling, but less often the study of impact

2

itself.

In studies using an analytical approach,

epidemiological studies, and in studies of structure ag1.

Outlining

gressiveness, researchers often use a

the field

approach

model

3

the head.

structure

which

model

to

is

is

the structure

lumped parameter

and

a single

mass

to

Often, in experimental studies, the real

impacted by a physical model of the head

a single

mass

in structure

and behavior

(rigid

head form or Hybrid 3 head). 4

A collaboration between Institution

has demonstrated that 2.

Justifying

by

indicating a

two

of the of

gaP

reasons.

5

head as

First,

this

approach

1

and

Institution 2

may be criticized

a single

mass

rules out

any interpretation

head injury mechanisms. 6 Second, the modeling of

the head

by

a single

mass produces

a very different

head-structure force interaction than that which

be produced 7

for

the (analytical or physical) modeling

The

a

if

more bio-faithful head model


is

to

is

would used.

propose an experi-

mental and analytical method to analyze head impact 3.

Introducing the paper

which uses a more past

numerous

ing the

work

of the head.

shown

8

In the

the importance of

on the mechanical behavior of

the head under impact.

9

10

Summariz-

model

brain-skull decoupling

phenomenon

4.

realistic

studies have

In the

proposed approach,

this

will be taken into consideration.

In the experimental

cently published

component

dummy head

of the study, the re-

"Bimass 150"

onto beams with different characteristics. are compared.

12 .

.

.

The

results

show

model can simulate the experimental

11

is

dropped

The impacts

that the analytical force interactions


69


as well as intercranial

f

show ical 5.

14 .

.

.

We

dynamics

....

13

The

results also

conclude that the experimental or theoret-

modeling of the head mechanical behavior has an

Highlighting

important influence on the structure response and that

conclusions

this

has to be taken into consideration in the analysis of

structure aggressiveness.

15

It

also appears that the pro-

posed approach permits the prediction of a head injury

mechanism

V

From

for a given impact.


Sweden: Acta Universitatis

C. Raisanen, The conference forum as a series of genres (Goteborg,

Gotholourgensis, 1999). Permission for use granted by

Theoretical

for

Remy

Willinger.

Task Five)

Modeling of Head Impact

Head

for Predicting

Injury

Mechanisms

using "Bimass 150"

This

title

seems

be the best since

to

it

reflects the objective stated in S7.

Experimental and Theoretical Modeling of Head Impact

—Influence of Head

Modeling This

title

doesn't capture the focus of the work.

as indicated in SI, so

it

has

Brain Decoupling and

little

news

Head modeling

is

not new,

value.

Influence on the Mechanical Behavior of the

Its

Head

under Impact This

title

seems too narrow. The decoupling phenomenon

is

only part of the

study as stated in S9. 2.

In S7 the metadiscourse

an

announces the purpose of the study. Without such

explicit statement, the reader

may have to infer what the objective

is.

S9 the metadiscourse ("proposed") helps the writer establish what sets research apart from other research.

Removing

the metadiscourse

In

this

would pose

a greater challenge for the writer in terms of convincing the reader of the

importance of the work.

If

the metadiscourse in S7

were moved

to the first

paragraph, the abstract would have a rather narrow and abrupt beginning.

There would be no background or justification for the work before the purpose of the study 3.

is

revealed.

We think, despite some uncertainties in language, have established

their authority

have worked hard in Tatyana's case,

the

and expertise quite

two researchers

well; certainly, they

to try to establish the superiority of their approach.

however,

we

them where they might want

feel the final

to be.

As

sentence does not quite get

70


4a. Stating that "the research is interested in ... "

two

seems

odd

a bit

to us.

Here are

alternatives.

Recent head biomechanics research has tended to focus on head or impacted structure modeling but less often

on the study of impact

itself.

While head or impacted structure modeling has been the focus of much head biomechanics research, the study of impact

itself

has received

much

less atten-

tion.

4b. Impact as a verb

still

sounds "funny"

however, impact as a verb has spread States

and can be widely heard and

to Chris,

and she does not use

like wildfire

read.

it;

throughout the United

Check journals

in

your

field to

see whether impact has achieved verb status in your research area. In the

MICASE spoken data 4c.

about one-sixth of the occurrences of impact are verbs.

This has occurred almost certainly because the requirements of blind reviewing

do not permit the authors

4d. SI: impacted structure S2: a

to

mention

their

own institutions.

modeling

lumped parameter approach

S10: recently published

dummy head

"Bimass 150"

S9 and S15: the proposed approach

Note 9 Naturally science

we cannot provide any answers here, but we would

anticipate that in

and engineering conference abstracts would be more technical and con-

tain less justification in the openings.

(Teaching Hint: If your class

waiting until

is

ready for

it,

they can do Task Ten about now, rather than

later.)

Note 10 Berkenkotter, C.

and

T.

N. Huckin. 1995. Genre knowledge

cation. Hillsdale, NJ:

Note

in disciplinary

communi-

Lawrence Erlbaum.

11

Other suggestions have included the scale of the research reported, good

statistical

support, a sophisticated model, the "neatness" of the experiment, and a connection to recent theory.



71

Note 12 This in

little

story has been included to

your area

draft.

the best person to anticipate

is

how

Task Eight)

for

Perhaps some thinking has been done on the abstract to suggest anything substantive has

and

in

S6

/ ivill

also investigate

no preliminary 2.

At the very

what

some

least,

topic,

but there

is little

been done. In S4 my

suggests that the

work must still be done. Also a method been outlined.

detail

on where the research

will

be carried out and on

Our best advice would be

species should be added.

some work

for

our

than

field

it

might be

who have been

While neither of us has

in others.

through with what was promised (or others

to

be

abstract.

We have both written promissory abstracts, which, we suspect, in

in the

research will

have been given, nor has

results

done before submitting the 3.

other experts will react to your

A nonexpert cannot offer this valuable perspective.


emphasize that the experienced researcher

something

at least

is

close),

do come

easier to

failed to

we know

of

less fortunate.

(Teaching Hint: Here's an activity that our students have enjoyed. After the students

have turned

in their abstracts, retype the first

name) on a handout. Distribute

the

handout

sentence of each (ivithout the author's

in class

and have

the students guess

who

wrote which sentence.)

Note 14 (sample response Here

is

for

one response. Note

Task Nine) the hedges.

all

This seems interesting, and there has been a topic this

is

proposal

neering

is

public interest in the issue. The

is

for a sociology conference, the simple description of genetic engi-

probably helpful. The preliminary results indicate that the work has

likely already

—

been done

this is

not a promissory abstract. Also,

the need to be investigating the issue

nomic

lot of

timely and therefore of possible interest to the conference goers. Since

is

given: there

is

it is

good

that

a potential for great eco-

loss or gain.

Still

the abstract could be

improved with the addition of references

work. The second paragraph seems a of typical proposals,

is it

tomatoes to be safe?

If

thing about

how

bit repetitious.

really necessary to say twice that the

there

the data

is

sufficient space,

was obtained (Was

it

it

to

previous

Given the space constraints

FDA considers

might also help

to say

the

some-

a questionnaire or an interview?

72


What kind

of interview or questionnaire?)

method

the

to describe

some general

of data analysis? Also

I

think

it

would be

a

good idea

form

and then subsequently the acronym.

used

is

first

for item 2,

said they

wanted

a final examination.

This statement surprised the instructor.

_/.

b.

This request surprised the instructor.

_/_

c.

This hope surprised the instructor.

_/.

d.

This desire surprised the instructor.

_/_

e.

This demand surprised the instructor.

_/_

This ultimatum surprised the instructor.

_/

is

However, choices

much

less

than

indicating his or her subjective interpretation of the event. c

and d convey

less of

an interpretation than choice e and

f.


for item 6,

Task Ten)

All of the choices are grammatically correct, but not

intended meaning. Choice

What is

it? Is it

whole

reader.

b, this, is

cause the referent case, this could

to

is

is

not

it

it

free to

clear.

While

this

may still lead

noun phrase

any of the

again be-

a,

text, in this

points. This approach in

to confusion in the reader.

The reader would look

Web

The

first

text,

To taking multiple choice

suddenly

namely, the use of multiple choice to

have the appropriate focus. This approach

students learning via the

Web but being assessed

and the assessment

of that learning.

sen-

would

for a singular referent. Is this

to learn? it

it

can be confusing to the

This focus seems too narrow; something broader

rate learning

Is

rather than

Web-based learning approaches, so given the plural the reader

small part of the

to

unclear.

is

can refer to a larger chunk of

refer to

Choice d does not seem successful since

seems

convey the writer's

choose what to do next?

to refer to a larger point

perhaps be thought to

rule this out as a referent.

tion.

is

will refer to a single

approach referring to simply using the tests?

all

unsuccessful because the referent

perhaps only slightly more successful than

choice c seems better but tence refers

it,

Typically,

point. Thus, using

Choice

a,

the fact that the learner

Web-based learning?

e

I

a.

In c-f the writer

full

Task Ten)

S

a

to give the full

—the Food and Drug Administration—since usually the

The graduate students

f.

charac-

name of the FDA

Note 15 (answer key 2.

and

individuals involved in the study. Should you say anything about

teristics of the

to

is

shifts the focus to test recall of

one

informa-

necessary. Finally, choice

assessment here refers to

in traditional

ways

that sepa-



for


73

Task Eleven)

This change in preferences; This reverse in habits; This change in proportion;

This shift in diet 2.

This fundamental shift in understanding; This change in our understanding; This improved understanding of the link between malnutrition and cognitive ability

3.

This advance toward

more convenient guns; This advance

This improvement in

weapons technology


Up

for

in

gun technology;

Task Twelve)

until the 1980s, the typical

immigrant

to the

not well educated, and had few marketable

United States was poor,

skills.

Over the

decade,

last

however, increased global economic interdependence has given

growth

in transnational migration

middle

class. In fact, in

have

class migrants

grants. Despite this social

some urban

growth

I

change

Elliot, 1992;

As

demographics

theories of migration

I

is

immi-

however,

shift,

& Martin,

1994;

Drachman, 1992; Mayadas

often exacerbated since this group

access

and other support mechanisms difficulty

/

/

summarizing

&

is

set of

prob-

unable to gain access to

for the less well off. This

problem has led to a unique set of vulner-

Among this population,

the group least understood

that of

is

graduate and postdoctoral students and their families (academic migrant families),

who have come

The number

academic migrants in the U.S.

of

to the U.S. for

more than

half a million students

annually

triple the

—

all

and acculturation

Jabob, 1994).

social services

abilities.

in

migrant population, the middle class has a unique

a

lems that

lack of

areas of the United States middle

on poorer immigrants and U.S.-born minority

to focus

populations (Sherraden

rise to

the generally well educated

a stronger presence than poorer, struggling

work and psychological

have continued

among

number 20

education opportunities. is

Difficulty

and

problem are interpretive; lack of access

summarizes

not insignificant, with

and scholars studying

in the U.S.

years ago.

This paper reports on a recent investigation of the problems faced

by graduate students,

scholars,

and

their families at a large

midwestern

university. Preliminary analysis of a survey questionnaire reveals that

men perceive their lives as having changed very little, women believe their lives have drastically changed, especially

after migration,

while

since they typically maintain the

must

learn to navigate the "ins"

ference

(in

attitude)

uprooted from

/

disparity

/

home, care and "outs" contrast

for

of a

young

new

may explain why women

their countries for the sake of their

often report greater feelings of frustration

and

children,

culture. This dif-

husbands' education

and homesickness.

.

.

.

This

presentation concludes by describing interventions for migrant students

and scholars

that reflect the complicated nature of their vulnerability.

Disparity

more

seems

interpre-

tive; difference

and contrast summarize

74

English

in


of summary words seems right. Some texts may, in fact, have few summary words, while others may have more. There are two instances of

The density

metadiscoursal phrases: This paper and This presentation.

Note 19 (discussion of Samiri Hernandez-Hiraldo's conference

was

Samiri's text

selected for reformulation for reasons that are not hard to

imagine. The subject matter classmates coming from for their dictionaries).

distract attention

likely to

is

many

The

be interesting and broadly accessible

different fields (although

will

be reaching

from the more "macro" questions. The abstract also looks

balance and organization for her

seems

to

like

have found an appropriate

text.

the rest of our reformulation, with the further thinking behind our

is

changes to the (Key:

many

to

syntactic errors are sufficiently insignificant to not

a pretty successful draft; certainly, Samiri

So here

abstract)

text.

Again, note that Samiri did not adopt

all

of the suggestions.

O = the original; R = our reformulation; J = our justifications for the

changes;

C

= class opinions)

Sentence 2 O: Religious studies demonstrate that the continuing role of religion its

capacity for restructuring and assuming various forms

is

due

to

(Wuthnow 1988 &

Kepel 1994). R: In fact, research suggests that the continuing role of religion

is

due

to its ca-

pacity for restructuring and assuming various alternative forms (Wuthnow, 1988; Kepel, 1994). J:

Up-to-date references, good; Berkenkotter and Huckin would surely approve (see table 2.1). Interesting,

we don't often see an ampersand

different publications; this will

class.

As

it

did.

make

Samiri's religious studies seems

or study of sacred texts by true believers? to research; also

add

(&) used to join

a small but technically useful point in

ambiguous

As probably

—academic studies

the former,

let's

change

a sentence connector. That demonstrate looks far too bold:

shooting her research in the foot before she has started?

We need

a softer verb

here.

C: Points

all

taken by the class

Sentence 3

O: Anthropologists and Latin Americanists interested in conversion emphasize the role of

world /traditional

specificities,

religion in the articulation of local

and global

so necessary for coexistence (Stoll 1990, the Commaroffs 1993

Hefner 1993).

&


R:

More

specifically, Latin


American anthropologists and other

ested in religious conversion have stressed the

way

in

which

75

specialists inter-

traditional

world

religions can intersect with local or global specifics, thus preserving religious belief

with a secular culture

1990;

(Stoll,

Comaroff

& Comaroff,

1993; Hefner,

1993). J:

This

is

tough sentence, highly dense and abstract

a

—evidence of Hispanic

How do anthropologists and Latin Americanists line up? Let's experiment. Why the slash beWe need

academic argumentation?

tween world and

traditional?

the nonreligious as well?

friendly

way

making

formal tone of the C: There

out a

it

We

like "the

bit.

Comaroffs" as a

a reference, but, unfortunately,

warm and

will not

it

go with the

text.

we had misread Samiri's intentions second, Samiri made it very clear that "world" and

was major debate on

with the opening subject; "traditional," that

break

"Coexistence" with what? Other religious groups?

Or with

of

to try to

is,

local,

this. First,

were completely

different;

and

third,

where did

we get this idea of religious-secular coexistence from? Especially given the title. On the last point at least, we clearly needed to have our heads examined. (See Samiri's final revised version (p. 53) for a third sentence rather different

from both her original and the reformulation.

Sentence 4 O: Prevailing paradigms, however, limit their analysis by concentrating exclusively in the ideological

and

by considering the

scriptural analysis,

point of view, and by elevating the

more palpable

official

or heroic manifestations of

coexistence that are, religious conferences, assemblies, ecumenical agencies,

academic seminars, special purpose groups, R:

The prevailing paradigms, however, ideological or scriptural analyses,

and by elevating the more

etc.

limit their analyses

by privileging the

by concentrating on

official

point of view,

visible or "heroic" manifestations of coexistence as

manifested through religious conferences or assemblies, or through ecumenical agencies, religious pressure J:

This to

is

an impressive sentence,

do much

An extra

here.

groups or academic seminars. in length, language,

article before ideological

and content. Don't want

can go.

We don't under-

stand palpable; change? Put heroic in scare quotes to maintain judicious aca-

demic distance? What are these

special

purpose groups? Pro-life or something

like that?

C: Several ses

and

members manifest.

ter in the future.

of the class

The

jumped on

instructors

Lengthy

the unnecessary repetitions of analy-

acknowledged

class discussion

that they

would

try to

do bet-

with Samiri about what she meant

76


by

special

the

like.

purpose groups. This turned out to be groups of hospital visitors, and

Clearly not "pro-life" types of groups. She finally agreed that

it

was

hard to explain and not necessary anyhow. Sentence 5 O: This paper elaborates the processes of religious coexistence in a small municipality of Puerto Rico. R: In contrast to this orientation, this

paper investigates the processes of religious-

secular coexistence in a small municipality in Puerto Rico. J:

OK, here

is

the switch to the present study, so

let's

build

up

the contrast.

Elaborates looks like a Spanishism.

C:

Changes were approved, the

word

secular.

especially after the instructors themselves deleted

Learning from their mistakes!

Sentence 6 O:

From

archival research,

show

results

R:

Using

a

life histories,

interviews and participant observation,

that types of conversion relate to patterns of coexistence.

combination of archival research,

ipant observation, the study

shows

life histories,

interviews and partic-

that patterns of conversion can be related

to patterns of coexistence. J:

From

is

a bit

awkward

here as

is results

show.

A better connection is needed. showed an attractive that she was concerned

C: Samiri observed that, although the repetition of patterns parallelism,

it

wasn't in fact accurate;

it

was processes

with. Very interesting discussion, especially from the scientists, about the

merits and demerits of saying, "The results see), as

opposed

to "the

show"

(there they are, for all to

study shows" (results are hard to get

at,

but after

my

analysis ...!).

Sentence 7 O: They also demonstrate that coexistence

is

determined by the interplay of

processes from above and from below, by the immediate social contact of the daily

life

whole R:

More

and by discursive and non discursive aspects of doing

ritual or the

religious experience.

specifically, the

study demonstrates that coexistence

the interplay of processes at various levels ence, from the discursive

and from the immediate

is

determined by

—from the whole religious experi-

and non-discursive aspects

social contact of daily

life.

of ritual engagement,


J:

Add


a connecting phrase; keep with "the study" orientation;

levels? In

any

C: Typing error.

case, It

put them

should read

77

how many

order from macro to micro.

in

not contact; otherwise the class (and

contract,

Samiri) thought the changes were basically successful. (But see the changes

made

on

in Samiri's revised version


for

p. 53.)

Task Thirteen)

Business 1.

The opening sentence seems OK, but the title

2.

should suggest what the paper

Both the

title

and

first

sentence are

is

title is

not very informative.

A good

about.

fine.

Anatomy / Medicine 3.

The

title is fine.

may be 4.

The

The

first

sentence, a definition,

rather uninteresting but

is

fine.

title is

a bit vague.

sentence could use a

What kind

little

work,

of cancer?

What kind

of target?

The

first

too.

Chemistry 5.

The

title is

tence

6.

is

sufficiently specific.

much

like that of

that

would be generally known

The

title

appears

to

reveals the focus of the paper.

It

number

three-

it

seems

to

The

first

sen-

be saying something

in the field.

be OK. The opener

fully characterizing solid state

—

is

good. By stating the importance of

pharmaceutical systems at the bulk, particu-

late,

and molecular

and

familiar with issues in the field.

author presents him- or herself as an authority

levels, the

Engineering 7.

Title is fine. Interesting

opening sentence beginning with we and announcing

what has been accomplished. 8.

The

title

here

is

The connection

very broad.

What kind

of generator will this paper discuss?

of the first sentence to the

title is

unclear.

English Language Teaching /Education 9.

The

title

could do a better job

at revealing the actual focus of the paper.

(English for specific purposes)

is

ESP

actually a broad field that includes business

78

English

in


English, English for medicine, English for law, hotel English,

host of other professional areas. The

what area

will

title

and a whole

here leaves the reader wondering

be dealt with. Consequently, the

first

sentence also needs to be

tightened up. 10.

The

title

seems

opener such as

by someone 11.

Good

fine,

this

fairly

but the

would

new

sentence

is

simply stating the obvious.

was

An

written

to the field.

and pretty good

title

first

likely suggest to the reviewer that this

first

sentence, which expands

on the

title.

Theater 12.

The

title is

too broad as

plays will be discussed.

fails to

it

It's

what aspect

indicate

unlikely that

all

of Miller's Holocaust

aspects can be discussed in a

conference paper. 13. Interesting title.

with the

The

first

sentence suggests the writer has

some

familiarity

field, a definite plus.

Anthropology 14.

The

title is

first

sentence works well to counter the possible "dullness" of the

highly specific, suggesting expertise on the part of the writer. The title

by

raising a general issue. 15.

Very

specific,

informative

rather than Focusing on.

title. It

could be improved by using

The opening statement

of fact

seems

A Focus on

fine.

Sociology 16.

The

title is fine,

but opening with a series of questions does not seem to be

the best strategy. 17.

The

title is fine.

However, the opening sentence seems

per will be a review of Bonancich and Hechter.

It's

to suggest that the pa-

not clear whether a contri-

bution to the field will be made. (Task Fourteen Teaching Hint: The arrangements for this activity are a so here are

some suggestions. Give each panel four

sure that nobody on a panel reviews his or her that the

own

members of the panel work on areas not

little

complicated,

to five abstracts for review,

abstract.

That

said, try to

making

make sure

too distant from the areas they are re-

viewing. For example, five engineers could review five science abstracts, and five scientists

could review five engineering abstracts. Finally, make sure that a panel chair

appointed at the outset,

and delegating

who

will

is

have the responsibility of announcing the "winner"

the follow-up e-mail messages.)



79

Note 21 The message seems rather cold and uninviting. Adding a simple "congratulations"

would be an improvement. Note 22 (sample responses This

is

even

great care

if

beginning with A,

B, or

is

favor the 2.

convention

eral co-authors, the

believe that approach 2

names can

of

In

is

first

some

that the

approach.

feelings

Many scientists

fields, especially

and

4.

of our

where there are sev-

most senior person

more common than approach

is

bad

easily lead to

taken in deciding the order. People with names

C may

acquaintance follow approach

as

Task Seventeen)

Arrangement

a minefield.

bitterness,

for

is

placed

some

In

last.

cases,

We

such

when someone is looking for a job or being considered for a promotion, apmay be appropriate. The sixth option is fine if there is a regular and

proach 5

well-established research group.

Arranging names alphabetically

may be

the easiest thing to do, but

it

may be

some reason for the names appearing in the order that they do. Although names are often ordered according to the amount of work done, you may decide to do otherwise, particularly if you work with the same

problematic.

It's

best to have

group on various tion individuals

projects. Seniority

should not outweigh the level of contribu-

have made.


The short program

for

abstract

Task Eighteen)

may be your only opportunity

sentation to conference participants. Thus, of time preparing

it.

The short

abstract should say

tion so that the reader has a fairly stract a

was written

difference

among

first,

you want

good idea

followed by

c,

of

b.

There

the three proposed abstracts; however,

talk is

it's

characteristics.

d.

CAs will

amount

is all

about. Ab-

not a great deal of not clear that

necessary to say anything about the characteristics of the CA. interested in the teaching or research of

your pre-

enough about your presenta-

what your

and then

to advertise

to take a reasonable

Anyone

it is

potentially

already be familiar with their

Perhaps a fourth version should be considered.

Although the conference abstract has been

attracting

some

scholarly attention,

the issue of cultural variation in this genre has not been addressed. This paper

describes the culture-specific differences of English versus Ukrainian and

Russian conference abstracts.

It

then provides an explanation of the cultural

and ideological backgrounds underlying these

differences. (51

words)

Unit Three

Research on Display the Conference Poster

r

GCpj erit v»di<

,r!^

^

VSH

'Haven't

The main Unit Two.

I

seen this poster somewhere before?'

topic of this unit It is

is

similar because

with an academic oral event. visible, public,

both similar to and different from that of

and open

it

also focuses

It is

for all to see.

unit "Research on Display

on writing

That

is

is now why we have entitled the

—the Conference Poster."

The unit has the following

in connection

different because the writing

sections.

3.1.


3.2.

Poster Layouts

3.3.

Types of Compressed Language

80

Research on Display


3.4.

Captions

3.5.

Further Notes on the Technical

3.6.

Etiquette

3.7.

Notes and Comments

Noun

81

Phrase

on "the Day"

3

.

for Unit

Three


1

Today most conferences and meetings have the presentation of posters. For

many

special sessions designed for

years posters have been the poor

country cousin of papers, but recently they have gained in status. In the

United States in some

any funding

fields, for instance,

it

used

to

be

to present a poster at a conference. Today,

difficult to receive

however, the story

more available. At some conferences, moneis tary prizes may even be awarded to the student who presents the best poster. It's no wonder then that many resources such as Internet sites and changing and funding

is

commercial software are widely available to help

in the preparation of

posters.

The experience

of a poster "presenter"

a paper presenter. Papers are given

under

is

quite different from that of

strict

time constraints (rarely

more than 30 minutes) and usually permit only limited interaction at their close between presenters and the fixed audience. Posters are on official display for a much longer period of time (typically two hours or more). Members of the audience are free to move around and are free to either read the poster or to engage in a one-on-one discussion, and they will typically do both. As a result, although the term poster presentation is conventional, it is not quite accurate; the "poster presenter" is more like an exhibitor.

Task One Posters have several potential advantages over papers. Here are three.

1.

2.

They allow research

to

be presented

at

an

earlier stage

than do papers.

They provide the presenter an opportunity to have a direct exchange of professional ideas, thus providing some feedback that may in fact influence the remaining or future research.

3.

new

They enable

a

others in the

field.

researcher to begin

making personal contact with

82


Can you

What

(See

think of other advantages of doing a poster?

are the possible disadvantages? List

Note

them

If so, list

them

here.

here.

1.)

On the next page you will find a short critical article, written in the style of a letter to the editor.

and argues

The

view, however, the article raises sidered in

appeared

article

in the British Medical Journal

for greater evaluation of posters in

all fields.

some general

As background

medical science. In our issues that

to the article,

need

we offer the

to

be con-

following

observations.

pharmacy and computer science, is one of those areas where the relationships between the academy and industry are particularly complex. However, even in the humanities there are times when industry and the academy converge, such as at conferences that have large Medical research,

publishers' exhibits. a place

like

Some

conferences

on the conference program

textbooks, to "advertise" their Further, in

may see

their

Getting as portant.

many

new books,

particularly

new products.

annual conferences as key opportunities for raising money.

much

membership

as possible of the

to attend is therefore

im-

At the same time, however, obtaining funding from one's home been

limited to (as

also provide publishers with

fields, national associations for particular disciplines

institution for travel, registration,

tionally

may

for authors of

tied to

and hotel accommodation has

paper presentation, which, of course,

some percentage

is

tradi-

generally

of the conference paper abstracts submitted

discussed in Unit Two).

Ways

of increasing the

included making more

number

official the

of active

and

official participants

have

duties of chairs and associate chairs of

presentation sessions and of organizers of panels, symposia, and so on.

The most

significant

development

rise of the poster session.

in

many fields, however, has been

the

Research on Display

Here now

Dr. Leach's contribution to the Personal

is

The

the British Medical journal. level, posters are

ing

is

and

means

title is

indeed writing on

on the wall has

also


roots in the

its

end

that the

the wall.

of a

pun

View column on a literal

However, the phrase

Some language

in

—

the writ-

Old Testament of the Bible (Daniel

near.

is

somewhat

83

5)

glosses have been

provided for your assistance.

The Poster Session:

Is

the Writing on the Wall?

Despite the global improvement in telecommunications, the size

and number of international medical conferences continue

Demand

to grow.

otic locations,

for

such meetings

is

fuelled 1

by the often

ex-

which have been made more accessible by the

increasing ease of intercontinental travel. delegates' fees

1.

Driven,

powered

As conferences grow,

and subsidies from the pharmaceutical industry

ensure that they are

now

rather profitable

and more about busi-

ness than about education or research.

Large medical meetings traditionally allow "experts" to ture large audiences

lec-

from high podiums. 2 For some reason,

probably a hangover from the over-reaching 1980s, 3

it is

2.

rather

unfashionable to attend a conference merely to learn something.

So

in

an attempt

increase revenue

creasingly

(and

new

to involve as

many people

as possible

—organising committees have come

—that

is,

to rely in-

on the poster presentation, where new research work

Impressive

and authoritative places of

delivery 3.

Something over from

left

the over-

ambitious 1980s

researchers) can be presented to smaller groups of in-

terested delegates.

There are positive aspects of poster sessions. They allow

re-

search to be presented at an earlier stage, and provide a source of feedback

which can shape the

final

work. For non-English

speaking or inexperienced researchers, posters will always be less threatening, ties to

allowing any grammatical or scientific

be ironed out 4

in advance.

difficul-

Some people would argue

that

the threshold for accepting poster abstracts should be low, on the

grounds that

it

cultures.

a rather cynical

It is

necessitates the

encourages talent from underdeveloped medical

handover of substantial amounts of money

conference registration

The main incentive of travel

—

encouragement, however, which

fees.

for

many people

—despite the

in

attractions

in presenting a poster is that the abstracts for

any

self

respecting congress will be published, usually in one of the rele-

vant specialty's more highly regarded journals. ference experience

having

less

would

My recent con-

suggest, though, that this trend

is

than beneficial effects on research and researchers.

Taken care of, smoothed away

4.

as with a laundry iron

84


At one session out of 78 poster

at the recent

World Congress

of Neurology, 24

remained vacant, the remaining

sites

sites

occupied by small audit projects, or poorly constructed, ceived and (by implication) unethical conditions stated in the original

Anyone looking for

studies.

trials,

respite

con-

or even (despite the

case

call for abstracts) single 5

being

ill

from the demands of ran-

escape

5.

Relief,

6.

Tolerate

7.

Here

domisation or control groups would have been delighted.

You might wonder why you should pay any this,

negative aspect of poster sessions the sight of6 tact

attention to

my own small uncontrolled study? Admittedly, if the only some

is

with the nervous authors, then

is

I

to bear

would accept that abolishharsh. The matter,

Automatic acceptance of abstracts

means

have

would be unnecessarily somewhat more sinister. 7

ing the sessions

however,

that delegates

rather poor science, while avoiding eye con-

for poster presentations

that unscrupulous doctors can gain citable publication

serious,

dangerous,

worrying

(and therefore academic credence) with work that might never

have been seen review.

in public, never

The potential

for

appear with eponymous 8

ments than considered be held in London.

subject to adequate peer

is

realised

when

abstracts

reading more like advertise-

titles,

I

hope

World Congress of Neurology

that there will be

some vigorous

9

vetting of the submitted abstracts, imitating those meetings

where acceptance Ideally, the

good

need

of an abstract

for

income

clinical science

conferences, though,

win once

8.

The name

will

is

an honour, not a basic

come second

right.

to the desire to see

rewarded before bad. Evidence from other

would suggest

that the profit

motive will

work the

Roget's Thesaurus.

One could envision a poster entitled

first

"God-

dard's Miracle

Cure" presented by Dr. Goddard! 9.

British

physiology, Liverpool was

part of

check-

ing, assessing

again.

on the wall? BMJ

is

title, e.g.,

—John Paul Leach, specialist registrar in neurology and neuroThis article

of

the author of a

science.

In four years' time the next will

mind

such abuse

published in the BMJ. (J. P. Leach. The poster session: Is the writing and is reproduced by permission of the BMJ.

1998; 316:157)

Task Two

Number the paragraphs of Dr.

Leach's commentary. In your view, which

paragraph contains Dr. Leach's strongest point? (See Note

2.)

Research on Display


85

own field, do you agree with Dr. Leach's rather critical assessment of posters in his own field of neurology, which could be summarized as presenting "junk work"? If not, why not? From

the perspective of your

Posters are, of course, situated in a particular time forts are continually

being

made

ing to one of our students, Jin

to

words

and

to contain

place,

and

ef-

Nam Choi, at the meetings of the American

Psychological Association, posters larger font

and

make them more prominent. Accord-

more

now have

graphics.

As

to

be printed in a

a result, the

much

number

of

available has decreased.

Task Three

A colleague has prepared her poster for a conference. She has used a large like

and given space constraints cannot include everything she would to present on the poster. She is not quite sure what else to take with

her.

Here are four options. Which would you advise? Or do you have a

font

fifth?

be a

1.

There should

2.

Interested viewers should be directed to a

at least

more complete write-up

list

of references available.

of the

work

Web

site that

that they can

contains a

download.

3.

Hard copies

4.

Interested viewers should be encouraged to provide their

of the complete paper should be available.

names and

addresses on a sign-up sheet so that they can be sent a more complete

write-up

later.

(Keep in mind a recent study that revealed presenters

follow through at best about 50 percent of the time!)

(See

Note

3.)

One problem with and

poster sessions

is

that they tend to

freely organized structure (although this

course). For example,

one poster might

have a very loose

can also be an advantage, of

attract a big

crowd, while another

might be completely ignored. One way of adding structure sions

is

to

the field

is

have

a poster review session

to poster ses-

during which a senior

member of

invited to give his or her reactions to a subset of posters at a

particular time. (The International Applied Linguistics Congress intro-

duced

this at the

1996 congress in Finland. John

was asked

to

do one

of

86

the


first

of these,

and he had

to struggle to

make

a

few comments about

each of the 24 posters in his set and to try to find connections

among

them. The authors of the posters sat on the floor in the poster area for the hour's commentary and discussion. John

do something

Do you have any experience with of

is

unsure

he'll

if

ever agree to

like this again!)

kind of forum?

this

What do you

think

it?

3.2 Poster Layouts Regardless of Dr. Leach's criticism of posters in his a

good

first

preferred

step into the conference arena.

mode of presentation by some

They

posters are often

field,

are also

sometimes the

researchers because of the ad-

vantages discussed in Task One. Thus, in the next part of will highlight a

some considerations

moment and

in poster preparation.

this unit

But

we

first,

take

your poster knowledge.

test

Task Four

Answer Y

(yes) or

posters in your

1.

The success

Compare your

results

with those of a partner.

of a poster presentation

depends on visual and

field.

personal 2.

N (no) to those statements that you think apply to

skills as

Posters should be

inter-

well as content.

modeled on the

sections of a journal article

and

include an abstract, an introduction, methods, results, discussion, a conclusion, references, and acknowledgments. 3.

Photographs, figures, diagrams, and other types of visuals should take

4.

up more space than does

the written explanation.

Posters should contain only those results that are necessary to validate your conclusions.

5.

Information in posters should be presented in newspaper style

columns so

moves 6.

that the viewer reads

from top

to

bottom

first

(in

and then

to the right).

Posters should have a lot of "white space" to limit the

reading required of the viewer.

amount

of


87

Research on Display

7.

Figures should be simplified so that the viewers can easily under-

stand them. 8.

A poster should be self-explanatory, requiring no input from the presenter.

9.

Information, except for captions, should be presented in

full

sentences.

_

10.

Some

information should be

WRITTEN IN ALL CAPITAL

LETTERS. 11.

Posters should not contain the pronouns

12.

Acronyms should be

I,

we, my, mine, or our.

spelled out in their entirety the

first

time

used.

(See

Of

Note

4.)

course, one of the major concerns in poster preparation

most

the

effective layout. Presenters

want

tention of those walking through the session. Thus, your

be readable from around 10

feet

is

determining

their posters to attract the attitle

needs to

away, and the layout needs to be appeal-

we want to devote most of our attention in this unit to language issues related to posters, we will first offer some general foring.

Although

matting suggestions.

1.

Follow the guidelines given by the conference.

2.

Arrange your information into using subheadings,

3.

Make sure tion

and

there

is

that there

4.

Clearly label

5.

Use

all

if

columns across the

poster,

necessary.

sufficient is

vertical

not too

figures

white space between blocks of informa-

much

text (use bullets).

and graphs.

a large typeface so that everything can be read

from a comfortable

distance. 6.

Use no more than two

7.

Try not to overdo the formatting. Bold, necessary.

8.

fonts throughout.

Too much fancy formatting

italicize,

and underline only

will distract

DO NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

your audience.

as

88


Task Five Figures 6 and 7 provide two pilot versions of the

Does each prefer,

of the posters

and why? What

tell its

story well?

Which

special circumstances

same poster

material.

of these versions

might

affect

do you

your decision?

From Information Transfer to Data Commentary M. Swales and C. B. Feak English Language Institute The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109

J.

Method

Abstract This paper demonstrates the need for a wider concept of data

commentary, in which a proactive and critical approach to "reading" the data is encouraged, and in which the written output provides an opportunity to demonstrate intelligence, analysis, and that elusive characteristic of "interestingness".

Under present

These texts merely repeated

policy, the

University of Michigan, like many anglophone universities around the world, re-evaluates the English ability of most new international graduate students. For the writing part of the re-evaluation two tasks are required: one a 30-minute composition based on source material and the other a data

commentary. Four student commentaries were analyzed for language and rhetorical effect

interpretations

.

.

Conclusion

EAP

writing instructors

must go beyond teaching

. .

syntax, morphology, vocabulary, and typical

.

Introduction

information that was obvious from the visual, resulting in rather flat, unimaginative writing. The stronger texts tried to offer

genre conventions and attempt to reach out to

Results

students' critical

Right from the early days of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), the use and value of incorporating technical non-verbal material in teaching texts and tasks was widely recognized (e.g., Herbert 1965). By the mid-70s the use of formulas, diagrams, graphs, and tables had become a major feature of ESP materials .

Fig.

(See

.

Scores on the commentary task ranged from a low of 63 to a high of 97 on a ten-point scale. The texts ranged in length from 51 to 105 words total. The text contained an average of five propositions .

material typically takes the form of a selective interpretive

commentary

.

.

.

Discussion The weaker,

Writing

accompanying nonverbal

References Herbert, A. 1965. The

less successful texts

on a simple information transfer (IT) approach. clearly relied

Structure of Technical English. London: Longman.

6

Note

There

is

5.)

considerable variation within and across disciplines with regard

to poster presentation.

poster session that

we

For example, in a Department of Molecular Biology attended, most but not

an introduction, methods,

results, discussion,

all

posters

had an

abstract,

and a conclusion. Other

had an introduction, a problem statement, a description of a soluand a conclusion. Still others began with an introduction, which was

posters tion,

intelligence.

.

.

Research on Display


89

From Information Transfer to Data Commentary J.M. Swales and C.B. Feak English Language Institute University of Michigan Ann Arbor. MI 48109

What problems arise in student DCs?

What is Data Commentary (DO?

What can we do? 1.

Traditionally DC = a process of information

obvious

transfer. failure to point out

2.

Beyond the elementary levels,

however,

the really

DC

2.

3.

a)

take a critical view of the data

b)

not repeat the obvious

3.

lack of discussion

4.

failure to discuss

5. c)

allow a writer to

We must attempt to reach out to their critical intelligence.

interesting features of the data

should:

We must go beyond helping students with syntax, morphology, vocabulary, and typical genre conventions.

repetition of the

1.

We can help

students understand the cognitive aspects of a DC through:

anomalous data

a)

analysis of DCs written by expert writers

lack of commentary on the data

b)

prompting students' thinking with questions as they examine texts

c)

discussing alternatives to the choices made in the expert

demonstrate intelligence,

lack of appropriate

6.

vocabulary

reveal analytical ability,

and

capture that elusive quality of

texts

"interestingness." 2.

DCs

will

vary across

a)

Engineering

b)

Computer Science

Fig.

.

.

.

Sample Exercises

Sample Papers

and within disciplines and journals

—

-

-

-

-

-

-

.

7

then followed by objectives and a description of the study. Some posters were very dense in terms of written text, consisting of full sentences (like figure

6),

while others had a

tence fragments (like figure

Because of

lot of

white space, bulleted

lists,

this stylistic variation

within and across

fields,

cult to address all of the

language issues that might arise

tion of a poster. Instead,

we have chosen

of reduction

and sen-

7).

to focus

it is

diffi-

in the prepara-

mainly on various kinds

—or ways of saving words. These reductions may also be of

use in other genres, such as in instructional manuals and other kinds of documentation.

90

English


in

Task Six

With a partner look over the process presented in a poster given statistics

treme the

conference

left

and

(fig. 8).

right?

What do you

And how

is this

notice about the text

different

at a bio-

on the

ex-

from the language toward

bottom of the main box?

(See

Note

6.)

3.3 Types of

Words

are at a

stracts.

One

premium

Compressed Language

in posters

—perhaps even more so than in ab-

Conciseness, compression, and clarity are compelling virtues. to achieve conciseness in

academic and

noun compounding. Noun compounds

in English are

of the principal devices

technical English

is

used

always "unpacked" from the a type of

right. So, a shoe factory site

announcement

announcement and a computerized weather observation

is

station is a

kind of station.

Look

at the following

Underline the

1.

The Use

two

titles,

the

first

from the preceding

poster.

compound nouns.

of Edit-Query Tables as a Database

Management

Tool in

Clinical Trials 2.

Predicting Nitrate-Nitrogen and Atrazine Contamination in the

High

Plains Aquifer in Nebraska

Some

languages, of course, do not unpack from the right. Speakers of

these languages have to be especially careful in processing English

pound noun

structures.

The amount of noun compounding sider that the

that

is

appropriate

is

a

complex issue

between compression and comprehension. Con-

that involves a trade-off

3.

above two

titles

could have also taken the following forms.

Edit-Query Table Utilization as a Clinical

Trial

Database Management

Tool 4.

com-

Predicting Nebraska

High

Atrazine Contamination

Plains Aquifer Nitrate-Nitrogen

and

1

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92


Alternatively, the titles could

5.

The Use

have been

Managing Databases

of Edit-Query Tables as a Tool for

in

Clinical Trials 6.

Predicting Contamination

High

by Nitrate-Nitrogen and by Atrazine

in the

Plains Aquifer in Nebraska

Which of the three title variations would you And why? (See Note 7.)

prefer to have written?

Compression into noun compounding removes

certain prepositional

and

verbal information from the linguistic surface. The presenter thus assumes that the reader can

work out the

These relationships can in

word compound,

as

fact

shown

relationships

among

the various elements.

be surprisingly variable, even in just a two-

in the next task.

Task Seven Explain the meaning of the following.

1.

an

2.

the oil industry

oil

tanker

3.

an

oil

heater

4.

an

oil

can

5.

oil

pollution

One the

on compounding

constraint

is

that

sometimes

NOUN + of + NOUN structure because

from the compound

it

has a difference in meaning

different in

a pipeline

a line of pipes

2.

a ink bottle

a bottle of ink

3.

a

4.

a cornfield

a field of corn

5.

a pencil case

a case of pencils

(See

book

Note

collection

8.)

to preserve

alternative.

Are the following pairs of phrases the same or 1

we need

a collection of

books

meaning?


93

Research on Display

Now take a look at another poster (fig. 9 on page 94)

that

was prepared by

one of our former students, Chia-ho Hua, for presentation at a biomedical engineering conference. You will probably notice that the subheadings

noun phrases rather than full sentences or questions (except for the first and final two subheadings). Why is this desirable? Do you notice any grammatical elements missing from the noun phrases? What are they?

consist of

(See

Note

9.)

Notice the amount of white space and text to be read. Does right?

Too much? Too

it

seem about

little?

