An Introduction to Academic Writing Publishable Research Paper.doc

an introduction to academic writing: publishable research paperchapter 1 introductionwriting for academic purpose in the english as a foreign language (efl) context concerns how non-native students, in terms of international communications or publications, meet the requirements of the western academic community. while much of the emphasis of current graduate writing course has been laid on non-native students errors in vocabulary or grammar, the course tries to present typical writing styles, preferences, attitudes and beliefs towards effective academic writing in english, particularly traditional rhetorical patterns within the research report writing format. 1. research paper formatalthough different languages and their cultures have different “rules” for presenting, explaining, and organizing ideas in writing, it is necessary to follow the research report format in order to meet the requirements of academic research and international publications. a publishable research paper in english is supposed to include abstract (executive summary) followed by key words or index terms, introduction ( literature review), research methodologies and procedures, results and findings, discussion and conclusion, references ( bibliography) or appendixes (if any). the following chart is to describe the general functions and fundamentals of different parts of a publishable research paper: itemsfunctionsfundamentalsabstract (executive summary) to frame the writers idea to identify the writers contributions to orientate the effective reading of colleagues conceptional description (the scope) procedures and methodology main findings, conclusion and implications or suggestionskey words or index termsto concentrate readers terms to generalize research concernsintroduction ( literature review) to make a theoretical orientation to review previous research to present arguments and hypothesis the purpose and background of present study the scope and focus to develop the study problems, argumentation and hypothesis research methodologies and procedures to specify the methods and procedures conducting the present study to present data collections and treatment theoretical framework or models and research design experimental apparatus and procedures descriptions of data treatmentresults and findings to outline the main findings and results to interpret or comments on the most important results figures ( graphs, tables and diagrams) generalization of the results comments or explanations of the resultsdiscussion and conclusion to compare the results with previous studies and the original hypothesis to develop the hypothesis and speculations to present the limitations and implications of the study a brief review of original hypothesis and other researchers findings highlights or further explanations of the findings of present study limitations of the study suggesting implications references ( or bibliography) to indicate the scope and offer the index to replicate or extend the present study to keep consistency of publications following one of two main types of reference formats: apa (american psychological association ); 2) mla (modern language association 2. some basic skills in effective academic writinga well-organized research paper needs to be unified and coherent. in the parts of the introduction and discussion, paragraphing skills involve the techniques of opening a paragraph, of how to develop fully a thesis or argument and state clearly the findings of the study. technique one- exemplificationexemplification is a very common technique used in various academic writing practices. it is most frequently used to support a statement or argument by providing facts, evidence, or data. the following samples are to show how different skills in making examples are used in acceptable research papers.sample 1 presenting by time sequence and change in tendencythe use of optical links for the transmission of rf (analog) signals has continued to expand for more than 15 years. perhaps the first widespread commercial application of analog optical links was the distribution of cable television (catv) signals. although perhaps not as large in dollar sales, antenna remoting has been an important application in both commercial and military markets. more recently, rf-over-fiber has been a growing application area for analog optical links.sample 2 presenting by direct indication expressionsinitially naive “link design” merely consisted of connecting the optical output of a diode laser to the input of a photodiode. however, the rf performance of such links was often modest at best, and terrible at worst; typically one would obtain from such a “design” a link loss of 40 db and an nf of 50 db, which severely limited the applications of such links. to address these shortcomings there has grown up over the last 15 years or so the field of link design, which is closely related to, but distinct from, device design. a dramatic early example of the power of link design was the work of cox et al. , who were able to achieve rf gain from link components that otherwise would have resulted in substantial link lossthere have been at least two other outgrowths of link design. one outgrowth has been to highlight which device parameters will have an impact on link parameters and to quantify that impact. for example, reductions in the threshold current of a diode laser have no impact on link gain, whereas increases in slope efficiency have a major impact. another outgrowth of link design has been the ability to establish the limits on link performance. such limits have proven useful in providing a “calibration” on the progress in link performance that has been made relative to