Language Focus: Gapping Gapping

is

the deletion of certain elements in your text to achieve smooth-

ness or conciseness. Instances of gapping can be seen in

titles

(legends)

or captions, as in Results from First Experiment or Imperfections Found.

Gapping

is

common feature of written instructions, as in Remove

also a

Gapping is also English and can be

cap with care or Flip support foot out until in locked position.

found

in

everyday prose. Gapping

common in

is

achieved in different ways. For instance, an element can be omitted, as in the first option below, rather than repeated, as in the second.

a.

The

tides rise

and

The

tides rise

and the

fall

because of the influence of the moon. tides fall

because of the influence of the moon.

Within the noun phrase b. All of the

boys and

All of the boys

and

girls all

were observed while completing the

of the girls

were observed while completing the

task.

It

c.

can also occur with complements. Collect questionnaires

and

Collect the questionnaires

file in

and

task.

project office.

file

them

in the project office.

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95

Research on Display

Within the verb phrase

d.

The score reports were checked and mailed

to the candidates.

The score reports were checked, and they were

later

mailed

to the

candidates.

Note, however, that compressed language of

all

kinds can also lead to

ambiguity and confusion, even to unintended humor.

Task Eight

Can you 1.

explain the ambiguities in the following?

Shake before drinking,

and

(a fairly

common instruction for bottled juices

liquid medicines)

come with bread and soup

or salad.

2.

All entrees

3.

Visiting relatives can be boring.

4.

He

5.

All the old

6.

The accused was observed with binoculars.

7.

Two cars were

8.

Heat the Orion

(See

decided on the boat.

Note

men and women were examined

first.

reported stolen by the local police. solution.

Cool by bathing

in (40° F) water.

10.)

Task Nine

Rank the four alternatives from most preferred to least preferred. Why did you rank them as you did? What title for this poster might you want to suggest? Here are four

1.

stylistic variations for the

opening of a

poster.

This study provides an analysis of camel herders in Kazakhstan flocks graze the launch site of the International Space Station

poses a plan for relocating them to other nearby areas.

whose

and pro-

96

2.


This study provides: a.

an analysis of camel herders launch

b.

site of

in

Kazakhstan whose flocks graze the

the International Space Station;

and proposes

a plan for relocating the

camel herds

to other

nearby

areas.

3.

This study: a.

provides an analysis of camel herders in Kazakhstan whose flocks graze the launch

site of the International

Space Station; and pro-

poses a plan for relocating the camel herds to other nearby areas.

4.

What does a.

launch b.

(See

this

study offer?

An analysis of camel herders in Kazakhstan whose flocks graze the site of the International

Space Station.

A proposal for relocating the camel herds to other nearby areas. Note

11.)

3.4 Captions

Gapping and other kinds of compression are close to inevitable when you are writing captions or titles for your figures, charts, graphs, tables, and other nonverbal material. Elements that would be required in academic prose, such as articles, prepositions, and modal verbs, may well be omitted.

Task Ten

What has been gapped

in the following captions? In other

might these look

they were part of a regular sentence?

like

if

words, what

nitrogen level

1.

Fig. 1. Predicted

2.

Fig. 2. Relationship

3.

Fig. 3. Theoretical

4.

Fig. 4.

Mean number

5.

Fig. 5.

Raw experimental

between assembly hours and output

model of attributes accurately recalled

data obtained

Research on Display


97

6.

Fig. 6. Predicted atrazine concentration

7.

Fig. 7.

Overview

8.

Fig. 8.

Seismic activity Mt. Pinatubo 1950-1998

Fig. 9.

Postdiscussion scores as function of interactive goal and sub-

9.

gender

ject

10. Fig. 10.

Note

(See

of previous research

Perceptions of kinds of help by institution

12.)

Task Eleven

The captions

With a partner

that follow are written in full sentences.

"gap" them in order

1.

Figure 2 provides the results from the simulation.

2.

Below are some sketches of the formation of the flower

3.

try to

to save space.

instability that

we have found

thus

Figure 1 shows power plants.

the percentage of electricity obtained from nuclear

far.

provides the amount of radiation absorbed after treatments.

4.

Table

5.

Figure 4 shows the change in film thickness over time.

6.

Figure 5 shows the ion spectra that were obtained from a boron

1

trichloride discharge. 7.

The

figure provides

there 8.

had been no

Figure 6 shows a hydrophone mooring that

NE Pacific in 9.

an estimate of natural vegetation variation

10. In

soil that

has been contaminated by

being deployed in the

oil

and are used

to clean

fuel.

Figure 8 you can see the emerging technologies compared for the

United States and Japan. (See

is

1995.

Figure 10 shows the kinds of bacteria that eat

up

if

fire.

Note

13.)

98


Further Notes on the Technical Noun Phrase

3 5 .

we will briefly review some of the complexities in the grammar of the technical noun phrase. These include problematic cases of noun status (uncountable or countable; exceptions to the rule that noun modifiers lose their plurals; and finally, some discussion of academic names in research texts). In this section,

Tricky

Cases

of

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

The basic grammatical

rules are clear

and are

typically learned

by non-

native speakers of English fairly early in their acquisition of the language.

Countable nouns can take the indefinite pluralize; uncountables for

which

bunch

of

in other

is

which

words

do

article in the singular

neither. Students

(e.g., dollars vs.

more

or less

and can

know the rules

money). Tricky standard cases are a

that are noncountable in English but can

be countable

(European) languages. Prime suspects here are information,

machinery, training, equipment, furniture.

But beyond

that, there

can be changes from uncountable to countable

status in the types of highly technical professional

communication that

occur in research writing.

Here are some examples. Can you think of one more, especially from your

own

field?

Write

it

in the space provided.

Among agriculturalists: grasses, wheats, soils Among chemists: sugars, starches, oils Among metallurgists: steels Among psychologists: behaviors, treatments Among linguists: grammars .

.

.

we can at least partly

ward language compression.

.

.

.

.

.

Clearly,

.

.

phenomenon as a move tomore economical and more technical to

see the above It is

write "grasses" rather than "several types of grasses" or "several species of grasses."

Now for some of the most important special cases.

Research on Display


99

Work

Work

is

usually uncountable ("He does good work"; "Previous

this topic is unsatisfactory").

However,

it

work on

becomes countable when

it

refers to individual creations, particularly of a creative nature.

The Collected Works of Shakespeare

She

is

There

interested in classical

is

works

of art.

also the old phrase good works,

"charitable activities," although

which

Finally, there are signs that the traditionally

becoming countable on United

is still

sometimes today

in

used

to refer to

an ironic manner.

uncountable homework

is

States campuses.

There will be eight homeworks in

this class.

Resea rch/Resea rches

At present,

research

remains an uncountable noun, although

it is

quite

commonly used by normative speakers as a countable noun (a research / researches). One reason of course is that its equivalent easily pluralizes in many (European) languages. Whether normative speaker pressure and pressure for conciseness ("researches" as opposed to "pieces of research") will cause a gradual tion. (See

Note

change

in its status is

an open but interesting ques-

14.)

Data

This

is

currently the

most uncertain

case. Historically, of course, data is

plural, being the Latin plural of the Latin

very rare now, even in

its last

word

datum. However, datum

stronghold, philosophy. So, should

and say "This data" or "These data"?

"The data

is" or

"The data are"?

A recent British study shows the following. 1.

In research articles, data tends to be plural.

2.

In scientific journalism, data can be either singular or plural.

3.

In quality (British) newspapers, data tends to

be singular.

is

we write

100

4.


Data in

its

traditional sense of information tends to plural, but in

newer sense (See

Note

of

computer bytes

it

its

tends to the singular.

15.)

Exceptions to the Rule that Noun Modifiers Lose Their Plurals

A very powerful rule in English (a "robust" one, as the engineers might say)

is

that modifiers, like all adjectives, are invariable.

"A generator

of

pulses" thus becomes a "pulse generator." But, as usual, there are exceptions.

One we have

already seen in Section 3.3

is

"High Plains Aquifer."

Here are some more. Civil rights legislation

A means test (cf. a mean — unkind— test!) Communication skills courses (cf. a single Industrial and operations engineering A manuals survey (cf. a manual survey)

skill

course)

A public works department

A family values program Materials science

(cf.

material assistance)

The Student Activities Building

(cf.

a police activity report)

We can find fairly reasonable explanations for most of these (except perhaps the

last).

The

loss of the plural could lead to

ambiguity between noun and

adjective {right, mean, manual, material) or to ambiguity about the (i.e.,

noun

"a fellowship committee" might be one established to create good

fellowship or friendliness

among

a group).

We could also see that these

exceptions seem to be mainly used with "official" or "titular" entities.

Task Twelve

Here are three more exceptions plurals. Explanations?

to the rule that

Examples from your

noun modifiers

lose their

field?

2.

A systems approach is widely used in modern management. A new administrative programs director has recently been appointed.

3.

The Graduate Library has an extensive

1.

(See

Note

16.)

serials collection.


101

Research on Display

More on Names

Names texts.

in

Academic Texts

of previous scholars

They

and researchers occur frequently

in sentences, in parentheses, in footnotes or in in lists of references

Certain

can

call

in

academic

can occur in association with quotations, as subjects or agents

names become

named

endnotes, and consolidated

and bibliographies. established as identification devices. These

modifiers. Recall the title of

we

Chia-ho's poster: "Decoding

Camera Using Uniform Crameritalicized sections, he uses two

Penalty Calculation for a Ring Compton

Rao Bound." As you can see from the two

named Named

modifiers in this

title.

Modifiers

In technical fields, the use of a person's as a modifier

is

a

name

names

(or the

common identification device.

(Doubtless

honor, priority, and reputation on the so-named people.) arises,

of it

two people)

also bestows

A question

however, as to the use of a possessive genitive (Boyle's law) as

opposed

to a modifier (the

least tendencies that

it

Compton

effect).

might be useful

to

Are there

know

rules here?

Or

at

about?

Task Thirteen Consider

this

data

set.

method

1.

a Geiger counter

11.

the Liebig

2.

the Stefan-Boltzmann law

12.

Ohm's law

3.

Avogadro's hypothesis

13.

a

4.

the Kelvin scale

14.

Hinsberg's method

5.

Lincoln's sparrow

15.

Hodgkins' disease

6.

Kiliani's reaction

16. the

7.

Fermatt's last theorem

17.

Spearman's rank order

18. a

8.

correlation 9.

10.

Scheffe's S

Rorschach

test

Schumacker-Levy comet

Fourier transforms

Tukey-Duckworth two-sample

test

method

the Fischer-Tropsch process

19. Clarke's gazelle

20. a

Dewar

flask

102

Can you now add up


English

in

to five

more from your own

field?

21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

It is

from the data that "double (hyphenated) names" (examples 2, and 18) always (or nearly always) take the modifier form. But what

clear

10, 16,

about the single names? What kinds of explanations occur to you? Can

you form Adjectival

a rule that will account for (most of) the data? (See

Note

17.)

Names

Perhaps one of the searcher's

name

that individual's

final stages of recognition is for a scholar's or re-

become an adjective. Doubtless the final stage is when work becomes assimilated into general knowledge!

to

Task Fourteen

Here

is

a scrambled

list

of adjectival

names and

them up? 1.

Euclidean

2.

Newtonian

B.

3.

Bayesian

C. biology

4.

Chomskyan

D. cultural theory

5.

Skinnerian

E.

geometry

6.

Aristotelian

F.

statistics

7.

Foucaultian

G. physics

8.

Keynesian

H. linguistics

9.

Darwinian

I.

psychology

Durkheimian

J.

economics

10.

(See

Note

18.)

A. ethics sociology

fields.

Can you match

Research on Display

Often such people


103

are, in Foucault's term, founders of discursivity; in other '

words they changed the way we think and write about their own specialized worlds. In consequence, these "naming" adjectives can also take the prefixes pre-

and

post-, as in

Pre-Linnaean botanical descriptions Post-Bloomfieldian linguistics

Post-Keynesian economic theories

Pre-Durkheimian

social theory

What named adjectives are common in your "labels" come easily to you in your writing?

field?

Does using such

Task Fifteen

You have two options

here.

Produce your

own poster or with a partner or

partners, present the following research in a poster format, completing

the following subtasks.

Using the information below, along with figures 10-13, make a miniature version of the poster (as on p. 89) to submit as a group.

Work

in

two

stages.

Thinking and Planning

1.

Create a

2.

Decide

3.

Determine your sections and decide on section headings.

4.

Photocopy the charts given.

5.

Create suitable captions.

6.

Consider the content. What information should be included?

7.

Consider what elements can be gapped.

Putting

It

title.

how and where

to list "author"

names and

institutions.

All Together

8.

Decide on fonts and font

9.

Print and then cut apart the various sections you can experiment with your layout.

sizes.

of your poster so that

104

10.


Put the

final

layout together and then try photocopying

reduced size so that Information to •

all

of your poster

is

on one

it

at a

sheet.

Work With

Computer models used by traffic planners studying the impact of road closures assume that closing one main road will cause traffic to shift to another, thus causing traffic congestion.

•

Automobile use

is

increasing day

by

day. People prefer using their

own

vehicles to using public transportation. •

The research presented here

is

a small part of a larger project investi-

gating the impact of road closures.

Our

research focuses on changes in

road use habits as revealed through questionnaires of drivers affected

by or about

to

be affected by road closures. This poster presents the

results of this questionnaire. •

From 1997

to

2000

we

analyzed five cases each in London

over 7 million), Amsterdam

city of

Boston

(a city in

North American project

European

city of

the United States of over 500,000), city of

derwent a reduction

Twenty

(a

(a

European

over 700,000),

and Mexico City

(a

over 8 million) where roads were closed or un-

in their ability to carry traffic

members administered

due

to

road repairs.

questionnaires to 250 users of

roads in each of the 20 cases (pre- and postclosure) to determine

how

the road closure affected their driving. •

The roads

that

were closed carried an average

of 30,000 vehicles

(e.g.,

passenger cars, buses, trucks) a day (A Roads). The roads to which traffic

was

anticipated to shift carried an average of 17,000 per

day

(B Roads). •

Postclosure or reduction,

per day

(for

A Roads carried no or fewer than 200 vehicles

roads that permitted some

gency vehicles [ambulances and increase in traffic but ried •

little

or

traffic

fire trucks]).

no congestion

such as buses or emer-

B Roads experienced an

postclosure.

B Roads

car-

an average of 39,000 vehicles per day.

After they were reopened hicles per day.

B Roads

A Roads carried approximately 23,000 ve-

carried approximately 21,500 vehicles per day.

How

Fig. 10.

people traveled the A roads before closure

J Used own

or

commercial vehicle

I

Used

public transportation

~|

Rode

bicycle

This figure

How

Fig. 11.

^^k

\ This figure

people traveled the

B roads

8%

reproducible.

before closure

J

Used own

~|

Used


~|

Rode

bicycle

or

commercial vehicle

80%

is

reproducible.

How

Fig. 12.

people traveled the

A

roads after they were reopened

J "1

/

9%

^B

\

1

60%

This figure

is

is

reproducible.

/

Used own or commercial vehicle Used


Rode

bicycle

No

longer used road

106


How

Fig. 13.

people traveled the

B roads

^S^ This figure

is

were reopened

"1

Used own

B

Used


~|

Rode

bicycle

1 No

or

commercial vehicle

longer used road

/

65%

\^

after they

reproducible.

3.6 Etiquette Congratulations! Your poster

was

on "the Day"

accepted.

You have decided,

as consid-

ered in Task Three, what extra materials you might take. You also have

packed a few spare stationery items such as tape and

some other

pins.

things to think about. Everybody seems to

Now there are

want

to give

you

advice.

Task Sixteen

Here are some of those suggestions. Do you think each

bad (N) piece 1.

It's

a

good

(Y) or a

very easy to put posters up and take them down, so arrive in

the poster session area a

few minutes before your session

You can spend the time better by going That way you won't be so nervous as well. start.

2.

is

of advice?

is

due

to

to presentations.

Have a good supply of business cards visible, so people can pick them up if they want to. Don't force your cards on passersby, however.

3.

Have a list where those interested names and e-mail addresses.

in

your work can give you

their

Research on Display

4.

Wear your most formal


clothes. This

107

makes you look more

professional. 5.

Focus on your

happening 6.

at

own situation and

don't be distracted by what

is

nearby posters.

up conversations with the other poster presenters near you. This will help you relax and can help pass the time if things are Strike

slow. 7.

Bring something to do during the poster session in case few

viewers come by. 8.

Approach viewers

9.

Consider viewers of your poster to be valuable resources and seek their input

10.

your poster

to see

if

they have any questions.

on your work.

Don't wander away from your poster (except in an emergency).

Murphy's law (See

of

Note

will guarantee that

you

will miss the

key encounter.

19.)

Task Seventeen Further congratulations! Your poster

What might you 1.

"This really

2.

"Haven't

3.

"I

know

sion 4.

is

I

is

is

attracting quite a lot of attention.

say in response to the following?

an outstanding poster; I'm

really impressed."

seen this poster before somewhere?"

that

you don't

get

much space

for

your poster, but

my impres-

that the data looks pretty thin."

"Have you read

's

latest

paper in

don't see any references to the

work

of our research group."

journal?" 5.

"I

6.

"How do

(See

Note

I

20.)

quote your work?"

108


3.7 Notes

Note

1

and Comments for Unit Three

(sample responses for Task One)

Other advantages: They allow the "presenter" the level of expertise of the inquirer; they in

to adjust his or

do not require such

spoken English; and they do not exert such a

toll

Disadvantages: Lack of space to do your research

on the nerves.

full justice;

potential embarrassments as people pass your poster


for

her explanations to a high level of skill

no captive audience;

by with

a brief look.

Task Two)

There are a number of candidate paragraphs, but to us the strongest criticism

paragraph

that expressed in

Note 3 (sample response In discussions with

Indeed,

it

for

Task Three)

our class participants,

all

four strategies have their supporters.

appears that experienced poster presenters have experimented

time or another with most of these arrangements. Option

and the most

risky.

the other hand,

.

.

is

7.

Maybe you

will

have

c is the

at

one

most expensive

lots of extra copies to carry

home!

On

.


Task Four)

for

Many of our reactions are given in the suggestions that follow. If the conventions of your field permit it, we see nothing wrong with using we for a multi-authored poster, especially as

it

might save some words (point

acronyms probably depends on how specialized you be. For a

first

tences,

version

is

to spell

out

your audience

to

white space,

Task Five)

for

boxed and captioned

which are hard

to follow

merical data looks rather its lists, its

lost.

clear

illustrative material at the is

The need

anticipate

narrow-focus gathering of experts, probably not.


The

11).

like a

minipaper.

It is

written in

full

sen-

given the narrowness of the columns. The nu-

The second version

is

much

"snappier" with

its

sequence of bolded questions along the top, and

bottom.

We have

a "better" poster in layout terms.

little

doubt

that the

its

second version

.

Research on Display


for

is. It

a definition

but with a colon rather than the

then gives three advantages in bullet format, using a

passives. In the rightmost

column we

acronyms and abbreviations

109

Task Six)

The leftmost column opens with

word


("info,"

find a

"msg,"

summary

Note the

etc.)-

fair

number

of the records with

the bottom right-hand corner ("Problems Handled, But

of

many

interesting element at

Not Shown"). The four

sentences along the bottom have a very nice parallelism. Notice

how

the active

verbs in the present tense give a lively impression of the processes at work.


Compound is

an

and

As

2).

may be a Note

nouns: Edit-Query Tables; Database Management Tool ("clinical"

adjective); Nitrate-Nitrogen

Aquifer. (1

to poster title questions)

and Atrazine Contamination; High Plains

for the stylistic choices,

and 4

Alternatives 3 little

we have

overcompressed, while 5 and 6

"loose."

8 (sample responses for Task Seven)

1

a tanker designed to carry oil

2.

the industry that extracts, refines,

3.

a heater that

4.

a

5.

pollution caused by

1.

a slight preference for the originals

strike us being a bit

burns

can used to contain

"A pipeline"

is

and

sells oil

products

oil

oil

oil.

a line of

See what

we mean!

connected pipes; "a

pipes" will usually be

line of

interpreted as separate pipes that are not yet connected. 2.

"An

3.

These two are

may be empty,

ink bottle"

close,

but "a book collection" looks

"A cornfield"

is

a field

planned and orga-

haphazard heap.

used for growing corn (but which

may now be har-

vested), while "a field of corn" 5.

like a

might be more

like a

nized accumulation, while the 4.

"a bottle of ink" not.

Similarly, "a case of pencils"

latter

must have corn

in

needs some pencils

it.

in

it.

Note 9

The noun phrases convey the message an,

and

the are the

and subheadings.

in a quick

and

efficient

most obvious missing elements, which

is

manner. Articles

typical in headings

a,

110



Do you

2.

Is it

for

Task Eight)

shake the bottle or do you shake yourself?!

"with either bread and soup or with salad" or

is it

"with bread and either

soup or salad"? "relatives

Is it

3.

who visit you,"

former case,

it

would

ing relatives

is

boring."

or

is it

4.

"He decided on which boat to buy"

5.

Is it all

6.

Was

the

women

(of

"relatives

whom you go to visit"? In the

be "visiting relatives are boring"

and

in the latter "visit-

"He made a decision while on the boat"?

or

any age) or only the old women?

the accused observed wearing /carrying binoculars, or did

somebody

observe the accused through binoculars? 7.

Did the

8.

Is

Note

The

do the reporting or do the

local police

stealing?

the solution or the experimenter cooled in the water?!

11

full

(sample responses for Task Nine) sentence in

Variation 2

is

1

sensible

will look long

and quite

and awkward

if

shown

but there

is

a

discreet,

in

column format.

minor problem with

paral-

lelism (see 4 below). Variation 3 has too short a stem ("This study:"). Variation 4 is

attention getting (too

much

so?),

and the opening noun phrase

posal") corrects the lack of parallelism in


for

in

b ("A pro-

2.

Task Ten)

1.

the predicted nitrogen level

2.

the relationship between assembly hours

3.

a or the theoretical

and output

model

4.

the

mean number

5.

the

raw experimental data

6.

the predicted atrazine concentration

7.

an overview of previous research

of attributes that

which was accurately

recalled

were obtained

on Mt. Pinatubo 1950-1998

8.

the seismic activity

9.

postdiscussion scores as a function of interactive goal and subject gender

10.

the perceptions of different kinds of help as arranged


by the type of institution

for Task Eleven)

Simulation results

1.

Fig. 2.

2.

(below) Sketches of flower instability formation found to date

3.

Fig.

1.

Percent of electricity from nuclear

power

plants

Research on Display

4.

Table

1.


Post-treatment amounts of absorbed radiation

Film thickness changes over time

5.

Fig. 4.

6.

Fig. 5. Ion spectra

7.

Estimate of natural vegetation variation (no-fire condition)

from

Deployment

of

boron trichloride discharge

a

hydrophone mooring (NE

8.

Fig. 6.

9.

Fig 10. Oil-eating and soil-cleaning bacteria

10.

Fig

8.

111

Comparison

of

emerging technologies

Pacific, 1995)

in U.S.

and Japan

Note 14 There

is

one example of countable

hundred examples of

research in the

MICASE

data, out of about a

head noun.

research as a

in terms of actually being a research that goes

beyond the educational classroom

Note 15

The MICASE data is/are

(?!)

interesting in this regard. There

is

about a

2:1 prefer-

ence for the uncountable. Compare the following statements.

la.

The

lb.

That data

lc.

They take the

data's

2a. If you're

gonna be

introspective.

is still sitting

data,

there waiting to go into the code.

and they analyze

way.

in a particular

going to approach any kind of analysis of these data in a rigorous

way, you have to follow the 2b.

The data

2c.

Do your data

What do you

it

rules.

are a lot better than

some

you

really allow

others.

to say that?

think are the preferences in the written English of your field?

How does your professor/advisor use data? Do you

hear countable or uncountable uses in academic talk?


for

Task Twelve)

Systems as in systems management has developed a special meaning that requires the preservation of the in a

2.

Since there lar

3.

more general is

s.

Compare

system failure

,

where system

is

used

sense.

presumably a range of administrative programs, using the singu-

would probably cause some ambiguity.

Similarly, there

become

might be an ambiguity with

a well-established

word

serial collection;

in library science.

also serials has

112



for

Task Thirteen)

A useful rule of thumb here is to ask whether the named phenomenon was invented or discovered. So discovered items, such as animals, diseases, and laws of nature, tend to take the possessive form. Invented items, instruments,

are

more

problems, particularly with regard to methods


E (geometry)

ogy)

G

2.

A (ethics)

6.

for

(9, 11, 14).

Task Fourteen)

(physics)

3.

F

H (linguistics)

(statistics) 4.

D (cultural theory)

7.

and so on,

nominal form. Admittedly, there are some residual

likely to take the

8.

J

(economics)

9.

C

5.

I

(psychol-

(biology) 10.

B

(sociology)


Not

a

good piece

for

Task Sixteen)

of advice.

Check out

the location well ahead of time

assemble your poster well ahead of time. That

minute

Yes, this

3.

It's

a

4.

and

avoid any

last-

crises.

2.

tion

way you will

is

sensible advice.

good idea

to think

ahead and plan

how you might collect such

from viewers. Getting a business card would be the

This might be right in

informa-

easiest.

some circumstances but by no means

in

all.

Get some

further advice from a colleague. 5

and

6.

7.

Not

8.

If

a

It

may depend somewhat on your personality, but we prefer 6

good idea

someone looks

you might want

like they

to

would

9.

like to talk to

approach him or

viewers, unless one of them ally, if

to 5.

is

her.

you but seems

a bit shy, then

We think it's best to not approach

someone you

viewers want to talk with you, they

really

would

like to meet.

Usu-

will.

You never know who might come to look at your poster. If someone whose work you respect is viewing your poster, you may want to seek his or her input.

10. Yes.

Because of

fessor she

this

one of John's Ph.D. students missed meeting the one pro-

most wanted


Compliments ful

to

for

meet

in the world.

Task Seventeen)

are nice to receive but for

most of us hard

"Thank you very much; I'm glad you

like it" will

to deal with.

A grace-

probably work OK.

— the Conference Poster

113

Research on Display

2.

Uh-oh.

you have shown

If

"You're right;

I

had

a trial

this poster before,

run with

politely question the speaker since

you might very well need 3.

"Well, as

you know,

Even

if

this is

the speaker

me a 5.

is

know

may have

he or she

seen some

work

If

not,

that

about.

detail

from

my handout?"

an implied criticism (which

it

may

or

may not be), assume

trying to be helpful. "No, that sounds interesting.

reference or

it.

at the regional conference in ..."

there are considerable space restrictions for these posters.

Can I show you more 4.

to

it

you might as well admit

tell

me a

little

about

Another "uh-oh." Of course express

Can you

that

give

it?"

interest,

even

if

the

work

strikes

you as

outside your direct interest. 6.

This

is

up

to

you or perhaps up

to

your advisor.

fully the poster is abstracted in the conference

It

may

also

handbook.

depend on how

Unit Four

The

Literature

Review

VJH

Review

Reference to prior literature writing.

work

Lif e rcxtu.re

of +ke

is

a defining feature of scholarly

Such references enable you

—and that of your colleagues,

to if

demonstrate

any

earlier publications. In effect, successful

on ing

situating current is

work within

and research

how your current

—builds upon or deviates from

academic writing depends

in part

a larger disciplinary context. This situat-

once again an aspect of graduate /junior researcher positioning.

114

115

The Literature Review

In this unit

we will cover the

following areas.

4.1.

Types and Characteristics of Literature Reviews (LR)

4.2.

Organizing the Literature: Creating an Architecture

4.3.

Citations

4.4.

Paraphrase and Evaluation

4.5.


4.6.

Notes and Comments

for Unit

4.1 Types

Four

and Characteristics

of Literature Reviews

A review of the literature can serve numerous functions, but literature reviews (LRs)

1.

two basic

into

types:

a survey article (sometimes called a "review article" or a "state-of-the art" paper)

2.

fall

and

a literature review as part of a research paper, proposal, thesis, or dissertation.

Survey

and

articles are typically written

researchers, often

by

invitation.

We will not be dealing with this course

much can be

describe,

by senior and well-known scholars These LRs can be highly prestigious.

type of

LR in this chapter, although of how the "experts" sort, survey,

learned from seeing

and evaluate aspects of the

literature in

your

field.

A literature review that forms part of a research paper, proposal, thesis, or dissertation

1.

It

may be

may

a separate, independent section, a part of a chapter, or an

entire chapter,

something 2. 3.

occur in one of three forms.

which

is

likely called

"A Review

of the Literature" or

like that.

It

may be

incorporated more organically into the wider

It

may be

integrated throughout the whole

comparison and evaluation

arises.

work

as the

text.

need

for

116


Task One There

considerable debate about the advantages and disadvantages of

is

these three approaches.

1

Would one

How would you answer the following questions?

of the forms be preferred over the others for a thesis or

dissertation in your field? 2.

What

3.

Would

is

your

different considerations as to

article? If so,

(See

Note

own preference? form have

to

be

made

1.)

The LR as part

of a research paper, proposal, thesis, or dissertation

ten thought of as being a boring but necessary chore. criticized (see

Unit Five) but are rarely praised. After

comments such

as

"The most

brilliant part of

your

all,

thesis

fact,

we know of only one

one rarely hears

was

the litera-

be conservative

really experimental

by a graduate student. This occurs Chapter Two of Malcolm Ashmore's 1985 doctoral dissertation from

and as

and substance. In

is of-

Such LRs are often

ture review"! This kind of literature review also tends to in style

for a journal

what might these be?

original literature review written

the University of York (United Kingdom), subsequently published virtually

unchanged by

the University of Chicago Press. (Note 2 contains

more

information on Ashmore,

if you are interested.) As you may already have experienced, advisors,

supervisors,

and

se-

nior scholars are often not as sympathetic as they might be to the efforts of

newcomers

to the field,

such as graduate students, to construct

reviews. "Old hands" conveniently forget that they have certain bodies of literature over

many years,

literature

grown up with

indeed perhaps decades.

They have a firm sense of how the research has evolved over time and have very possibly contributed themselves to that evolution. They may have forgotten what close to

it.

it

takes to start from the beginning or

somewhat

117


Task Two

Check your

literature

review knowledge.

would seem

to the items that

to

Make a check mark

(/) next

apply to your writing situation, that

whether you are writing something

is,

for publication or preparing the liter-

ature review for your thesis or dissertation.

1.

The preparation

of a literature review

is

a three-step process:

finding the relevant literature, reading, and then writing

up

the

review. 2.

Your

literature

review should be as long as possible to persuade

your reader that you have read very widely. 3.

You need your

4.

to include all of the previous research that relates to

topic.

You can

safely ignore literature that

is

not directly related to your

topic. 5.

Your

literature

review

is

important because

the findings, theory, or analysis that

you

it

demonstrates that

will present are a contri-

bution to a cumulative process. 6.

Your

literature

review needs to explain clearly which potential

areas for inclusion have not been covered in the review

and why

they have been omitted. 7.

Your

literature

versies within

review should discuss problems and /or contro-

your

field.

8.

Your

literature

review should be presented in chronological order.

9.

Your

literature

review can help you discover conceptual traditions

and frameworks used 10.

Your

literature

to

examine problems.

review should focus on very recent publications

because they are likely the most relevant. 11.

12.

literature

of research.

In your literature review of

(See

review should help you reveal gaps in the existing

Your

body

Note

work 3.)

included.

you should

critically

evaluate each piece

118


LR is

Writing an

a hybrid act of literacy in that the

both a reader and a writer. create your

your

own

own new

You

text, a

research story that sets

difficult

person

to

be

in order to

up your discussion

of

research. Perhaps the following analogy will explain this point.

group conversation, somebody may

In a

happened

LR requires you

by others

are reading texts

to

him

time at

tell

a story of something that

someone else), say, a story about having a Customs. At the end of this story, it is likely that another or her (or

may begin to

tell

another

story.

second story must

This

The

second-storying to discourse analysts.

phenomenon

first

somehow be connected

is

point to note

to the

first.

known is

as

that this

In the case of our

example, the second story could be yet another story about a

difficult

Customs experience. The second point is that for the second story to "succeed" it must go beyond the first one in some way; for example, the second story should describe an even more difficult time than the first one did.

ond

story to

fully

to

We can now see that you, the researcher, have, in essence, a tell after

your

story

—the LR. This

be constructed so that the second story both

and goes beyond the

first

first

story

must

sec-

care-

thematically related

is

one.

unit, we address issues in the production of LR partly through three case studies, the first one created by us using

In this

an

first

and the following

our experiences with graduate students and the

last

two based on

actual

cases.

4.2 Organizing the Literature:

Creating an Architecture Fulan A. Fulani dissertation

is

writing his prospectus. The proposed topic for his

is

A Formative Evaluation of Current Problems in Engineering Education He

is

now at work on the literature review. He has divided this into six He has reached Section Five, which deals with the teaching of

sections.

communication

skills to

He has managed

engineers.

to find nine items for this section. This

was hard

work, as the papers were scattered across a wide range of journals. has

made

abstracts

He

notes on the articles and has assembled photocopies of the

on separate pieces of paper.

He is now

looking at the abstracts and trying to puzzle out which

studies go with

which and

for

what kind

of reason.

As an ex-student of

119


ELI writing classes, he knows that he cannot

summarize

just describe or

each one separately.

He knows to

that

he has

demonstrate that there

some appropriate

He

is

an organizing mind

it:

literature, or

it

at

work; and

in order

(b) exhibit

level of evaluation.

recollects his advisor's

understands

impose some order on the material

to (a)

"One

comment, but he

final thing, Fulani. Either

not quite sure

is

you

if

he

fully

control the previous

will control you."

But what order and organization? That

is

his first problem.

What can

you suggest?

Task Three For this task you will use the following nine abstracts. (Don't look for the actual articles in the library. All of

them have been made

up!)

Draw

diagram or other kind of visual of the abstracts (using number or thor's in

name)

mind

to reveal

that there is

your proposed scheme

no one

right

way

for organizing them.

to order or

group the

a tree-

first

au-

Keep

abstracts.

Be

prepared to explain the thinking processes behind your choices.

1.

Van Hoek, J.

1996. Information in manufacturing systems

and the needs

of the graduating engineer. European Journal of Professional Education

17:67-77.

Few

opportunities for developing communication skills exist in the

crowded

curricula of

Western Europe.

It is

most bachelor of science engineering courses

on fundamental aspects at the

University of

of the

most relevant

Amsterdam

is

built

areas.

2.

Scott,

to

form engineer-

as task forces to solve problems as they arise. In this

way they become socialized is

The course developed

around case studies of actual

manufacturing problems. Students are required

manager groups

in

thus important that those few available are spent

into the engineering

community. Evidence

presented from student evaluations as to the success of this approach. J.

1995.

The

logical structure of technical reports: software sup-

port. Journal of Technical Documentation 11:273-82.

The "expression" problem ondary

to the

in writing engineering technical reports

"comprehension" problem

—that

relevance, organize material into sections,

is,

is

sec-

the ability to perceive

and then organize

sections into

120


a logical order. This

paper begins by considering the question of efficiency

and the contributions

that "logical sections in logical order" can

effectiveness of reports.

make to

the

then presents an algorithmic IBM-compatible

It

software program which encourages the kind of analysis and organization underlying effective report writing. 3.

McWrath, A. uates:

1990.

Communication

an engineer's response.

The growing employment

of "specialists" in

become problematic

recently

of engineering, their writing

I

skills for

engineering undergrad-

Professional Engineer 47:21-23.

in

communication

skills

many engineering schools. As

has

a professor

am committed to helping my undergraduates improve

and speaking

abilities.

I

argue that

this is best

achieved in

the context of real engineering courses taught by real engineers, not

"outsiders" to the profession

who often fail to

by

understand the nature and

purpose of engineering communications. 4.

Leon, A., and W. Deng. 1998. Developing communication

skills in civil

engineering students. Civil Engineer 73:507-19. Civil engineers are responsible for devising to satisfy the

economic

practical solutions

needs of the community for roads, bridges, water supplies,

and other major works. Throughout

their education

and training

it is

much formal training in effective commua new course of communication studies was in-

unlikely that they will receive nication.

To remedy

this,

troduced two years ago to

have

all

the

at

Manchester University. The essential feature

communication topics

is

set in the context of civil engineer-

ing practice. Thus, a large civil engineering contract

is

simulated, and

all

aspects of communication skills are related to the simulation. Preliminary results suggest that the students

have appreciated the linking of commu-

nication studies with civil engineering work. 5.

Ahmed,

S.,

and

B.

Williams. 1997. Content in engineering courses for

engineering students. Studies

Communication courses content, from

the engineer

in

Higher Education 33:74-92.

for engineering

undergraduates vary widely in

mass media on the one hand

on the

other.

As

to the social responsibility of

a rule, students find little interest in

such

courses because of their distance from their immediate concerns (Olsen, 1992). In contrast,

— as measured by —for courses that focus on the day-to-day

our research shows good responses

interview and questionnaire

communication problems of engineers, both with the general public.

their colleagues

and

121


6.

Lo,

C, and

Empowering female students

C. S. Li. 1998.

in

engineering

education. Cross Currents 24:96-109.

Many

reports speak of a "chilly climate" toward

dents

(EEGR Survey

women engineering stu-

an overview). Our experimental program

(1996) for

women students to develop their communicawomen-only environments and then apply their

provides opportunities for tion skills in sheltered,

newly found confidence

7.

Pradip,

and

S.,

R.

mainstream

more

port improved grades, job offers (p = 0.5;

in

situations.

Follow-up studies

effective participation in class,

re-

and increased

QZ = 4.78; ff = X4+ on the Fittori scoring rule).

Rahim. 1997. Moving from national

prominence: Computer engineering in Bombay.

to international

UNESCO Journal of

Technical Education 23:2-14.

There has been

much

talk of the

neers and scientists in the

"Bombay Miracle"

communication

1996) but rather less of the

city.

We have developed

August

Time,

(e.g.,

failures of the

3,

computer engi-

training courses for

engineering graduates stressing cross-cultural differences in negotiation, writing styles, patent laws, and contractual obligations

among

Indian,

Japanese, and North American leaders in technological change. Although

no empirical evidence

is

yet available, there are signs that the case ap-

proach to success and failure in Indian computer engineering for export is 8.

Sullivan,

P.

having beneficial

1996.

Problems

in

initiatives

results.

communication

skills courses. Journal of

Technical Education 24:23^0.

A survey of undergraduate technical communication programs in the United States (n = 77) suggests that the acceptability of the program

to

both students and faculty does not depend on the quality of the program (as

measured by

staff profiles,

curriculum analysis, and level of integra-

tion with engineering courses). Rather, the

prime determinant

is

engineer-

ing faculty support (or otherwise) for the program. The study suggests

9.

that the

way forward

internal

improvements.

lies

more

in canvassing for faculty

support than in

Fredrickson, K. 1998. Provision for the non-native speaker in graduate

engineering programs. English for

The increasing numbers

of

NNS in U.S. graduate engineering programs

have caused various kinds of 1991), tension between

Specific Purposes 12:222-33.

strain,

including faculty burnout (Perillo,

NS and NNS populations

for financial

support

122


(Luebs, 1995), and dissatisfaction with

English

skills are

shown

to

be

less

NNS after graduation when their

than promised (Swales, 1995).

An ex-

perimental program of "English internships" with U.S. research associates

and

scientists

has proved highly effective in helping

velop their technical writing that such

skills in English.

programs should be expanded

Perhaps the most important

NNS students de-

The conclusions suggest

to other

campuses.

rhetorical characteristic of

LRs

is

that they are

different from most other academic genres or part genres in one crucial respect.

that

They do not

easily fall into those stages or

have proved helpful

"moves" (Unit Two)

for structuring abstracts, conference posters,

introductions, discussions,

and so

forth. In effect,

range of options for structuring the

LR is much

and

as

we will

see, the

greater. This then consti-

tutes a further difficulty.

We begin our search tures suggested

for a possible solution

by former students. The

first

by providing two

plan, as

you

architec-

will see, is

rather straightforward.

Task Four

Look over these two proposed organizational schemes, or

Can you

in figure 14.

"architectures"

explain the reasoning behind each of them? In the

boxes provided, write what you think holds the citations together. The first if

box has been done

either, of the

plans

is

for you. After

close to the

For the purposes of discussion this exercise so that

(See

Note

each item

you

finish labeling, decide which,

way you

organized the information.

we have simplified the architectures for

is

used only once.

4.)

As you might have guessed Architecture 2 came under criticism for stressing the wrong things. Below is the author's eloquent e-mail defense of her primary choice of territory

and

local educational context.

My architecture reflected the categories that

I,

as a stu-

dent of literature, would have chosen, not what an engineering student would.

I

think

I

did not see the relevance of

123


Architecture

Architecture 2

1

Current situation the teaching of

Research done in Europe, India, and the

in

communication skills to various kinds of

United States on communications skills

engineers

of engineers

>

1

4 7 8 9

•

6

\i

—

< |

2

2 3

4 6

5

|_9

\r

8

Fig.

14

other choices and the biased side of mine. Maybe the ten-

dency to classify by the literary production of

a

country

comes,

among other things,

that

see in post-colonial countries such as mine.

I

explains,

in a way,

from the awareness of territory

my inclination to do what

I

So,

this

did in my

classification. Maybe that also explains the devotion of one

category for considering engineering women.

classification was not really

a

I

see that this

"scientific" one as the

other approaches showed in class, where the categories were a result of a

very different way of thinking. Personally,

doing this exercise was very important to me mainly because it showed me the way

about other fields,

I

am used to thinking,

the ideas

I

have

and my criteria for forming categories.

—Angeles

(minor editing)

124


As we have as far as all

seen, different organizational approaches are feasible and,

we can

see, likely to reflect disciplinary training.

architectures are easy to write up.

Some need more

However, not

rhetorical

work

than others. For example, one proposed architecture submitted by one of

our students began with the Fredrickson abstract

Rahim

(7),

thus focusing on

needed. These two abstracts seem

and therefore pose

(9)

and then Pradip and

why communication courses are most badly

a challenge as

less central to the

main research trend

opening choices.

Task Five

Which

of the following

are successful?

1.

LRs opening with Fredrickson 1998 do you think

Why?

There have been several studies that have investigated the communication skills of engineering students. for

Some

of these also offer proposals

remediation and improvement. For example, Fredrickson (1998)

describes a

program

in

which non-native speakers

of English are

placed in "English internships" with U.S. mentors. 2.

Of the nine relevant papers only one focuses

directly

on the commu-

nication problems of non-native speakers in engineering education.

Fredrickson (1998) suggests that a program of "English internships" will likely reduce such problems. 3.

In recent years, there has in the

communication

been some attempt

skills of

to deal

with weaknesses

engineering students and graduates.

Among those most obviously at risk are non-native speakers of English in

English-medium degree programs.

A possible partial solution

Fredrickson's curricular experiment in which non-native speakers

is

are placed in "English internships" with U.S. researchers (Fredrickson 1998). 4.

The available skills

literature

on the teaching

of engineering

communication

can be viewed as a series of graded responses from a more

cal to a less critical situation.

At the former extreme

is

criti-

the plight of

students with limited English proficiency in English-medium degree

programs, particularly in the U.S. Fredrickson (1998) has tackled

problem with her program of "English internships" in

(See

which they are paired up with other

Note

5.)

for

U.S. researchers.

this

such students

125


Language Focus: Articles and Complex

Noun Phrases

Prepositional

Consider these opening noun phrases from the nine abstracts.

1.

Few

3.

The growing employment

5.

Communication courses

opportunities for developing communication skills of "specialists" in

for engineering

.

.

communication

undergraduates

.

.

skills

.

.

.

.

A survey of undergraduate technical communication programs in the

8.

U.S.

.

.

.

The increasing numbers programs

9.

.

Such

.

of

NNS in U.S. graduate engineering

.

NOUN + PREPOSITION + NOUN structures are a common feature of

academic writing. The issue of

article

usage before the

first

noun

guidelines about article usage with the

in a

relied in part

on Marco's

hundred medical research

articles. (See

Certain prepositions, especially as

we

offer

Note

.

.

of

.

.

.

and

a

.

.

.

we of

.

of the

seen often form part of

NOUN structures. The issue

should be preceded by a definite or indefinite

and the

first

is

whether the

most

first

noun

article.

What would you conclude about

articles

noun? equipment

la.

The increase

lb.

An increase in temperature can cause equipment to malfunction.

2a. Skills in oral

2b.

of temperature caused the

presentation are

The communicative

3a. Interest in this area is

3b.

The

to malfunction,

expected of engineers.

candidate are very impressive.

growing.

interest of this area lies

nary work.

now

skills of this

mostly in

its

.

NOUN

Task Six

Consider the following data.

.

6.)

and for, are some

of, in, to,

we have

.

some

These

in a sequence.

part of the time. In so doing,

(2000) useful study of the

common words in English and PREPOSITION +

nouns

of the

work only

guidelines are not perfect and will

have

first

complex and

is

can often cause problems for non-native speakers. In what follows

+

.

potential for interdiscipli-

126

4a.

English

The contributions

in


group are

of this research

substantial.

4b. Contributions to this project are truly multinational. 5a. Participants in the

meeting agreed on a

common goal. common goal.

5b.

The members of the committee agreed on a

6a.

The

link

between malnutrition and mental performance

is

not

straightforward.

have discovered

6b. Researchers

a link

between laughter and immune

system enhancement. (See

Note

We see

7.)

then that there

is

a probabilistic rule that favors the before a fol-

lowing of phrase but favors indefinite articles before following phrases governed by other prepositions. This rule doesn't always work, however.

Look back

opening

at the

Two. Can you come up with some

to Abstract

other counterexamples?

Now let's look at the of phrase situation in more detail, if only because it is

the

most

articles

common structure.

Marco's corpus of one hundred medical

produced 9,900 examples of

examples of a

.

.

.

Marco provides

of.

.

.

So

a useful

far,

list

chance of occurring in the

.

.

.

of

.

.

.

phrases but only 780

so good, then.

of

the

the

.

nouns .

these in the medical corpus, the

.

of

.

first

.

that .

of

have a greater than 50 percent

framework. There were twelve of

which

start

—actually occurred

100 percent of the time in this position!

80-100% 60-79%

start / basis / presence

50-59%

extent / development / effect

Overall

absence /percentage /administration /number / importance

we can

see that a

number

of these are connected with numerical

quantities (number, percentage), with existence [presence, absence),

treatment

(start,

administration, development).

and with

.

127


The

a

.

.

.

of

.

.

.

structure, as

we have

seen,

is

much

Marco's data for proportion of occurrences in

less productive.

this structural context is

interesting.

100%

variety

87% 87% 43% 28%

minority history series

proportion

24% 16%

total

percentage

11% 10%

number range

Task Seven

Complete the blanks with 1

either a or the.

Malnourished children tend

to

have

history of health problems.

history of the battle against smallpox

2.

is

an inspiring one.

3.

Side effects were noted in

minority of the patients.

4.

Side effects were noted in

minority of patients

who had had

pre-existing conditions. 5.

percentage of subjects reporting stress rose sharply.

6.

percentage of subjects reported increased levels of

7.

The research group

is

planning

series of

stress.

experiments

to test

this hypothesis. 8.

After an

initial

setback,

series of

experiments produced useful

results. 9.

number

of students

who

failed

number

of students

have

failed,

has increased over the

last

decade. 10.

preparation.

(See

Note

8.)

presumably because of poor

128


Task Eight

Now write your first draft literature review of the nine items for Section Five of Fulani's literature review chapter.

4.3 Citations

How to best report prior work is an important and complex problem for all

academic writers. Issues of accuracy,

style,

and evaluation

in

your

text will

somewhat simplified by represented by their associations'

matters are as

major journals options.

As

fairness, plagiarism, selection,

emerge and re-emerge. However,

the fact that different disciplines style sheets

and guidelines

for their

—have distinct preferences that tend to limit the potential

a result,

we

deal with these formal elements

first.

Hyland's study of citation pattern in eight disciplines revealed some teresting differences (see

Note

9).

A first difference that emerges is the

way in which the cited work is handled. Below 1.

Wi thin-sentence According

to

in-

are the basic options.

quotations

Kim

(1999),

"The World Trade Organization

still

has

many

obstacles to overcome, particularly with regard to decision-making

processes (10)." 2.

Block and indented quotations (quotations of more than 40 words)

As Kim

(1999) has indicated:

WTO is a major improvement over the old GATT system, young organization and leaves much to be desired. Mostly,

Although the it is still

a

the organization lacks both the competence

with

new

and the resources

trade areas such as investment and information;

and binding structure as well as

its

to deal

formal

rigid decision-making process hinders

and even sometimes blocks any harmonization

effort in

new

trade-

related areas. 3.

Paraphrase /summary According

to

the processes

Kim

(1999), the

World Trade Organization needs

by which decisions are made.

to

improve

129


4.

Generalization (combining several sources)

The ways

in

which decisions are made within the World Trade Organiza-

tion are typically inefficient (Mitchell 1997; 1999). (See

Note

Kim

1998;

Kim

1999; Kirgis

10.)

Task Nine

Working with

a partner,

if

possible,

examine

table 4.1

and answer the

questions that follow.

TABLE

Percentages

4.1.

for

Each Citation Option according to Discipline

Summary/

Block Quotation

Quotation

Discipline

Paraphrase

Generalization

Biology

72

38

Physics

68

32

66

34

Electrical

engineering Mechanical engineering Marketing Applied

67

33

3

2

68

27

8

2

67

23

Sociology

8

5

69

18

Philosophy

2

1

89

8

linguistics

Source: Data

from K. Hyland, "Academic attribution: Citation and the construction of disciplinary knowledge,'

Applied Linguistics 20 (1999): 341-67.

1.

2.

What percentage of citations in your field would tation? What about the field of your partner?

likely involve a

quo-

How do you account for the fact that sociology and applied linguistics have the highest percentage of

citations in the

form of quotations from

previous authors' work? 3.

Note the percentages

you say the

4.

differences

might (c)

Note

at all

that

no quotations

Note

11.)

you had

to guess,

would

other cause?

were found

in the science

and engineer-

Under what circumstances might one occur?

Can you come up with one more

(See

If

reflect (a) the size of the field, (b) the in-

some

tegration of the field, or

ing research papers. 5.

for generalizations.

question?

130


Another important variable

is

whether the

cited author

syntax of the citing sentence or stands outside as represented is

by

a

number. (See

it,

style sheets in

is

part of the

either in parentheses or

your

field to see

how this

done.) The former are often called integral citations and the latter non-

integral ones. Integral citations

researcher and rather

tend to focus the attention more on the

on the

less

research.

Here are some examples.

Integral

Hyland

(1999)

showed

disciplinary variation in citation patterns.

Disciplinary variation in citation patterns has been

shown by Hyland

(1999).

According

to

Hyland

(1999), there is considerable disciplinary variation

in citation patterns.

Nonintegral

There would appear to be considerable disciplinary variation in citation patterns (Hyland 1999).

Research shows considerable disciplinary variation in citation patterns. 5

Task Ten Reflect again

tioned) that

on the eight

and rank them

you might expect

According

to

Note

fields in

Task Nine (and your

own if not men-

terms of the percentage of nonintegral citations

to find.

Put the

field

with the most

Hyland's study, integral citations

citations in only

(See

in

one of the

fields.

Which

field

made up

at the top.

the majority of

do you suppose

it

was?

12.)

In Hyland's corpus of 80,000

words from the 80 research

articles,

over

400 different reporting verbs were used to introduce the citations. Nearly

used occurred only once, however, with some of the more unusual ones coming from philosophy. Here are sample sentences (adapted by us) using some of these uncommon verbs. half of the verbs

1.

2.

Lee (1998) got mileage out of the model by applying environments. Initially

Ohara

pilot study.

it

to a

wide range

(1987) was seduced by the encouraging results of the

of

131


3.

Jarvannen (1997) laments that such discussions have

4.

Sandoval (1989) espoused the benefits of biofeedback

all

but disappeared.

in the

treatment of

migraine headaches. Berg (1999) holds out hope

5.

tive in dealing

that this

new

class of antibiotics will

be

effec-

with drug- resistant strains of enterococcus.

In contrast, here in table 4.2 are the

most frequent reporting verbs by

discipline.

TABLE

High Frequency Reporting Verbs

4.2.

Verbs

Discipline

Biology

describe

find

report

show

suggest

Physics

develop

report

study

find

expand

engineering Mechanical engineering Marketing Applied

propose

use

describe

show

publish

develop

describe

show

report

discuss

give

develop

suggest

argue

find

demonstrate

propose

show

linguistics

point out

observe

Electrical

suggest

argue

show

explain

find

Sociology

argue

suggest

describe

note

analyze

discuss

Philosophy

say

suggest

argue

claim

point out

Overall

suggest

argue

find

show

describe

hold propose

Source: Data

think report

from K. Hyland, "Academic attribution: Citation and the construction of disciplinary knowledge," Applied

Linguistics 20 (1999): 341-67.

Task Eleven

Take one or two short published

articles

from your

field that

appear

to

some reporting verbs. Highlight all the verbs used to report previous research. Count the occurrences. Ignore citations based on comments by important public persons or literary figures that are not part of the contain

research literature. For example:

As Benjamin or

Franklin once said, "Either write something worth reading

do something worth writing."

add your findings they compare. (See Note 13.)

Be prepared

to

to those in the table

and

to discuss

how

132


"Look, they cited your article! You're on your way to becoming an important footnote!"

Language Focus: Ambiguity in Citations Citations can sometimes be

whether the writer means

ambiguous or partly ambiguous

to

imply that somebody

as to

else said /claimed/

concluded something or actually did /found /carried out something. Such

by at least one editor in our field, who recently announced that he would no longer accept them. Even experienced research writers can run into problems here, whether they have been called "hanging"

citations

citations

number references. Ambiguity may be number systems, especially if reference

are using author-date references or particularly difficult to avoid in

numbers

are placed at the ends of sentences. Regardless, care should be

taken so that the references are as clear as possible. Consider the following citations.

1.

The causes

Hyon 2.

of illiteracy

have been widely investigated (Ferrara 1990;

1994; Jones 1987).

Much has recently been published on the relationship between culture and the successful treatment 1998;

Koch

1997; Lee 1998).

of hypertension

(Brown 1996; Edward

133


In these

two sentences, we can probably safely presume that the authors engaged in the research and are thus provided to

cited for each are those

exemplify the point. But suppose the sentences were written

3.

The causes

4.

Much

have been widely investigated (Clement

of illiteracy

1993).

has recently been published on the relationship between culture

and the successful treatment of hypertension (Lee

Now,

like this.

it is

no longer

clear

how

and Lee major researchers

1998).

the citations should be read.

in their fields,

ring to books they have published

Are Clement

with the references thus

refer-

—perhaps their crowning works? Or

are they perhaps commentators, with the citations referring to review or

summary

articles? Since

we cannot easily answer

these questions, these

"hanging" citations should probably be rewritten so that the intended

meaning

is

conveyed.

Task Twelve Consider

this set of in-text citations.

Are they

commentary, or are they ambiguous? Put an

citations of research or of

A next to those that you feel

are ambiguous.

1.

Many

researchers believe that per capita food production will con-

tinue to increase (Smith 1993; 2.

Very few studies of

this sort

Chavez

1998;

Chen

1999).

have been done on chronically mal-

nourished individuals (Braun 1999). 3.

No studies of this sort have been done on chronically malnourished individuals (Braun 1999).

4.

Some

studies of this sort have been

done on chronically malnour-

ished individuals (but see Braun 1999). 5.

One

of the classic studies of family behavior

Polynesia (Malinowski 1932).

(See

Note

14.)

was conducted

in

134

Look (full


at this extract

from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology is given in Note 15). The citations you

information on the source

should focus on have been Until recently, these

italicized.

two

Answer

the questions that follow.

lines of investigation

have had

different

em-

phases, posing a threat to their integration. The most robust risk factors in epidemiological research

have an interpersonal theme (Adler

&

Matthews, 1994). These include explicitly interpersonal processes social

networks and

social support)

and

are likely to color their relationships

(e.g., hostility).

tional studies of psychophysiological

(e.g.,

characteristics of people that

By

contrast, tradi-

mechanisms have focused on the

responses of single individuals to nonsocial stressors, such as mental arithmetic or reaction time tests (for reviews, see Blascovich

Katkin, 1993;

Manuck,

& Stoney,

CVR in response to social stressors (Lassner, Manuch, & Saab, 1986; Smith &

1994; Matthews,

O'Keefe, 1988). Thus, iological

it is

not clearly established that the psychophys-

mechanisms described

in the interpersonal

Katkin,

1994). Cardiovascular responses to these tasks

are not closely related with

Matthews

&

in

psychosomatic models of

CVD occur &

circumstances identified as risk factors (Smith

Christensen, 1992).

1.

What did Adler and Matthews Did they do a

article?

actually do?

statistical analysis of

Did they write a review

some data? Or did they

undertake some major research? 2.

Did Smith and Christensen identify

was not 3.

Look

risk factors, or did they

show what

clearly established?

at the

following citations from the

article.

Would you now

change your answers? Adler N.

& Matthews K.

(1994) Health psychology:

and some people stay well? Annual Review Smith T.W.

& Christensen A.J.

relations: cal

(See

Cardiovascular reactivity and interpersonal

Psychosomatic processes in social context. Journal of Social and

Psychology, 11, 279-301.

Note

(1992).

Why do some people get sick

of Psychology, 45, 229-259.

15.)

Clini-

135


Task Thirteen Rewrite the two "hanging" citations of Clement and of Lee on the top of

page

133, first to indicate that they are

view

articles.

books and then that they are

re-

Book

Review

(See

Article

Note

16.)

4.4 Paraphrase In Section 4.3

we mentioned

section,

we will

and Rahim

issues of "accuracy, fairness, plagiarism,

and evaluation"

selection, style,

and Evaluation

in reporting the

work

of others. In this

investigate these issues, using restatements of the Pradip

abstract (from Section 4.2),

which were written by some

of

our students.

We provide the abstract again for you for convenience. Pradip,

S.,

and

R.

Rahim. (1997)

There has been

much

1996) but rather

talk of the

less of the

neers and scientists in the

"Bombay Miracle"

communication city.

(e.g.,

failures of the

We have developed

Time,

August 3,

computer engi-

training courses for

engineering graduates stressing cross-cultural differences in negotiation, writing styles, patent laws, and contractual obligations

among

Indian,

lapanese, and North American leaders in technological change. Although

no empirical evidence

is

proach to success and

failure in Indian

for export is

yet available, there are signs that the case ap-

having beneficial

results.

computer engineering

initiatives

136


Task Fourteen Carefully read these four "treatments" of Pradip and Rahim. Evaluate

them

in

terms of information and language, using the codes below.

Information (or the amount of detail in Pradip and Rahim that

I

O (The amount is about right.)

I

+ (More information

I

- (The information

is

is

retained)

retained than really necessary.)

is insufficient.)

Paraphrase (or the amount of rewriting of the original)

P

O (nicely done; captures the essence of the original in rather different words)

P + (perhaps too much changed; doesn't accurately represent the P-

(too

1.

much lifted from

the original; raises issues of plagiarism)

Another communication program

Rahim (1997) for engineering show appreciable results. 2.

original)

is

developed by Pradip and

graduates. All of these programs

Pradip and Rahim (1997) have developed training courses for engineering graduates stressing cross-cultural differences via a case

study approach of success and failure in Indian computer engineering initiatives for export, and again find signs of beneficial results. 3.

In their article Pradip in Indian

and Rahim

(1997) talk about the successes

computer engineering and also point out

as a result of

communication

cultural differences

failures.

They

and have developed

a

its

relate this

program

weakness with cross-

for training

graduate students stressing cross-culture differences in negotiations, writing, laws,

and contractual obligations among Indian,

Japanese, and North American leaders in technology. 4.

Pradip and Rahim have designed training courses stressing crosscultural differences in engineering communications.

137


Which one (See

Note

of the "treatments"

would you

prefer to have written?

Why?

17.)

We have now worked our way through most of the thorny issues confronting the writer of an LR. But three important issues remain: tense

choice in reporting previous unit);

evaluation of the

work (which we

work

will deal

with in the next

and dealing with

reported;

literature that

you want to construct. At the beginning of this unit (Task Two) we saw that not every piece of research should be evaluated, but providing some kind of evaluative commentary gives the impression of an intelligent and organizing mind does not

at

"fit"

the second story

work. Being able to provide such an impression substantially con-

tributes to research positioning.

Several strategies can successfully be used to reveal your stance toward the literature.

comings Here

is

One

in the

provide a closing assessment that focuses on short-

to

is

body

of literature to date or suggests future directions.

one good concluding paragraph written by one of our students. Overall, researchers

seem

to agree

with the importance of

real-life

context in engineering communication courses. Despite the apparent

consensus about what to teach, there teach. Researchers to

have

still

tried various

remains the problem of how to

methods

communicate and each method appears

purpose and a specific

a special population.

to

to teach engineers

be successful for a specific

Considering that the effectiveness of

method depends on some moderating

should focus on the

effects of these

variables, future studies

moderating parameters, such as the

purposes of the course, educational and cultural ulation, (original

how

settings,

and

target

pop-

emphasis)

—Jin Nam Choi (unedited) You may have noticed ments.

that Jin

Nam hedged or qualified some of his state-

How necessary was this? Why?

Another strategy

is

to

open the LR with

those presented in the following task.

a general assessment

such as

138

English

in


Task Fifteen

Which

of the following general assessments

on engineering communication (Section (/) next to those that seem to fit.

abstracts

mark 1.

4.2)?

Make

for the

a check

There have been surprisingly few studies on the teaching of com-

munication 2.

seem appropriate

skills to engineers.

The 1990s saw an upsurge

of interest in the teaching of

communi-

cation skills to engineers. 3.

To date, studies on the teaching of communication

skills to engi-

neers are scattered, poorly controlled, and have had very small

sample 4.

One

sizes.

impressive feature of the literature on the teaching of

nication skills to engineers 5.

is its

commu-

international scope.

There have been a surprisingly large number of studies devoted to the specialized topic of teaching communication skills to engineers.

(See

Note

18.)

A third strategy would be to make occasional comments within the LR on selected papers.

Along

this

same

line, a

well-chosen adjective or adverb

may help you intersperse your evaluation. Task Sixteen

Which

of the following could apply to

work described

in

one or several of

the abstracts? Indicate the abstract(s) by author name(s) in the space provided.

1.

short

2.

large-scale

3.

preliminary

4.

early

5.

quantitative.

6.

limited

(See

Note

19.)

139


"Misfits"

The

how

final issue is

to deal

with literature that just does not seem to

fit

well with your story. Looking at the engineering communication abstracts again,

we

see that the egregious paper

is

Sullivan (number 8) since

argues that any attempt to develop a communication engineers

is

doomed

One convenient What,

if

to failure unless the

any, are the implications of ignoring

(albeit

program

for

engineering faculty support

strategy for dealing with Sullivan

Another possible solution

skills

it

simply drop

is to

it.

it.

it?

perhaps temporary)

is

demonstrated by

the following.

The only

large-scale study

is

that of Sullivan (1996),

the key factor to the acceptability of the success)

is

which suggests

program (and by inference

not the quality of the program

itself,

but faculty support for

This issue deserves further consideration, not only because of

importance, but also because of tion

proposed

its

that

to its

its

it.

intrinsic

implications for the formative evalua-

in this dissertation. This discussion,

however,

is

better

suited for the next chapter.

— Hamilton de Godoy Wielewicki (minor editing)

Task Seventeen Revise your draft

LR of teaching communication skills to engineers or LR you are currently preparing.

prepare a revised draft of a section of an

4.5


The Fulan A. Fulani case

that

ated at the proposal stage.

tend to believe that the

LR from

ticle.

when

the proposal

we have extensively

discussed here

Most doctoral students (and proposal their research

and paste

it

is

is situ-

writers)

finished, they can simply cut

into the dissertation or research ar-

In the vast majority of cases this strategy will be unsuccessful. First,

during the research process additional items from the literature will be discovered. Second, in the interim, Third, the scope for

example,

it

new

research will likely be published.

and direction of your research

will likely

have changed;

will be agreed that certain lines of inquiry discussed in the

prospectus need not be pursued. Fourth, and most important, you

now

140


have a second

story, a

construction of a

LR work put

body

first story.

and

this will effect

your

to say, of course, that the

hard

of research findings,

None

of this

into a proposal cannot

is

form some kind of basis

for a disser-

tation-level treatment of previous research.

Task Eighteen

Look

at this tenth abstract that deals

10. Fulani,

A.

F. (in

press).

Privatization trends in

The

of engineers. ties,

with

self to

its

Technical Education Quarterly.

Egypt today have created a need

writing of

heavy reliance on mathematics,

memoranda and

welcomed by

cadre

is

slowly transforming

it-

for Engineers" course at

new emphasis on

Helwan

oral skills

and the

other engineering correspondence, while

the business community, has negatively affected student

performance in other courses

—particularly those that require the reading

of research articles. This, in turn, failure rate in the

So

new

meet these new demands, despite much faculty opposition. This

University. Results suggest that the

Note

for a

traditional engineering curriculum in state universi-

paper analyzes the revised "English

(See

skills

Meeting the communication needs of engineers

contemporary Egypt.

in

with teaching communication

How might this new piece cause you to revise your LR?

to engineers.

seems

to

have contributed

to a rising

Engineering College.

20.)

we have primarily dealt with issues concerning the LR without considering how you might choose the actual you include. In doing so, we have been able to highlight several

far in this unit

write-up of an literature

points. First, as a hybrid act of literacy involving reading

and writing,

LR is

a challenging and complex activity. As you read the you weigh them against what you know about your field and build meaning, which in turn forms the basis of your LR. Second, there is no magic formula or a preferred way to write up an LR. And fi-

creating an

texts of others

nally,

varies

how you weave the work of others into your work through citation from discipline to discipline. In the next unit, we will turn our atwhat to include in the As you may see, simply having

tention to the rather challenging task of choosing

LR by

presenting the cases of two writers.

read a

lot in

your

the beginning.

own discipline, and

possibly in other disciplines,

is

just

141


and Comments

4.6 Notes Note It

1

Four

for Unit


seems

clear that

1

something

else."

be easiest and that

will generally

"OK,

offers compartmentalization:

On the other hand,

this

advantage.

this is a clear

one job done

that's

—now

I

can

move on

It

to

compartmentalization will work to

prevent your work from seeming to be fully integrated into the wider picture.

Approach

more it

2

usually only a cosmetic improvement on

is

integrated.

Approach

3

is

the harder

can lead to awkward problems of repetition

ferred to again

and

but

it

certainly looks

when

certain studies

need

to

be

re-

again.

In linguistics dissertations there

approach

1,

and more ambitious road. However,

3; in articles

would seem

approach 2

is

to

be some small preference for

common.

Note 2

Malcolm Ashmore defended (United Kingdom). The

his Ph.D. thesis in 1985 at the University of

work was

entitled

ciology of Scientific Knowledge," and, as sociology.

The

its title

suggests, his research area

was published four years

dissertation

York

"The Reflexive Thesis: Wrighting So-

later.

Ashmore

is

deliberately

switches the genres around: The opening chapter takes the form of an introductory lecture

LR second

by the candidate with the advisor/supervisor

chapter

is

cast as a 60-page encyclopedia

sitting at the back; the

on the

topic with entries for

people, terms, and schools; and the final chapter takes the form of a transcript of a

mock dissertation

defense.

A flavor of Ashmore can be sensed from this open-

ing to his endnotes.

Chapter One

Welcome larly. all.

to the notes.

Quite a

you arrived


at

will visit this section of the text reguit

would be

this particular note:

a

shame

May I

to

miss

it

ask by which

Chapter One, note 1? (227)

for

Task Two)

comment suggests that preparing your literature review is a linear process when in fact you will at times be doing all three of these activities This

simultaneously. 2.

hope you

But to get to the business of

route

1.

I

be going on here and

lot will

If

only

it

were so simple.

Length does not necessarily equal

quality.

thorough. But you need to concentrate on research story.

Of course, your LR needs to be work that helps you establish your

142

3.


You might

what

initially

give an unqualified yes to this one, but the question

will your criteria for relevance be? All

is

is

a rather strong modifier here.

may be a small, manageable amount of releFor other areas there may be quite a lot of relevant work, and

For some research areas there vant

literature.

you may need 4.

Your

exclude some pieces.

to

first instinct

may be to brush aside work that does not seem to be di-

However, similar work

rectly related.

in another area that is particularly in-

teresting or novel but not necessarily exactly

your

insights into

topics 5.

Yes,

on your

topic,

own work. Those of you working on

have probably already realized

can often offer

interdisciplinary

this.

your research adds another "chapter" to the research story that has been

developing on your

topic.

Some

stories,

such as those in medicine, have

their

roots in antiquity. Others, however, such as cloning, are relatively new. 6.

Your reader

will

approach your

what areas would

likely

text

with certain expectations, including

be covered. Consider your audience.

If

you

are ex-

cluding certain areas that one might expect to be included, explain the scope of

your work and the reasoning behind your choices. These are precisely the sorts of things that make your work interesting.

7.

Yes.

8.

No, not

quite.

While the overall organization of an LR should be more or

chronological, an

research

is

LR should not

follow a

strict

presented precisely in the order in which

it

was done. Such LRs

suggest a rather narrow understanding of the field you are working

in.

Unless you are writing a reflective piece looking back at where your

field

has been, you should

resist

less

chronological order in which

any urge you might have

to present research in

sequence without synthesizing or presenting the big picture. 9.

Yes

10. In certain fields, particularly

sciences, this

is

those that are changing quickly, such as the hard

generally the norm. However, in others, such as law, history,

or philosophy, older

works may

still

be highly relevant.

11.

Yes

12.

Providing a critique of each piece would not only be tedious for you as a writer but also possibly tiresome for your reader. Critiquing each piece

serve to isolate previous work, patterns,

and

making

directions. Reserve

work that deserves

it

difficult for

you

to

show

would

trends,

your critiques of individual research for key

individual attention; otherwise

it is

best to focus on gen-

eral trends, traditions, or approaches.

(Task Three Teaching Hint: several students to

what the

earlier

Do

not attempt to do

all the

architectures in one class. Choose

go first. Then encourage a second group of students

group has constructed.)

to build

upon

143



Architecture

for

Task Four)

Architecture 2

1


Research done in Europe, India, and the United States on communications skills

engineers

of engineers

Problems in the teaching of

Research focusing on one minority: women


engineers

Current situation the teaching of

in

<—

—

<

1

4 7 8 9

6

engineers

Approaches or

instruction

solutions to the problems surrounding the teaching of

approaches to teaching

communication

skills

communications

skills

-I

5

to various kinds of engineers

Evaluations of teaching approaches

Note

5 (sample responses for Task Five)

1.

This

2.

So

is

why start with this?

guage 3.

bland and jumps abruptly with For example, Fredrickson. Especially since

it is

Fair.

not an English as a second lan-

dissertation.

This strikes us as pretty good. Over

its

three sentences,

it

justifies starting

with Fredrickson. 4.

This

is

definitely smart!

It

makes

a real

and successful

effort to justify the

choice of Fredrickson as the opening paper for inclusion. Excellent. (Plight

means

desperate situation.)

144


Note 6 Marco, M.

J.

L. 2000.

Note 7 (sample response In all these cases, a

Specific Purposes 19:63-86.

Task Six)

for

following of phrase requires the

different preposition selects

an indefinite

see, this is partly a statistical preference

sitional

as 1

9)

shows

2,

the the + of phrase

presence or absence of

Evidence of malnutrition

The evidence

is

to

a

2.

the

3.

a

4.

In speech, there are a ticularly the

have

very

the

5.

number of

fl

.

study was limited

to 25).

.

of

lot

On

ceptional in taking a plural verb; that the second

however. Hyland's

with nouns preceding a prepo-

is

that in

some

cases,

such

as in

widespread.

.

.

7.

.

a

the

8.

9.

the

patterns that are also

is

10. a

common,

the

the other hand, a number of students is,

par-

number of students specific (The number of sub-

of Also note that

follows the regular rule, takes a singular verb, and jects in the

rule,

we will

guidance

widespread.

a

6.

.

noun. As

Task Seven)

the

common phrase a

to take the, while a

offers useful general

little effect,

in this region is

for

noun

There are also occasions where the

specific.

of malnutrition in this region

Note 8 (answer key and analysis 1.

still

may also have noticed

more

seems

the

but

a 3:1 preference for the

phrase with between. You

and

first

article before the first

does not follow the

in cases of severe doubt! Between

corpus (see Note

A

Collocation frameworks in medical research papers:

genre-based study. English for

in this case the verb

is

is

ex-

determined by

noun (A number of subjects in the study were unable to complete the task). a number of refers to some unspecified number within a group.

Also note that

Other exceptions concern percentages, proportions, and of the candidates have passed.

here

is

One

final

partitive phrases with unit

Here are some examples of other

nouns such

Depth

Length

a hectare of

a millimeter

a

five acres of

farmland

of water

two meters

as a piece of paper or a cup of coffee.

partitive phrases that are indefinite.

Area

land

meter of

copper wire of

snow an inch of rain

fractions, as in 70 percent

group of expressions that deserves mention

three inches of foil

a millimeter of

bone growth

Weight

Volume

an ounce of

a pint of

blood

gold

two kilograms of rice a ton of steel

five quarts of

motor

oil

a watt of electricity

145


Note 9 Hyland, K. 1999. Academic attribution: Citation and the construction of

discipli-

nary knowledge. Applied Linguistics 20:341-67.

Note 10

The standard

APA practice

two

have the same

citations

Note

11

is to

place multiple citations in chronological order.

year, then they are

(sample responses for Task Nine)

1.

No answer possible

2.

Sociology

is

a field (like English)

dominated by big names, often

proportions, such as Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.

from the "founders." In applied

Well,

we are

much

also pretty

in the

might partly explain the situation

oldies?

common

The predominance

on

Famous

it is

authors.

dark here. The low figures for philosophy

names" mentioned

in 2

of historical

the direct quotations

linguistics, unlike sociology,

clearly reflect the focus

keting will probably use 4.

Hence

memorable phrases from previous

practice to quote short 3.

If

arranged alphabetically.

individual philosophers.

in sociology.

some quotations from famous people

Nobel Prize winners? Famous people

of "big

Mar-

in the field.

who are not scientists

or

engineers?


biology (90%)

Task Ten)

2. electrical

engineering (71%)

(65%)

for

5.

engineering (84%)

marketing (70%)

6.

3.

physics (83%)

4.

applied linguistics (66%)

mechanical

7.

sociology

philosophy (35%).

8.

As you probably guessed, philosophy alone had

a preponderance of integral

citations.

Note 13 (sample analysis For our part, munication.

the

we

for Task Eleven)

took three articles from the Journal of Business and Technical Com-

Here are

all

the reporting verbs that occurred three times or

number of occurrences. note 11; argue

c

>;

claim

5;

point out 5; suggest 5; call 3; describe 3; report 3

more and

146


We noticed

that there

seemed

be individual preferences; two authors preferred

to

argue, while the third preferred claim.

The

activity took us

A typical problem with a small sample size!

about an hour.

Overall, the business

communication data

is

probably most similar to the find-

ings for philosophy (except for the latter 's use of say).


2.

for

Task Twelve)

No problem. The folks in parentheses are examples of the many researchers. (A)

A problem:

Did Braun make

this observation, or

ample of one of the very few studies? Needs 3.

Since there were "no studies" Braun

4.

(A) This

is

obscure.

What does

must be

(but see

was he

or she an ex-

editing.

a commentator.

Braun 1999) imply? Again, needs

rewording. 5.

No problem. The work dated

1932

is

clearly "classic."

Note 15

The excerpt Smith,

from the following source.

is

T W.,

J.

P.

Limon,

and cardiovascular

L. C. Gall,

and

L.

Q. Ngu. 1996. Interpersonal control

reactivity: Goals, behavioral expression,

and the moderat-

ing effects of sex. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70:1012-24.

So

it

turns out that Adler and Matthews

is

a review article

and

in fact provides a

generalization that will be developed in the rest of the paragraph.

hand, Smith and Christensen

is

the latter could be clarified

ity in

Smith

& Christensen

On the

other

revealed as an experimental paper. The ambigu-

(1992)

by some change, such as have also shown that the psychophysiological mech-

anisms described in psychosomatic models of CVR do not consistently occur in the interpersonal circumstances identified as risk factors.


for

Task Thirteen)

Two of several possible solutions The volume by Clement

are the following.

(1993) provides a broad investigation into the causes of

illiteracy.

Much

has recently been published on the relationship between culture and the

successful treatment of hypertension (see Lee 1998 for a review).

147


Note 17 (sample responses There but

wide room

is

we

1.

I-PO

IOPO

3.

I

4.

I-PO

disagreement of course on the Pradip and Rahim task,

for

P-

Note 18 (sample responses Again possible responses cially

Task Fourteen)

guess that most people would opt for something like the following.

2.

+

for

for

to

Task Fifteen)

Task Fifteen are likely open to disagreement, espe-

because they are likely to be influenced by whether you work in a large

field (organic

chemistry) or a small one (the study of place-names in Sri Lanka).

But from our perspective as applied linguists

1.

This makes sense to us.

2.

The basic point seems

3.

Yes, but unnecessarily harshly put?

4.

Certainly, this

word; 5.

Not

is

interesting

true

one

right but upsurge

feature, but

is

.

.

.

too strong.

The young and the

cruel?

we do not think impressive is

quite the right

might work better.

from our perspective

Note 19 (sample responses For Task Sixteen

for

Task Sixteen)

we suggest

Ahmed and Williams

1.

small

McWrath;

2.

large-scale

Sullivan

3.

preliminary

Leon and Deng; Pradip and Rahim

4.

early

McWrath

5.

quantitative

Lo and

6.

limited

Van Hoek; Lo and


Li Scott;

McWrath; Leon and Deng; Pradip and Rahim;

Li

for

Task Eighteen)

own research. Equally important, howown study seems to suggest that there can be a downside to the introduc-

Fulani will doubtless wish to highlight his ever, his

tion of

need

communication

to

skills

courses for engineering students. His findings will

be contrasted with those apparently producing more positive outcomes.

Unit Five

More Complex Literature Reviews

(

*IN-rrRJ>l6CiPLIN/\RY''r

/

*INTERHflR/IBY"??

)

.

UNDERGRADUATE LIBRARY -^

GRADUATE <~

LIBRARY

./>\jl

^IZ

This

is

Uu~

ZS

two

the second of

units devoted to the literature review.

The case

study in the previous unit was narrowly focused on a sub-area of Fulani's prospectus.

The two case studies

but will result in

The breakdown 5.1.

less

work

of this unit

Weaknesses

in this unit range rather

more broadly

for you!

is

as follows.

in Literature

Reviews

5.4.

A First Case: Reviewing the Concept of Discourse Community English in the Research World: A Further Perspective A Second Literature Review Case

5.5.

Using Metadiscourse

5.6.

What about

5.7.

Notes and Comments

5.2. 5.3.

The unit

Interdisciplinarity?

also includes

for

Unit Five

Language Focus

sections

on

reporting verbs and on the use of quotation marks.

148

citation, tense,

and

.

More Complex

Weaknesses

5.1

We begin this unit with some

149

Literature Reviews

Reviews

in Literature

typical observations

by professors and

viewers on the problems they most often find in the LRs they read.

decided

keep

to

this section

out of Unit Four

—we did not want

re-

We

to further

increase your anxiety levels!

Below are

five

comments from

professors and others on draft literature

reviews written by graduate students or junior researchers. They are compilations of large

numbers

of

comments we have received over the years (see Note 1). The last specifically refers

and are not necessarily verbatim

to the multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary LR.

1

"Your draft

literature

review

vious research papers in the doesn't give

it

significant. 2.

is

basically

field.

While

little it is

more than

a

It is

hard to

"You have given it

know where you

Although

me a chronological account, which might be mechanism

we need "The

to see the relevant

first

your

is, I

literature.

themes and issues more

fine for

to a textbook,

for

know what your research hypothesis

informing your characterization of the previous

it

3.

I

less

stand."

doesn't function well as a prefacing

search.

of pre-

me a sense of what has been more significant and

an encyclopedia entry or a historical background section but

list

clearly well researched,

own re-

don't see

Somehow

clearly."

part of your review deals with theory, often invoking big

—

names from the past. The second half deals with practice in other words, more contemporary empirical findings. I don't see at the moment these two parts in any kind of coherent relation. I know it's hard, but 4.

" .

.

.

"This draft literature review describes adequately each piece of rele-

vant research but does so as a kind of anthology, piece by piece. a higher pass, 5.

something that does more

"Interdisciplinary reviews are hard,

and

to evaluate I

its

needs

am basically sympathetic to

your dilemma. However, what you have done within

It

and connect."

is

keep everything

original disciplinary boundaries. To be innovative,

you need

make more connections across disciplinary areas, so that we can see new connections and relations that you will ultimately be able to establish. Good luck!" to

the

(See

Note

2.)

150


Task One

What is your self-assessment of your own attempts at writing an LR? Which of the above observations might apply to your own efforts: (a)

before Unit Four and (b) after Unit Four?

Does the comment apply to

your work?

No

Yes

Before Unit Four

1.

After Unit Four

Before Unit Four

2.

After Unit Four

Before Unit Four

3.

After Unit Four

Before Unit Four

4.

After Unit Four

Before Unit Four

5.

After Unit Four

5.2

A First Case:

Reviewing the Concept of Discourse Community Our

first

comes

case deals with studies of an issue that in one

to the attention of

everybody

research institution for that matter).

who spends time Ask

way or another

in a university (or a

yourself this question and con-

sider the following four possible answers.

How can we best conceptualize a university? a.

b.

A university is best thought of as a single separate community. A university is best thought of as consisting of several communities made up

c.

its

various colleges.

A university is best thought of as a collection of departments that have their

d.

of

own disciplinary cultures and community lives.

University communities of like-minded people can only really be

found

in

departmental or research subgroups.

More Complex

If

you had

to

151

Literature Reviews

choose one of these alternatives, which would you choose

and why?

One vehicle

for

swers seem

to

approaching

be an unhelpful combination of "yes" and "no") has been

assume

the concept of discourse community. Let us

two kinds

of

community. One

of speakers that

and

that

is

you might

is

the typical

find in a

typically studied

as speecfi communities.

that there are basically

homogeneous community

mountain

village or a

by anthropologists and

groupings, with their shared histories, family

it

(where most of the an-

this difficult issue

The other kind

and so on,

ties,

of grouping

remote

is

tribe

sociolinguists.

are

Such

known

very different in that

consists of often very diverse people, frequently having, for instance,

different native languages

some occupational

may be

and countries of birth,

who come together for

or recreational purpose. These discourse communities

researching high-energy physics, playing in an orchestra, main-

taining fire-fighting services in a town, or devoting themselves to the

preparation of future elementary school teachers in a school of education.

As we

all

can easily recognize, such communities develop, in order

carry out their missions

more

effectively, special

ways

of talking

to

and

writ-

ing (such as community-specific acronyms [see Note 3] or abbreviations)

and So

special genres or community-specific variations of such genres.

far,

so good. However, the concept of discourse

had a rather troubled history since 1980s. John,

Note

4),

who wrote about

it

first

began

to

community (DC) has be used in the early

the concept extensively in a 1990

book

(see

decided as part of a major research project investigating aca-

demic discourse

to revisit the concept.

the people

who had

He

first

assembled a chronological

discussed the discourse community concept

list

of

all

(or

its

close terminological relatives such as disciplinary community) in

some

detail.

He wasn't interested

concept. Here

is

his

in those

who had

working chronological

simply used the

list.

Porter 1986

Porter 1992

Bex 1996

Cooper 1989

Olsen 1993

Grabe and Kaplan 1996

Harris 1989

Swales 1993

Hanks 1996

Swales 1990

Miller 1994

Devitt 1996

Lave and Wenger 1991

Van Nostrand 1994

Beaufort 1997

Bizzell 1992

Schryer 1994

Gunnarsson 1997

Lyon 1992

Casanave 1995

Johns 1997

Killingsworth and

Berkenkotter and

Gilbertson 1992

Huckin 1995

Prior 1998

152

English

This then

is


the publication history;

the concept because

and

in

many of the

it is

not, of course,

an exact genealogy of

ideas were aired earlier at conferences

in circulated manuscripts.

His next stage was to characterize these 24 contributions to our understanding of the to categorize

1.

2.

DC concept.

them

For his

own purposes, he eventually decided

in terms of the following.

—in terms of the writer's country (provenance) (see Note The discipline the writer represented (rhetoric and composition— RC; applied —AL; technical communication—TC, Their base

5)

linguistics

3.

The

etc.) (field)

writer's attitude toward

DCs

(stance)

in favor of (+);

against

(-);

neutral or conflicted 4.

The type

The

(=).

of publication

—book or a shorter piece

(article, etc.) (Genre)

results of this stage are presented in table 5.1.

TABLE

5.1.

Categorization of the Contributions

Author/Date

Provenance

Field

Stance

Genre

Porter 1986

U.S.

Cooper 1989

U.S.

Harris 1989

U.S.

Swales 1990 Lave and Wenger 1991 Bizzell 1992

U.S.

RC RC RC AL

U.S

education

+

U.S. U.S.

= -

chapter

Lyon 1992 Killingsworth and Gilbertson 1992

U.S.

Porter 1992 Olsen 1993 Swales 1993 Miller 1994 Van Nostrand 1994 Schryer 1994

U.S.