the ultimate progress that at least theoretically should be achievable.sample 3 presenting by detailsduring the last decades, attempts have been made to enhance x-rays yield from plasma focus by adjusting different parameters such as capacitor energy, operating voltage, circuit inductance, nature and pressure of working gases, material and shape of electrodes, proper election of anode length and insulator, preionization before initial discharge in addition to normal operating conditions. technique two- comparison and contrastcomparison and contrast are often used to develop and organize paragraphs in the parts of literature review, results and findings or discussion. comparison deals with the similarities existing between two objects, results or ideas, while contrast deals with the differences existing between them. making comparison and contrast is to present the readers the weak and strong points between two ideas or results and eventually to reveal writers attitude and suggestion, or support writers preference for one over the other. sample 1 for organizing the literature reviewby comparing the first two topologies, we see that the first one has considerable higher crosstalk. but this topology contains only one filter and the second topology contains two filters, one in front of and one behind the switch. from the calculations in function of the component parameters we see that both topologies are limited by the filter. we can conclude that the mechano-optical space switch performs better than the switch based on gates (even better performance is mentioned in literature), but in both cases the total crosstalk is limited by other components.sample 2 for developing a conclusionalthough it is common to refer collectively to such links as “rf” or “analog” optical links, this may lead to confusion when the modulation consists of a digital signal that is modulated onto an rf carrier. thus, it is perhaps more technically precise to define analog optical links as ones where the optical modulation depth is sufficiently small that we may use incremental or small signal models of the various link devices. this is in contrast to “digital” optical links in which the optical modulation depth approaches 100%.sample 3 for developing a summaryto summarize the manner in which the desire for greater analog link gains affects (or ought to affect) opto-electronic component design, we have shown that the slope efficiency of a single directly modulated laser cannot yield a link gain of greater than 0 db. by contrast, the slope efficiency of an external modulator can theoretically be increased without bound to yield very high gains (as shown in fig. 2) by reducing v and increasing p, although some practical limitations on the optical power do come into play.technique three- classification and definitionclassification is a writing technique of grouping ideas, concepts, results, etc., according to their similarities and differences, while definition explains limits and specifies. by classifying, we can establish classes of the subjects and distinguish the like subjects from the unlike ones so that we can reveal and demonstrate the informational facts. in classification, we must apply some principles consistently to the subjects so as to keep the logical order. on the other hand, by definition, we may capture the essence, set the boundary, and refine the characteristics or qualities of an idea or a concept. classification and definition are frequently followed by other techniques, including exemplification, comparison-contrast, cause-effect, ect. (see the sample 1 in the technique one exemplification.) sample 1 classification by grouping and exemplificationaccording to employee relocation council (erc), upwards of half a million workers relocate annually for job-related reasons. recent estimates indicate that cost of the relocating employees is $ 45,000 per home-owning employee, with companies spending billions of dollars annually on job-related moves (erc, 1994). in addition to being a costly investment for organizations, relocation can pose psychological and financial costs to relocated families. these costs can be related to difficulty adjusting to the new location and leaving established social support networks and the negative financial consequences of moving, such as higher costs of living in the new area and the spouse loss of employment (fisher & shaw, 1994; luo & cooper, 1990). to help employees and their families cope with these and other stresses associated with moving, most organizations offer some sort of relocation assistance (brett, stroh, & reilly, 1990). this can include, among other services, family visits to the new area, real estate assistance, spouse employment assistance, cost-of-living adjustments, and information on school systems in the new location (brett et al., 1990; erc, 1993, 1994).sample 2 definition and classification by grouping and presenting cause-effectwith these limitations in mind, this study is an initial attempt to uncover the issues facing those employees and spouses who have recently moved and those who are contemplating future decisions to relocate. specifically, we explore two main issues. first, because the spouses perspective has been virtually ignored in relocation research, we systematically compare employees and spouses perceptions of the need for relocation assistance. we are interested in determining whether there are differences in the relative importance attached to specific relocation services between employees and spouses. the second objective is to explore whether there are differences in perceived need for assistance across a variety of material and parental status variables. this focus includes comparing male and female employees, single-income