+ + + = =

book book

chapter

Canada

+ =

Berkenkotter and Huckin 1995

U.S.

Japan U.K.

= -

book

Casanave 1995 Bex 1996 Grabe and Kaplan 1996

U.S.

RC RC TC RC TC AL TC TC TC TC/AL AL AL AL

+ =

Hanks 1996

U.S.

anthropology

book book book

Devitt 1996

U.S.

Beaufort 1997

U.S.

RC RC

Gunnarsson 1997

Sweden

Swedish studies

Johns 1997 Prior 1997

U.S.

AL RC

U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S.

U.S.

+ +

+ =

+ = = -

article

chapter article

book book article

article article article

article

chapter

article article article

book book

More Complex

He

153

Literature Reviews

then decided as an experiment to reorder the table according to stance

and dropping the categories

shown

of

provenance and genre. The results are

in table 5.2.

TABLE

5.2.

Stance of the Contributions

Author/Date

Stance

-

Cooper 1989 Harris 1989

Lyon 1992 Casanave 1995 Prior 1997

Field

RC RC RC AL RC RC AL

+

Porter 1986

+

+

Swales 1990 Lave andWenger 1991

+

Killingsworth and Gilbertson 1992

+

Porter 1992

+

+

Olsen 1993 Van Nostrand 1994 Bex 1996

+

Hanks 1996

anthropology

+ =

Beaufort 1997

= = =

Swales 1993

=

Berkenkotter and Huckin 1995 Grabe and Kaplan 1996 Devitt 1996

RC RC AL TC TC TC/AL AL RC

Gunnarsson 1997

Swedish studies

Johns 1997

AL

+

Bizzell 1992

Miller 1994

Schryer 1994

=

= = =

education

TC RC TC TC

AL

Task Two

What

tendencies or trends might emerge from the two tables?

could be learned? (See Note

We recommend diagram, or

this

What else

6.)

kind of matrix, or any kind of working chart,

table, as a useful

tree

preparatory device. Such displays have

when we are confronted with the arduous task of putting together an LR with literature from different fields as a preface to describing our own work. three advantages especially

154

English

1.

They allow us

2.

They encourage us

3.

But,

in


to "eyeball" the literature.

make

to

connections.

most important of all, they persuade us

common

threads so that

we can make a

a series of high passes, over

what

is,

to

perhaps find enough

"high pass," or even better

in its descriptive detail, highly

complex material. Thus, we avoid getting trapped parisons and, in so doing,

we may even be able

in lower-level

com-

to see things that

have

not quite been seen before.

Task Three

The four categories table 5.2)

that

John chose

for table 5.1

(and the two he kept for

were very much those that he thought he needed

for his

particular purposes. Other LRs, including those incorporating different fields, will

need very different categories (apart perhaps from

date of publication). Here are

some

possibilities.

•

Methods used?

•

Theory or

•

A theoretical or an empirical study?

theoretical

model followed?

•

Computer modeling /simulation used? Size of the sample /number of cases?

•

Statistical

•

Practical applications stressed?

•

Any ideological commitment made?

•

What

own

work from

treatment included?

If so,

what kind?

other categories occur to you?

Now prepare a sketch diagram of the categories you might choose for your

own LRs

(past, present, or future!). (See

Note

7.)

Task Four

Here

is

a short write-up of the information that appears in the articles

categorized in table their original order.

5.1. However, the short paragraphs are no longer in Read them carefully and attempt to reconstruct the

More Complex

text as

it

155

Literature Reviews

was by writing the numbers from 1 to 6 in the blanks more than one order possible? Does the LR succeed at mak-

originally

provided.

Is

Why or why not?

ing a "high pass" over the material?

The Concept of Discourse Community: A Review of the Literature A. Most of the strongest objections to the

DC concept have come

from the rhetorical community. As early as 1989, Harris complained that the concept it

was

Utopian, while Cooper argued that

took insufficient account of individual agency Arguments

along both of these lines continued to be made, but more recently, those

who value

turalist"

the concept are further accused of being "struc-

and of adopting a "strong

ciently recognizes the long silence,

and anxiety

community B.

directed

text"

moments

approach that

appearance of the

that preface the

document (Casanave

Interest in the concept of discourse

insuffi-

of negotiation, revision, final

1995, Prior 1998).

community (DC)

is

largely a

North American phenomenon since the only detailed discussions from elsewhere have been provided by Casanave (1995) Bex (1996)

seem

in Britain

and Gunnarsson (1997)

Sweden.

in

in Japan, It

would

that leading Australian scholars in this field, such as Halli-

day and Martin, have focused attention on discoursal patterns per

se,

while their European counterparts

(e.g.,

Van

Dijk,

Wodak)

have been more involved with issues of discourse, ideology, and

North American

social justice. This

interest clearly

stems from

English department involvement in rhetorical theory and

its

applications to the teaching of academic writing. C. Rather

few of the contributions

tempted

to define

what

odd because using circularity

community

have actually is.

This

is

at-

rather

the concept as a loose "term of art" can lead to

—that the discourse will be defined by the community

and the community

who have

to the literature

a discourse

will

be defined by

attempted to be

zations have been offered

specific, the

by Swales

Gilbertson (1992), Porter (1992), and

and Gilbertson deserve ferences between local

its

discourse.

more

Of those

detailed characteri-

(1990), Killingsworth

Hanks

and

(1996). Killingsworth

particular credit for elaborating the dif-

and global discourse communities.

156

English


in

D. With both practitioner support and increased definitional

we can once again begin to use it as a

clarity,

discriminating instrument.

We might well need to bear in mind the distinction between local and global communities, even though fast

this distinction is

eroded by electronic communications.

note that

DCs do

being

We certainly should

not have to be supportive or "close knit" (Bex,

1996), or "egalitarian" (Lave free of gender, racial,

and Wenger,

and other kinds

lessons from a rich literature,

1991), or

of prejudice.

we are now

even entirely

With these

in a better position to

begin answering our research questions. E. Porter (1992) offers a particularly

complexities

neat solution to

—that of the forum. A forum

is

some

of the

a "concrete, local

manifestation of the operation of a discourse community" (1992, 107).

For Porter these fora can range from being a defined place

and on to being a community connection (cf. Killings1992), such as a conference and a journal.

of assembly, to being an occupational location,

vehicle for wider discourse

worth and Gilbertson,

He then suggested

that

it is

these forumlike discourse

commu-

nity "traces" (p. 108) that provide convenient points of entry for

study and research (see also Schryer, 1994, and Berkenkotter and

Huckin, 1995). F.

In contrast, the

DC "supporter's club" is heavily populated by some sense as practitioners; tend to work with non-native experts in technical and business

those that consider themselves in these include applied linguists

speakers of English, as well as

communication

who

who are interested

in preparing students for

writing in the workplace. Whatever residual doubts these groups

may have about the concept, cal

framework

for preparing

they see

it

as a valuable

and

practi-

people for specific upcoming writing

tasks.

(See

Note

8.)

Task Five

Now take a closer look at the following two versions of paragraph A, which deals with objections to the concept of discourse community. Can you see the differences? What are the consequences of the changes carried out in A2?

More Complex

Al. Most of the strongest objections to the the rhetorical community.

157

Literature Reviews

As

DC concept have come from

early as 1989, Harris complained that

was Utopian, while Cooper argued that it took insuffiArguments along both of these continued to be made, but more recently, those who value the

the concept

cient account of individual agency. lines

concept are further accused o/being "structuralist" and of adopting a "strong text" approach that insufficiently recognizes the long

ments of negotiation, appearance of the

and anxiety

revision, silence,

final

community

directed

mo-

that preface the

document (Casanave

1995, Prior 1998).

A2. 'Most of the strongest objections to the the rhetorical community.

2

As

DC concept have come from

early as 1989, Harris stated that the

concept was Utopian, while Cooper maintained that cient account of individual agency. lines

3

it

took insuffi-

Arguments along both

continued to be made, but more recently, those

of these

who value

the

concept are further described as "structuralist" and adopting a "strong text" approach that insufficiently recognizes the long

ments of negotiation, appearance of the

revision, silence,

final

community

and anxiety

directed

mo-

that preface the

document (Casanave

1995, Prior 1998).

(See

Note

9.)

Language Focus:

Citation, Tense,

We dealt with this topic Students; here

we

in

and Reporting Verbs

Unit Seven of Academic Writing for Graduate

take a second, briefer look. First, consider the subjects of

the present perfect verbs in the write-up

(now

listed in their correct

order

of occurrence).

Paragraph Subject

Present Perfect

1

the only detailed discussions

have been provided by

1

leading Australian scholars

have focused attention on

2

Most

have come from

4

Rather few of the contributions

4

the

of the strongest objections

more

detailed

characterizations

have actually attempted

have been offered by

to

158


we can

So

learn

two things from

this display. First, the present perfect is

closely associated with generalizations (often

hedged or modified) about

the literature. Second, these kinds of generalizations tend to cluster in the

paragraphs and /or

earlier

However, as we said

work can

in

also be subtle

at the

AWG, and

beginnings of paragraphs.

tense choice

strategic.

when discussing previous

For example,

it

will

be clear from

the concluding paragraph (D) that John continues to believe that the

concept

is

useful;

it

only needs to be "rehabilitated." Thus,

by adverbs such

of the present perfect supported

as

we

DC

see the use

now and once again.

Now consider this sentence (sentence 3 in A), which follows a summary of the views of

two people who

are against the concept of discourse

community. Arguments along both Surely,

of these lines continued to be

made,

.

.

.

—

you might well argue especially in the light of the five examples above that the present perfect should have been used here,

in the chart

—

as in


of these lines have continued to be

made

.

.

.

Certainly, both of these are grammatically possible. Indeed, the present

tense might be another option

if

such arguments were

still

being pre-

sented at the time of writing.


of these lines continue to be

made

.

.

.

We can now see that the writer's actual choice of the past tense is motivated by his belief that such arguments are old, dated, no longer relevant;

need not be taken so seriously today; and so on. His use of the past tense is

thus quietly dismissive.

Task Six

Produce your either

tary

own fragment of a

multidisciplinary literature review,

from your previous work or something new.

on your experience.

Add

a brief

commen-

More Complex

5.3 English in the

159

Literature Reviews

Research World: A Further Perspective

We had a first look at this highly relevant issue in Unit One, Section 1.3; we now look at some further comment. Below you will find an abstract on

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders affect the the jaw located just in front of the ear canal and cause chronic,

a dental topic.

joint of

severe pain. In the United States 90 percent of the sufferers of are

women. Read

the abstract

TMJ pain

and then decide which of the following best

captures the authors' main point.

when they

on

a.

Medical journalists should be careful

b.

Dunn et al. have made an important discovery.

c.

Researchers should check literature in languages other than English

report

research.

before publishing.

Media Hype: Musculus Sphenomandibularis J.C. Tiirp, T.

Cowley, C.S. Stohler

Abstract

The report

of

an allegedly so

far

unknown craniomandibular muscle by Dunn and co-workers provided

("the sphenomandibularis") in 1996

much comment in journals and newspapers. The role of the

authors' hypothesized

"m. sphenomandibularis" in temporomandibular disorders

and headaches created hopes and expectations. The present

article ex-

amines whether two detailed descriptions by Ramalho and co-workers [1978, in Portuguese]

deal with the very tions

new

it

and by Zenker

[1954, 1955,

same muscle. From

becomes evident

that the

a

and 1956,

in

German]

comparison of these descrip-

"m. sphenomandibularis"

is

not a

muscle, but corresponds to the "medial portion" [Zenker], or "deep

portion" [Ramalho et

al.]

of the temporalis muscle. Further directed

search identified descriptions of the muscle in question back in the

19th century. C. Tiirp, T. Cowley, and C. S. Stohler, Media Hype: Musculus Sphenomandibularis, Acta Anatomica 158 (1997): 150-54. Reproduced by permission. J.

(See

Note

10.)

160

As

it


turned out, the authors decided not to include the "Concluding Re-

marks"

in the

manuscript that they submitted. Read the remarks and then

answer the questions that Irrespective of the

follow.

outcome of the present research on the "spheno-

mandibularis," there are

some general

lessons that can be learned from

this "discovery." 1.

In certain scientific fields, significant findings

have been published

in

languages other than English. By solely relying on English or Ameri-

may

can textbooks and journals, important information not only true for anatomy

missed. This

is

[Lang, 1995]

(p. v)

dentistry.

therefore be

— "the oldest medical science"

—but also for other "classical" disciplines, such as

As Groscurth

recently pointed out: "Times have changed.

Whereas today the vast majority

of research papers are published in

—

something we should rememwhen researching all fields but particularly those that were active so many years ago" [Groscurth, 1996] (p. 1163). English, this

was not always

the case

ber

2.

With very few exceptions, peared

MEDLINE only includes articles that ap-

after 1966. In addition,

only considers a selection of tal

it

all

should be noted that

this

database

currently published medical and den-

journals, thereby favoring journals that use the English language.

Hence,

if

MEDLINE

is

the only source of a search

on

a specific topic,

may not many excellent peerMEDLINE. 1

relevant articles written in a language different from English

be found. Authors should also bear in mind that reviewed journals are currently not 3.

As

a result, there

is

listed in

a chance that a supposedly

"new" observation,

approach, technique, idea, or description of an anatomical structure or a medical

syndrome may be just

a re-discovery or re-description of

something that had previously been reported elsewhere [Gorlin, 1996; Ring, 1980]. 1.

For example, peer-reviewed journals published in a language other than English and currently not being considered in Zeitschrift (dentistry;

MEDLINE are, among others,

Germany), Stomatologic

Germany/Austria), as well as Nederlandse

Deutsche Zahnnarztliche

(dentistry; Austria),

Tijdschrift voor

and Der Schmerz

(pain;

Tandheelkunde (dentistry;

Netherlands).

a.

b.

Do you know own field?

of

comparable instances of "false" discoveries from your

Did your native language use

to

be more important as a source of im-

portant scholarly and research information?

More Complex

161

Literature Reviews

How often do you search for literature in your native language as

c.

opposed (See

Note

to English?

11.)

Language Focus: Uses of Quotation Marks In Unit Four,

block quote.

number

a

1.

3.

of purposes.

To represent the exact words of something said or written by some-

body 2.

we looked at two basic quotation types: within sentence and As you know, quotation marks within a text can be used for

To

else

refer to a title

To indicate that what be taken

literally.

is

This

written within the quotation marks

is

usually

known today as

is

not to

the "scare-quotes"

use since writers detach themselves (nervously?) from the truth of the

quoted material or the appropriateness of using the quoted expression.

The 1969 edition

of the

of this third practice:

regarded as a lost" (144).

pect that

famous Chicago Manual

of Style

is

highly

critical

"Such use of quotation marks should always be

last resort, to

be used

when

the irony might otherwise be

However, although we know of no relevant research, we sus-

its

use has both increased and become more "respectable" (and

here of course

we are

using scare quotes ourselves) in these postmodern

times. (The 14th edition of the Chicago

Manual

of Style

still

expresses reser-

vations about this use, however.)

Task Seven

Look back gorize

it

at the

as

1, 2,

two dental

texts.

Highlight

Are there some uses of quotations that seem

Are

all

quoted material and

to

you

the uses of scare quotes basically the same?

might be subcategorized? (See

all

Note

12.)

cate-

or 3 as listed above.

And

if

so,

how?

to

be ambiguous?

Or do you think they

162


5.4

A Second Literature Review Case

"The Nature of Academic Writing

in

Samraj, Ph.D. diss,

the University of Michigan, 1995)

in linguistics,

an Interdisciplinary Field" (Betty

T. R.

Task Eight

Consider the

literature

review problems facing Betty Samraj as she em-

barked upon her dissertation work in

linguistics.

Her working

graduate student writing in interdisciplinary contexts the university's School of Natural Resources

(which

a.

is

Indicate with a

and the Environment (SNRE)

Y

(yes) or

N (no) which of the following areas she

to cover in the literature of her dissertation proposal

later incorporate in

For those areas you marked with a

acknowledgment Here are 10 possible

Y,

would she need to be exhausaway with some briefer (B)

could she get

of the literature out there?

areas.

Should

Should coverage

be

be exhaustive or

this

covered?

A history of the SNRE, which was chosen as the research

2.

3.

site

General theories about interdisciplinarity

and multidisciplinarity

Previous studies about the nature of

academic writing 4.

Previous studies on environmental discourse

5.

The nature

and

her dissertation

tive (E) in her coverage, or

1

was

why we chose it as the second main activity in this section).

would need

b.

topic

—as represented by

of interdisciplinarity in

environmental studies

brief?

More Complex

163

Literature Reviews

Previously demonstrated linguistic

6.

techniques for analyzing academic discourse

The content background to what her chosen students would be writing about

7.

8.

Educational literature on

how graduate

students learn to be graduate students 9.

how

Previous research on acquire

students

—or do not acquire—the

ability

to write interdisciplinary discourse in

an 10.

SNRE

setting

Previous studies of student writing

How many areas do you think she should include? (See Note 13.) These

first-level decisions

about what and what not to include are hard

enough. Even harder are those second-level decisions that

relate to

to best organize these rather disparate bodies of literature.

So

sider

how

Betty might proceed.

The

first

thing to note

is

let's

that Betty

how

con-

found-

—no previous studies that had attempted to

to her considerable relief

answer area to

9.

In that sense then, this finding gave her a green light

go ahead with her dissertation research.

Now suppose that Betty eventually decided (as in fact she did) that she had

to

say at least a

little

what she might have Area

something about both areas

started to write

on each

1

and

2.

Here

is

area.

1

In 1901, the university established a

Department

of Forestry,

which

1927 became a School of Forestry and Conservation. Primarily in

sponse to changing job opportunities for dents [citations omitted], the school of Natural Resources.

Department

of

of Architecture

its

in

re-

masters and doctoral stu-

was renamed

in 1950 as the School

The next major change occurred

in 1966

when

the

Landscape Architecture was transferred from the School

and Design. This move

reflected a

new

concern to incor-

porate conservation practices and principles in landscape architecture,

such as the preservation of native plant species

[citations omitted].

Four

164

English

years

in


the traditional departmental structure

later,

was abandoned

in fa-

vor of broader-based "concentrations" in order to further interconnect

ways

and producing professional environmental knowl-

of presenting

edge. Finally, in 1992 the school

was renamed once

the School of Natural Resources

and the Environment.

again,

now becoming

All these changes,

both in substance as well as in nomenclature, thus show the research site

reacting to shifts in the administrative, occupational

and

legislative

landscape.

Area 2 Klein (1990) ciplinarity,

problems

makes an important

in society,

and endogenous

concerned with

sically

distinction

which originates outside

new ways

of the

between exogenous

interdisciplinarity,

which

interdisciplinarity as a philosophically conceived synopsis

one ..."

interdisciplinarity

is

plinary activity [citations omitted] and

its

discourse that

it

is

a

It is

also clear

and those

local

from

nature of interdisci-

bridging role to practitioners

[citations omitted], particularly in the field of

tations omitted].

intrin-

not a theoretical concept but a practical

Others have stressed the

(1990:42).

is

new knowledge. Klein discourse between those who define

of producing

goes on to note "the tension in the

who believe

interdis-

academic world because of

environmental science

[ci-

this literature that interdisciplinary

hard-won achievement; Journet

(1990) shows, for example,

required the exceptional abilities of Luria and Sacks to "combine

the analytical exposition of neurological data with psychological narrative

and story"

(p.

182) in order to forge several decades

ago the new

cross-disciplinary field of neuropsychiatry. Finally, Fuller (1995) importantly observes that that

simply

reflects

we need and

to distinguish interdisciplinary discourse

ratifies a

previously established interdisciplinary

stance from discourse that actually creates

it.

Task Nine These two paragraphs are obviously very ences between them? for

an

(See

LR for a

Note

14.)

Would

either of

different.

them make

a

linguistics prospectus /dissertation?

What are good

And

the differ-

starting point if

not,

why not?

More Complex

More

we can see that the very

seriously,

paragraphs literature

—for

all their

165

Literature Reviews

differences

individual competence

between these two

—are already pulling her

review apart into "subchapters" that handle each topic in turn.

The writer

thus faced with the probability that the "experts" (advisor,

is

book manuscript reviewer)

article reviewer,

will

make

observations like

the following.

Okay, the author apparently knows the various literatures well enough, but the connections the

One

among them

initially attractive

1

What

are the connections,

solution might be to combine areas

some wonderful synopsis and work out. Areas

are missing.

new connections?

synthesis.

So

let's

consider

and 2

1

in

how this might

and 2

What

is

now

the university's School of Natural Resources and the Environ-

ment has renamed and reorganized the

Department

added

itself

several times since

in 1927 as a gesture to the rise of

By 1950

it

origin as

of Forestry, first established in 1901. "Conservation"

was

concerns of an extra-economic

nature and to the beginnings of the ecology ted].

its

had become redesignated

movement

[citations omit-

as the School of Natural Re-

move away from its tree-harvesting origiitself both with the new job markets for its students

sources in a further effort to

nation and to align

and with

a

tions in the

concern to relate faculty interests and practitioner preoccupa-

growing

field of

environmental science

This interest in interdisciplinarity (Klein 1990)

when

the old departments


was underlined

in 1970,

were replaced by four new "concentrations":

resource ecology and management, resource policy and behavior, forestry,

and landscape architecture

(this last transferred

architecture school in 1966) [citations omitted]. This then

endogenous

now added

discussed

later.

Klein's

for

to the previously established

(theory /practice) interdisciplinarity (Klein 1990). cations of these developments

is

(new academic formations

interdisciplinarity

demic knowledge),

from the

(e.g.,

new

aca-

exogenous

The discoursal impli-

Journet 1990, Fuller 1995) will be

166

English

in


Task Ten

Now here are some made-up e-mail comments by Betty's four committee members on her latest revision. Who do you agree and disagree with? And why? Thanks, Betty,

for the second draft.

ginning now;

think you have integrated the two areas very

well.

I

I

really like the be-

I'm encouraged. Press on!

Chuck Thanks for the revision, Betty. However, as a member of the SNRE,

I

I

have to say that

don't think your opening properly

represents the history of the school. The real history, at has been driven more by changes in the job

least in my view,

market and by federal legislation than by changes in theoretical orientation. This perspective has been largely lost, to such an extent that your opening story is close to being

misleading. Want to have another go? Sorry. Sally Hi,

Betty

As you know,

spend

I

a

lot of time struggling with inter-

disciplinary issues, and

I

had little problem with your

original synopsis. But now the real debates about the philosophical nature of interdisciplinarity have become lost

within what is essentially ONE institution.

I

a

chronological narrative of

think we should meet ASAP.

Yours,

Carlos I

picked up your revised opening to the proposal

of days ago. Much of the later stuff

I

like,

a

couple

especially

the more linguistic stuff. Well, you would' ve guessed that,

wouldn't you?

I

don't know much about your opening topics,

but your second draft strikes me as being rather "lifeless" in comparison to the first version.

I

really enjoyed your

original SNRE story! Hope this helps and hope to see you at the colloguium tomorrow.

Pam

More Complex

167

Literature Reviews

Task Eleven Prepare Betty's e-mail response to her committee. Begin, "Thank you

very much

Below in

is

responding so promptly to

for

summary

a brief

Task Eight

of

my latest draft."

what Betty eventually decided

repeated here for your convenience.

is

(See

Note

to do.

all

15.)

The

list

How effective do you

consider her solutions to her problem? Grade each one "good" (/+), "possibly

OK"

(/), or

"probably not" (/-) in the space provided.

1.

A history of the SNRE, which was chosen as the research site

2.

General theories about interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity

3.

Previous studies about the nature of academic writing

4.

Previous studies on environmental discourse

5.

The nature

6.

Previously demonstrated linguistic techniques for analyzing aca-

of interdisciplinarity in environmental studies

demic discourse 7.

The content background

what her chosen students would be

to

writing about 8.

Educational literature on

how graduate students learn to be graduate

students 9.

Previous research on

how

students acquire

—or do not acquire—the

ability to write interdisciplinary discourse in 10.

an

SNRE

setting

Previous studies of student writing

Area

1.

She moved the history of

Areas 2 and

5.

3, 4,

and

to the introductory chapter.

She fed these theoretical discussions into the main

account (see below) as and

Areas

SNRE

10.

when

LR

opportunities arose.

These areas became the central focus of the LR; in

other words, the primary focus

became

writing, as seen from a multi-

disciplinary perspective.

Area

6.

She postponed

collection

Area

7.

this technical area until the

following data

and methodology chapter.

Discussion of

SNRE

course content and that in student term

papers was also postponed, but

this

time until the results chapters.

168

English

Area to

8.

She was able

to

in

persuade her committee that she did not need

review the literature in

Area

9.

As we have


this area in detail for a linguistics Ph.D.!

seen, she

found nothing here

(to

her considerable

relief!).

(See

Note

Here

is

16.)

how

Betty actually organized her literature review in her

dissertation.

Literature

Review

28

Introduction

28

Student Writing

29

Undergraduate Writing

29

Graduate Writing

36

Published Writing

39

Writing in Interdisciplinary Fields

43

Conclusion

49

And now here

Betty's introduction to her 22-page

is

LR

(sentence

num-

bers have been added). 1

In the

opening chapter

I

have attempted

to outline

and motivate

my study of graduate student writing in a school of natural resources and environment. 2 The purpose

of this chapter

is

to relate this

study to

previous scholarly attempts to describe, analyze and explain academic writing and the processes of tablish

its

what has been revealed

the findings of

acquisition. in other

3

One purpose here

is

to es-

academic contexts as a basis

for

my study. 4 Another purpose is to attempt a general criti-

cal evaluation of the research so far. 5

The amount

of potentially relevant literature

from various sources: composition

EAP/ESL guage)

(English for

specialists,

is

Academic Purposes /English

and discourse

very large and comes

specialists, social constructionists,

analysts. 6 For

as a Second Lan-

my purposes,

I

will

concentrate on the studies in undergraduate writing tied to the writing-

across-the-curriculum

(WAC) movement, graduate

student writing

(produced both by native and non-native speakers of English) and

dis-

ciplinary rhetoric, with special attention given to interdisciplinary

and

environmental discourses. (Samraj 1995, 28)

.

More Complex

169

Literature Reviews

Task Twelve

Answer 1.

the following questions.

The passage opens with "In the opening chapter I have attempted to ..." As you can see, the verb is in the present perfect. She could have written "In the opening chapter

... "

What

motive for choosing the present perfect? (Obviously

gic

than that discussed in Section 2.

attempted to

I

is

it is

her stratedifferent

5.3.)

The remaining three sentences

of the first paragraph

open

in a

remark-

ably similar way.

The purpose

of this chapter

One purpose

here

Another purpose

is

to

is

is

to relate

to establish

attempt

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

What is the technical name for this kind of language? What might be the positive and negative aspects of such 3.

Consider a sentence

like

repetitions?

"The amount of potentially relevant

literature

very large." Which of the following choices might you expect to

is

fol-

low such a sentence? a.

;

b.

;

c.

4.

;

therefore, this review will

therefore,

it

therefore,

I

will

be divided into a number of sections.

will principally focus

Sentence 6 opens with "For refer

back

to the

(See

make

Note

on

.

my purposes,

.

.

..." In your view does this

purposes mentioned in the

refer forward, as in "For the

to

be rather long.

first

paragraph? Or does

purposes of the arguments that

I

it

am going

..."

17.)

5.5 Using Metadiscourse

One way that writers can help readers to follow the development of their LR or any text is by using metadiscourse discourse about discourse. As has been noted by many researchers, metadiscourse is writing about the

—

evolving text rather than referring to the subject matter. Metadiscourse

is

170


an important part of our everyday language and "a major feature of the

ways we communicate (See

Note

in a

range of genres and settings" (Hyland 1998).

18.)

Metadiscoursal elements do not add propositional material (content); rather they are intended to help readers

revealing

its

I

their

among other

of this paper traces the

As you can

see from these

plastics will be taken

and

up

in the

next section.

two examples, the metadiscourse phrases (in a

readers) in order to direct or engage the readers in

way to

talk to the

some way.

(See

19.)

One

of the

primary

roles of metadiscourse

load on our imagined readers. writer's position, it is

and serves

It

is

to

reduce the cognitive

aids communication, helps support a

to build a relationship

with an audience. As

not surprising that the amount and kind of metadiscourse in

English are influenced by a

1.

by

things. For example:

enable the author to intrude into his or her text

such,

text

development of section 4B of the Clayton Act.

The negative aspects of recycling

Note

way through a

organization, referring readers back to a part of the text,

providing definitions, Part

make

number

Other things being equal, there

of factors.

is

likely to

be proportionately more

metadiscourse in longer rather than shorter (such as a dissertation) impose a greater likely to

be read in one

sitting.

texts.

After

all,

longer texts

memory load and are not

Thus, metadiscourse

is

particularly

associated with books, dissertations, and theses. is some variation across disciplines in terms amount of metadiscourse used (Hyland 1998).

2.

There

3.

Metadiscourse

is

more

is

at least part of the reason

why

metadiscourse

is

particularly prevalent in philosophy.

Metadiscourse

is

common in extensive spoken monologues,

lectures

and

colloquia,

and

often used to support complex rather than

straightforward material. This

4.

of the type

presumably again

to

such as

reduce the cognitive and

memory load. 5.

Metadiscourse

is

more

likely at the

chapters, papers, lectures,

and so

beginnings and ends of sections,

on.

.

More Complex

Although metadiscourse may not play a major your native language, as an

NNS

of English,

importance in U.S. academic English

1

171

Literature Reviews

when you write

role

you need

to

be aware of

in

its

for the following three reasons.

NNS texts may not be as clear to their readers as NS ones, and so metadiscourse might be particularly helpful in signposting what

is

going on. 2.

As we have

seen,

American academic English seems today

to value

metadiscourse. 3.

As we have

NNS writers may come from academic tra-

also seen,

ditions that, for

one reason or another,

may place

lower value on

metadiscourse.

Research has shown

that, at least for native

right

amount

fully

aware of what he or she

speakers of English, the

of metadiscourse gives readers the sense that a writer

authority. (See

Note

is

20.)

Scholars working in contrastive rhetoric and cross-cultural cation have

shown

is

doing, thus giving the impression of

communi-

that the use of metadiscourse in a text varies across a

range of national and linguistic academic cultures. As a number of scholars have noted, the value

NNS

and virtue of metadiscourse remain un-

questioned in the U.S. literature on academic writing. However, in other

academic cultures heavy use of metadiscourse can be seen as indicating unnecessary promotion of one's

own text

(Finland,

Sweden) or

as reflect-

ing an insultingly low assessment of the intelligence and attention of the

reader (China, Japan).

There are also suggestions that the size and cohesiveness of the

presumed audience may

also be factors in deciding

when or how

to

use metadiscoursal phrases. For instance, Swedish linguists writing in

Swedish and Malaysian course than they do

Malay use less metadisNote 21.) Note 22) on dissertations

scientists writing in

when writing

A recent dissertation (Bunton

in English. (See

1999) (see

points out that metadiscourse that refers to other parts of the dissertation

can be described in terms of direction and

level,

which then can be further

described in terms of scope and distance. Take, for instance, the following sentence.

In the next section

influence of

I

present the results of a study that examined the

C0 2 and temperature on retranslocation

senescence in sugar maple.

during autumn

172


In this example, (e.g.,

we

see that the direction

is

forward; the scope

and the section

rather than a chapter),

is

one that

is

is

a section

different

from

the current one.

Direction:

preview

Distance: section different from

Scope: section

the current one

The

full

TABLE

range of options

5.3.

Metadiscourse

is

in

given in table

5.3.

Dissertations: Linear Text References 3

Level

Direction

Previews

Look forward,

anticipate,

summarize, or

refer to a later stage of the text

Reviews Look back,

repeat,

2.

summarize,

refer to

an

earlier stage in the text

Overviews Look in both directions and

Scope of the segment being referred 1. dissertation as a whole

refer to the

current stage of the text in overall terms

chapter(s)

3.

section(s)

4.

paragraph(s)

5.

sentence(s)

Distance to the segment referred to 6. a different chapter 7. this chapter but another section within 8.

by

the level

—

in

it

this section

"Linear Text References are explicit references to other parts of the linear reference as well as

to

but a different part of

text, further

it

defined by the direction of the

terms of both scope and distance.

Other forms of metadiscourse that can help guide your reader through

your

text include the following.

Nonlinear Text References Explicit references to tables, charts, figures, plates, equations, or appendixes

See table

1.

Inter text References

Explicit references to other texts, especially of other authors

According

to Aldirvi,

.

.

.

.

More Complex

173

Literature Reviews

Text Act Markers

Explicit

markers of the discourse acts being performed in the

text (as

opposed to research acts done independently of the text) In

summary,

.

.

Text Connectors

Connectors that show relationships between different parts of the text First,

I

will discuss

.

.

.

Text Glosses

Explicitly indicated explanations of

what

particular terms or

symbols in

the text mean. For the purposes of this discussion, persistent means

.

.

Task Thirteen Let's

now examine two paragraphs from Betty's sections on graduate

writing and on published writing.

Can you

find the linear text references?

How would you describe them in terms of direction, scope, and distance, as presented in table 5.3?

Graduate Writing In contrast to the extensive

and growing amount of work

in the area of

undergraduate writing in the disciplines, there are only a handful of studies

on graduate writing

Though few

ers of English.

in the disciplines, especially

in

by native speak-

number, these studies are valuable

in the

insights they provide into the context of graduate writing, the writing

processes adopted by graduate writers and the acculturation process that

graduate students also have to undergo to attain success in their fields of specialization.

A number of studies have been conducted by EAP/ESL

specialists directly involved in

students for the briefly before

English.

I

academy

equipping non-native speaker graduate

[citation omitted].

These will be considered

discuss studies focusing mainly on native speakers of

174


Published Writing Studies on the structure of published writing can be sub-categorized ac-

cording to their primary focus.

First, there are a

number of studies that Some of these

focus on disciplinary differences in textual structures. studies deal with writing in interdisciplinary fields separately. Naturally

enough,

I

will

and

will

pay particular attention

be discussed to studies

on

writing in the interdisciplinary field of environmental science. Second, there are studies that focus

more on

the structure of different genres or

on parts of a genre, such as the structure of the Materials and Methods sections in Biomedical journal articles. Research tures of

two genres has

also

comparing the

been conducted. The

historical

struc-

development

of a particular genre has also been studied [citation omitted]. In addition,

some

scholars have paid particular attention to a specific linguistic as-

pect of a set of texts, such as topic sentences in research articles [citation

omitted] or the use of metadiscourse in academic texts [citations omit-

on the structure of published material have

ted]. Finally studies

been concerned with contrastive rhetoric be reviewing literature from the relevance to

(See

Note

subcategory as

this

I

also

will only

has the most

my study.

23.)

Take a look

Do you

first


at the final

sentence of the paragraph on published writing.

enough explanation for her omissions? Should she have perhaps justified her decision more strongly? (See Note 24.) think Betty has provided

Task Fourteen

Here

is

a transition sentence Betty used in her section entitled "Writing

in Interdisciplinary Fields" to introduce environmental discourse. effectively

does

it

link the

two

How

sections together?

Writing in Interdisciplinary Fields

Having discussed several studies on writing I

(See

turn

Note

now

25.)

to

some

studies

in interdisciplinary fields,

on environmental discourse.

More Complex

175

Literature Reviews

Task Fifteen

Read through

this part of Betty's section

answer the questions

on undergraduate writing and

that follow.

Undergraduate Writing lr

The issue of being

initiated or acculturated into a disciplinary or dis-

was mentioned

course community [citation omitted]

earlier as

an un-

derlying reason for investigations into discursive practices of different disciplines. 2 However,

when

methodology, there seems

and

to

studies are not comparative in their

be some

real

rhetorical features with a discipline

danger of equating

when

linguistic

they could merely be the

manifestation of formal discourse in any academic community. 3 The of Drury and Webb (1991), for instance, is undertaken to explore the apprentice role of students. 4 Though the study examines only a few

work texts

from the

field of education, the

conclusions reached are generalized

to include all writing in the university situation. 5 It is said that the uni-

versity situation "generally requires factual or persuasive kind" (Drury

authors state that they intend to

an analytical approach of either a

and Webb

show how

1991:215).

6

Though

literacy requirements of the discipline area, their analysis in

variety of textual features such as thematic choices tures 7

is

unable to reveal what makes

What does achieving

2.

What

Betty's

4.

terms of a

transitivity struc-

this text a successful psychology text.

What

purpose seem

text.

to be?

How successful is she at

it?

sentences contain the chief criticisms? Highlight the evaluative

language in the 3.

and

Rather, their analysis appears to describe the features found in an argu-

mentative rather than a personal

1.

the

a successful text meets the

is

text.

the purpose of the

first

sentence?

How strong is the criticism in the text? Has it been softened in any way?

5.

what way do professionals in your field criticize the work of others? Do you know how to be critical of work in your own field? What does In

it

(See

take to develop a critical stance?

Note

26.)

176


What about Interdisciplinarity?

5.6

We have stopped

short of claiming that either of the case studies pre-

sented in this unit

is

an example of multidisciplinary work.

so primarily because whether or

how

from a more straightforward one

is

a multidisciplinary

not

We have done

LR is

different

Trying to clarify the

clear.

ences would also require us to attempt making distinctions

differ-

among the

following four terms.

Interdisciplinary

Cross-disciplinary

Transdisciplinary

Multidisciplinary

We know

that distinctions are

sometimes made, especially between the

"higher" concept of interdisciplinary and the "lower" concept of multidisciplinary.

However, the working out of such a distinction can probably

only be carried out in specific disciplinary settings. Attempting to do so is

thus neither helpful nor necessary in a book on research English in

general. For our purposes, though, to

derstanding of what It is

we mean by

sometimes thought that

make

sure that

interdisciplinarity

interdisciplinary

information from other disciplines, which

you have some un-

we

offer the following.

means simply borrowing

may or may not undergo

a

transformation in the process. However, interdisciplinarity can perhaps

be thought of as a process of creating a extricably linked to

its

new

field of

knowledge

that

is in-

disciplinary roots. Students are often encouraged

number of reasons. For instance, interdisciplinary research may help make them aware of research questions not usually asked in their own fields; or it may help them solve problems that are beyond the scope of a single discipline (e.g., environto

pursue interdisciplinary work

for a

mental studies).

No doubt, interdisciplinarity is a the following

difficult

achievement, as revealed by

two quotations.

Of course we

are not interdisciplinary ourselves;

students do that.

we make our grad

We make them hop from one disciplinary island to

another, acquiring different intellectual capital

on each.

—A professor of social history

More Complex

The hope

is

177

Literature Reviews

that students acquire

knowledge from

while they are here, and they get some

different disciplines

skills that let

them function

in a

workplace that forces them to do some integration.

—A professor in a school of natural resources

These quotations underline the point that

work

much

multidisciplinary

an individual adventure. Graduate students in the United States

is

may be pushed toward such

adventures by cognate requirements, by

cognate members on their committees, or by their advisors. But, as the first

quote suggests, they tend to be pushed, rather than gently

by

led

illus-

trious example! In the second, the speaker implies that pressures of post-

graduation work itself

Of course ate a

may

create the kind of integration that the university

did not engender. in other situations, the nature of the

demand

beyond

to search

chosen topic

may cre-

disciplinary boundaries for insights, for

reassurances of the topic's originality, or for a range of methodologies. In

may be clearer precedents.

such cases, as in biomedical engineering, there

At the time of writing, interdisciplinary work has become very ionable. In fact, at the time

issued the report of

its

we were revising this unit,

Life Sciences

The fundamental approach ical

and

Commission. Here

of this initiative

theoretical approaches,

our

and the use

is

is

a brief extract.

the combination of empir-

of information science

emerging technologies

to better

important emphasis

one translating the resulting knowledge

tical

applications,

illness

is

understand the complexity of

which have implications

and the protection

of other species,

ment. (Press release, February

idealized, as

life.

for the treatment of

and

and

An

to prac-

human

of our shared environ-

12, 1999)

Because interdisciplinarity has such a high contemporary

become

fash-

own university

profile,

it

can

we attempt to show in the next task.

Task Sixteen

Read the following

fictional

to the question that follows.

account and try to choose the correct answer

Work with

a partner

if

possible.

178


A Diary of Five Weeks in the Library, One with a Tutor, and One at Home Week One This I

go!

week I

am

start

I

my multidisciplinary literature review. Off to the library

starting with the cultural history of the

Middle Ages.

Week Two

Now I am on to studies of medieval Latin. Good thing

I

have some

previous training here!

Week Three This

the

is

influences

week

for the early history of science, especially

on Islamic

on western Europe.

Week Four Been busy

Week

this

week learning

the basics of astronomy.

Five

Whew!

had a hard struggle

I've

relationships

between

religion

all

week

trying to

and science

make

sense of the

in earlier times.

Week Six

My long-planned intensive daily tutorials with Emeritus Professor Manfred, the great expert

homework

on paleography, or old handwriting. Masses

of

looking at medieval manuscripts. Making good progress.

Week Seven

Home at last!

Writing

away every day on my Chapter Two.

Oh, you don't know the topic of tion,

do you?

Well, as

a.

The Influences

b.

The Role of Astronomy

c.

The Evolution

d.

my grandly multidisciplinary disserta-

you might have guessed of Arabic Script

of the

it's

.

.

.

on Latin Science Manuscripts

in the Cultural History of the

Religious and Scientific Medieval Latin:

A Stylistic Comparison

(With thanks to

(See

Note

27.)

Middle Ages

Medieval Science Encyclopedia

Ana Montero)

More Complex

179

Literature Reviews

Task Seventeen Be ready

to discuss

any multidisciplinary aspects of any of your research

projects (past or present).

What

difficulties

did you experience, and

how

did you solve them?

and Comments for Unit Five

5.7 Notes

Notel Verbatim

is

a Latin term used

original writer or speaker

by scholars

to indicate that the exact

have been used. As

we said,

this is

words

of the

not true in this case.

Note 2

Upon

seeing the

list

of

comments, a very senior and highly successful graduate

have been said about my work at one time would we want to claim that our own scholarly writof such criticisms. We also do not want to suggest that the criticism in

student said, "Oh, or another."

Nor

all

of those things

of course

ing

is

2

entirely well founded. There

is

free

sections of the LR. historical

The

point,

we

is

very often a chronological underpinning to

think,

is

that a simple

and purely descriptive

account will not help the writer's "positioning."

Note 3

Acronyms

are

"words" that are made up of the

phrase. Here are

LED

light emitting

ESL

English as a second language

of a longer

noun

diode

SEM

scanning electron microscope

CIA

Central Intelligence

Note

first letters

some examples.

Agency

depends on how the acronym is pronounced, not We write and say, "An SEM" because it is pronounced as

that the article usage

on how

it is

spelled.

"S_E_M" and not "sem," rhyming with the word hem. It it were pronounced "sem" we would write and say "A SEM." What about LED? You might think it would be pronounced as "led," but in the United States, even though you can pronounce it, we say "L_E_D." Thus, it is "An LED."

180


Note 4 Swales, John M. 1990. Genre analysis: English

Cambridge: Cambridge University

in

academic and research settings.

Press.

Note 5 Provenance

is

a term used

by archaeologists


for

Task Two)

Here are some points from table

work seems

to indicate the place of origin.

you might

5.1 that

1.

Most

2.

The concept originated

3.

A lot of books have been written in this area.

4.

There have been supporters and

of the

You could make

to

have been done

in rhetoric

in the

come from

Most

of the critics

2.

Most

of the supporters can be

communication and applied Note 7 (sample responses

United

critics of this

rhetoric

found

on

in

table 5.2.

more

practical areas such as technical

for Task Three)

of fieldwork

Cross-national data (or not)

A

(or not) in biology

for

Task Four)

2

B

1

C

4

D

6

E

5

F

3

short history.

linguistics.

Hermeneutics


its

and composition.

following.

Taxonomic revision

States.

concept through

Other categories that class participants have mentioned

The length and nature

make.

and composition and then spread.

the following points based

1.

like to

An alternative order might be B C E A F D.

to

us include the

More Complex

In order for the alternative order to work, though, transition at the beginning of the last

181

Literature Reviews

paragraph

to

you would have something

With considerable practitioner support and increased definitional

Finally,

we

over this

we have made

think that

a pretty

good

effort to

to

change the

like

make

clarity

.

.

.

a "high pass"

literature.


Task Five)

for

As you can see, the reporting verbs have been changed here. The verbs in Al seem adversarial, while those in A2 are more neutral. The force of the presentation seems to be diminished with the use of the more neutral verbs.

A more general point to note is that reporting verbs indicate different strengths of claim (e.g., demonstrated vs. speculated).

main point

Note 10 (explanation

of the

Although the piece

entitled

is

statement a but statement

Dunn

et al.

(statement

b),

c.

11

"Media Hype" excerpt)

"Media Hype," the main point of the piece

There

is

much in

the short text that

is

is

not

dismissive of

such as the use of allegedly in the opening sentence and following one.

the authors' hypothesized role in the

Note

of the

(sample responses for the questions about the concluding remarks of the

"Media Hype" excerpt) a.

Somewhat

to

our surprise,

at least according to b. Yes, this c.

seems

to

this

rare,

be the general trend.

Again, this would seem quite literature

kind of false discovery seems to be quite

our informants.

and some areas


uncommon, except in

fields like

of the humanities.

for

Task Seven)

In the abstract

"the sphenomandibularis"

probably 3 but see below

"m. sphenomandibularis"

3

"medial portion"

1

"deep portion"

1

comparative

182


concluding remarks

In the

"sphenomandibularis"

probably 3 but see below

"discovery"

3

"the oldest medical science"

1

"classical"

3?

"Times have changed ..."

1

"new"

3

The

use of "sphenomandibularis" in the abstract

first

the one hand,

"new"

it is

Dunn's term; on the

in the final sentence


is

YB YB YE YE YE

2. 3.

4. 5.

6. 7.

8. 9.

10.

1

paragraph

ambiguous.

On

like a fairly neutral scare quote,

while

for

Task Eight)

One

possible response

is

as follows.

N N YB YE YB


The area

little

clearly ironic.

There are no certain answers here.

1.

a

other, the use of allegedly suggests a bit

and sarcasm. "Classical" looks

of irony

is

is

for

Task Nine)

a local narrative, while the area 2

plex, philosophical exposition.

paragraph

Both approaches are probably a

linguistics dissertation since neither

little

is

a

com-

off for a

language nor writing issues are included

in either opening.

Note 15 (sample response Betty the to

is

in a

tough spot here. Only one member of her committee actually thinks

combined

most are

for Task Eleven)

text is

Sally's

an improvement. The two responses that should be attended

and

Carlos's.

Here

is

one possible response.

my latest draft. In light of Pam's, my attempt at integration was is possibly misleading. guess it's back to my

Thanks, everyone, for responding so promptly to Sally's,

and Carlos's comments,

it

too ambitious, doesn't work, and

drawing board. Carlos,

and need Betty

help.

I'll

take

looks as though

you up on your

I

offer of a

meeting

if I

get stuck

More Complex

183

Literature Reviews

Note 16 (Task Eleven)

We

think

all

of Betty's planning decisions are pretty good.


Her

strategy

is

to tie the

gives her earlier 2.

for Task Twelve)

work

two chapters

together.

of the present perfect

to the issues at

hand.

These are highly repetitive structures, which are examples of metadiscourse. These kinds of repetitions are most while in research writing there

is

common in genres

some expectation

such repetition can suggest that a writer along or

is

repetitions

The

first

is

having

like political speeches,

of lexical variation. Often

difficulty

moving

a text

perhaps having trouble finding the right words. However, here the

work well

because they establish her presence in the text

for Betty

by demonstrating how firmly she 3.

The use

Chapter One present relevance

in

option,

a, is

similar case can be

is

in control of her material.

unlikely because of the earlier use of potentially, and a

made

against b. Option c

is

the

most

likely continuation in

our opinion. 4.

This

is

a very difficult question.

dissertation ..."

We

think that

have written something

like

We think it actually refers forward if

Betty

had meant

to

to refer back, she

"For

my

would

"For the purposes outlined above ..." or "Given

these purposes ..."

Note 18 The reference here and

to other citations of

Hyland, K. 1998. Hedging

Hyland

(1998)

in scientific research articles.

is

as follows.

Philadelphia: John

Benjamins.

Note 19 Crismore, A., and R. Farnsworth. 1980. Metadiscourse in popular and professional scientific discourse. In The writing scholar: Studies in academic discourse,

edited by W. Nash.

Newbury

Park, CA.: Sage.

Note 20 Mauranen, A.

1993. Cultural differences in academic rhetoric:

Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

A

textlinguistic study.

184


Note 21 Fredrickson, K., and

J.

M. Swales.

1993. Competition

Introductions from Nysvenska Studier.

Ahmad,

ASLA

U. K. Scientific research articles in Malay:

Ph.D.

diss.,

and discourse community:

6:9-22.

A situated discourse analysis.

the University of Michigan, 1997.

Note 22

Bun ton, D.

1999.

The use

of higher level meta-text in Ph.D. theses. English for

Specific Purposes 18:S41-S56.

Note 23 (sample analysis In the

first

for

Task Thirteen)

paragraph

These will be considered briefly before

I

discuss studies focusing mainly

on

native speakers of English, (preview, current chapter, next section perhaps)

In the second

Some

paragraph of these studies deal with writing in interdisciplinary fields

and

will

be

discussed separately, (preview, scope unknown, distance unknown)

Naturally enough,

I

will

pay particular attention

to studies

on writing

terdisciplinary field of environmental science, (preview, scope

in the in-

unknown, current

chapter)

will only be reviewing literature

I

relevance to

my study,

from the

(preview, scope

first

subcategory as

this

has the most

unknown, distance unknown)

Note 24 (sample response regarding omissions

in

paragraph writing, Task

Thirteen) First,

while

it is it is

my study,

not entirely clear what the first subcategory actually refers

this

for

This kind of section linking

is

if

evasive,

a sense of

Second,

can actually be presumed.


clever,

to.

OK to state that a particular body of literature has the most relevance to

move

drama and

Task Fourteen) often highly effective.

Remember Hamilton's

in the "Misfits" subsection of Unit Four?

expectation.

It

can also add

.

More Complex


for

.

185

Literature Reviews

Task Fifteen)

Possible responses to the five questions. 1.

The ostensible purpose have

2.

to

is

to

show

and conclusions

that results

in the area

made very carefully.

be

Sentences 3 through 6 contain the main criticisms. Examples of evaluative

language include the following phrases. S2. ... there seems to be a real danger of

Though

S4.

generalized to include

Though

S6. 3.

Both

to

.

.

.

when they could merely

the study examines only a few texts

.

.

make

.

,

writing

all

their analysis

a link

.

.

.

is

.

.

.

.

be

.

.

the conclusions reached are

.

unable

to reveal

.

.

.

with her previous discourse and to provide a rationale for

her kind of investigation 4.

The

criticisms of

Drury and Webb (sentences 3-6) are rather

ample, in sentence 6

we

small softening element 5.

Answers

This, of course, is

topic

is real,

is

for

unable to reveal ..."

the use of seems in sentence

One

2.

Task Sixteen)

a fanciful story with

almost always

just isn't

is

... is

will vary.

Note 27 (answer key

work

read "their analysis

strong. For ex-

much more a

however. But which

enough about Arabic

once, option b

is

also unlikely.

no connection

story of

is it? It is

trial

topic

error.

Ana's dissertation

almost certainly not option a

in the diary. Since

Her

to reality. Interdisciplinary

and

astronomy

must then be

not really justify the astronomy part. The answer then

is

— there

mentioned only

either c or d, but

d would

is c.

On the lighter side

We close this rather complicated unit with an amusing little story that suggests in its

own way that wide academic knowledge is

"power."

A famous British scholar in the early part of the twentieth century was Sir Maurice Bowra.

He was

president of an Oxford college and presided over the

dinner every evening traditionally held with the other "fellows" in the college.

At dinner, whatever the topic of learned discussion,

Sir

Maurice always domi-

nated the conversation with his massive erudition. So in desperation, the younger fellows organized a plot to finally defeat their president.

very obscure topic, secretly study

it,

They decided

and then unobtrusively introduce

to take a it

at the

dinner table. They chose thirteenth-century Iranian pottery. Finally they were

186

ready,

English

in


and the great day came. One young

thirteenth-century vase in the British

was

lecturer said

Museum

ascribed to Tehran, but from the decoration

in Isfahan."

And

Then

I

suspect

it

last

like

"The

week's Times

probably was

made

so the conversation continued for about 20 minutes, with Sir

Maurice remaining thought.

something

discussed in

Sir

silent at the

head of the

table.

"Got him

at last," the plotters

Maurice looked up and mildly observed, "I'm glad

gentlemen, that you have been profiting from Iranian pottery in the Encyclopedia Britannica."

to notice,

my unsigned article on medieval

Unit Six

Further Steps and Stops on the Dissertation Road

r

7

r

-\

V4

w

->

y

^53 Ki"Look, this time, my committee has to pass my dissertation. There's nothing left in it except the parts they put in themselves."

The previous four units (which discussed the conference ference poster, to

and the

literature

abstract, the con-

review [two units]) have been designed

be gone through from their beginnings to their ends (leaving out what-

we return to the arrangement we we offer here some help on several that are best turned to as and when needed.

ever seems less relevant). In this unit,

used

for the

opening

unit. In effect,

aspects of the dissertation

The aspects of the

dissertation dealt with in this unit include the following.

6.1.

The Dissertation Abstract

6.2.

Thesis and Dissertation Acknowledgments (See Note

6.3.

Principled Narratives and Extensive

6.4.

Dealing with Unexpected Results

6.5.

The Problematic

6.6.

Notes and Comments

Final Chapter for

Unit Six

187

1.)

Methods Sections

188


The Dissertation Abstract

6.1

many kinds of abstracts that researchers have to write (see One rather special type is the dissertation abstract (DA). One for its special status is that at many U.S. research universities, it

There are

Unit Two). reason is

a separately

examined part of the

school evaluation form there

committee members are asked

dissertation.

On a

typical graduate

a separate line for the abstract

is

to

check

off

where

one of the following.

acceptable as submitted

acceptable after minor typographical corrections acceptable after minor substantive revisions acceptable after major substantive revisions

not acceptable

A second potential source of anxiety comes from the fact that Bell and Howell Information and Learning (formerly UMI) "publishes" or microfilm format dissertations from this service, the

company

many U.S.

requires a dissertation

in digital

As part of abstract of no more than universities.

350 words. Given that dissertations represent large amounts of research

and scholarship, getting the frustrating task. drafts

an outline ings

and

At

As might be

much

down to

the

predicted, one

word

limit

can often be a

common problem with early

up with the introductory matter and of methods, leaving insufficient room to do justice to the find-

that too

is

text

space

is

taken

their implications.

least in

some

fields, especially

when

the described

disciplinary or multidisciplinary, there can also be a

work is interin making

problem

the abstract accessible (at least in part) to scholars (and even examiners)

who might have

a

more marginal

or incidental interest in the study. This

aspect can be especially difficult for dissertation writers,

who are, under-

standably, extremely closely involved in their research projects. It is

often

not surprising then that chairs, committee members, and friends

work with

sometimes

at,

the candidate to finalize the abstract, frequently prior

and sometimes

In this section,

we

use two case studies to

illustrate the

processes of putting a dissertation abstract together. In the focus on the final product; in the second, abstract slowly evolved

to,

after the oral defense.

toward

its

we explore how

prefinal form.

complex first case,

we

a dissertation

Further Steps and Stops on the Dissertation

is

a recent dissertation abstract in linguistics

involved. result

189

Number One

Dissertation Abstract

Below

Road

with which John was

underwent the problems we have mentioned above. The end

It

was, however, found acceptable. Read the abstract and answer the

Work with


a partner

possible.

if

Abstract

Patterns

and Variations

in

Contemporary

Written Business Communications in Turkey:

A Genre Study of Four Companies by Didar Akar Co-chairs: Priscilla

S.

Rogers

John M. Swales 1

This dissertation examines the discourse properties of contemporary

Turkish commercial correspondence. 2 The primary data used consist of

memoranda

approximately 450

(internal correspondence)

and

fax

mes-

sages (external correspondence) associated with four different Turkish

companies selected

ment

styles.

3

The

to represent a

text

range of sectors, sizes and manage-

and discourse analyses are supported by

text-

based interviews with informants from these companies. 4

The

linguistic analysis is first

framed within the

socio-historical

context of the emergence of the private sector in Turkey, and then within recent linguistic

and

literacy trends,

and

finally within the context of cor-

porate cultures. 5 These frames of contextualization reveal

how corporate

culture can affect certain aspects of communicative practice, while also

larly strong general influence in the

6

One particumemoranda came from public sector

indicating that certain other aspects are inherently Turkish.

bureaucratic styles. 7

The

rhetorical analysis focuses

mainly on requests in both

memo-

randa and fax messages. 8 Requests in Turkish are shown to be highly impersonal and relatively

indirect.

9

Although the particular

strategies

preferred for internal or external communication vary, politeness strategies typically depersonalize the requests receiver's agent status; as a result, the

participant ceiver.

10

which

is,

at times,

by avoiding reference

company emerges

more prominent than

to the

as a discourse

the sender or re-

On a syntactic level, one consequence is the heavy use made of

190


passivization, nominalization,

and

particles

coursal level, postponement of a message's

such as

pattern.

11

On a dis-

main communicative pur-

pose following extensive groundwork appears as a 12

{-DIr).

common rhetorical

Emerging differences evolving away from the

traditional

arrangements and styles of business communication were found

in fax

messages, especially in the smaller companies, due to factors such as

means

audience,

tion closes

and

of delivery

and types of

by exploring the implications

for teaching business

and corporate

intertextuality. 13 The disserta-

of this study for genre theory,

communication courses

in Turkish universities

settings.

Task One

Here are 1.

The

now title

mittee

the questions.

took (as usual!) a long time to

was aware,

was

this

the

finalize.

first real

As

far as the

com-

study of Turkish business

language. Didar wanted to appeal to three groups with her

title: First,

specialists in the Turkish language; second, experts in (cross-cultural)

business communications; and third, linguists concerned with discourse. For this last group, she

was

particularly interested in getting

the

word genre

ical

fashion and partly because she thought she had an important

into the

partly because

it is

currently in theoret-

make. The use of the word genre would also help

theoretical point to

link her specialized

Do you think

title,

and

"off-center" study to the wider field.

Didar succeeded in making an appeal to her three

groups? 2.

Sentence

a short, simple opening sentence that offers a

1 is

of the dissertation. Little is

Turkey

Do you

could have started otherwise of course, such as

known about Turkish business is

a

language.

growing economic power straddling Europe and Asia.

think Didar chose the right opening?

The sentence tation);

It

the

in fact

first

have noted,

summary

verb

And

if

so,

why?

opens with a piece of metadiscourse is

this tense

(This disser-

in the present tense (examines), and, as

predominates.

Do you approve of these decisions?

you

will

.

3.

In sentence 2

we

find The primary data used consist of

Do you think any of these a.

4.

The primary data

.

.

The primary data used

in this

consists of

study consist of .

this

.

.

.

number

of

memoranda

was replaced by an approximation. and disadvantages

are the advantages

Sentence 2 states that/our

different Turkish

represent a range of sectors, sizes

in fact

.

.

In earlier drafts sentence 2 provided the exact

but

.

.

The primary data used

What 5.

consist of

c.

faxes,

.

variants are better than the original?

b.

and

191

Road


one of those post hoc

of this decision?

companies [were] selected

and management

styles.

to

This statement

is

(after the fact) rationalizations. In reality,

was opportunistic in that Didar relied on It just happened that the people she knew worked

the "selection" of companies

personal contacts.

in different kinds of

companies.

Should she have expressed 6.

Sentence 3

is all

methods

one by one

in the third

earlier

Perhaps more true to

paragraph

now referred

more on methods?

Notice sentence 5 opens with These frames of contextualization

What term would you use

we find

In sentence 6

9.

In sentence 8 the finding to be ...

(Hint:

What might be

.

.

.

to characterize this phrase?

first is

opposed

shown

as

the

to

(rhetorical, syntactic, discoursal,

results.

preferred

8.

fact?

paragraph that described

These methods are

of analysis.

within the context of

Would you have 7.

an

that remains of

the various

etc.)

this differently?

use of a past tense.

Why?

expressed pretty strongly (Requests Requests tend

to, say,

to be

the expected form of written

.

.

.).

.

.

.

are

Why?

American business

requests?) 10.

Notice that sentences 10 and 11 respectively open with level

.

.

.

and On

What do we

a discoursal level

call this rhetorical

.

.

.

device?

On

a syntactic

192


the abstract

11. Just as

opened with a metadiscoursal reference

so the final sentence begins with the

demonstrative

ever, that the

this

same

tactic.

Note

to itself,

this time,

how-

has been replaced by the definite

article the.

clever?

Is this

(See

Note

2.)

Task Two

Mark any

parts of the abstract that remain unclear to

partner,

you

hensible

if

it is

are

to a

working with

you (and

one). This should indicate

to

your

how compre-

wider audience. What would you conclude?

Task Three

own field. Rhetorihow is it similar to or different from the one

Find and photocopy a dissertation abstract from your cally

and

organizationally,

discussed above?

there are major differences,

If

what explanations would

you have?

Task Four

If

relevant to your situation, write a draft abstract for your Ph.D. disserta-

you are outside the United layout, and so on.

tion or thesis. for length,

If

Dissertation Abstract

States, follow

your

local rules

Number Two

The second case explores the story of the dissertation abstract of Feng-en Chen (a pseudonym). Feng-en was a doctoral candidate from Taiwan in ergonomics, and she was writing her abstract in April-May 1999 while also attending Chris

and John's

dissertation writing class for non-native

speakers of English. During this period, she wrote essentially four versions of her abstract with the following 350.

Here

is

Version

2.

word

counts: 367, 345, 358,

and


Effects of Keyboards, Armrests,

Road

193

and Alternating Work Positions

on Subjective Discomfort and Equipment Preference in

VDT (Video Display Terminal) Workplaces by Feng-en Chen Chair: Charles

The expanding

utilization of

J.

Woodward

computers

in the

workplace has made the

VDT-related musculoskeletal disorders a growing concern. This dissertation investigates the effects of three kinds of possible intervention

(involving keyboards, armrests, jective discomfort

and alternating work

positions)

on sub-

and equipment preference. The investigation focused

on data entry operators

in their workplaces, rather than in a laboratory

setting.

In the 6-week keyboard study, a total of 84 workers were used to test

two types

of

keyboard (KB2, straight with a spring key action; KB3,

fixed-split, lateral inclined) against their original

with a

soft

key

action). After five

ferred over KB1; they also

weeks

of use,

keyboard (KB1, straight

KB2 and KB3 were

pre-

produced greatly reduced overall upper body

discomfort. In the 14-week armrest study, a total of 157 workers

were used

to

examine keying with two types of armrest (AA, CA) against the original

work equipment with no of the workstation, while

could use,

move

freely

AA could be clamped onto the edge CA attached to both sides of a chair. Only AA

armrest.

with the forearms during keying. After 13 weeks of

AA and CA were reported as preferable over the no armrest con-

dition; they also resulted in considerably

discomfort; they were used for

reduced overall upper body

90% and 75%

of the keying time,

respectively.

In the third 14-week experiment, a total of 78 workers test

keying in alternating positions (between

two types

of modified workstation (ALT1,

sitting

were used

to

and standing) with

ALT2) against the

sit-only po-

ALT1 allowed keying in both sitting while ALT2 allowed only a standing position,

sition of the original workstation.

and standing

positions,

original workstations

were needed

for sitting.

At the end of the study,

keying in alternating positions with either modified workstation greatly decreased overall whole body discomfort and was reported as cantly

more

desirable.

of the keying time.

On average,

subjects in each

signifi-

group stood

for

14%

194


Based on the findings of

this dissertation, all the three interventions

could be recommended to effectively improve the quality of work

among

life

data entry operators.

(minor editing)

Task Five

Make a

short

of

list

your immediate reactions

to this abstract,

keeping in

mind your assessment of Didar's abstract and of the one from your own field that you found and photocopied for Task Three. As

it

happened,

we agreed

that Feng-en should e-mail this version of the

members

of the dissertation writing class for discussion

abstract to the 20

the following week.

Task Six

were some of the suggestions

In the lively discussion in class, these

that

were made. Assess these contributions as one of the following.

Y =

Yes, this

is

a

good suggestion

that should be taken seriously.

N = No, this is probably not really relevant. ?

= Well,

Second,

1.

this

might be nice with more space but probably can't be done.

how do you

The

abstract

seem

to

think Feng-en responded to these suggestions?

is

mostly clear about what happened but doesn't

be very well integrated in the

know what is new 2.

I

literature.

here.

don't think the use of

all

those abbreviations (KB1, KB2,

tually helps; in fact, they mostly get in the way. to 3.

We don't quite etc.) ac-

Are they relevant

your intended audience?

Shouldn't you be saying something about the cost savings of your

experimental improvements? 4.

The way

it is

written, there

three studies (paragraphs to

show how

is

a single paragraph for each of the

2, 3,

and

4).

Although

the three studies are interrelated.

this is clear,

it

fails


5.

What does

"original workstations

were needed

195

Road

for sitting" in

paragraph 4 mean? 6.

Don't you think you should

tell

us a

bit

little

workplaces," as mentioned in paragraph 7.

more about

"their

1?

The main descriptive paragraphs

(2, 3, and 4) all open in basically same way. Could something be done about this? And are the numbers of workers that important?

the

8.

The

one-sentence paragraph could be expanded, especially

final

the descriptive paragraphs could be integrated

Would 9.

be possible?

this

Do you make

it

enough

clear

report data of discomfort 10.

that

you seem

to

be relying on

Are you using

self-

and preference?

At the end of the penultimate paragraph, you use the word nificantly.

if

and so reduced.

this in a statistical sense?

sig-

Could you be

clearer here?

(See

Note

Here

3.)

now are Feng-en's

reactions to these suggestions, either in class or in

follow-up e-mail discussion.

1.

Yes,

I

much 2.

agree. like

I

can

now see

that the

whole thing

is

Well, they are used throughout the dissertation, half of

paragraph 2 they allow

advisor

rather

flat

and too

an experimental report.

would want me

to

in the

second

me to save some words. I think my if they may not be par-

keep them. Even

an outside reader,

ticularly helpful to

and as

I

think

I

will

keep them

in for

the time being. 3.

We didn't collect data

on

that.

I

think

it

will

be discussed

in the dis-

sertation a bit, but probably not here. 4.

I

will look into this. (Later, after she

had integrated the three

studies,

she continued to have doubts. She sent the following e-mail.)

However,

I

am

not sure

lots of detail for is

how my chair will

each study because

not possible to

fit

into 350

I

like this

because

I

omitted

kind of lumped them together.

words without lumping them.)

It is

very

(It

196


likely that

sign.

He

between

he considers

this as a

messy way

of presenting the study de-

usually wants readers to be very clear about the distinction test conditions.

5.

Okay,

6.

The research contract required that the location be kept Sorry, nothing can be done about this.

7.

I

I

think

will fix this.

I

will try to integrate.

are important because

8.

I

will try to

I

will

try. I

work

The numbers and length

I

think

10. Yes,

I

it is

of the studies

most other work has been much smaller

scale.

this point in.

agree that the last paragraph needs to be expanded to pro-

vide a more positive impression of the study's 9.

confidential.

clear to people in

results.

my field.

was using significantly in

a statistical sense.

A week later Feng-en Chen was ready with Version 4.

Here

it is.

and Workstation on Subjective Discomfort and Equipment Preference among Computer Users

Effects of Keyboards, Armrests,

Positions

by Feng-en Chen Chair: Charles

The expanding

utilization of

made VDT-related concerns in the

J.

Woodward

computer technology

in the

workplace has

musculoskeletal disorders one of the fastest growing

field of

occupational health. Although

much previous among VDT

research has focused on minimizing adverse health effects

workers, very few studies have been undertaken "on-site" and with satisfactory

sample

sizes over a

multi-week period. Previous findings

suggested that improved comfort can be achieved through keying with: 1)

enhanced key feedback or more neutral wrist posture,

2)

supported

forearms, and 3) increased physical movement. This dissertation thus

—involving key—on body discomfort

investigates the effects of three related interventions

boards, armrests, and alternating

work

positions

and equipment preference with three groups of data entry operators their

workplace

for a period of six or fourteen weeks.

vention aimed at testing one proposed hypothesis.

Each selected

at

inter-


The

first

Road

197

study tested three types of keyboard (KB1, KB2, KB3); the

second study examined three conditions of arm support (no armrest,

and the

ticulating armrest (AA), chair armrest (CA));

last

ar-

study investi-

gated two working positions: sit-only and alternating between sitting

and standing positions using two types of modified workstation (ALT1, ALT2). In armrest,

all test

conditions,

and keying

tions. Eighty-four,

KB1

(straight, soft touch),

in a sit-only position

keying without

were the original work condi-

157 and 78 participants were recruited for studies #1,

#2 and #3, respectively Results from the three studies showed that

all

the

newly introduced interventions produced reduced body discomfort and were preferred over

their

corresponding original conditions. Reasons for

preference could be attributed

to:

enhanced feedback through spring key

action (KB2); fixed-split, lateral-inclined geometry (KB3); excellent upper

limb support, adjustability, and

movement (AA); and opportunity

for

keying in alternating positions (ALT1, ALT2).

Based on the findings of

this dissertation,

each newly introduced

equipment and work position can be recommended as

effective

mea-

sures in reducing or preventing musculoskeletal disorders associated

with

VDT operation. Given the ever-increasing number of workers who

are being

make

exposed

to computers,

a contribution to

such ergonomic modifications can

workplace health (and potentially help reduce

costs associated with related disorders).

Task Seven

Suppose you were asked

to lead a discussion

on Version 4 and how

it

dif-

What would you focus on? What has been gained the revision, and what has been lost? Make a short list of observations that you would like to offer to the group. (See Note 4.) fered from Version

By

early

2.

in

May Feng-en had heard from her advisor. He had only two sug-

gestions. First,

he suggested deleting

tested in the study

(all

those

all

abbreviations of the equipment

KBls and KB2s). He

also rewrote the first

sentence of the final paragraph, offering instead Study results demonstrate that discomfort associated with intensive keying

is

sensitive to workstation design. These interventions

cally targeted to

reduce posture stresses and

with repetitive keyboard operation.

were

specifi-

static exertions associated

198


(Although not.

this looks like a

happy end

to the story, unfortunately

it

was

There were further comments and revisions from other committee

members, and the chair himself eventually wanted a higher

and

the results

less attention to the

abstract writer's

previous literature.

work can seem never

to

profiling of

A dissertation

be done!)

Task Eight

If

you wrote an

Feng-en

abstract for Task Four,

story. If

you did

now revise it in the light of the

not, try to find

somebody else's

you

draft that

can work on.

and Dissertation Acknowledgments

6.2 Thesis

Acknowledgments,

obvious reasons, are not an examinable part of

for

a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation in the United States.

written

is

What

entirely at the discretion of the writer. Indeed, there

that there exists a dissertation

acknowledgments section

is

a

is

rumor

that closes as

follows.

Finally,

I

would

like to

excessive "help"

would have been There

lies

thank

my chair, Professor XXXX, without whose

and meticulous finished

attention to detail, this dissertation

months ago.

a danger, especially for the non-native speaker, in the

ined nature of acknowledgments. Since the acknowledgments the beginning of a thesis or dissertation, mistakes

can cause a very unfortunate tant for

you

to

league before

first

and

too

come at them

infelicities in

impression. Clearly, then,

have your acknowledgments reviewed by

it is

unexam-

it is

impor-

a friend or col-

late!

In our experience, master's thesis

acknowledgments

in the

United

States tend to be quite short, while those prefacing dissertations can

be

by Americans. There are usually many people and several organizations to be thanked, and it is important to find a range of ways of expressing gratitude (see the Language Focus on quite long, especially those written

pp. 204-5).


199

Road

Task Nine

Here

now

a draft of the

is

of the verbs

have been

left

acknowledgments which

out;

for a master's thesis.

of the choices

Some

below would you

recommend? Acknowledgments First

and foremost,

I

would

like to

my profound

1.

grati-

tude to the Royal Thai Government, specifically to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for granting

me

support to

my graduate

2.

The support has given me not only

studies.

portunities to a project

I

to higher

am

3.

interested

in,

and

to

a future career, but also op-

education abroad, to work on

prepare myself to better serve

my

country and society.

There are two people vidually. First, sor, for

indi-

I

am deeply grateful to Professor XXXX, my thesis advi-

her encouragement, and careful and wise guidance of

my project.

YYYY,

my second

Secondly, reader,

I

whom would like to 4.

a great deal to Professor

I 5.

whose supervision and advice

substantially to

6.

my study. Finally

thank

I 7.

have always supported

me

all

my friends in Ann Arbor who

during the long process of

8.

this project.

-Luejit

1.

communicate

2.

pursue

3.

be open

4.

introduce /

5.

have

6.

have devoted

7.

8.

/

/ express / offer

/ obtain / follow /

be confronted / be exposed

owe

cite /

acknowledge

/ offer /

have helped

/

have contributed

want to/ need to / would like to working on / completing / undertaking

(See

Note

5.)

(minor editing)

200


Task Ten

Below are three

ways we think believe

1.

extracts

are a

from acknowledgments that

little bit "off."

Can you

in their different

identify the problems

The author wishes

to express his

deep and sincere appreciation

co-chairpersons of his doctoral committee, Professor sor

we

we have found?

YYYY, not only

XXXX and Profes-

and unfailing guidance support and encouragement during a frus-

for their valuable advice

but also for providing oral trating period.

to the

The author

is

deeply and forever grateful to both of

them. 2.

I

am enormously grateful to the Institute and to its then director,

XXXX. Even more significant was the field research fellowship awarded to me by the YYYY. I cannot put into words my appreciation Dr. ZZZZ. for the many facilities put at my disposal by the director The office's staff members received me with open arms and

—

.

3.

Writing this dissertation has given strengthening

hood (See

culture. Thus,

it

has been exciting and challeng-

me to carry out research on small-town America's neighbor-

quality of

Note

me opportunities not only for

my academic achievement but also for understanding

American people and ing for

.

life.

6.)

Now we will look at the extensive and complex acknowledgments section at the

beginning of a Ph.D. dissertation written by an American student of

Simpson. Read

linguistics, Rita

it

carefully

and undertake the tasks

that

follow.

Acknowledgments I

owe

to

a debt of gratitude to

many people whose

my success in completing this dissertation.

privileged to have the direction tors,

and guidance

help has been crucial

First of all,

of

two

I

have been

excellent

men-

my co-chairs Rosina Lippi Green and Lesley Milroy. From the

inception of this project, Rosina has been generous with her time and

has provided eminently helpful advice on everything from the


201

Road

to the writing process. Her faith in me and me back on track at difficult times have been a

methodological design her ability to bring

godsend. Lesley has likewise

development of

my

ideas

made

invaluable contributions to the

and the organization of the

analysis.

She

my best work, offering timely feedback on each chapter and keen insight into the significance of my research. My other committee members, Peter Hook and Tom Hudak, me

has always motivated

to

do

have also contributed insightful and tions. ities

command

Tom's

and

lating.

I

of Thai

and

subtleties of Thai culture

would

also like to thank

critical

comments and sugges-

his familiarity with the

complex-

have been reassuring and stimu-

David

Solnit for his help during the

pilot project that led to this dissertation.

My heartfelt appreciation goes out to all the Thai people who have helped

me over the years, especially the

of Phalangraat Phitthayasan School in

Corps teachers and

trainers

who first introduced me

guage and culture ten years ago.

owe much to

their

Department

visiting researcher

and students the Peace

to the

my fieldwork:

at

Thai lan-

My understanding and love of Thai

warmth and generosity Many people

Mai helped me during the Thai

teachers

Mukdahan and

in

Chiang

The professors and students

of

me as a me as part of the university com-

Chiang Mai University sponsored

and welcomed

munity. Professor Panit Boonyavatana of the English Department

was extremely generous with her time and provided

invaluable assis-

am grateful to Bill Galloway for stimulating conversation that reassured me of the significance of my research, helped me to focus some of the theoretical ideas, and provided me tance and enthusiasm.

encouragement University

I

at a crucial time. Finally, to the others at

who assisted

in various

ways

Chiang Mai

—as informants, research

—I am extremely appreciative. am grateful to the U.S. Department of Education for financial support during my fieldwork in the form of a Fulbright-Hays Docassistants, transcribers or friends I

toral Dissertation

Research Abroad Fellowship, and to the Center for

South and Southeast Asian Studies of the University of Michigan for Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships during the years of

my program.

In addition, the

Program

English Language Institute, and the Horace H.

School of the University of Michigan have cially in I

ford,

various

ways throughout

all

first

two

in Linguistics, the

Rackham Graduate

supported

me

finan-

the past five years.

have enjoyed the camaraderie of Ummul Ahmad, Alicia BeckPeggy Goetz, Ruth Goetz, Matt Gordon, Joseph Pimentel, and

Sarah Shin.

I

have benefited much from discussions with each of

202


them

at various times

pation of the

and

members

by Lesley and Rosina. provided to get

just the right

through

and

places,

in particular

from the

of the sociolinguistics support

partici-

group headed

My esteemed colleague and dear friend Joseph amount of everything I needed from a friend and not lose perspective most memo-

—

this process

rably the waltzes and other dance escapes. Thanks also to John

Swales and the members of his dissertation support group

me in

for a

summer and

cracking the

whip

for taking

at the right times,

the faculty and staff of the English Language Institute,

and

to

who have

a source of much encouragement. Many other people have helped me weather the emotional

been

storms and stress of graduate school, some of

whom deserve special

mention. Linda Kurtz provided editorial assistance and helped relax

and smile during the

O'Keefe family Malekoltojari,

in

final stages of writing

Ann Arbor

far

me To

to

my

for

I

and nourishment of body and

wonderful Simpson clan

revising.

—especially Graciela Cabana, Saeedeh — am grateful the companion-

and Lynn Noellert

ship, diversions,

and

and near

soul.

Thanks

for their constant

to the

support of

my efforts, especially all the Ohio folks who provided a refuge for me in their homes at holidays or whenever I needed

an escape.

brother and sisters and their families have always offered support, sympathy, and admiration

—especially Becky,

My

me their

faithful e-mail

many ways my number one fan. owe much to my parents for always believing

correspondent and in

in me and me to achieve my goals. My father, to whom this dissertation is dedicated, provided me with rare opportunities as a child to learn foreign languages and to expand my horizons. He, more than anyone, nurtured my intellectual curiosity and fostered my love of Finally,

I

encouraging

language, and

I

regret that he could not see the fruits of this labor.

My mother has always been there for me, and has never failed to do what she could and

to further

my progress.

steadfast emotional support

to focus

on

my academic pursuits.

infinite capacity for love, joy,

Her compassion,

have been invaluable

and

She forever inspires

generosity,

me me with her

in helping

faith.

Task Eleven

1.

Number

the six paragraphs from

paragraph (what group below.

is

1 to 6.

Now give the "topic" of each

being thanked) and enter your conclusions

.


2.

Paragraph

1:

Paragraph

2:

Paragraph

3:

Paragraph

4:

Paragraph

5:

Paragraph

6:

What design do you now different

your (See

acknowledgments?

see in Rita's

from the organization of

Luejit's (Task

203

Road

Nine)?

How is it

What would be

own preference?

Note

7.)

As we have

seen, Rita wrote a pretty long

her Ph.D. dissertation. countries, the

We have good


for

reason to believe that in most other


will

be shorter. What would be

your preferred length? Are there groups of people

whom you might not

acknowledge?

Task Twelve

1.

Highlight

all

the

names

in Rita's text (the

"O'Keefe family" refers

to

name of the housing co-operative where she lived; ignore this one). As you know, there are several ways of rendering names on paper. the

a.

Professor Smith

b.

Professor E. A. Smith

c.

Professor Elizabeth A. Smith

d. Professor Elizabeth e. f

Elizabeth Smith

g.

Liz Smith

h.

Elizabeth

i.

Smith

Professor Liz Smith

Liz

What

is

Rita's preferred

might you account differ?

What

is

How How does Luejit's practice

form? What exceptions can you find?

for these exceptions?

your preferred option?

204

2.

English

Highlight


the adjectives in the

predominate? What can

tives

(See

all

in

Note

first

paragraph.

we learn from

What

kinds of adjec-

this?

8.)

Rita's Story

On more than one occasion,

Rita has visited our classes to talk about the

story behind her acknowledgments. This story has both

its

unexpected aspects. In terms of the former, she said things the funnest part of the

sonal and not at

all

whole dissertation

dry"; and "It

was

for

me";

"I

wanted

where

the one place

expected and like,

I

it

"This to

was

be per-

my

could be

own person." Unexpectedly, at least to most of her audience, started her

acknowledgments almost as soon

—over a year before

we discovered

that she

as she started writing her

its

completion. She often returned to the

acknowledgments when she found

herself stuck with the "real" research,

dissertation

although

many of the

details

were not completed

dissertation process. She regularly thought about in

and which

Joseph. She

to leave out

knew

tude

If

this

to leave

with her friend

people to acknowledge and, to help her

she ran thesaurus searches for the words

grati-

and encouragement.

there

the

this,

lot of

very end of the

which names

and sometimes discussed

she had a

with the language for

until the

is

a useful lesson to be

drawn from

acknowledgments section can be a

the stressed dissertation writer to

safe,

Rita's story,

it

would be

that

even a therapeutic, place

spend some time

for

in.

Language Focus: Expressions of Gratitude There

a restricted range of phrases for expressing gratitude

is

ciation.

We have divided

these into primary

gratitude.

Primary

am very thankful to X for Y. I am deeply grateful to X for Y. I would like to offer my sincere thanks I

to

and appre-

and secondary expressions

X for Y

of

.


my deep

I

would

I

have greatly appreciated the X of Y.

I

am deeply

indebted to

I

owe a owe a

I

am pleased

I

express

like to

great deal to

X

X

for

gratitude to

X

205

for Y.

for Y.

Y

debt of gratitude to

X

for

Y

acknowledge the support of X

to

Road

for

Y

Secondary Special gratitude

Many

is

also extended to

thanks are also due to

X

X

for

Y

for Y.

My heartfelt appreciation also goes out to X for Y Notice that there are a limited these phrases. adjectives.

Some list

It is

number

of adjectives that can be used in

not necessary to always use one of these intensifying

Not every case can be

"special"! (See

Note

9.)

writers try to avoid the repetition of these phrases

format. Here

I

would

many

swering

a

by opting

for a

good example.

like to offer

the chair, for

is

my sincerest thanks to my committee members:

to

WWWW, for his wise counsel and direction; to XXXX, who has years supported and encouraged me; to

YYYY for always

an-

my inquiries so promptly; and to ZZZZ for his time and help in

working out certain technical problems.

We dare say that the acknowledgments writer's nightmare is to inadversomebody out who ought to have been included. Some writers by offering a generalized statement of thanks outset. Here are two examples.

tently leave

try to avoid possible offense at the

1

It

would be

difficult to

acknowledge everyone

who has

in

some way

or another contributed to the research reported in this dissertation. 2.

During the year and a half

it

took

me to write this dissertation, have I

been helped and encouraged by many people large.

However, there are several people

out for special thanks: A, B, C, and D.

ways both small and I would like to single

in

whom

206


Task Thirteen

If

appropriate to your situation, write a draft acknowledgments section

for a thesis, dissertation, or

monograph.

6.3 Principled Narratives

and

Extensive Methods Sections

Methods tailed

sections in dissertations tend to be

than in journal

articles.

Indeed,

it is

much

longer and more de-

our understanding that research

groups in science, medicine, and engineering sometimes buy dissertations

from elsewhere because only there can they find the detailed information they need regarding

how a

particular experimental procedure

We also believe that these descriptions of methods tend

out.

larly careful

and extensive

human subjects.

to

was

carried

be particu-

in experimental social science research using

This kind of research can occur in a wide range of

fields,

including education, social work, psychology, and the health sciences. In Academic Writing for Graduate Students, of "speed" to get at this variability in tions

may be

"fast"

if

method

we introduced the concept descriptions.

Methods

sec-

they either use gapping (see Unit Three) or rely on

citations or standards, as in the following.

1.

The samples were microtomed, placed

in solution, centrifuged,

and

stored. 2.

Occurrences were noted, scanned into the computer, and sorted into frequency categories.

3.

Methods

of collection

were

essentially those of

Huang and Jones

(1984). 4.

Standard

AOAC methods were used for the determination of total

solids.

Note

that so far

we have no explanatory detail.

But

now

consider the

following.

5.

Quantitative image comparison cross-correlation value

was conducted by

calculating the

between the experimental micrographs and and de-

the simulated images using different specimen thicknesses

focus values.

.

.

.


6.

207

Road

Etch rate was obtained from the evolution of the etch depth as a function of etching time, the slope of this thickness-time evolution yielding the etch rate.

In a final

and even "slower" type of method, explanatory elements can

take on a tone of justification.

7.

When participants had

completed the

first

half of the battery of ques-

completed measures (which

tionnaires, the experimenter collected the

included the attitude functions measures), ostensibly to give them

more room

to

work on

the remaining materials. This allowed the re-

searcher to unobtrusively score the attitude functions measures so as to

determine which message the participant would view.