and dual-income couples, as well as couples with children living at home. although there are other comparisons that could be made, these analyses will provide an initial glimpse into the issues facing individuals in a variety of marital and family arrangement. sample 3 classification for contrasting and comparisonto understand the major stressors facing employees and spouses who are contemplating relocation, the research on domestic relocation, international relocation, and work-role transitions was reviewed. from this research, three broad adjustment-related issues were identified: work-related adjustment, general adjustment, and interaction adjustment. variables were then identified that may be useful in facilitating adjustment to a pending move. finally, relocation services deal with general and interaction adjustment were identified. technique four- cause and effectthe chain of cause-and effect frequently used to explain the relationship existing two or more concepts or ideas. this technique is commonly used to develop a logical paragraph in any part of an academic writing format. as for the arrangement of such a paragraph, it may start from the effect first and then the causes; the reverse order, however, is also preferred when one cause leads to various effects. comparing the following samples: sample 1 focus on the causein total one can conclude that the number of fibers can be increased without penalty if the performance of the switch is increased (gate or space switch). the number of wavelengths can be increased but requires higher suppression of other channels (filters or demultiplexers) or regeneration (wavelength converters). realistic systems require a large number of wavelengths compared with the number of fibers. therefore, very good filters are required to reduce the crosstalk. if wavelength converters are used, the requirements for the filters are less strict.sample 2 focus on the effectat the combiner after the gates, n signals are combined coming from different input fibers. during normal operation one of the n gates is in the on-state and all the others are in the off-state. because of the non-perfect blocking of the gates in the off-state, some of the power is leaking through the gate. that effect also results in crosstalk.sample 3 233 focus on causes in fig. 4, there is a wavelength converter between the filter and the combiner. the input of an additional wavelength converter consists of one channel carrying the signal under study and m-1 suppressed channels. this leads to crosstalk because the output of the wavelength converter depends on the total input power (but the converter has also some regeneration effect). at the output of the wavelength converter there is only one channel. the wavelength converter is used in contra directional mode. due to this effect, the combiner at the end of the oxc adds no crosstalk because the m input fibers of the combiner carry only one channel, each with a different wavelength.tips for using the techniquesexplicit way of using above mentioned techniques could be identified by the transitional expressions which also help achieve the coherence of paragraphs. the following expressions are most frequently used in academic writing papers: exemplificationsuch () as, as follows, as an example, in particular, particularly, especially;take ( consider) as an example, for example, for instance;generally, in general, on the whole, in many cases comparison and contrastby comparing , in comparison with, similarly, likewise, just as, almost the same as;be similar to, resemble, have in common, compare with; in contrast to/ with, otherwise, instead, on the contrary, unlike, nevertheless, however; be different from, differ from, the differences lie in, stands opposition classification and definitionbe categorized as, fall into, be classified as, be divided into, there are kinds / groups /categories/ types of.be defined / named / known as, the definition of is ; is widely accepted as the definition of cause and effecttherefore, so, as a result, accordingly, hence, thus, consequently;because (of ), as a result of, since, as, due to, on account of, now that, given,so as to, so that, result in, have an effect on, the effect on is3. cultural differences in academic writingnon-native student writers may frequently turn to their own culture and language in their writing of academic papers in english. according to matthews (2002), problems may develop when these students concepts of “effective” writing clash with those of western professors or colleagues. their writings are frequently judged as “illogical”, “lacking focus”, “poorly organized”, or “inadequately developed” because the rhetorical pattern does not meet the expectations of the western academic community. helen fox (1994) in her book “listening to the world: cultural issues in academic writing” has noted that cultural differences, learned from early childhood, affect the way the non-native students write, “for writing touches the heart of a students identity, drawing its voice and strength and meaning from the way the student understands the world” (p vi). matalene (1985) suggested that in contrast with the post-romantic westerners who “subscribe to aristotles dictum” (p. 790), chinese writers seem to follow some of the fundamental principles of the underlying rhetorical values in chinese traditional culture (say confucianism, taoism and buddhism), and seem to appeal to history and to tradition and to the authority of the past, and always rely on idioms, clichs, and set-phrases. the following chart is to contrast typical writing styles, preferences, attitudes and beliefs between english and chinese and between the western academic community and chinese traditional scholars (matthews