It

also en-

work on several other questhey would focus solely on

sured that participants would continue to tionnaires, decreasing the likelihood that

and be influenced by

the attitude functions measures

or salience (Clary et

This last extract this section.

is

And

al.

their availability

1994, 1134).

thus the kind of principled narrative that

is

the topic of

note here that the authors in 7 provide a complex series

of four justifications for their procedure.

ostensibly to give

them more room

.

.

.

allowed the researcher to unobtrusively score

ensured that participants would continue decreasing the likelihood that

The is

contrast,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

we think, between the kind of language used

in 1-4

and

in 7

obvious enough.

While extensive descriptions of methods are usually thought of as being relatively easy to write, they can also be relatively unexciting to read.

One way

of enlivening these sections

is

to

use some

left

dislocations.

when material (in left-to-right scripts) is placed to Some left dislocations in English are as when a subordinate time clause or phrase opens a

Left dislocations occur

the

left

of the grammatical subject.

perfectly normal,

sentence.

8.

Before the participants began the task, they were instructed to

9.

After cooling for 24 hours, the solution

was then

.

.

.

.

.

208


10. In the first series of

be unsuitable

for

.

.

experiments, the original material

was found

to

.

more unusual and hence marked kind of left dislocation occurs with purpose statements. Here are some examples taken from a paper However, entitled

a

"A Whiff of Reality:

of Pleasant Fragrances

Empirical Evidence concerning the Effects

on Work-Related Behavior"

(R.

A. Baron and M. A.

Bronfen, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 24 [1994]:1179-1203). In order to assess the possibility that pleasant fragrances

11.

gate the adverse effects of stress

12.

on task performance,

the present research performed a

word

To counteract sensory adaptation

to the fragrances, the

conducted in two

would

instruction task

.

.

.

study was

parts.

Because of the lingering quality of both fragrances employed,

13.

miti-

participants in

it

was

necessary to conduct the no-fragrance and fragrance conditions on different days. 14.

As an

additional check on the effectiveness of the fragrance manipu-

lation, participants

were asked whether they detected any odor

experimental rooms, and

if

they did, to rate

it

in

in the

terms of pleasantness.

Task Fourteen Reflect

upon

statements (See

Note

the stylistic

first in

11-14.

and discoursal

effects of placing the

What impression does

the

left

purpose

dislocation

make?

10.)

Task Fifteen Rewrite example 7 with left-dislocated purpose statements. Beware: is

at

more complicated and extensive piece first sight! (See Note 11.)

of rewriting than

a

Another interesting type of

noun

phrase.

Compare

left

dislocation

the following

two

is

to

this

might appear

break up a standard of

sets of statements.

.

Road


209

A total of 150 hospitalized patients volunteered to take part in the study. Forty-seven percent of these volunteers were male and

53% were

female.

A total of 150 hospitalized patients volunteered to take part in the study. Of

these volunteers,

47% were male and 53%

female.

Task Sixteen Left dislocate the following.

Michael Jordan proved to be the best

1.

known

across

all

age groups of

the 12 public figures rated.

who returned

Eighty-one percent of those

2.

the questionnaire stated that

they were currently employed full-time. 3.

Only two

of the six

measures investigated produced

statistically sig-

nificant results.

Nearly 21% of the devices fabricated using

4.

this

experimental method

functioned as predicted.

Most

5.

of those

who

failed to

respond

to treatment

turned out to suffer

from some form of diabetes. (See

Note

12.)

Language Focus: Dangling Modifiers One common kind

of

"normal"

left

dislocation

is

an

initial

nonfinite

clause, as in the following.

1

After completing the interview, each participant received $20.

2.

After reading a description of the research,

all

subjects signed a con-

sent form. 3.

Before starting the experimental regime, each patient for

4.

was assessed

abnormal heart conditions.

Being over a hundred years old, the specimen was handled with particular care.

210


But

now

la.

After completing the interview,

consider these variants.

2a. After

we paid each participant $20.

reading a description of the research,

we

asked

all

subjects to

sign a consent form.

Before starting the experimental regime,

3a.

we

assessed each patient for

abnormal heart conditions. Being over a hundred years old, the biologist handled the specimen

4a.

with particular

care.

The above four sentences

all

contain a "dangling" modifier. This

cause the implied subject of the nonfinite clause

same it is

is

is

be-

presumably not the

main clause. Perhaps this is clearest in 4a, where obviously the specimen and not the biologist that is over a hundred as that given in the

years old!

When using opening nonfinite clauses

(without subjects), always

sure that their implied subjects are the

same

as those in the

main

make clauses

(as in 1-4).

Language Focus: The Use and Position of "Bare" Participles Final chapters (and other types of discussions) attempt to

"place" the research that has been undertaken.

summarize and

We can occasionally find

here (as well as elsewhere) the use of a single (hence "bare") participle following the noun. The following examples (some modified) are taken from final chapters of dissertations.

1.

The

2.

Although the assumptions made have an

results obtained thus confirm three of the four hypotheses.

shown

to

3.

The

4.

However, because of the

first

intrinsic appeal, they

were

be somewhat suspect in one regard.

approach adopted had

to

be abandoned because

restricted

number

.

.

.

of events studied

and the

nature of the research questions posed, no quantitative data has been

provided.


Corpus research on written academic English shows cent of single, bare participles occur before the perature or proposed solution).

Here then

ing 10 percent or so that occur

First,

rule

we need

is

noun

211

Road

that close to 90 per(as in increased tem-

we are concerned

with the remain-

after.

to recognize that in English, the adjective-before-the-noun

very robust and powerful, the main exceptions being

a.

in

poetry ("poetic license"), for example, "Little Boy Blue";

b.

in

some old expressions

tial"

of French origin, for instance, "Courts

words like something and anybody, unusual"; and after

c.

d. after

mar-

versus "military courts"; for

example, "Something

(sometimes) a few special adjectives such as available ("on the

data available").

We would expect then that participles that come after the noun

(i.e.,

post-

posed ones) would be the exceptions. Some of these exceptions can be accounted for by the

fact that certain participles

have somewhat

different

meanings when preposed or postposed. Compare the following statements. a.

Most graduate students

b.

According

in the

United States buy used

to police reports, the car

cars.

used was a Ford.

Task Seventeen

Can you complete

these statements in

some

suitable

way? (Remember

that for the sake of this exercise the postposed participles are to

supposed

be "bare," so do not follow them by prepositional phrases, such as The

syringes used in hospitals are

now

disposable.)

1.

The used syringes

2.

The syringes used

3.

This involved case

4.

For two of the cases involved.

212


5.

The concerned physician

6.

The physicians concerned

7.

Any given result

8.

The

9.

The spoken language

10.

The language spoken

(See

result given

Note

13.)

Now let us consider some data from Hyland's corpus of 80 research articles (see

for

Note

9,

Unit Four). Table

6.1 lists the

most common

single participles

each position. TABLE

6.1.

Participles in

Each Position

Preposed

Postposed

used

20

increased

72

described

16

chosen proposed

70

presented

15

66

reported

12

fixed

61

given

11

measured

61

obtained

10

projected

57

discussed

8

perceived

55

chosen

7

shared

43

examined

7

required

35

tested

6

written

35

considered

5

expected

33

identified

5

given

129

Source: Data from K. Hyland, "Academic attribution: Citation and the construction of disci-

plinary knowledge," Applied Linguistics 20 (1999): 341-67.

(See

Note

14.)

Task Eighteen

Which participles occur in both columns? Reflect upon your own usage. Which of the single postposed participles in the right column can you recollect using? Are there others that you remember using? If you like, look through one of your recent papers for instances. (See Note

15.)

.

.


213

Road

A next clue to participle placement is that most postposed participles turn Compare the following statements.

out to be definite rather than indefinite.

Natural laws describe observed phenomena.

The phenomena

observed could not be accounted

for.

The vapor pressure of a given substance changes with temperature. While not In the

all

of the figures given are reliable,

Hyland

data,

the largest mall in the city.

is

we have to be careful here, because a

examples were also

We can next note function

(i.e.,

to

majority of the 70 preposed

that bare participles quite often

Many of these will be

back

refer

definite

and

1.

The curve shown

2.

However, even the few

3.

All three of the cases discussed

4.

The values

5.

The findings reported above

6.

The data given

7.

The

8.

The works

listed

.

.

.

.

.

have a metadiscoursal

to earlier material in the text).

will tend to occur in post-position.

.

facts

presented .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

literature cited

.

.

referred to

Consider again example

.

.

5.

.

.

There are a number of "textual adverbs" that

can co-occur, as in the following.

1.

The

results reported

above

.

.

.

3.

The arguments discussed earlier The data presented below

4.

The position taken here

2.

.

It is

very doubtful

How-

definite!

—typically—

.

are.

seven instances of postposed chosen were definite,

all

as in Second, the particular mall chosen ever,

some

if

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

these uses could be

la.

??The above-reported results

2a.

??The earlier-discussed arguments

3a.

??The below-presented data

4a.

??The here-taken position

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

moved

.

.

.

to pre-position.

214


But note that

this restriction

does not apply to

previously,

where we can

find both.

5.

The hypothesis previously mentioned

5a.

The previously mentioned hypothesis

.

.

.

.

.

.

Also note that the old-fashioned aforementioned (although there are four occurrences in the Hyland corpus) probably has to take pre-position.

So

us to Bolinger's original 1967 hypothesis (and that of some

this brings

grammarians). (See Note

later distinguished

ciated with a concept that has

form of a

and

The pre-position

that often takes

characteristic; the post-position is associated

action. In a

positions are

way

more

then, pre-positions are

"verbal." So

we could

about "a found book," since loss not.

16.)

permanence and

is

more

more

talk

or less

asso-

with temporariness

"adjectival,"

about "a

is

on the

lost

and post-

book" but not

permanent but finding

is

On the other hand, we could say, "Any books found should be

handed

in to the office."

Task Nineteen

Now consider these pairs. How can you account for the differences in participle position?

la.

The reaction

is

dangerous because the hydrogen evolved

may catch

fire,

lb. This

occurs because the dissolved air becomes less soluble at higher

temperatures. 2a.

The taxonomy employed in that

.

.

here diverges

from that of Thompson and Ye

.

Thompson and Ye, which

2b.

The

usually employed

3a.

The

literature cited

3b.

The

cited literature is quite extensive.

4a.

The following

is

the proposed mechanism.

4b.

The following

is

the

(See

Note

17.)

taxonomy

is

that of

has been quite extensive.

mechanism

proposed.

.

With

we

luck,

position

can

now

a tricky

is

porality, novelty,

215

Road


see that shifting a simple participle to the post-

maneuver

that involves issues of definiteness, tem-

and reference

to

your

own text rather than to those of

others.

Having said its

all this, it

remains the case that

we sometimes

of currently available grammatical explanations. In

may have

to

concede that there

to place certain

may

reach the lim-

some

cases,

actually be a free choice as to

bare participles in certain contexts. Individual

preferences certainly play

some

we where

stylistic

part.

Task Twenty

Consider the position of obtained in these excerpts from the Hyland data.

Can you make any 1.

Measuring

sense of the data?

recall

immediately

Good

after

luck!

exposure clearly

and may explain why the expected

obtained

inflates the scores

differences

between the

users and nonusers were not as large as predicted. 2. 3.

4.

In fact, the shapes obtained are

comparable

to those of the IR ones.

It was noted that none of the values obtained exceeded the values determined using the Code expression for C2 given in equation 10 above.

Not only but

it

is

the approach considered to be too subjective to interpret,

also does not

seem

to

be validated by the experimental data

obtained. 5.

The

results obtained suggest that the algorithm provides a solution in

an acceptable resolution time. 6.

In other words,

we can determine the slope of the moderating inde(i.e., Z = satisfaction) based on the first derivative of

pendent variable

the obtained regression equations. 7.

The

actual data of

tained correlations,

Eqs. (5) 8.

and

NGL were correlated (Figures 1 with

fit

coefficients of 0.59

and

and

(See

.

.

,

Note

18.)

and the

ob-

given in

(6).

and the obtained correlation (with the fit coefficient making future projections is given in Eq. (11). .

2),

0.94, are

of 0.975) for

216


Task Twenty-one

Do one a.

of the following.

Look

at

about

Any b.

If

one of your

its

own methods sections. What would you say all left dislocations. Any conclusions?

"speed"? Highlight

dangling modifiers?

you

are one of those

who need

tions of procedures, submit a

to write principled narrative descrip-

sample of your work

to

your

instructor.

6.4 Dealing with Unexpected Results

Methods sections can be further slowed by a discussion of methods tried and abandoned. Read through the following extract from a dissertation in electrical engineering and the interview with the author that comes after it. The goal of the work was to produce a GaAlAs/GaAs laser that would be suitable for short-distance fiber communication as well as integrated optics. This excerpt comes from Chapter Three, which describes the fabrication of the laser device, particularly the making of the ridge shown in the diagram.

Task Twenty-two

\///

1 1

1

uJp

x>> >>

> >

>>

The Ridge 2

The

2.50

and

3.75

m ridges were formed by etching 5-6 m wide

channels on either side. Originally this was attempted using standard

photolithography 3 and wet-chemical etching. 2 However, the etchants b

used

in this process

posed several problems.


3

First,

H 2 S04 :H 2 2 :H 2 m/min at 2-3° C, and

the etchants available, in this case

with an etch rate between 2 and 3

(1:8:1),

217

Road

CH 3 OH:H 2

2

P0 4

:H 3

(3:1:1)

with an etch rate of

1.7

m/min.

(

were highly temperature dependent, thus limiting our

at 20° C,

ability to control

the etch depth to 5 percent, as required to reliably produce proper index guiding. c 4 Secondly, they are isotropic etches which produce sloping sidewalls.

5

While

this facilitates contacting the ridge,

it

does not allow

very tight optical or current confinement at the base of the ridge. 6 For

m wide contact on the top of the ridge, and an etch 3.5 m or more. 7 Thirdly, the wet

example, for a 2.5

depth of

m, the base of the ridge

1.5

etches tried undercut the mask,

GaAs

selectivity,

making

Finally, the

quickly,

of

GaAlAs/

the fabrication of precise ridge widths difficult

and complicating the formation 8

is

and many had some degree

of continuous contacts to the ridge.

wet-chemical etchants tended to etch p+ material very

and were therefore incompatible with the Zn diffusion step

improve contacting.

mask was

totally

9

When

the

Zn

diffusion

was

carried out

first,

undercut before the proper depth was reached.

to

the

10

If

carried out after the etch, even with proper masking, rapid diffusion

down

the ridge wall to the active region occurred.

11

Some

devices were

fabricated with wet-chemical etching, but because of the reasons just cited,

they were not as reproducible, and their thresholds were three

times as high. d 12

Chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), on the other hand,

solves

out by a.

of the aforementioned problems. 13 This process

all .

.

was

carried

.

A procedure that allows placement of a pattern on a semiconductor material or a pattern of another material

on a semiconductor

b.

A mixture of chemicals that etch or erode a

c.

Proper guidance of light

d.

The

light

was not being guided

material

that well.

(See

Note

CF:

Why did you include the discussion of the problems with the

19.)

etchants the

more

and wet-chemical

etching, rather than simply discussing

successful chemically assisted ion

beam

etching?

I did and why I someone might think that I didn't even try wet-chemical etching before trying CAIBE. Or they might think that wet-chemical etching would be a good thing to try.

GF: Well, did

it

I

wanted

that way.

to give a If

complete picture of what

I'd left

it

out,

218


CF: Your description makes step. But,

it

sound

like

CAIBE was

the logical next

what's the real story?

it or not, when I started on this project I wasn't planning on CAIBE, so I guess I'm leaving out some detail here. What happened was some technicians in the Submicron facility had just

GF: Believe trying

come up with

this

applications for

would work

for

new way of etching material but didn't have any

saw what they were doing and thought maybe it laser fabrication. No one had ever actually done that

it. I

before.

Do you think it is generally a good idea to discuss methods problems

CF:

encountered in your research?

GF: Yeah, well,

sure,

depending on what

it is

you're writing.

I

mean you

work enough space. But in your dissertation or thesis, it makes sense. It makes you look like you've covered all the bases; like you're careful and thoughtful. Also, if another group looks at my dissertation, it will help them avoid some of the problems I had. You don't want everyone reinventing the wheel. can't

put the

into a typical published research

stuff that didn't

paper. There's just not

CF:

How did you decide which problems should be discussed and which not?

GF: For the dissertation

didn't put in

I

That would have been ridiculous. All sorts of things I

all I

the

dead ends and

mean,

go wrong when you're

how first

far

failures.

back do you go?

starting out.

Anyway,

focused on the sorts of things that would be useful for others in the

field.

1.

In

your current work

important 2.

is it

for

(thesis, dissertation, or research paper),

you

to discuss

your

field

how

failures"?

To what extent should your thesis or dissertation be directed in

at others

doing similar work? 6.5

The Problematic Final Chapter

The main reasons why the to

"dead ends and

final chapters of

many dissertations

turn out

be problematic are essentially two: lack of creative energy and shortage

of time.

By

this stage, after

arduous labor extending over

the dissertation writer typically just wants to "be done."

many months,

The thought

of

Road


having

is

not one that the dissertation writer

any kind of excitement. Indeed, sometimes

typically anticipates with

sertation writers at this late stage hardly care of their

by finding some-

to rise to a further occasion in the final chapter

thing fresh and interesting to say

what

dis-

the wider significance

work might be!

may often be extreme

Second, there

time pressure as the time for the

scheduled defense approaches. Because of such factors, the of a dissertation tends to be a rather bland

before and tions

219

little else. It is

do not

Some

search articles in ticular b,

monograph from

of the observations

c,

books

(in

final

chapter

what has gone most U.S. disserta-

partly for this reason that

easily transfer into scholarly

expect a scholarly

summary

of

those fields that

still

a reputable press for tenure).

we made

about discussion sections in

re-

AWG also apply to dissertation final chapters (in par-

and d below). What

minimum

at the

the committee hopes to

see in the concluding chapter are the following.

a.

a restatement of

b.

a "higher

c.

some discussion

d.

what

the dissertation has attempted to

and broader pass" over the main or most of the limitations of the study;

some suggestions (although this

for further research

last

may be

and

do and why;

significant findings;

and

why it would be worthwhile

omitted in highly sensitive or competitive

areas).

So what do

we mean by a

"higher and broader pass" (Move 2)?

We mean a review of the material that a.

handles most of the main findings

b.

identifies

c.

situates the findings

one or two key findings

d. highlights e.

any

at a fairly abstract level of generality;

for

more

detailed treatment;

on the current research

theoretical contributions

front;

and implications;

considers in detail practical applications and implementations.

As it happens, one of the few final chapters that John remembers fondly was that written by Didar Akar, whose dissertation abstract we saw in Section 6.1. Since we have some familiarity with her study of Turkish business communications, we focus on this.

220

English


in

Didar produced a solid 25-page chapter entitled "Theoretical Implications

and

Practical Applications."

It is

divided into three main sections.

5.1.

The Factors Affecting Business Texts (183-91)

5.2.

The Genre Approach

5.3.

Teaching Business Communications in Turkey (195-207)

Here

to Business

Correspondence (191-95)

her opening paragraph, followed by some observations.

is

1

The main findings

an independent variable; instead, they are

is

many complex ways. sible influences that

business, even ization is

shown

that a

number

my data set. 2 However, it is important to note that none of the

texts in

factors

of the preceding chapters have

have influenced the form and function of the written business

of factors

if

3

Starting from the

come from

all

intertwined in

most general, there

national, cultural

ways

of conducting

these today are themselves being affected

and subglobalization

are osten-

by

global-

trends. 4 Another crucially influential factor

the corporate culture, in particular the size and the industry sector of

the company.

5

A third factor which has a highly visible influence is the 6 is, official writing. A fourth factor

Turkish bureaucratic tradition, that

the communication medium; as has been discussed in Chapter Four, the fax machine has impacted certain texts in certain nontrivial ways. 7In is

this section,

I

will

comment on each

of these factors

and

relate the find-

ings of this study to those found in the literature.

1.

2.

The paragraph opens with

a nice piece of metadiscourse that

rizes

what has been accomplished

Note

that in formal

these factors

is

.

.

.

).

in the

academic English none takes the singular (none of In academic speech none of often takes a plural

(none of these factors are independent). In the

lowed by

summa-

preceding chapters.

a plural six times

more

MICASE

often than

it is

by

data none

is fol-

a singular form

of the verb. 3.

Didar then

lists

these factors starting from the most general, thus main-

taining a general to specific arrangement of her material. Each of her

4.

own subsection.

four factors

is

then given

In sentence

6,

note the use of impact as a verb; see the earlier discussion

in

Note

8,

Unit Two.

its


5.

The

final

sentence of the paragraph offers

metadiscourse and also promises to

fulfill

some forward looking the committee's expecta-

tions that the candidate will situate her findings

In the second section of her final chapter,

might have

to offer in

terms of

analysis.

She argues

The

two sentences

final

its

221

Road

on the research

front.

Didar discusses what her study

theoretical contribution to discourse

an approach that combines several perspectives.

for

are presented in Task Twenty-three.

Task Twenty-three

We have italicized

certain elements in this short text.

these elements contribute to

her theory section.

If

we so combine

by

on the

fax, in a

memo, and

is

is

used

tangibilities of

powerful and successful close to

a

think

these elements,

the "action [a genre] tantly,

what

What do you

We believe that

we are

getting at here?

we have not only Miller's

to accomplish,"

but

how

is

that action

centering on

additionally,

and impor-

accomplished (urgently

manner by letter, widely by a heavily cc'ed effect, we can now perceive of business genres, as does for both literary and popular culture texts, in terms of

more

leisurely

so on). In

Beebe (1994)

their "use value," a more broadly contextual vision that additionally under-

pins the instrumentality of the types of text discussed in this dissertation.

(See

Note

20.)

6.6 Notes

and Comments for Unit Six

Notel There are two possible spellings: "acknowledgments" and "acknowledgements."

The former may be becoming standard

in

American English, perhaps

cause of spell-checkers on word processing programs; the

latter is

largely be-

more

British

English.


Yes,

we

for

think so. After

department

in Istanbul

school in the

city.

Task One)

all,

she

now has a

tenure-track job in a linguistics

and teaches part-time

at

an American-style business

222


All three opening sentences are indeed possible.

2.

best

was

only because this

if

a linguistics dissertation.

decisions regarding the use of metadiscourse 3.

There

is

much

uncertainty as to whether data

become uncountable

or has

plural for the time being (as used

shows

clearly that

study strikes us as a 4.

Her choice

and

is

opposed

probably the

We approve of the

tense.

noun

a plural

(like information). It

is

may be

(as

it is

in Latin)

"safer" to keep

to singular, as in choice

c).

it

The use of

something has been done with the data; used

in this

redundant.

little

Approximations have the advantage of giving a clearer overall

picture; they

have the disadvantage of giving an impression of vagueness. 5.

6.

We

think this

is

just

about

OK for a 350-word abstract; in the dissertation

itself

of course

some

the

methods

are described in

If

further clarifications will be necessary.

more

detail, this

would have

7.

An

8.

Because

9.

This

interpretive

is

based

mak.

.

summary phrase

this is a historical

a major finding.

in the

the effect of

On the other hand,

ing the abstract less comprehensible to nonlinguists.

claim about cause and effect

The business communications

literature (largely

United States) argues that requests are more successful

when

they are expressed personally and relatively directly. 10. Parallelism 11.

Yes, at least the co-chair thinks so.


Our own judgments Y:

1,4,5,6,7,8

N:

9,

?:

for Task Six)

—for what they are worth—would be as follows.

10

2,3


for

Task Seven)

Possible Points

•

Congratulations on a comprehensive revision!

•

The

rationale

graph •

The

and importance

The

now

three studies are

the process lost •

of the research

now come through well

in para-

1.

third

some

paragraph

integrated well in paragraph

2,

although

we have in

useful information about the details of the results.

now

"places" the study better in

its

wider context.



We

Task Nine)

suggest the following as the better choices.

pursue

1.

express

6.

have contributed

2.

7.

3.

be exposed

would


for

223

Road

for

acknowledge

4.

like to

8.

Task Ten)

Although the acknowledgments

will

be written

in a largely

academic

style,

we are aware, J is for acknowledgments, even if it may not be acceptable

they do not need to be written impersonally.

always acceptable

owe

5.

working on

As

far as

for the dissertation itself. 2.

The acknowledgments section should be positive tude.

One

thing to keep in

mind

is

that

it

in its expression of grati-

does not need

to

be continuously

ecstatic. 3.

The acknowledgments should be precisely

that:

primarily thanking other

people rather than discussing the personal benefits gained during the dissertation process.


for

Task Eleven)

—Her committee —People in Thailand /fieldwork Paragraph 3 —Units that provided financial support (sponsors) Paragraph 4— Her fellow linguistics students (and a few others) Paragraph 5 —Other special friends and relatives Paragraph 6— Her father and mother Paragraph

1

Paragraph 2

Rita

moves from

the dissertation

Thai, to financial support,

itself,

and then

to help

with data collection and learning

in the last three

paragraphs

and personal support from fellow students, other friends and her parents. In

effect,

first.

require

Some

them

to

of our students

acknowledge


more

family,

social

and

finally

she goes from the narrow to the broad both in space and

time. Luejit, as a Thai civil servant, felt she

ment

to

for

had

to

show

allegiance to her govern-

have also pointed out that

their

immediate families

their cultures

might

first.

Task Twelve)

mode of address is (f) (Elizabeth Smith) for first mention, may move to (h) (Elizabeth) for later references. She seems to be

Rita's preferred

although she

variable in her use of short forms of

first

names, typically choosing the form

224

English

by which individuals

are

in


most usually known. The only

Thai professor in paragraph

2;

title

used was for the

Rita said she did this because she felt this indi-

was "somewhat removed in time and space." on the other hand, referes to professors and others she wishes to thank using a more formal tone. She expresses gratitude to Professor XXXX and Professor YYYY using their titles (a, b, c, or d). Luejit acknowledges her social support network only briefly, listing no individuals by name, and vidual

Luejit,

makes no mention 2.

of her family.

crucial, excellent, generous, (eminently) helpful, invaluable, timely, keen,

privileged, difficult, best, pilot, insightful, critical, reassuring, stimulating

Most

of the adjectives are (highly) positive; they are the kind of adjectives that

could likely be found in recommendation

letters.

Note 9 D.

S.

Giannoni

(1998), in a

paper entitled "The genre of journal acknowledge-

ments: Findings of a cross-disciplinary investigation" (Linguistica 6:61-84, University of Bergamo), includes choices.

The verb thank occurred 32

some

quantitative data

times, be grateful

to 11,

and

e Filologia

on

lexical

be indebted to 4.

There were only 3 instances of the verb acknowledge, which he describes as "colder."

smaller

The most common

numbers

adjective

of valuable, useful,

Note 10 (sample response There are two principal

for

was

and

helpful (15 instances),

followed by

excellent.

Task Fourteen)

effects,

purpose statement can operate

both of rhetorical significance. to

First, the initial

prevent doubts arising in the reader's mind

about the particular procedure being described. Second, the early placement

seems

to suggest that the reason

element were already

all

worked out

that the justification can be

Note

11

Here

is

and

justification for the particular procedural

in advance, while, in fact,

we often know

an afterthought.

(sample response for Task Fifteen)

one version of

this difficult task.

In order to (ostensibly) give participants

more room

materials, the experimenter collected the completed

to

work on

the remaining

measures (including the

attitude functions measures) after the first half of the battery of questionnaires

had been completed. However, an underlying motive searcher could

now

for this

was

that the re-

unobtrusively score the attitude functions measures so as to


determine which message the participant would view. likelihood that participants

would focus on

Road

225

Finally, to

decrease the

the attitude functions measures, and

thus be influenced by their availability and salience, this procedure encouraged

them

to

continue work on several other questionnaires.


Of

all

Of

known

age groups.

Of those who returned the questionnaire, 81% full-time

3.

Task Sixteen)

the 12 public figures rated, Michael Jordan proved to be the best

across 2.

for

were currently

stated they

in

employment.

the six measures investigated, only

two produced

statistically significant

results. 4.

Of

the devices fabricated using this experimental method, nearly

21%

func-

tioned as predicted. 5.

Of those who

some form

And

notice (as in

start a

failed to

respond

to treatment,

most turned out

to suffer

from

of diabetes.

2), this

sentence with a

kind of

number


for

left

of

dislocation can help

some

you avoid having

Task Seventeen)

1.

The used syringes must be disposed

2.

The syringes used

3.

This involved case has perplexed researchers for years, (complicated)

4.

For two of the cases involved environmentalists have been very active,

in the

to

sort.

of properly, (already used once or more)

study were retrieved from

landfills,

(employed)

(connected, under consideration) 5.

The concerned physician contemplated a second

6.

The physicians concerned were co-authors

transplant, (anxious, worried)

of the controversial paper,

(involved) 7.

Any

8.

The

9.

The spoken language can be quite

given result could be suitable, (within a certain range) result given

must be interpreted

carefully, (provided)

difficult to learn, (as

opposed

to the

written language) 10.

The language spoken area)

is

related to Finnish, (the language

used

in a certain

226


Note 14

much more

Postposed participles are

restricted in the

verbalizations of mathematical expressions (x 2 L/2ti 3

—L over

that of the

2rc

is

data.

Sports Illustrated, there are only 17

words

participles in the first 350,000

in the corpus.

Most are

congruent to

cubed). Aside from these and the use of certain

magazine

more than once

MICASE

—x squared—

...

names such

as

examples of postposed

Only the word

involved occurs

(4 times).


for

Task Eighteen)

John looked through 20 pages he had written and found only one example of a bare postposed participle: the structure tested was

.

.

Note 16 Bolinger, D. L. 1967. Adjectives in English: Attribution or predication? Lingua 18:1-34.

Note 17 (sample responses la/lb.

If

there

is

Task Nineteen)

for

an explanation here,

and temporary, while

in

it

might be that

b the process

is

tence looks like action,

and the second looks

first is again more some small preference

particular

2a/2b. The

in a the reaction

more long

3a/3b. The

first

about

is

The

and more innovative. As

for the pre-position

is

first

quick sen-

like state.

because

condition (Bolinger's "characteristic"), although post-position

term.

it

we

for b,

we have

depicts a stable

recognize that the

also possible.

suggests that literature has just been cited (as in a talk) or read

(as in

an

article or a dissertation)

while the second suggests those in the

this is

and

is

being referred back

the literature that

is

to,

typically cited

by

field.

4a/4b. The difference between these two does not seem as clear as in the previ-

ous examples. However, a gives the impression that the writer was building to the point of suggesting a just

mechanism and

will

now propose or has

proposed the mechanism. Once the mechanism has been proposed, b

can be used

to refer

Note 18 (sample response These examples seem

back

for

to

it.

Task Twenty)

to suggest that

obtain in pre- or post-position,

you have

a choice as to

whether

to place

but obtain appears to be more frequently found in

post-position since the act of obtaining

is

temporary.


Road

227

Note 19

The source

for the excerpt is the following.

Feak, G. B.

Low

diss.,

threshold ridge waveguide single

quantum well

lasers.

Ph.D.

Cornell University, 1987.

(Task Twenty-two Teaching Hint: The two questions raised at the end of Task Twenty-two

make for

interesting discussion.

You might want

to try

addressing the questions through

a panel discussion with four or five representatives from the hard or soft sciences dis-

cussing their views. Students from fields where such issues

audience and can be encouraged

to

may

not arise can be the

ask the panel members questions.)

Note 20

The

if

suggests that this combination

is

somehow

late-breaking news;

been used instead, the reader might conclude that such combining

is

if

when had

common

practice. a.

Miller's centering not only

have

that,

we can assume to be

the current standard position, so

but also

and importantly, some kind of addition.

additionally,

we

This language, plus the extensive exemplification in the parentheses, allows

Didar to indicate a clear sense of cumulative development. b.

In effect

then suggests a coming reinterpretation as a consequence, powerfully

indicated by the

little

word now

—only now (never before) can we have a new

perception. c.

Finally, the

movement forward

hopelessly abstract, because

dar 's business

And

accept

recast as a broader vision, but not

one that

additionally underpins the instrumentality of Di-

texts.

as a final thought

last task

it

is

on

this matter, please

one of the high points of Didar 's

more "ordinary" writing

for the

note that

we have chosen

final chapter.

most

part.

for this

A committee will also

Do not be

discouraged.

is

Unit Seven

Academic Communications in Support of the Research Process

vsrt-

DREAMS OF ACADEMIC GLORY "Dear Mr. Singh: We would be delighted to publish your paper. Not only that, but we have decided that your beautifully written submission letter is publishable as well."

So

far in this

volume we have focused mainly on the constructing of we move to a number of genres that

research publications. In this unit

support the research publication process but are not themselves part of the research record. In Unit Eight

we

cover applications of various kinds,

recommendations, and the curriculum vitae (CV). This

228

latter

group func-

Academic Communications

tions

more

Support of the Research Process 229

in

as academic communications in support of a career. (As

the introduction,

we have

decided not

funding since

for research

this is

to include a section

one area that

ered in books, manuals, workshops, and the

Unlike research

articles,

ments

that typically

in

on proposals

comprehensively cov-

like.)

conference posters, and dissertations, genres

such as requests, submission tors' reports are largely

is

we said

letters,

reminders, and reviewers' and edi-

"out of sight."

remain on

file;

On the one hand,

on the

they are docu-

other, they are rarely part of the

public record (except for the minority of journals that publish reviewers' reports as appendixes to the articles themselves). These "hidden" genres are written for specific or small-group audiences

and yet may be

demonstrated scholarship and be organized so as

who write them as

fair,

wise,

and

to present the

full of

people

insightful professionals in their

own

field.

There are several consequences of these characteristics.

1.

Relative

newcomers may have

difficulties in

matching the expectations

of their targeted audiences. 2.

Many of these expectations

will

be more shaped by

values and national academic traditions than

local cultural

the case with

more

good evidence [see Unit Eight, Secsupport the view that what counts as a "good" recommen-

technical writing. (There tion 8.4] to

is

is, e.g.,

dation varies considerably from one academic culture to another.) 3.

Maier (1992)

shown that negative reactions to exgenres tend to come more from inappropriate phrase-

(see

amples of these

Note

1)

has

ology than from problems with organization or from unexpected content. Similar results (see

As

Note

a result of

culties

were

also obtained

by Chang and Hsu

(1998)

1).

all this,

junior

with these genres.

NNS scholars may experience particular diffi-

Comments from our

this view.

This unit will deal with the following. 7.1.

Requests

7.2.


7.3.

Disclaimers and Apologies

classes strongly support

230


7 A. Submission Letters 7.5.

Further Correspondence with Editors

7.6.

Notes and Comments

for Unit

Seven

7.1 Requests

Academic and research requests can be most common

is

of

many types, but one of the

the simple request for a copy of a paper. Requests for

copies of papers can themselves take various forms and in an increasing

number

of cases

may not be needed at all because research papers may home page. Even so, the traditional

be downloaded from the author's postcard-type reprint request ful

still

survives and has long proved success-

—with average response rates of around 70 percent. Here

is

a typical

example.

Southwest University School of Public Health Dept. of Family Health Bennerville,

TX 55555 USA

Dear Colleague: I

would

greatly appreciate a

copy of your article/paper

entitled:

from /at if

available.

Thank you

for

your courtesy.

Signed

More

likely today,

however, requests of various kinds will come via

e-

mail and will often be expressed in today's e-mail mixture of formal and

more informal elements.

Task One

You (and your partner) are assistants to Professor Gardener. He forwards you the following five e-mail messages, accompanied by this one from him.

.


in


these just in. They never seem to stop. What should be

Guys,

our priorities here? Could you sort them out in rank order,

with the most urgent or important at the top? Then at the

weekly lab meeting we can decide what to do— or not to do! Thanks for doing this for me.

Rank order the requests. What are your reasons for your choices? What do you think the decisions will be at next week's lab meeting? Message One From: [email protected]

[email protected]

To:

Subject: Request

Dear Sir,

I

am a researcher at a small local university here near

Palermo, and am carrying out research in your area of materials science.

I

would like to visit your department as an

observer researcher for

a

short time

(about three months)

in

order to get ideas about my thesis. As

I

am a native speaker of Italian,

I

would be delighted to

help your students learn Italian in your modern languages department,

or

I

could collaborate in any other way that you

If you accept,

I

could come during the next academic term.

can suggest

Please let me know your answer as soon as possible since need to apply for

a

I

travel grant. Looking forward to hearing

from you.

Yours faithfully,

Message Two Dear Professor, I

am currently working on a master's thesis on the processes

of metallic-ceramic fusion,

and

I

have recently read a re-

cent and highly relevant paper by your group in Materials

Science Digest (20XX, Vol. 45, pp. 345-57)

.

I

am wondering

232


if there are similar papers on this topic that you could

refer me to or let me have copies of?

(The library here

isn't very good.) My advisor here is Ana Augusto,

who sends her regards. She

met you at the Caracas conference in 1999.

Rosinda de Souza Rua Campo Verde,

174— apto. 12

Bela Colina-MG CEP 12340-187

Brasil

Message Three Dear Professor Gardener, First let me introduce myself.

I

have recently returned to

Malaysia, having completed a Ph.D. at Desert University with Dr.

William

On return,

D.

Jones as advisor, who has recently retired.

was asked to start a small research group on

I

materials science in our research institute. On Dr. Jones's suggestion,

I

am asking whether you might be willing to act

as an informal and unofficial advisor to my group.

I

know

you are a very busy and important man, but if you happened to be in this part of the world

Australia)

,

my colleagues and

I

(we know you

sometimes go to

would greatly appreciate

a

visit of a few days or so. Unfortunately, we have no funds for international travel, but we can cover regional travel

and all local expenses. Dr. Ali Osman

Materials Science Research Group Sarawak Science Research Institute

Message Four Dear Professor Gardener, This is a preliminary inguiry as to whether you might be in

principle willing to act as external examiner for a Ph.D. thesis from here on metallic-ceramic fusion. The thesis is

expected to be completed next month, and the defense will need to take place within two months of the submission date.

.


We would expect a

to

2

in

3


page evaluation. There is no need

for you to be present in Hong Kong for the defense itself.

The university is able to pay a small fee for this important If you would like any further information,

service.

please

do not hesitate to ask. If you would be able to accept

you must be)

,

I

(and

I

can imagine how busy

will forward your name to the central ad-

ministration, which will then take up the administrative details With best wishes, Henry Liu Head,

Department of Materials Science

Shatin University Hong Kong

Message Five Dear Professor Gardener, I

am writing to you on the recommendation of Professor

Grossman here in Vienna, where

I

am his research assistant

and working part-time on my dissertation, which has the pro-

visional title "Ceramic-Metallic Fusion Properties at Ex-

tremely High Temperatures."

I

understand from Professor

Grossman that you have done

a

lot of work in this area.

Since

I

would certainly like to base my work on the latest

results and methods,

I

really need your help!

I

am espe-

cially interested in your publications, latest experiments and their results.

I

would also be grateful if you have any

suggestions about my dissertation topic and for any further

bibliographic references that would aid me in my research. I

thank you very much in advance and only hope that it won't

require too much of an effort for you to help me. Looking

forward to hearing from you soon! Yours sincerely,

Annika Graf

(See

Note

2.)

234


Task Two

Complete the chart below and be ready

1.

Presumed first

lan-

guage of author 2.

Status of

requester

3.

Type

of help

requested

4.

Place in text

where main request

occurs 5.

Phrases you like

6.

Phrases you dislike

(See

Note

3.)

to discuss

your "findings.

Message

Message

Message

Message

Message

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

— Academic Communications

in


Language Focus: The Position of the Request Statement some evidence that different cultures have different preferences as to where to place the main request. Discuss the following abstract from a paper entitled "Information Sequencing in Mandarin Letters of

There

is

Request" by (See

Note

Andy

Kirkpatrick of the Australian National University.

4.)

Native speakers of Chinese prefer to place requests toward the end of interactions or messages.

Such requests generally conform

to the follow-

ing schema: salutation, preamble (facework), reasons, and then the re-

quest

itself.

This article analyzes requests that appear in letters written

by Mainland Chinese

1.

Here are the two main (1)

to the

China Section of Radio Australia.

possibilities for

Request + Reasons/justifications;

patrick 1991).

you think

of

(2)

Does your culture have

any explanations

What about yourself? Do you have

3.

Or do you think

all

to place the request:

Reasons + Request (Kirk-

a general preference?

If so,

can

for the preferred choice?

2.

it

where

a preference?

depends on the circumstances? For example,

simple requests can be direct and "up front," while major and imposing requests will need considerable preparation.

(See

Note

5.)

Task Three Consider the e-mail request from Task sition.

Suppose the writer

what suggestions reflect

for

had come

One

that

you ranked

in lowest po-

to you with the request as a draft

changes would you make? Rewrite the request to

your suggestions. (See Note

6.)

Task Four In your

own field what sorts of things are easy to

hard? Write a request for one of the hard things.

request and what are

236


Language Focus: Perhaps the

+ VERB + -ing Patterns

to

classic instance of this pattern is the closing

seen in two of the requests: looking forward to hearing/rom you.

normative speakers of English

have been

VERB

+

this pattern is counterintuitive since

by

typically taught in schools that verbs can be followed

infinitive (She hopes to improve) or

revising). To

However,

we have For many

phrase

+

VERB

+ -ing seems

in this case, the to

come before

is

to

VERB

+ participle (She

break these straightforward

in fact a preposition that just

the participle. This structure can occur after a

they either

hates

rules.

happens

number

to

of

grammatical items.

VERB

A. To +

+ -ing following verbs. Here are some of the more

common

ones. I

am looking forward

He

committed

is

Her experience She

is

used

to

She objected

to

is

to receiving

not limited

to

running complex

to

further information.

teaching all kinds of students. teaching in the United States. statistical tests.

having to redo the assignment.

Certain groups are often subjected

They admitted

to failing to

to

being searched

on

entry.

follow the safety procedures.

(Some other more informal patterns occur largely in speech, such as When around to running the experiment, we may finally see some results or

he gets

All this boils B. To

down

VERB

+

to saying that

it

won't work.)

+ -ing following some complex prepositions

In addition to zvorking

on

his dissertation,

Prior to entering the Ph.D. program, she

With a view

to increasing

interactive

VERB

C. To +

She

is

This

The

+

Web

he

is

also teaching a class.

worked

in industry.

enrollment, the department developed an

site.

-ing following certain adjectives

close to completing her grant proposal.

is

crucial to understanding the nature of the problem.

director

may be open

to

rescheduling the meeting.

.


He

is

This

D. To +


resistant to being relocated.

tantamount

is

VERB

There

is

to

saying that there

no

probably no difference.

alternative to replicating the experiment.

a useful guide

is

is

+ -ing following certain nouns

She had several objections This

in

His approach

to

to

to

being labeled a "radical feminist."

computer programs. more psychological than

constructing similar

understanding society

is

sociological.

There was considerable resistance

to

implementing the curriculum

reform.

Task Five

Complete the following with 1

I

am looking forward

tation at next 2.

The

director

a suitable

VERB

+

-ing.

your presen-

to

month's conference.

is

not accustomed to

his

decisions questioned. 3.

The student admitted

the term paper

to

from the Web. 4.

The

tax reform

is

being introduced with a view to

benefits for the poor. 5.

There can be drawbacks bilistic

6.

She

is

averse to

Note

on proba-

measures.

for a sixth time.

(See

to

7.)

her dissertation abstract

238


7.2 It

happens

to all of us that

requests are

need

to


met with

some

of our best-crafted

silence. If the

matter

is still

and most reasonable

important,

we may now

send a reminder.

Task Six

How would you characterize the following strategies? Which one do you prefer

and why?

And how might you

further

improve your preferred choice?

Reminder A Dear Professor Wilson, You may remember that several weeks ago

messaged asking

I

if you could write a recommendation for me in support of my

application for a doctoral fellowship. You may also recall that you agreed to do this. According to the graduate secre-

tary of my department, the department has yet

(as

of yester-

am wondering therefore

day)

to receive a letter from you.

if

could remind you about this? Of course, please ignore

I

I

this message if you have already written.

Reminder B Dear Professor Wilson,

I

am resending my reguest for a letter

case you have overlooked it. time of year, but

I

I

(April 24,

200X)

in

know how busy you are at this

would be very grateful if you could man-

age something.

Reminder C Dear Professor Wilson,

Completed applications for next year'

s

doctoral fellowships

are due at the central administration by

4

p.m.

this Friday.

My application is complete except for the letter you agreed


in


to write for me some weeks ago.

is now too late for me to

It

approach another professor about

letter. Can

a

I

therefore

ask you to do this by noon on Friday? Without all of the

necessary documents, my application will be automatically rejected and my academic future compromised.

willing to pick up

a

and take it across campus. next

(See

Note

hours

24

I

I

would be very

letter from your department on Friday If you need to contact me in the

can be most easily reached at 234-5678.

8.)

Task Seven

Compose 1.

a reminder for

You wrote

to

one of these contexts.

your country's national archives requesting three reports

and mail-

relevant to your research, sending a check to cover copying

ing costs (as agreed on the telephone). that they

They

were processing your request but

two months ago date you have received

replied

to

nothing. 2.

Six

weeks ago you sent

to a professor at

and

advisor.

posal and 3.

a

copy of your research proposal

your previous university,

for

comment

who was your first mentor

Your ex-professor said she would gladly read your pro-

make some

suggestions but she hasn't yet got back to you.

Your writing instructor /tutor said that she would lend you one of her copies of the BBI Combinatory Dictionary a couple of

weeks

ago.

Remind

her of this promise. 4.

You

sent a letter

field in

some time ago

to a

well-known researcher

in

your

Los Angeles saying that since you would be there next week

you would like an opportunity to make a brief him or to one of his colleagues. You heard reminder. Send a second e-mail reminder of your

for personal reasons, visit

and hopefully

nothing and sent a

talk to

request.

Apart from reminders, there are various other kinds of responses. Very often the

way

these are handled affects

how you

and thus is you may and certainly you

are perceived

highly relevant to your positioning as a junior scholar. After

want

or need to contact a particular researcher again,

might

like

him

or her to

remember who you

all,

are in a favorable way.

240

English

in


Task Eight

Below

is

a very professional-looking

letter.

Read

it

and answer the ques-

tions that follow.

Dr.

J.

Green

L.

Complex Systems

Institute

3034 Ideas Building

Midwest

State University

Midville,

MO 45308

Dear

Dr. Green,

Further to our recent exchange of e-mails,

may I now confirm the

follow-

ing arrangements.

1.

I

have an appointment with you on June 2nd

I

be arriving on June

will

at 3:30 p.m.

case 3.

your

Building 3034).

office (Ideas 2.

at 10:00 a.m. in

will

I

1st in the

afternoon on Midwest flight 0245

whom will be staying. In my friend's home phone number is 555-5555.

be met by a friend, with

you might need

At your suggestion,

I

it,

will

be bringing the

along in order to demonstrate

it

at

I

new

software program

an informal "brown bag"

at

noon

on June 2nd. 4.

I

have arranged

Flight 2249.

1

to leave

will

on June 3rd

be making

in the early

morning on Midwest

my own arrangements to get to the

airport.

Let

me close by saying that I am very grateful for the opportunity to

discuss

my work and

ideas with you.

I

look forward to meeting you

on June 2nd. Sincerely,

H.

1.

J.

Park

Delete any information that you consider unnecessary and add any in-

formation (make up suitable details) that you think should be included.

.


2.

in


Are there any phrases you particularly

like or dislike?

What do you

think about the style and tone of the communication? 3.

4.

Do you

think the letter

Should

it

Assume

Note

too "writer oriented" (look at

all

those

Is)?

be turned more toward the reader?

that the visit

of a follow-up

(See

is

was

successful.

What should Ms. Park do by way

communication?

9.)

7.3 Disclaimers

As we saw

in Unit Six,

and Apologies

acknowledgments

are fundamentally concerned

with thanking individuals and institutions for assistance rendered (note the

postposed participle;

this is

kind of accounting occurs or not done

it

than in Unit Six

A very different

when it is we who have not done something, it right. One rather specialized

might not have

right, or

occasion for this

probably a fixed phrase).

(We deal with this here rather because these disclaimers seem very rare in dissertation is

the published disclaimer.

acknowledgments.)

Language Focus: Article Disclaimers The

first

in the

1

element in these consists of the standard language as displayed

Language Focus

We would

like to

in Unit Six.

and

thank

for their

assistance. 2.

I

am grateful to

on an

and

for their

comments

earlier draft of this paper.

Typical expressions of the disclaiming part of individual acknowledgments are the following.

a.

However, any remaining errors are our own.

b.

However, they are

c.

I

alone

am

in

no way responsible

for

any remaining

responsible for the opinions expressed here.

errors.

242


A slightly different formula tends to operate with official sponsors. Again the opening

3.

is

standard.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Foundation. However, the foundation

is

not responsible for the opin-

ions expressed here. 4.

I

am extremely appreciative of this support. However, am of course I

ultimately responsible for the writing that has

emerged from

that

research and any views this writing might express. 5.

The research

for this article

was supported under

the Educational Re-

search and Development Center Program Grant No. 876/23/99. The findings and opinions expressed in this report

do not reflect the posiand Improvement

tion or policies of the Office of Educational Research

or the United States

(See

Note

Department

of Education.

10.)

Written apologies are typically e-mail messages these days.

common situation is an apology for

One very

a delay in response. These apologies

can vary greatly in formality, largely depending on

1.

the relationship between the correspondents;

2.

the topic of the delayed response;

3.

the length of the delay;

4.

the reason or excuse for the delay.

Task Nine

Below are

six e-mail

messages sent

to a professor.

With a partner,

if

you

have one, mark each one as

FF (very formal), F

(quite formal),

I

(quite informal),

II

(very informal)

After indicating the level of formality, try to guess the relationship

between sender and

receiver.


_ 1.

I

am sorry

in


have taken so long to get back to you on this.

I

Maybe we could get together for lunch one day. If you could suggest two or three days that work for you, Kathy and

I

can

select one and firm up arrangements.

_

2.

Groveling apologies for being so slow. I've been snowed under with a zillion things. Here,

3.

finally is what you wanted.

Please accept my apologies about the delay in notifying you

concerning your application. At its meeting, the committee learned that the space we had anticipated will not be available for a further year. On the basis of this news, the

committee has decided to suspend this first round of competition and reopen it again next year when we have

a

better

picture of resources and space. _

4.

I

am,

I

know,

slow in acknowledging receipt of the items

sent by your research assistant

.

I

am at fault for not

noticing the time periods on the data before this time. If isn't too much trouble,

it

I

could use your further help by

additionally having the data for the six months following. _

5.

I

apologize for being slow to respond to your proposal.

This was reviewed by the Evaluation Board. The discussion

was pretty rich and complex,

and it was, after the meeting,

difficult to discern the actual instruction given me in how .

to respond to you.

and _

6.

I

I

have since checked back with the chair,

now forward her message to you.

Please forgive the delay, caused in the first instance by faulty fax,

a

from which it was difficult to extract your mes-

sage. So let me confirm that the delay certainly does not

signify a lack of interest in your project on my part.

What

linguistic cues

helped you do the task? (See Note

11.)

7.4 Submission Letters Let us hope that your previous academic communications have helped you assemble a paper for possible publication. You have selected a journal and now need to write a submission letter (also known as a "cover letter" or a "letter of transmittal") to the editor of that journal.

244


Remember While

it is

that a submission letter (SL)

is

what an

editor reads

first.

very likely that the appropriateness of the SL has no impact on

the eventual editorial decision regarding the enclosed paper,

sions can have lasting effects.

It

first

impres-

does no harm to make a professional

first

appearance.

Task Ten

Below are two submission (if

possible),

Letter

letters.

and be prepared

to

Read them, discuss them with

comment

a partner

or offer advice.

A Dear

Dr. Carduner,

First of all, let

me introduce myself to you. My name is

,

Associate Professor of Finance, working at a leading institution in

microfinancing, and to

I

my country.

would now

your distinguished journal.

forthcoming issue. Please

I

I

I

University,

have written several

like to contribute the

hope you

make any

will

articles

be able to include

corrections

on

enclosed paper

you think

it

in a

necessary.

look forward to an early reply,

Sincerely,

Letter

B Dear

I

Dr. Carduner,

would

like to

submit to your journal for possible publication the en-

closed paper entitled "Microfinancing in Rural Bangladesh: Causes of

Microenterprise Success and Failure." The specific subject of this paper

has not been submitted for publication elsewhere; search performed for the completion of

my Ph.D.

it is

based upon

thesis.

re-


As per your journal's

in


instructions,

am

I

my

enclosing three copies of

paper and also include a 50-word biographical statement.

I

would be pleased

to give

you any

further information that

you might

request.

Sincerely yours,

(See

Note

12.)

John (1996) analyzed 65 submission

He found

—in his

field

he used

letters to a journal

to co-edit.

—that basically 10 topics (or elements) occurred.

These were, in alphabetical order, as follows.

1.

Address/mail use

2.

Advocacy

for paper. ("I believe the

your journal because 3.

("As the university mail

issues.

Bio-data. ("I

.

.

.

paper

is

relevant to readers of

am an assistant professor at

Commentary on sented in

5.

unreliable, please

")

my doctorate from 4.

is

my home address for correspondence.")

and obtained

.")

paper. ("An earlier version of this paper

May at the

was

pre-

Conference.")

Editor invited to revise. ("Please

make any

corrections

you think

necessary.") 6.

Networking. gested that

7.

I

("It

was

submit

Professor Hiroke Kobayashi

this

paper

No other publication plans.

to

who strongly sug-

your journal.")

("The enclosed paper

not being consid-

is

ered by any other journal.") 8.

Offer

by author

to revise. ("I will

you or your reviewers might 9.

Request

be happy

to

make any changes

for response. ("I look

forward to hearing from you in due

course.") 10.

that

like to suggest.")

Submission. ("Please find enclosed three copies of

.

.

.")

246

English

in


Task Eleven

Which

do you think were the most frequent and which frequent? And why? (See Note 13.)

three elements

three the least

Observations on the Ten Elements 1.

Address/mail is

issues.

indeed unreliable,

If

you

it is

live in a part of the

world where the mail

perfectly appropriate to

make

suggestions to

lessen the problem. 2.

Advocacy

for paper. This is usually unnecessary, unless the author

paper might indeed be consid-

justifiably feels that, at first sight, the

ered unsuitable for the particular journal. 3.

Bio-data.

Mention of position, years of experience, number of degrees,

and so on

is

not relevant to the quality of the submitted paper. There-

fore, usually there is

exception might be

no good reason

if

this is the author's first

a refereed journal; in this case the of attracting the editor's 4.

Commentary on

paper. This kind of

Shape

it first

attempt

SL could mention

One

possible

at publication in

this in the

hopes

sympathy!

please avoid writing things dissertation.

to include bio-data.

like:

commentary can be

The submission

is

helpful, but

Chapter Three of my

to the requirements of the selected journal.

5.

Editor invited to revise. No!

6.

Networking. Probably not, unless the person referred to

is

a

member

of the editorial board! 7.

No other publication plans. Some journals welcome this.

If

there are

any complications about prior or pending publication, the SL should explain this background clearly. 8.

Offer by author to revise. SL writers have nothing to gain by offering to revise; in 99 percent of cases this is

9.

Request for response. This course

your 10.

is

used.

fine

if

some

neutral phrase like in due

Do not use pressure tactics,

as in Expecting a response at

earliest convenience.

Submission. This title

is

going to happen anyway!

is

of your paper.

essential;

It is

become separated from

not

it is

also very important to include the

unknown in editorial

the manuscript!

offices for the

SL

to


Other

fields

may have

Would you expect Use Y

(yes) or

to

in


other expectations for submission

have

letters.

something about any of the following?

to say

N (no) to mark your responses.

1.

Multiple co-authorship?

2.

Page charges? (Especially authors

may be expected

in science, engineering, to

pay

a substantial

sum

and medicine, for each printed

A typical sum might be $50 dollars a page; however, the

page.

current cost for a page containing a color graphic in Nature

is

500 pounds sterling.) 3.

The treatment

4.

Illustrations

5.

The use

Anything

of

human

or animal subjects?

and /or photographs?

of proprietary (or commercial) material?

else?

Task Twelve Draft an appropriate submission letter to

accompany one

of your

manuscripts.

7.5 Further

Correspondence with Editors

Most journals acknowledge

safe receipt of manuscripts within a

of their arrival. After that, there

the manuscript editors

ponder

is

is

likely to

few days

be a considerable delay while

sent out for review, reviewers' reports are received,

their decisions

and write

and

their letters or e-mails.

Task Thirteen

How many months is a reasonable time to wait for you? After that time is up,

it

may be

nications

time to contact the editors. Which of the following

do you

prefer

and why?

commu-

248

Letter


A Dear Six

Dr. Green,

months ago I submitted

my manuscript ("Nutritional Values of

Vine-Ripened Tomatoes") to your journal, receipt of which was swiftly

acknowledged. Given

when you most

will

this considerable time,

be in a position to report on

I

this

am now wondering manuscript.

I

can be

easily contacted at [email protected].

With best wishes,

Letter

B Dear

I

sent

Dr. Green,

you

a manuscript six

months ago, and I have been waiting anx-

iously for your response for the last three months. Since

on

the job market,

it is

very important to

me

to

am currently

I

have as strong a

list

of

Can you do anything to help me in this difficult it would strengthen my job prospects if I were to

publications as possible. situation, especially as

(See

have an

article

Hoping

for

Note

"forthcoming" in your distinguished journal?

an early

reply,

14.)

Eventually you receive the editor's is

one such

letter,

which, unfortunately,

Dear

Thank you

is

and the reviewers'

Here

reports.

not atypical!

,

for

choosing our journal for your manuscript entitled

"Nutritional Values for being a

letter

little

Of Vine-Ripened Tomatoes," and

my apologies

slow in responding. As you will see from the enclosed

reviews, this has not been exactly an easy case. Reviewer the basic research

is

adequate but

recent literature, particularly that

is

insufficiently

1 feels

that

informed by the most

coming from Holland. Although

this


may be difficult

literature

certainly

your choice of is

you

for

to access in

make on

Mexico, his criticisms are

seriously.

Reviewer

2,

on the other

the literature but does question

your methodology and seems particularly unhappy

certain aspects of

topic


something you should take

hand, has no comments to

at

in

statistical

measures. She also

feels,

however, that the

of importance for food science given the considerable public

interest (and

some

increasing skepticism) in this type of commercial

tomato production.

My own judgment is that the observations of both reviewers have merit. So this

a case

is

where we

with no guarantee as yet of are places

are asking

you

final acceptance.

to "revise

It is

also

and resubmit"

my view

where your manuscript could be tightened up, and

some of these on the returned photocopied pages. you are willing to consider this route, it would help

that there

I

have

in-

dicated If

receive the revised manuscript a letter that clearly explains

comments.

And

please

by the end of the

year,

how you have responded

make

if I

could

accompanied by to the reviewers'

sure in your revision that

you do not

ex-

ceed the word limit of 4,000 words.

Yours in Science,

XXXXXX,

co-editor

Task Fourteen

Your colleague comes advice.

Which

Response

to

you with the editor's letter and asks for your would you be most likely to say?

of the following

1

Look,

this isn't

lished virtually

Report

going to work.

unchanged

in

—what the Americans

and then you can move on

If I

our

call

were you,

I

would

try to get

it

pub-

own College Science Annual Research

working papers. That should be

to the next stage of your research.

easy,

250


Response 2 Well, the reviewers' reports

dard for all,

and the

They

this level of journal.

everybody has

to revise.

editor's

it

are pretty stan-

you

think. After

Although the two reviewers have

opinions, they are not actually contradictory

you should sweat

comments

are not as negative as

—which

is

different

a big help.

I

think

out and basically do what they want. This would

help your career most.

Response 3 In

my opinion, Reviewer

1 is

basically unfair. What's this Groningen Jour-

nal of Commercial Crop Developments?

I

have never heard of

it. I

would

suggest you write back to the editor and say that you can do what

Reviewer 2 wants but from here Reviewer

l's critique,

in

Puebla you can't do

much about

unless the journal can help out with references.

Response 4

My guess is that the editor is essentially

if

indirectly telling

you

to

go

away. So don't bother with that "revise and resubmit with no guarantee." Instead, take the

comments

of

everybody very

your paper as best you can and submit

it

seriously,

to another journal

but perhaps not quite on the level of your

first

rework

—a good one

choice. That

way you

could turn probable defeat into probable victory.

Response 5 (Any other suggestions (See

Note

that

you might have)

15.)

7.6 Notes

and Comments for Unit Seven

Notel Maier,

P.

1992. Politeness strategies in business letters

by native and normative

English speakers. English for Specific Purposes 11:189-206.

Chang,

Y.

Y, and

Y Hsu.

1998. Requests

RELC Journal 29:121-51.

on

e-mail:

A cross-cultural comparison.


in


Task One)


for

Our

and ourselves can legitimately disagree about

students, colleagues,

one preferred order

is

1.

Message Two. Well-written,

2.

Message Three. Easy

3.

pen

in the

own

field.

Message Four. This

4.

if

clear, professional,

is

future; also

good

to

nothing seems likely to hap-

support

new developments

5.

is

good

also the prospect of

Message One. This does not come across very

The best course might be

Message

Five.

well.

to ask for a

Does the writer know

for everything?

And

in his

a reasonable request. Senior professors should provide

they can. There

contacts.

The research area

defined; the offer of teaching Italian (presumably for pay) seems a fetched.

but

easy to implement.

to say in principle "yes," as

immediate

this service

this,

as follows.

more

in a rather insistent

manner?

underfar

specific request.

Gardener's work?

Dr.

is

little

Is

there

Why does she ask

any way

this re-

quest can reasonably be met? Send a couple of offprints?


1.

Presumed first

for

Task Two)

Message

Message

Message

Message

Message

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Italian

Portuguese

Bahasa

Cantonese

German

Melayu

lan-

guage of author 2.

Status of

researcher

requester 3.

master's

assistant

head of

doctoral

student

professor?

department

student

consultancy

external

everything!

Type of help

short-term

research

requested

visiting

literature

examiner

scholar 4.

Place in text

where main request

occurs

second

second

fourth

first

sentence

sentence

sentence/

sentence

middle

second half

252

5.

Phrases you


Message

Message

Message

Message

Message

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

none?

J

On

all?

J

am

ing

like

wonder-

if there

Dr.

Jones's sug-

are similar

gestion, 1

papers on this

asking

topic that

you

might be willing

let

the

recommen.

.

whether you

me

or

am

writing

you on

dation of

could refer to

am

to

.

.

.

me have copies of? 6.

Phrases you dislike

.

.

.

in order to

none?

none?

none?

get ideas

about

1

am

especially

interested in

my

your publications, latest

thesis.

experiments Please

me

let

and

know your

their

results.

answer as soon as possible

.

.

Note 4 Kirkpatrick, A. 1991. Information sequencing in

Mandarin

letters of request.

Anthropological Linguistics 33:183-203.


Remarks by our

for

Language Focus questions)

classes suggest that there

may well be general preferences

re-

garding Reasons + Request versus Request + Reasons, with most cultures favoring the former and the latter often being thought to be "American business style."

However, we also agree with our participants

that "obvious" requests

can be

presented more directly and that "imposing" requests probably need more preparatory

work

in nearly all cultures.



in


Task Three)

for

Message Five First

sentence as

is.

Then:

I am therefore particularly interested in any recent work you and your colleagues may have done on this kind of fusion at elevated temperatures. Access to any

work

in this area "in press"

process of fine-tuning

send you a copy of

a


would be

for

attending / hearing

having

3.

downloading

4.

increasing / enhancing / protecting

5.

relying

6.

rewriting / revising

clause."

It

I

am in the

would be happy

to

/ plagiarizing

Note 8 (sample responses is

I

Task Five)

1.

Reminder A

In return

forthcoming paper by Professor Grossman and myself.

2.

and gives the

particularly valuable since

my dissertation project.

for

Task Six)

written "more in sorrow than in anger."

full

background. The

should work pretty well

last if

It is

polite

and

tentative

sentence provides a kind of "escape

Professor Wilson

is

a fairly responsible

individual.

Reminder B that

is

even more

tentative; really

nothing more than a "nudge." Notice

"manage something" may not produce

sending"

is

a strong letter,

although the "re-

a useful strategy.

Reminder C may well achieve the action required. These indeed tactics of a

high order. But

is

are pressure

there a cost? Will Professor Wilson perhaps resent

being "bullied" in this way?

Most people opt

for

Reminder

A as the best starting point. Most suggest that the

second sentence could be incorporated into the

first to

make

it

appear more

"congenial" and that something should be said about the time frame. Here

one possible reworking.

is

254


Dear Professor Wilson, You may remember that several weeks ago you agreed to write a

recommendation for me in support of my application for

a

doctoral fellowship. However, according to the graduate secretary,

the department has yet

a letter

(as

of yesterday)

to receive

from you, and the deadline is this coming Friday

afternoon.

am wondering therefore if

I

could remind you

I

about this? Of course, please ignore this message if you

have already written.

One

of our class groups

the following for S2

came up with

and

a neat alternative solution.

They suggested

S3.

In my request,

probably forgot to inform you that the

I

deadline for this letter is this Friday. Anyway, it seems that the department has yet to receive a letter.


We

don't think

his

group

for

we need

will not

Task Eight)

the information about the flights since Dr. Green

be involved in travel arrangements.

some advance information about

would

anticipate that

ments

for the software

nological disasters!

2.

And perhaps a reminder about the

We think the language is basically fine.

(1.)

Green can

1

The tone

who knows what she

We also think, however, sentence

4.

that Dr.

details of the "software

circulate this information to

No title for the brown bag? No wish to meet anybody else?

Ms. Park as somebody 3.

the technical require-

demonstration might avoid yet another of those tech-

program" would be helpful so others.

and

On the other hand, we

that the

message

is

is

strikes

us as "positioning"

doing.

rather "egocentric." Perhaps

could be better expressed as

Thank you

for agreeing to see

me

in

your

office

on June 2nd

at 10:00 a.m.

A follow-up message to confirm safe arrival home and pleasure at making professional contact. Plus perhaps an expressed wish to talk with Dr. Green

again at some future conference or professional meeting.

And

let

Ms. Park

not forget to send anything she promised to send. In our view, successful

academics are both generous and committed

such

offers.

to following

through on any


in


Note 10 Perhaps you might claimer.

like to

ask yourself whether you need to offer such a dis-

We think you are only

required to

do so

if

the sponsoring organization

has such disclaimers as part of their research contract. Have you seen other phrases that cover

Note

11

your readings

this situation in

in

your

field?

(sample responses for Task Nine)

Once again

there

is

room

for different opinions here,

but

we

think most people

might conclude the following. (a senior colleague,

1.

I

2.

II

3.

FF (outsider with

4. I

(close

perhaps

in

academic friend) a responsible position)

(colleague in the field but not

5.

F (administrator not known

6.

F

(a distant

discussion.

looked

another part of the university)

colleague?)

At

Some argued

like that

because

well?)

to the recipient?)

a recent session, this last item

that it

known

it

was

was "so

Linguistic cues that could help

British"

—which

you decide the

following: complete sentences or not,

gave

rise to a lively

really FF, but others said that

first

it

only

it is!

level of formality include the

person usage, formal or informal

academic vocabulary, slang, contractions or not, imperatives.

Note 12 (sample responses Letter

for

Task Ten)

A is supposed to represent how not to write an SL; Letter B is supposed to

represent a

model

that can be usefully adapted.

Most

of the points to be

made

are

already covered in the "Observations on the Ten Elements" listing that follows in the text.


for

Task Eleven)

In the applied language studies field, the three elements in the 65

SLs and the three elements found

Submission

63

Commentary on paper

30

Request for response

27

Address/mail issues

10

Offer by author to revise

7

Editor invited to revise

5

found most frequently

least frequently

were

as follows.

256

The

first


element almost

self-selects.

authors' heavy investment of time

The second element doubtless

and

effort in their

reflects the

papers and their wish to say

something about their enclosed manuscripts. Requests for response are a typical,

perhaps formulaic, closure.

The dispreferred elements

are

somewhat more

associated with non-native

speakers in this particular study. There are indeed problems with mail in countries.

The revision

offers

and requests

many

largely reflect the understandable

anxieties of academics in particularly isolated situations.


The time weeks nals.

for

varies according to journal and, especially, according to field; from

more than nine months

for Physics Letters to

(?)

Academic clocks move

Letter

paper

Task Thirteen)

at different

two

some humanities jour-

in

speeds in different parts of the academy!

A is clearly superior to Letter B. It is clear, it mentions the title of the

(see 10 in the

"Observations on the Ten Elements"

not too "pushy," and

None of these

it

makes

it

listing in the text),

it is

easy for the editor to provide a quick update.

things are true of Letter B.


for

There are clearly no hard and

Task Fourteen)

fast

answers here. There

is,

we believe,

merit in

all

As you know, it is part of to two different journals at

four responses! Response 4 gives rise to an anecdote.

academic etiquette never the

same

time.

Anyway,

to

submit the same

the editors of the

once received the same manuscript

at

article

two best applied

linguistics journals

about the same time. (They learned

because they sent the manuscripts to the same reviewer,

this

who then contacted

them!) The journal editors decided to send a strong letter of complaint to the

offending author. However, the author

He

replied, "Well,

journals, because

I

I

was not

never really submitted the

at all

ashamed of his "crime." your two distinguished

article to

never thought that either of you would accept

What I was looking

for

was your customary

excellent reviews,

my article.

which would then

me to undertake a thorough revision and which would then allow me to publish my paper in a second-rank journal." But do not try this yourself! allow

Unit Eight


in

Support of a Research Career

/<5W "I don't think your vitae looks so bad. I think that writing 5,383 multiple-choice questions is a contribution to the research literature."

whose pur-

The focus

of this final unit

pose

conduct the business of the academic community. These genres

is

to

is

on a variety

of written genres

are primarily designed to get the "right" academic people in the "right" positions.

Most we write

of this unit. But

own careers—hence the title recommendations, is texts that we write in

in support of our

one group,

support of other people. All the texts presented in longer,

more formal, and more

this unit are typically

carefully constructed

and revised than

those in Unit Seven.

For several of the genres, exemplars are widely available in numerous

manuals and on many Web

sites.

One important exception

is

the aca-

In

which we give special attention here. and anxieties of particular relevance difficulties general, we focus on

to

normative speakers.

demic recommendation

letter, to

257

258


As we have seen

in Unit

One, Section

1.2.,

and elsewhere, these genres

form systems, or networks. In the diagram below, genres

may not always come news"

story, or

into play

in parentheses

The sequence shown below

is

a

"good

one with a happy ending; naturally and unfortunately

the applicant, this staged process can

come

for

to a stop at various points!

Posted Academic Position i Application Package

(letter,

CV, references,

etc.)

i (invitation to conference interview)

i Invitation to

campus

i (dry run of job talk)

i

Campus

Visit

i Job Offer I (negotiation)

i

Acceptance

With

this in

mind, the main topics covered

8.1.


8.2.

Fellowship Applications

8.3.

Job and Position Applications

8.4.

Letters of

8.5.

Notes and Comments

Recommendation

8.1

for Unit Eight


A curriculum vitae (CV), Latin for course of form of your education and abbreviation "c.v." it

in this unit are the following.

is

career.

life, is

an account

in note

(Note that in British English the

often used.) Your

CV is a

"living"

document

in that

continues to change and grow along with your experiences. Senior

researchers

may have CVs extending over many pages, while junior


in

259


As with other genres presented in this some cultural variation, which you may want to you prepare or update your vitae or revise it for a

researchers will need fewer pages. unit,

CVs

will exhibit

take into account as

specific job application.

Task One Discuss the following points with a partner U.S. audience for

(if

you have

one),

assuming a

your CV. Mark the points as follows.

We both agree. = We both disagree. = We are not sure or we don't agree with each other.

+ = ?

1.

A resume and a CV are the same genre.

2.

You should include your date

of birth, sex, nationality,

and marital

status. 3.

Your

CV should include both your home and departmental

addresses. 4.

5. 6.

best to use reverse chronological order throughout

It is

most recent things

the

The longer your CV, the

Under

put

(i.e.,

first).

better.

the section for current education, give the

your dissertation and the name of your advisor

working

(if

you

title

of

are at the

dissertation writing stage). 7.

Provide some information about your high school.

8.

List

9.

When describing your teaching experience, highlight the classes for

which you had

10. List 11.

only advanced or special courses you have taken.

computer

List all

12. List

sole responsibility.

skills

or expertise in using special equipment.

languages that you

know and how well you know

submitted or forthcoming

them.

articles after the articles that

have

already been published. 13.

The

font for your

name

at the top

should not be very

than the font of the rest of your CV.

much larger

260

English

in


14.

You should use

15.

Provide your references at the end of your CV.

16.

You should not

capital letters for headings

and subheadings.

try to "translate" degrees that

have no exact

equivalent in the United States (Diplom in Germany, D.E. A in France, M.Phil, in Britain).

(See

Note

1.)

Task Two

Here

is

a typical

What do you to

CV written by an American citizen for a U.S. audience.

like

and

dislike

about

it?

What

suggestions might you

make

Robin Lee? Robin

S.

Lee

Department of Biology

e-mail:

3039 Watson Hall

URL: http://www.pers.morc.emap.~js/

Central State University

(555) 555-0000

Centerville,

[email protected]

OH 12345-6789

Education 2000-present

Doctoral candidate in Molecular Biology Central State University, Centerville,

(Degree expected

OH

summer 200X)

MS in Biology

1997

Southeastern State University Ithaca,

NY

Thesis: Protein Folding of Alcohol

BS

1995

Dehydrogenase

in Biology

Eastern State University, Buffalo,

NY

(GPA 3.7) Research Experience Fall 1999-present

Research assistant: Dr. R.

Fall

1998-summer

1999

Summer

Research assistant: Electron microscopy of dried mycological specimens.

1996

DNA isolation from fungal specimens with

Anderson

PI, Dr. F.

Guzman.

Field assistant: Southeastern State University Biological Station


in

261


Teaching Experience Fall

Laboratory instructor for Introductory Biology, Central State

1998

University Full teaching responsibilities for

one undergraduate section of

18 students

Teaching assistant for Anatomy and Physiology: Southeastern

Winter 1997

State University Full teaching responsibilities for

one undergraduate section of

26 students Fall

Lab assistant

1997

for

Physiology and Development: Southeastern

State University

Assisted students with weekly lab projects and answered

student questions

F Guzman and

Publications

R. S. Lee. Morchella asci Ultrastrucrure.

Mycologia (in press).

Conference Presentations

Summer

1996

R. S.

Lee and

F.

Guzman.

Ultrastructure of Morchella

presentation at AIBS, Baltimore,

asci.

Poster

MD.

Honors and Awards

Award

1997

Journal of Cell Science Travel

1996

Southeastern State University Research Foundation Fellowship

Task Three

If

the writer of this

institution in

Note

what changes would you recommend?

(See

2.)

As demonstrated ally

CV wanted to submit it to a university or a research

your country,

in the

CV above, information for a U.S.

presented in reverse chronological order. However,

audience

if

is

usu-

your academic

and /or employment history has noticeable gaps (which may

exist for

any

you may have more success with afunctional CV skills and achievements into sections, thus highlighting your skills rather than focusing on specific work titles and dates. For example, you may have subsections that focus on laboratory skills or equipment that you can use, presented in reverse chronological sequence of activities and achievements. (See Note 3.)

number

of reasons)

one that groups your

262


Language Focus: Gapping in CVs As discussed

elements. While gapping

kinds of

is

is

the deletion of certain linguistic

often used to achieve smoothness in different

CV gapped phrases may be preferred over full sen-

texts, in a

tences so that information

words

gapping

in Unit Three,

is

conveyed using the smallest number of

necessary.

The elements most

likely to

be gapped in CVs are

auxiliary verbs, articles, relative clause elements, tional phrases. Thus, in

gapped phrases such

first

and

person pronouns,

certain preposi-

as the following are

common

CVs.

1.

Fluent in Mandarin

2.

Taught advanced-level calculus

3.

Coordinated and implemented research

4.

Conducted data analysis

5.

Designed

6.

12.

Duties included maintaining lab equipment Accompanied students on 1998 geology field trip Helped construct interactive database Coded transcripts using Resourcer program Programming expertise (LINOL, Access) Languages spoken: Spanish, English, Portuguese Courses taught: Latin American History, Mexico Today

13.

Grants received: 2000-2001, Rivera Grant ($12,000) for archival research

7.

8. 9.

10. 11.

Web

Notice that in the

pages for Introduction

Psychology (1997-99)

last three cases, the participle

because the gapped elements include

follows the subject. This

active auxiliary

The

full

11a.

Languages

that

I

12a.

Courses that

I

13a.

Grants that

have received:

can speak / have spoken:

have taught:

.

.

.

.

.

Placing the participle in pre-position could result in instance, a reader

verbs and relative

forms would be

clause elements.

I

to

efforts

might think that taught

are courses that were taught

to

you.

courses

some

confusion. For

(compare

to 12

above)

is


in

263


Finally, note that gapping not only reduces the number of words but also makes your CV more readable. The elimination of all those first person references makes the CV appear less "egocentric," and the use of verbs makes your life story more achievement and action oriented. (Compare

Instructor for advanced-level calculus

with

Tauglit advanced-level calculus.)

Task Four Take the following short text that focuses on teaching experience and rewrite

it

so that

subheading,

would be

it

suitable for a CV.

Be sure

to

make up

a

too.

My first year (1996) in the Chemistry Department as a beginning grad student

I

worked

in the

Chemistry Tutorial Center, a center that provided

class. As a tutor I helped (Chem 100) as well as those Organic Chemistry (Chem 415). I have been a teaching

one-on-one help to students in any Chemistry students from Introduction to Chemistry

from senior

level

Department

assistant for the

of

Chemistry for the

last

four years. During

a number of courses, including General and Inor(Chem 125), General Chemistry (Chem 130), and Strucand Reactivity (Chem 210). I have been fully responsible for my

that time

I

have taught

ganic Chemistry ture

own section

of 210 each semester for the last year.

I

have

my experiences as a teacher of chemistry and would teaching after

(See

Note

I

really

enjoyed

like to

continue

questions about what to include on a

CV and

graduate.

4.)

Task Five Prepare or revise your

There are always

how that

to include

it.

own CV.

lots of

Here are some about presentations and publications

have occurred

in

our

classes.

264


Task Six

How would you handle the following (if at all)? Work in pairs if possible. 1.

A professor asks you to give a talk based on your research to her She asks you

class. If

2.

you decide

The same minute

to

to

do

the full 50-minute period.

fill

so,

how would you enter it on the CV?

situation, but this time the professor asks for only a 20-

talk.

How might this be entered on the CV, if at all? 3.

In the third case, the professor does not ask

you

to

speak about your

research but to talk about your academic experiences as a citizen of

your home country.

Does 4.

The

this

change of topic

final session of

of posters

affect

your decision?

your advanced

class

is

a poster session consisting

showcasing everybody's work. Friends and colleagues are

also invited to attend. Is this 5.

a publication?

The 200-word

If so,

abstract of

how will you cite it?

your conference presentation appears

in the

glossy conference program. Is this

6.

7.

another publication?

Your 200-word

abstract,

And

if

so,

how will you cite it?

but not your prepared and submitted paper,

is

published in the conference "proceedings."

If

you suggest including

this as a publication,

how will you cite

it?

A 500-word report of the research you presented at a conference appears in the

New

York Times.

How will you deal with this, if at all? 8.

A reporter from the local newspaper visits the lab where you work and includes a summary of your research

How will you deal with this, if at all?

project in her article.


9.

You

translate

own

265

language

your home country. In so doing, you make a few small

changes to make

10.


one of your published papers into your

for a journal in

Is this

in

it

more

accessible for

a separate publication?

your "home market."

What advice would you

offer here?

You and your advisor produce an annotated list of 40 entries as part of the annual bibliography of your field, which is published every year by a leading journal.

How will you deal with this? (See

Note

5.)

8.2 Fellowship Applications These days there

is

a

wide range and

available for junior scholars ets are quite specific

in the application.

fully read the guidelines given.

application letters should be half a

and grants

researchers. Often the application pack-

and thus quite helpful with regard

and should not be included

do not write

of scholarships, fellowships,

For example,

if

It

to

what should

therefore pays to care-

the instructions state that

no longer than two double-spaced pages,

page or three single-spaced pages. Take a look

at this

invented fellowship announcement and then do Task Seven.

"Here's an interesting letter of application. It says, 'Offer me the tenure track position, and I will bring with me my one-million-dollar research grant.'"

266


Applications are invited for Miller Fellowships 200X-200Y Miller Fellowships are available each year to support Asian female grad-

uate students from Turkey to Japan to facilitate field research in Asia. The scholarships

award

a full six months' support including tuition, travel,

living expenses, health insurance, five scholarships will

and

related research expenses.

Up

to

be offered for the coming year.

Applicants should provide a recent CV, the names of two referees, transcripts,

and proof of Asian

nationality (such as a

passport). Applications should also be

how

purpose of no more than 250 words explaining

would contribute this

to the applicant's further

further the position of Asian

15.

Awards

will

women in

a valid

a statement of

a Miller Fellowship

academic development. In

statement applicants must also clearly indicate

home. Applications are due ber

photocopy of

accompanied by

their

how

their

work

will

country upon their return

in the Miller Scholarship Offices

be announced on February

by Decem-

1.

Task Seven

Your acquaintance from Korea,

Ji-

Young Kim,

is

in dire

need of

financial

support to conduct her research. She has written three versions of her statement of purpose for the Miller Fellowship so

far.

She

now needs your

advice as to which one to submit and regarding whether the best of the set

needs further work. Read through her drafts and decide which would

likely

be the most successful. What are the strong and weak points of

each?

What

further advice

would you give Ji-Young?

A

Version 2

My name is Ji-Young Kim, and am a beginning second-year female I

master's student of Korean nationality in the School of Social Work.

2

As

you can see from my transcript, my grades for my first year's coursework are very encouraging. 3 This year I really need a Miller Fellowship so that

I

can go back to Korea to collect data for

of interest

elderly

is

in gerontology, particularly in long

widows.

riences, but

both

my thesis. 4 My main area term care provisions for

could base my thesis on United States data and expemy advisor and think it would be more useful for me

5

I

I


Korean data, especially since

to collect

by Korean strates

how

their 80s

work

social

real the

researchers.

problem

is.

7

I

6

this issue

and who

now in long way from

live in rural areas quite a are virtual "shut-ins." 8 They are visited

week and by

once or twice a year. 9 As demonstrated by

when

problem, and

them and 10

This

is

I

return to Korea

for other elderly

why

addressed

little

have two elderly aunts (both

trained church volunteer only once a

for

has been

My own family experience demon-

and widowed) who

their relatives

267


in

my aunts,

would

I

by an un-

their families only

like to

this is a serious

be able

to

do more

women in similar situations.

a Miller Fellowship

very important for

is

my future.

Version B 1

As can be seen from

second year

my supporting documentation, am beginning my I

in the master's

program

in social

work.

2

I

plan to complete

my degree in July 200Y after have written and defended my master's 3 thesis. My primary professional interest is in the interface between social work and gerontology, more specifically in the care of elderly women I

whose husbands have died and who

are not cared for

4

members. Recent demographic data show ing rapidly in

many

country,

data.

which

successful,

I

is

this

Unfortunately,

little

why I am applying

I

I

is

grow-

my thesis

available in this I

am

my hometown of

sample of 40 elderly widows

how well the municipality is coping with

growing problem. 9 Without a Miller Fellowship

carry out

is

7 for a Miller Fellowship. If

will interview a stratified

develop a profile of

group

My advisor,

could base

information

plan to spend three months in Korea in

Kunsan. 8 There in order to

6

5

plan to return to Korea on com-

I

my degree, it would be advantageous if

on Korean

their family

that this at-risk

parts of the world, including Korea.

Dr. S. Grant, has suggested that, since

pleting

by

I

will not

be able

to

my plan. 10 Thank you for your consideration.

C

Version 1

Rising

social

life

expectancies, especially for

problems

in

many

government census data show are either

widowed

living alone

Korean

women,

parts of the world. that

53%

of

2

are creating increasing

The

latest available

Korean

or have never been married; of these nearly

and are

social policy

rarely visited

by

their family

toward the elderly

is at least

Korean

women in their 80s 30%

are

3

members. Current partly premised

on the

268


traditional Asian concept of

piety,

filial

i.e.,

that

younger family members

will take care of their elderly relatives, but as the this tradition is

Grant,

it

thesis

would be an

and emotional

submit a

to this

show,

once was. Discussions with Sally

onsite investigation of the medical, finan-

status of elderly

san, Korea. 5If this investigation to

statistics

my advisor, have convinced me that an appropriate topic for my

upcoming cial,

not as strong as

above

4

joint article

problem.

6

If

I

widows

my hometown of Kun-

in

works as planned,

comparing United

am awarded a

States

Dr.

Grant and

I

plan

and Korean approaches

Miller Fellowship,

I

plan to carry out

the case-study phase of the research from February to April as well as

work on preliminary analyses of the findings. 7 I would then return to the university to write up my thesis and then hopefully defend in June. 7 I will then return to Korea and look for a position in the social work field.

(See

Note

6.)

Task Eight

Do one 1.

of the following.

Rewrite Ji-Young's application for

her, starting

from your preferred

version. 2.

Prepare your

own draft application for a

grant that you might be applying for at

fellowship or scholarship or

some time

in the future.

For those of you applying for dissertation fellowships and the ticularly helpful

Web site is maintained by Harvard

like,

a par-

University's Graduate

School of Arts and Sciences at http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/academic/ fellowships / essay s .html

8.3 Job

Most

final

and Position Applications

year Ph.D. students are "on the job market," looking for

re-

search positions in industry, postdocs, or academic positions as assistant professors (both tenure track

and

visiting).


in


269

Task Nine In your field,

which

your application ?

for

of the following

would you expect

to include in

an assistant professor position? (Y = Yes,

N = No,

= perhaps or sometimes.)

1.

A single-authored writing sample

2.

Samples of co-authored publications

3.

A short (half-page) cover letter

4.

A long (two-page) job application letter

5.

A statement of research interests

6.

A statement of your teaching philosophy

7.

A syllabus that you have designed

8.

A sample lesson plan

9.

A transcript (official copy)

10.

(See

Copies of Likert-scale teaching evaluations

Note

7.)

Task Ten

Below

is

sample job application

a

letter for a

beginning position

liberal arts college.

We have numbered

ence. Please read


it

at a small

the paragraphs for ease of referthat follow.

(home address) (date)

Mary Gordon

Dr.

Chair, Search

Committee

Department of Communication Sciences Sylvan College Sylvan,

Dear

1.

I

NY 22222

Dr.

am

Gordon,

writing to apply for the position of Assistant Professor of Psy-

chology, as advertised in the

APA Monitor. I am currently

a doctoral

270


candidate in psychology at Central State University and plan to defend

my dissertation in April or May next year. am especially interested in this position because my primary teaching interests parallel those deI

scribed in your advertisement.

2.

As you can

see from

my vitae,

perience in a variety of areas. In

I

have had considerable teaching ex-

fact, at this

university

I

have taught

courses in three departments: Psychology, Linguistics, and English. Last

winter term, (Psych 268).

I

was

a teaching assistant for Developmental Psychology

My duties included designing the syllabus and assignments

my discussion sections, leading discussions, grading, and assisting

for

student groups in their joint research projects. In the Department of Linguistics,

I

was

first

and then

tics 101),

and have

last

TA for the introductory survey course (Linguissummer I was given an opportunity to design

a

full responsibility for a

psycholinguistics,

second-level introductory course in

my principal area of specialization. More than half of

the 27 students in this class were elementary school teachers in training

and so

I

gave special attention

to child

language acquisition.

Finally,

I

have on three occasions taught writing-in-the-curriculum composition courses for the English Department,

all

three times focusing

in the social sciences. This last experience has

role of writing in social science education

ways 3.

I

of developing students' critical thinking

therefore believe that

needs in a number of

I

helped

and how

me

this

on writing

to rethink the

connects with

and argumentation

skills.

could satisfy your department's teaching

areas. Indeed,

I

would welcome an opportunity

to

teach introductory courses in developmental and cognitive psychology

and other courses gualism.

I

in

language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and

also believe that

bilin-

my experiences in teaching social science

writing and advising students on their projects will be valuable for

your team-taught "Research Lab 4.

in

Communication

Sciences."

My research interests are described more fully elsewhere, so I will

only offer some highlights here. dren's conversations their beliefs

More

am primarily interested

in

what

chil-

us about their thinking processes and about

about other people's thoughts (both children and adults).

specifically,

justify,

tell

I

I

have focused on 8

to 10 year olds

and how they

condemn, or explain the actions and behaviors

of their peers.


I

in

271


use experimental techniques for

involving pairs of children

this

watching videotaped episodes of other children's verbal explanations.

my dissertation,

In

this

data

is

then used to construct what

call a 10 year old's "theory of mind." is

developed

in this

argue that

we might

far this

"theory"

CV shows, my work in this area.

I

have already begun

to present

and

My future research interests lie in expanding my dissertation in

5.

am very interested in comparing the verbal justimy current research cohort with those of children of kinderLike many am also acutely aware that the United States is

several directions. fications of

garten age.

I

I

becoming a more multicultural

society,

and

more

or less evolved "theory of

who are interested

for

I

want

and whether

mind" than

their

to

this

examine group has

monolingual counter-

These research projects could very easily involve undergraduates

parts.

6.

therefore

I

the verbal explanations of bilingual children a

how

age group predicts their level of social adjustment

and maturation. As the publish

I

in children's cognitive

and

linguistic

development.

am enclosing a curriculum vitae and a summary of my dissertation

your consideration.

of four people

I

I

have asked

further information,

I

names you need

also enclose a separate sheet with the to

supply

letters of reference. If

can be most easily reached at (123) 456-7890 or

by e-mail ([email protected]).

I

thank you for your consideration and

look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Sandra

Sandra's

J.

Pomona

letter

letter.

Can you

What

is

contains the identify

moves

(see Unit

Two)

typical for a cover

them?

the pattern of organization that Sandra has chosen for her

middle four paragraphs (2-5)? Sandra chose of this?

letter.

—rather than her departmental

home What are

to use her

address for her

the advantages

and disadvantages

272

4.

In


paragraph

1

when she plans why?

Sandra mentions

And

to

defend her disser-

tation. Is this

important?

5.

What do you

think about the last sentence in paragraph 2?

6.

Highlight any words or phrases that you see as "promoting" or help-

so,

if

ing to "sell" Sandra. 7.

What do you

think of the phrase in paragraph 3 satisfy your depart-

ment's teaching needs? a.

believe

I

I

What do you

think of these alternatives?

can contribute to your exciting curriculum in a number

of ways. b.

am confident that

I

I

can add to your teaching strength in a num-

ber of areas. c.

would

I

like to

develop your curriculum in a number of areas.

In paragraph 4 Sandra

8.

is

"light"

on methodology. Might she have

reasons for this? Should she say more? 9.

One

question often asked about assistant professors

are signs of a coherent research

do you think Sandra has 10. In

or in fact for using

Note

How well

the

names offour people

I

have asked

to

might well have been

supply the

whom 7 have asked to supply letters of reference. Do

you think she might be

(See

agenda following the Ph.D.

In formal English this

names offour people

whether there

laid these concerns to rest?

paragraph 6 she writes

letters of reference.

is

it

criticized for not

(pretentious

using

whom (bad grammar)

and overly formal)?

8.)

Task Eleven

Sandra

is

also applying for

two other

positions. Position

B

is

an assistant

professor of psychology position at a major research university which

well

known

for its large

and

influential

C is a postdoc position in an institute for child development. comes

to

you and

asks, "For Position

is

psychology department. Position

B can

I

just

send

Sandra

my original letter?


273


in

I just leave out the teaching stuff? And, if not, what make?" What advice would you give Sandra? Write up

For Position C, can

changes should

1

your advice in the form of an e-mail message. (See Note

9.)

Task Twelve Write a cover in. If

letter for a

you do not have

position that

you

a position in mind,

are or

go

might

to the

later

be interested

employment

section of

a relevant journal in your field or to the Chronicle of Higher Education find a position to "apply"

8.4 Letters of

At some point letter of

in

Recommendation

your academic career you

recommendation

and

for.

will likely

for a student or colleague,

be asked to write a

such as for under-

graduates or more junior graduates you have worked with. Moreover, in the United States, for instance, graduate students letters for assistant professors in their

tenure. Letters of

the

asked to write

department being considered

recommendation are one of those genres

stamp of the academic culture

cent research

may be

by Precht

(see

Note

in

10)

which they were on

letters of

for

that often bear

written. Indeed re-

recommendation

for a

graduate program in law revealed cross-cultural differences in terms of the type of support given, the inclusion of criticism,

and the presence

of a

personal appeal to the reader.

The patterns of organization

of the letters in her study varied

from

chronological to topical, and the type of support ranged from a factual

list

of achievements to anecdotes about a candidate.

Task Thirteen

Read through the following

letter of

ate student applying to a graduate


recommendation

program

for

an undergradu-

in art history

and answer the

274


February

To

200X

24,

Whom

It

May Concern

am pleased to be writing this letter of recommendation for Kristen who was one of my students in fall term 200X. While she was my student she was very hard-working, punctual, and well man-

I

Matthews, nered

in class.

in solid

She worked well with others in

work. Her

creative.

She

personality

is

final project

was

class

and always turned

exceptionally well-designed and

very honest, mature, and self-motivated. Her outgoing

made her a

pleasure to have in class.

While assisting Ms. Matthews with her papers during

know

my office

As it turns out, she has an excellent background in art, having spent two summers as a docent at the American Museum of Art. As a docent she was responsible for

hours,

I

really got to

her quite well.

giving tours to small groups, which ranged from children to adults,

and demonstrated her

ability to discuss art

with the novice as well as

museum. Ms. Matthews is also somewhat of an artist herself and has had some of her watercolors displayed in various locations in Ann Arbor. Currently some of her work may be viewed at the University of Michigan Hospitals. Ms. Matthews would like to pursue a career related to art, most likely as more experienced

the

an

art

ical

visitor to the

museum staff member, and therefore graduate school

next step after she graduates. Given her performance in

am quite sure she will succeed as she pursues a

is

the log-

my class I

graduate degree in

art

history.

Sincerely,

1.

What do you

2.

Note

think of beginning with To

Whom

it

May Concern?

that the letter writer referred to the applicant as "Ms.

throughout. Could or should he or she also have used her the relationship

between the

letter writer

Matthews" first

and Ms. Matthews

name? clear?

3.

Is

4.

How well does the letter address concerns of potential interest to the reader?


5.

What


in

adjectives are used to describe Ms.

Matthews? Are these

275

effec-

tive? 6.

Is

(See

there useful supporting detail?

Note

11.)

Language Focus: Positive and Less Positive Language in Recommendations at the following list of adjectives and adverbs. Could any them perhaps carry negative connotations without the addition of

Take a look of

supporting evidence?

mark

Place a check

(/) next to the adjectives

you think an applicant

an academic position (such as yourself) might

for

like to see in a letter of

recommendation. articulate

creative

observant

nice

imaginative

confident

dependable

satisfactory

eager

effective

assertive

adequate

pleasant

efficient

cheerful

good

innovative

cooperative

mature

steady

reasonable

(See

Note

12.)

Task Fourteen

Now examine the following pairs of sentences. to the

one

in

you see no

Put a check mark (/) next

each pair that in your view makes the stronger statement.

difference put a question

mark

next to both.

la.

Tatyana worked with us on an image processing

lb.

Tatyana collaborated with us on an image processing project.

project.

If

276


wrote two papers with members of the group.

2a. Cristina

two papers with members

2b. Cristina co-authored

of the group.

3a.

Eduard stimulated changes

3b.

Eduard suggested changes

4a.

4b.

Yun made good changes to the calculus curriculum. Yun revitalized the calculus curriculum.

5a.

Ricardo found novel solutions to old problems.

in laboratory procedures. in laboratory procedures.

implemented novel solutions

5b. Ricardo

to old problems.

new protocols.

6a.

Soo-Mi participated

6b.

Soo-Mi

7a.

Liam showed a unique ability to learn new concepts. Liam exhibited a unique ability to learn new concepts.

7b.

in discussions of

facilitated discussions of

new protocols.

8a. Viktor

coordinated the efforts of his research group.

8b. Viktor

was

in charge of his research group.

9a.

Gustavo is second

9b.

Gustavo

is

to

none in his ability to interview and take notes.

the best interviewer

and notetaker I have

10a.

Maya's project turned out

to

be successful.

10b.

Maya's project turned out

to

be not unsuccessful.

(See

Note

As seen short

seen.

13.)

in the

recommendation

letter in

on relevant and "winning"

candidate.

More

details

Task Thirteen, a

may do very

letter that is

little

to help a

often than not, students in general are described as

outstanding, creative, and in the top 20 percent of their class. Thus, in

order to distinguish a candidate,

demonstrate

how a

candidate

mind

that a

vague

bear in

and lacks

specific

it is

important to provide examples that

exemplary or worthy of recognition. Also

letter of

examples

mendation, as the reader

is

recommendation

—one that

is

general

—may be viewed as a relatively weak recom-

tries to

second-guess

why the letter lacks detail.

(The writer cannot remember

much about the applicant? The writer's

experience of the applicant

limited?)

is


Now notice how

in


the following section from a letter of

recommendation

provides the detail necessary to really support the candidate. The

was

part of an extensive

nominated

for the

was written by reading) such

I

file

for a

277

letter

graduate student being (successfully)

Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award.

a senior faculty

member very experienced

It

(and

in writing

letters.

can more explicitly address Jasmine's teaching

abilities

by describing

her contributions to our Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Training

course

last term. First,

I

should point out that Jasmine was chosen as the

program's Graduate Student Mentor

this

year based on a combination

of her breadth of experience with our courses

and her highly regarded

teaching style. In the past the GSI training course met for one hour per

week, but in our meetings before the term, Jasmine suggested that

we

in-

stead have four 4.5 hour class meetings in order to facilitate interactions

and discussions. Throughout, she had an sign and execution,

integral role in the course de-

and throughout I was delighted with her

creativity.

For example, Jasmine organized the videotaping of selected discussion sections from Botany courses being taught for use in the seminar. She

then developed role-playing office hours or sample

around appropriate portions of the videotapes. As in

homework exercises

a specific instance,

one snippet of videotape from a section of "Introduction

to

Botany"

a bright undergraduate student asked an excellent question about hy-

bridization

and the

leader followed satisfied

up

identification briefly,

but

it

problems

was

it

creates.

The discussion

clear that the student

was not

quite

with the answer. The follow-up role play involved the under-

graduate (played by Jasmine or me) coming to an office hour of the discussion leader (played by a seminar student) to mercilessly pursue this point.

One

of Jasmine's greatest inspirations

"multi-headed" approach just described, rather

to role playing.

was

to

have students take

a

For example, in the office hour

than put a single student on the spot in the role of

discussion leader, Jasmine decided to "freeze frame" the office hour,

during which time the target seminar student consulted with the other students before unfreezing the scenario and returning to the office hour attendee. This

worked

beautifully, not only setting the students at ease,

but also stimulating creative, thoughtful solutions.

Would you agree

that the "telling details"

make

a big difference?

278

English

in


Task Fifteen

What type

of support could be offered to justify the following unsup-

ported statements

made

in various

"give examples." Be creative and

1.

recommendations. Don't just say

come up with those examples.

Desiree has obtained one of the best grade point averages in our pro-

gram, and she has done magnificent work in the materials laboratory. 2.

Throughout her classroom Sergei

4.

Mitsuyo

5.

Over

(See

is

is

in

an excellent communicator.

the years

Note

Maria demonstrated good performance

a very responsible person.

3.

student

studies,

activities as well as in extracurricular activities.

who

it

has become clear that Antonia

sets

high goals for

is

a very motivated

herself.

14.)

These days, especially in the United dation say

little

that

is

negative.

States,

seems

it

letters of

recommen-

However, occasionally you may think

it

necessary to discuss something negative regarding a candidate, not as a

form of

criticism but

more

as a pre-emptive strike. In other words,

are concerned that the candidate might not

make

a

if

good impression

you if

interviewed or has something in his or her background that needs explaining, then

you may want

to discuss this in the letter

and

offer

some

explanation.

Task Sixteen

Read through dation

letter

position.

this short section

from the

final

paragraph of a recommen-

written for a graduate student applying for a junior faculty

Consider the questions that follow.

Melissa Jones has an abundance of talent, energy, and knowledge. But

me end by confessing to

a small anxiety.

sometimes be "quiet" and "shy"

in

I

more

social occasions,

other times she can be vibrant and entertaining.

can

still

underperform

in

an interview or

let

have already said that she can although

at

My anxiety is that she

a professional conversation,

.


especially this

1

if

279


she feels (rightly or wrongly) under pressure.

I

only mention

because any such reticences do not represent Melissa as she really

Please

let

The writer

is

me know

if I

is.

can be of further assistance.

obviously concerned about the impression the candidate

might make and wants

2.

in

to reassure the reader that the candidate

Do you

really a

good

Do you

think he has helped the candidate?

Do you

think the end of the letter

catch.

is

think he dealt with his concerns fairly?

was

the best place to discuss his

concerns?

(See

Note

15.)

Sometimes we think so highly of a candidate

ommendation

that

makes

strong, positive letter

that the candidate

is

the candidate

is justified,

as

good

then

that

we write

seem too good

it is

to

be

true. If a

very

important to reassure the reader

you have described him

as

a letter of rec-

or her to be.

Task Seventeen

What do you

think of the following qualifications that could be included

as a

form of reassurance

1.

I

know

I

can assure you that Manju

I

realize that this letter is extremely positive

2.

to a reader that the candidate is truly outstanding?

this letter describes a

my many years of teaching,

person that seems too good to be

is

I

true,

but

truly exceptional.

and

enthusiastic, but in

have seen only one other student as

outstanding as Anand. 3.

I

have seen Vadim evolve over the years into a

researcher

who took on a leadership

of praise are well deserved.

someday be 4.

a

I

can foresee

creative, self-motivated

our department.

how

this

young

My words

scholar can

major contributor to his chosen area of study.

There have been few students for letter of

role in

recommendation.

I

whom

am pleased

her pursuit of a graduate career.

I

could write such a glowing

to

be able to support Marie in

280


Although

5.

letters,

(See

On

Note

I

it is

not

my custom to write wholly positive and glowing

am making an exception in this remarkable case.

16.)

the Lighter Side:

Double Meanings

In the United States these

hire a

tale.

Clifford Geertz of Princeton once told the

A factory has a problem. If it is a Japanese company, they

hundred engineers

hundred lawyers

a

Recommendations

days lawsuits and grievances are quite com-

mon. The noted anthropologist following

in

to fix

to fix it.

it; if it

One

on making negative comments

is

an American company, they hire

effect of this

has been a "chilling"

in written reviews, evaluations,

effect

and

letters

recommendation.

of

Task Eighteen

As

a lighthearted exercise, study the following

ambiguous recommen-

dation statements, which from time to time have been circulated on the

Web and

in other places.

Can you

figure out the

two meanings, one

positive

and one negative,

that

can be attached to each of these?

1.

You

2.

I

am pleased

3.

I

would urge you

4.

This candidate

5.

I

will

be lucky

if

you can

get this person to

to say this candidate is a

is

to

work

for you.

former colleague of mine.

waste no time in making

this

candidate an

offer.

an unbelievable worker.

most enthusiastically recommend

this

candidate with no qualifica-

tions whatsoever. 6.

I

(See

can assure you that no person would be better for the

Note

Here

What

now

job.

17.)

is

a further

follows

is

example of an ambiguous recommendation.

our modernized version of a famous

mendation written originally

in

letter of

recom-

French by the famous French statesman

Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) to the French ambassador in Rome.



in

Whom It May Concern

To

am

writing this letter for Mr. Charles Green,

1.

I

2.

a colleague at this institution,

3.

who has asked

4.

intelligent, talented

5.

difficult of all

6.

He

for one. Mr.

and

Green

is

the

most

least

my past and

present colleagues.

impresses everybody he meets.

have often written supportive

7.

I

8.

because of

9.

because he has put

letters for

him,

my high regard for him, not me under pressure

to

do

so.

12.

We would be very sorry to lose him. think it is my responsibility to suggest to you in your own best long-term interests

13.

to

10. 11.

281

I

pay very serious attention

14. for

15. a

to Charles Green,

then will emerge talent rather than

person unworthy of a senior position with you.

16.

I

could offer more praise, but

17.

I

believe

I

my true opinion.

have communicated

Honestly yours, Eileen

Over

Now that you have read the letter, read numbered

lines to reveal the true

possible in your

Joking aside, a

document

again, reading only the odd-

recommendation.

own first language?

letter of

it

(See

Note

Is this

kind of

letter

18.)

recommendation can be viewed

as a "legal"

you and the applicant. Thus, care needs to be taken when writing them. If you do need to say something negative about the person you are writing about, make sure you back it up with that reflects both

support.

Task Nineteen

Your supervisor has asked you

mendation

you give?

for a student

to help

him with

this draft letter of

applying to graduate school.

What

recom-

advice can

282

This

is


the final of

more than

a

hundred "tasks"

We hope that by this stage— and

search World.

in English in Today's Re-

long exposure to our

after

attempts to increase your capacity to reflect upon academic language

you

will find the task relatively easy.

Dear selection committee: In spite of not

knowing engineer Dos Santos when he was

have no doubt that he was

a real

a student,

good one. This judgement

is

I

made on

the basis about the things I've seen. For example his dedication, his responsibility,

and the time he expends on

supervisor of him,

seem

can say that

be done with a

to

About

I

his ability to

all

his

work

the things

lot of quality

and

I

duties.

As

a direct

and work he does, they

also believe he enjoys

it.

pursue and complete with success a program of

my opinion, engineer Dos Santos has the enough knowledge and motivation (let me highlight this word) to carry on

graduate school, in

advanced study and research

When I said

"motivation,"

I

successfully.

highlighted that word, because engineer

Dos Santos has two permanent job offers of the two main branches of Polygon. Our company has a good fame for well paying; therefore, he is quitting a comfortable future that the most common citizen would like, for going to do his graduate work. I

have heard and also have seen his grades when he was an undergrad.

During

his career

he achieved very good grades

I

realized that he likes to explain

I

am also a materials

tific

scientist,

point of view, and

I

and

and

I

in all subjects,

to teach to his

and

also

workmates.

recognize that he has a very scien-

think his favorite topic

is

and

the concrete

his

components. Finally

I

don't have to

mend him

know him

for all his plans

for

more

time,

and

I

strongly recom-

about his graduate studies. Also

.

.

.

sorry


about

my bad

English.

of the candidate

and

hope

I


in

that this brief letter could give

283

you an idea

his goals.

With no more comments

for this time

and you can contact

me

for further

information.

Your

friend,

career! And if you have we would be glad to receive them at [email protected] or [email protected]. We are always interested in Finally,

good luck with your academic or research

comments, suggestions, or

criticisms,

improving our materials. 8.5 Notes Note 1.

1

and Comments

for Unit Eight


A resume (pronounced

"resumay")

is

usually a very short vitae (sometimes

only one page) with an opening that describes the position sought or the writer's career objective. 2.

Not

in the

United

States. In fact,

employers

in the

United States are not per-

mitted by law to ask for such information. 3.

Your choice

here,

we

think.

A home address can certainly help in the later

stages of job searches.

but see Note

4.

Probably reverse chronology

5.

Unnecessary "padding" will do you no good. counts.

On

the other hand,

is

best,

you want

It's

3.

quality,

not quantity, that

to present yourself in

Graduate master's students should aim

for a

your

full glory!

CV of at least two pages and

Ph.D. candidates for ones covering three to five pages. 6.

Yes, both of these can

many

be helpful.

On

the matter of mentioning the advisor,

of our participants point out that this

may depend on how well known

the advisor happens to be. 7.

Probably not

8.

Probably

9.

Yes

10. Yes, if

this is a

good

idea, at least in

some

fields.

relevant

11.

Certainly in

12.

Certainly

some

list all

fields this

can be very helpful.

forthcoming

articles. If

you already have several publica-

284


tions,

put them

at the end. If

your published

first. If

list is

only one or two, you rather thin,

may consider putting them

you may want

add

to

"articles in

preparation."

you don't want

13. Yes,

to

shout your

name

out too loudly. Slightly larger font

and bold? 14.

may depend on

This

the format

bolded lower case. Look 15.

you choose, but

it

may be better to use

good samples from others

in

your department.

This depends on whether you include them in your application

found

they're often 16.

for

This

is

a tricky one.

you think the people

If

them or provide

a translation in

that attempts at explanation

mittees

but

at the end.

whom you are hoping to work

with will be able to interpret them, probably not. translate

letter,

might be offensive

who already know about degrees

not,

to

you could

letter.

try to

But remember

members

of search

com-

from your country; such members

might believe that you are assuming that they


If

your cover

will

be ignorant!

Task Three)

for

we can offer only observations here. We note that Robin could be man or a woman and that there is no information about nationality, age,

Obviously, either a

or marital status (which to the address, is

some

we presume.

added As Robin

countries require by law). U.S.A. should be

Teaching assistant might need explaining.

applying for an overseas position,

we would

think travel experiences and lan-

guages would also be helpful. Headings should be made more prominent, and

maybe

a

list

of references should be added.

Note 3 (sample functional CV)

The downside traditional

are not as

of a functional

CV is that it can be much harder to prepare than a

CV and may be less familiar to your audience. Indeed

common. Even

so,

if

you have changed

fields,

academia, or have had a patchwork of academic experiences,

approach

Here

is

may be

functional

CVs

have dropped out of this organizational

right for you.

a simple example.

Education

Over the

last 15 years,

to finish

I

have obtained an

MA in art history from San Diego

from UC — Riverside and plan my current MA in museum practice in the next few months. My under-

State University

and

graduate major was

a Certificate in Restoration

in cultural history.



for

in

285


Task Four)

There are several options. Here

is

one.

Teaching Experience

2001-2002

Teaching assistant for Structure and Reactivity (Chem 210)

1997-2001

Teaching assistant for General and Inorganic Chemistry (Chem 125

Full responsibility for syllabus, assignments, etc., in

Chem

and

my section

130)

Discussion section instructor and grader

Tutor in Chemistry Tutorial Center

1996-1997


for

Task Six)

A majority of our informants believe that this should be entered under "Guest Lectures."

2. 3.

The length does not matter very much; the same solution

as above.

Responses are very mixed here: some argue that such a guest lecture should

be included; others argue against

this

because

it

doesn't deal with the

speaker's research. Perhaps the response should depend on the type of position being considered. 4.

The majority opinion seems

to

be that

this activity

should not be counted as

a publication. 5.

Not

6.

Yes, this

a publication; only cite the presentation. a publication,

is

abstract; otherwise

you

it

After

8.

How about something in

9.

Not

make

sure that

you

The research

project

lished in the

A

.

.

.

on

"Honors, Awards, .

.

.

also

one-page paper

your presentation, mention the

7.

list

but

will look like a

was included

mention that

—which

details of the

is

it is

an

worse!

newspaper

report.

etc.," like

in a discussion

on the research

lab pub-

News on 12/14/200X.

a separate publication. After the citation,

mention that

a translation in

such-and-such a journal appeared. 10.

Perhaps something Title)

like contributor to the

Note 6 (sample responses Task Seven has

its

Annual Bibliography 2000

(Journal

43:342-454.

is

a

for

complex and

Task Seven) difficult

strengths and weaknesses.

assignment, not least because each version

286

Version

English

in


A certainly makes the most direct appeal to the selection committee,

invoking some direct personal experience and stressing her "need" for the scholarship; the draft seems very narrowly centered

how job

discusses

on the

writer. (Bhatia [1993]

applications in the subcontinent appeal to "pity." See V. K.

Longman, 1993].) Ji-Young also seems comwomen, but the broader implications of her work are

Bhatia, Analysing Genre [London:

mitted to helping Asian

not

clear.

grades

is

The research

seems underdescribed, and the mention of good

project

probably unnecessary.

One

participant quickly dismissed this version

as a begging letter.

Version B seems

much more

professional in both style

tionale for the research project

is

and substance. The

included about the fieldwork. However,

advisor

is

there

no mention of Ji- Young's postgraduation plans, and

is

tainly little

helpful. Sufficient detail

is

lower her rating with the selection committee. The

to her case.

ra-

adequately described and the reference to the

Notice that this version

(like

this will

last

almost cer-

two sentences add

Version A) begins with statements

about the applicant. Version

C

goes further than B in providing the theoretical background to her

master's project, revealing that she has likely already done topic. set.

Notice that this version

And Ji-Young,

in the

is

middle of her application,

able to suggest a close

is

working relationship with her advisor (which

A and

timescale in S6 also adds credibility.

a weakness,

ness about her future plans

We would

If

there

is

(a position in the social

B

largely failed to do).

C

for

major research university to a community college. Even

2.

Less probably

3.

No.

4.

Yes

5.

This

and

try-

returns home.

Task Nine)

This will depend on the type of institution being applied

Probably

The

Ji-Young's vague-

as the starting text

more concrete about her plans when she


1.

it is

work field).

advise Ji-Young to revise, using Version

ing to say something

some work on her

the only one to forefront the research at the out-

to,

ranging from a

so, in

general

A half page is not sufficient. is

probably needed

ing institutions.

at research institutions;

it

may do you harm

at teach-


If

7.

Only

8.

The same

9.

Yes

Only

for positions at small teaching colleges

if

as above

requested


2.

287


required

6.

10.

in

In this case,

for Task Ten)

we can easily

align a

move with each

1.

Brief introduction of self

2.

Teaching qualifications and experience

3.

Demonstration of a good teaching "match"

4.

Brief account of research interests

5.

Future research interests and

6.

Enclosures / references / contact information

Teaching past and present

—>

how

paragraph.

they are a good "match"

teaching future

—>

research present

—>

research

future 3.

Has she distanced

herself

applications confidential?

As

a dissertation writer, she spends

home? By using her home address she can keep her

time at cret. If

from her department? Does she want

she spends a

lot of

time writing

at

home

to

keep her

most

of her

applications se-

she does not have to worry

about checking her mailbox in her department. 4.

At the beginning to

have

of the

academic

their dissertations "in

5.

An excellent point, we think.

6.

Sandra

is

in fact quite discreet

to write anything that

paragraph

1

that she has

new

year,

hand," that

is,

assistant professors are expected

defended, revised, and approved.

about her strengths and

she notes that her teaching interests are

had

is

clearly at pains not

might give an impression of "boasting." Mildly then

considerable teaching experience

and

parallel.

in

In 2 she notes

later that on three occasions

she has been involved in a particular type of teaching. In 3 she just mentions that certain experiences will be valuable,

and

in 5 she

mentions that some

re-

search projects could very easily involve undergraduates. 7.

The

original

is

once again rather modest. Alternatives a and b are a

stronger; however, alternative a

strong a claim and 8.

Yes,

may

cause offense,

Sandra does not make very

had been applying

to a

might

much

come off as insincere; might work the best. b in fact

of her research methodology.

little

c is

If

too

she

psychology department, she would probably have

written quite a lot more.

288

9.

10.


We think Sandra has done well on this in her initial application. You never know with search committees! However, the who /whom seems to be made less and less frequently these days.

Note 9 (not answered

in e-mail form)

we clearly need

For Position B,

distinction

(sample response for Task Eleven)

a stronger orientation

toward her research;

for

C

presumably she should emphasize her considerable experience of working with children as her research subjects.

Note 10 Precht, K. 1998.

A cross-cultural comparison of letters of recommendation.

English for Specific Purposes 17:241-65.

Note 1.

2.

(sample responses for Task Thirteen)

11

This adds nothing and additionally

makes

mendation

fits all"

Yes, there should

that she 3.

one of those "one

is

Not

knows

very;

and

be some

size

is

the statement While assisting Ms. Matthezos with her papers

mittee, the letter fails to say very

5.

The

and

letters.

variety, particularly since the letter writer states

is

applying to a graduate program?

Considering that the intended readership strengths

kinds of

the candidate well.

helpful, considering this student 4.

the recipient think that this recom-

is

a graduate applications

com-

much about Ms. Matthews' academic

interests.

adjectives describe her personal attributes rather than her intellectual

ones. 6.

The

detail in the

second paragraph

is

misplaced since Ms. Matthews

ing for a degree in art history, not for one in art

All in

all,

this is

not a very good


to

letter,

is

apply-

itself.

and you can

certainly

do better.

Language Focus on recommendations)

We would not mind being described by our recommenders as articulate, effective, creative, imaginative, confident, efficient, innovative, and reasonable. We would be happy

to "pass"

on most

of the others.



??

2.

b

3.

a

4.

b

5.

a

6.

b

7.

??

8.

a or??

9.

a

10.

a

for

3.

289

for Task Fifteen)

only give one example.

Sergei

is

a very responsible person. To cite just a single example,

an accident

in the lab last year,

for assistance

There

is

room

it

and administering



Task Fourteen)


We

in

for

was Sergei who responded

by

calling

first aid.

Task Sixteen)

disagreement on

for

when we had

first

this tactic. If

Melissa turns out to "under-

comments may be helpful to her. On the other hand, if she performs well, these comments may undermine Melissa's chances by suggesting that she behaved "out of character" on her campus perform"

visit.

One

could 2.

in interviews, then these

thing

is

Yes, at the

comment

end or is

for sure, the letter writer

has not considered that Melissa

occasion and do a great job. There are risks here.

rise to the

read

in a postscript. last

it


But keep in mind that since

may cloud

all

this negative

the other positive things said earlier.

Task Seventeen)

for

We believe that this strategy can be used, but only in truly exceptional cases. One famous professor

in the

graduate students that "X universities

who know

is

this


Positive

This person hire

Negative

him

is

known

tend to disregard his

for part is

for saying of nearly all his

letters.

one of Task Eighteen)

so well qualified that you will be lucky to be able to

or her.

This person

him

United States

the best student he has ever had." Faculty at other

or her.

is

so lazy that you'll be lucky to get any

work out

of

290

2.

English

Positive

It

was

in

a pleasure to


have had an opportunity

to

work with

this

exceptional individual.

Negative 3.

Positive

I

am pleased

I

urge you to

because

4.

to say that this

person no longer works with me.

make this candidate an offer as soon as possible many others will be wanting to hire this person.

Negative

Do not waste any

Positive

This candidate

Negative

This candidate does so

is

time on making this

weak candidate an

such a good worker that little

work

that

it is

it is

offer.

hard to believe.

unbelievable.

Or:

This candidate 5.

6.

is

doubt

untruthful.

recommend

Positive

Without

Negative

This candidate lacks qualifications or

Positive

This

Negative

Hiring nobody would be better than hiring this candidate.

a

fully

this candidate. skills.

the best person for the job.

is

Note 18 (sample response To

I

for part

two

of Task Eighteen)

Whom It May Concern

3.

am writing this letter for Mr. Charles Green, who has asked for one. Mr. Green is the most

5.

difficult of all

7.

I

9.

because he has put

1.

11.

I

I

my past and present colleagues.

have often written supportive think

13. to

it is

letters for

him,

me under pressure to do so.

my responsibility to suggest to you

pay very serious

attention to Charles Green,

15. a

person unworthy of a senior position with you.

17.

believe

I

I

have communicated

my true opinion.

Honestly yours,

Eileen

Over

Our Chinese participants, letters in

for

example, say that there

is

China, such as those in which the "true story"

characters of sentences.

a long history of is

such

contained in the

first

Index many names in this book, especially in sample texts that contain citations. We have

There are

indexed only the names of researchers and scholars whose observations on research English or

on other relevant discourses have contributed

Academic communications, 228-56

to the conceptualization of this

50-word summaries

63

of,

apologies, 242^13

final

correspondence with editors, 246-50

and grant proposals, comparison and justifying the topic, 31

difficulties of,

229

sentences

disclaimers, 241^42

length

formality of, 242-43

metadiscourse

reminders, 238-41, 253-54

moves

requests, 230-37, 251-52

position

submission elements

Academic Academic

in,

in, 34, 51, 66,

reformulations

of,

40^41, 52-55, 74-77

and senior author,

55-58, 69, 77-78

titles of, 38, 1,

word

13, 145,

Connor,

219

limits of, 65 U., 28

Acronyms, 179

Cover

Ahmad,

Crismore, A., 183

U. K., 184

complex prepositional noun phrases,

vitae,

formatting

125-27, 144

269-73

letters,

Curriculum

Akar, D., 189-92, 219-21, 227

role of, 40^41

structure of, 32-33, 65, 68-69

28-29

258-65

of, 259,

283

functional, 261

gapping

116, 141

in,

262-63

information to include

C,

39,

in,

259, 264, 283, 285

sample of, 260-61 and translating degrees, 259, 283

Bare participles, 210-16 Berkenkotter,

69

66

in, 33,

245-46, 255-56

17

Academic Writing for Graduate Students,

Ashmore, M.,

70

Bhatia, V. K., 286

vs.

resume, 259, 283

Bio-data statements, 22-25, 29 Bolinger, D.

Dangling modifiers, 209 Data commentary, 10-14

214, 226

L.,

Bunton, D., 184

Direct questions, 17, 18, 20, 29

Chang, Y.-Y,

17, 28,

Disclaimers, 241-42

250

Discourse community, 150-51 Disseration writing, 187-227

Citations

hanging, 132-35, 146 integral

and nonintegral,

percentages

65

promissory, 42-43, 71

writing, informal elements of, 16-20,

Articles, in

of,

35-36, 67-68

rating of, 39^40

157, 158, 206,

67

66

243—47

letters,

style,

in,

promotion

252

of, 235,

of, 34,

of, 35,

volume.

of, 129,

130,

abstract, 188-98

145

abbreviations

145

tense

of,

157-58

types

of,

128-29

in,

197

190, 192

acknowledgments, 198-206, 221 expressions of gratitude, 204—5

names

Conference abstracts, 30-79 acceptance rates of, 65 author names in, 62-63, 79 desirable characteristics

in, 194, 195,

metadiscourse

reporting verbs, 131, 145-46

of,

in,

203, 223-24

style of, 223 final chapter,

218-21

"a higher and broader pass," 219

39

metadiscourse

across disciplines, 36-38

291

in,

221-22

292

Index

Leach,

Disseration writing (continued) final

chapter (continued)

reasons for problems

review

literature

in,

218-19

(see Literature

83-85

recommendation, 273-83

in, 275, 288 ambiguity in, 280-81, 289-90 detail in, 276-78

adjectives

reviews)

methods and principled narratives, 206-9 and left dislocations, 207-9, 225 and purpose statements, 208, 224-25 "slow" and "fast" method descriptions, 206-8 titles,

J. P.,

Letters of

negative statements reassurances

in,

revising, 282

Literature reviews, 114-86

190

and unexpected

results, 216,

218

architecture of, 118-24, 143

categorizing -ed participles,

151-54, 180

in,

characteristics of, 115-16

38

Einstein, A., 17, 28

choosing literature

E-mail, 60-62, 166-67, 182

citations in, 128-34, 157

in, 117, 140, 142, 159,

bad news, 61-62 good news, 60

criticisms of, 149

reminders, 238-39

evaluating literature

requests, 231-35

forms

in, 117,

Farber, B., 65

hedging in, 137 importance of, 117, 142 R.,

and

183

20

B.,

of, 117,

142

inclusiveness, 117, 142

interdisciplinary, 163-66, 176-78, 182, 185

Fellowship applications, 265-68, 285-86

introductions

Fredrickson, K. F, 184

length

Gapping, 93-96, 109-10, 262-63 Geertz, C, 280

and

Genre,

omissions

to,

of, 117,

metadiscourse

7, 26, 30, 152, 157,

defined,

7,

and genre planner, 9-11, 26

of, 124,

and networks,

reporting verbs

9

8,

in, 131,

starting, 124, 143

and systems, 258

J.,

to

156-57, 181

comments

supporting, 8

S.

142, 174

paraphrasing in, 135-37, 147 problems discussed in, 117, 142

responding

Gould,

143

in, 117,

open, 8

Gibbs, W. Wayt,

169-73, 183

in,

organizing, 117-18, 122-24, 142, 153-54, 168

26

S.,

168-69, 183

141

"misfits," 117, 139, 142

openings

190

hidden, 229

Giannoni, D.

137-38, 142, 175

115-16, 141

of,

goals

Farnsworth,

162-64

and ambiguity, 132-34

English, in the research world, 159-61, 181

Feak, C.

278-79, 289

279-80

in,

on, 166-67

steps in writing, 117, 141

224 2, 12, 15,

transitions in, 174

updates

26

6-7

verbs

of,

139-10, 147

157

in,

tense of, 137, 157

Hamp-Lyons,

L.,

22

writing, 154-56, 180

Hsu, Y, 250 Huckin, T. N., 39, 70 Hyland, K., 2, 128-31, 145,

Maier, 170, 183,

212-14

P.,

Martin, 1,

and and

but, 17-19,

Interdisciplinarity,

176-77

J.

J.

R.,

MEDLINE, 28-29

144

L., 125,

26

Mauranen, A.,

17-19, 28-29, 66, 87, 107

Imperatives, 17-19, 28-29 Initial

250

Marco, M.

34, 65, 183

20, 160

Metadiscourse, 34, 38, 52, 66, 69, 169-73, 183 cross-cultural effects of, 171

explained, 170

Journal editorial, 35-36

moves

in, 36, 67,

68

types

of,

MICASE, Kirkpatrick, A., 252

172-73

variations of, 170 2, 70, 111,

220, 226

Moves, 35-36, 67-68

293

Index

Names

Reformulations, 52-55, 74-77

Research writer positioning,

academic, 20-22, 29 in

academic

texts, 101-3, 112

3, 10, 27, 38, 114

Revising, 43, 71

adjectival, 102-3

as modifiers, 101-2

ordering

of,

Samraj, B.

62-63

T. D.,

162-69, 173-76, 182-85

Second-storying, 118, 139 Social Science Citation Index, 12, 20, 21

Submission letters, 243-47 Summary words, 44-52, 72-73

Paraphrasing, 135 Passive voice, 34, 66

and expanded phrases, 48

Position applications, 268-73

information to include

in,

269, 287

interpretive, 45

and prepositions, 49-50 Survey article, 115

structure of, 271, 287

Poster presentations, 80-113

advantages and disadvantages

of,

81-82,

Swales,

J.

M., 17, 20, 28, 29, 180, 184

108 captions, 96-97, 110-11

construction

of,

Teaching hints, 26, 28,

103-6

criticisms of, 82-85

etiquette of, 106-7, 112-13

compressed language

in,

of,

To +

VERB +

-ing,

236-37

University of Michigan,

1

95-96

Verb contractions, 17-18, 28-29

poster sessions, 82

supporting materials

for,

85

Precht, K., 288

We, 108 Writing strategies, 4-7, 25-26

Quotation marks, 161, 181-82

Yakhontova,

titles,

90-92, 109

227

This

90-92

layout, 86-90, 108-9

openings

70, 71, 78, 142,

noun phrase, 98-101 + noun phrase. See Summary words

Technical

Y.,

32-34, 63-64

English in Today 's Research World is the follow-up text to the successful

Academic Writing for Graduate Students.

The new textbook

offers

students a sophisticated level of writing instruction, with a specific

focus

on the

dissertations

work or

projects graduate students undertake— such as

and conference abstracts— at the end of their university

as they begin careers in research or academia.

In addition to instruction on writing for publication, English in Today's Research World provides letters

needed advice on

applications,

of recommendation, and communications in support of the

research process.

This text can serve as both a reference manual and a course book.

Academic Writing for Graduate Students, Second Edition Essential Tasks

and

Skills

John M. Swales and Christine B. Feak

Giving Academic Presentations

Susan M. Reinhart

Building Academic Vocabulary

Lawrence W. Zwier

For more information about University of Michigan Press books,

visit

our

website at http://www.press.umich.edu/esl/

Ann Arbor

The University of Michigan Press

English in Todays Research World

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