《英语-科技写作与沟通技巧》Lecture 1

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Lecture1Mar12,2016Howmuchdoyouknowaboutacademicwriting?Findoutbydoingthisfunquiz.1.

Themaindifferencebetweenacademicwritingandnormalwritingisthatacademicwriting:

(a)useslongerwords(b)triestobepreciseandunbiased(c)ishardertounderstandAcademicWritingQuiz12Thedifferencebetweenaprojectandanessayis:(a)essaysarelonger(b)projectsarelonger(c)studentschooseprojects’topics3Teacherscomplainmostaboutstudents:(a)notansweringthequestiongiven(b)notwritingenough(c)notreferencingproperly4Thebesttimetowriteanintroductionisoften:(a)first(b)last(c)afterwritingthemainbody5Plagiarismis:adangerousdiseaseanacademicoffence(c)anacademicwebsite6Makingcarefulnotesisessentialfor:(a)writingessays(b)revisingforexams(c)allacademicwork7Anin-textcitationlookslike:(a)(Manton,2008)(b)(RichardManton,2008)(c)(Manton,R.2008)8Paraphrasingatextmeans:(a)makingitshorter(b)changingalotofthevocabulary(c)addingmoredetail9Paragraphsalwayscontain:(a)sixormoresentences(b)anexample(c)atopicsentence10Thepurposeofanintroductionis:(a)togiveyouraimsandmethods(b)toexcitethereader(c)tosummariseyourideas11Proofreadingmeans:(a)gettingafriendtocheckyourwork(b)checkingforminorerrors(c)Rewriting12Teachersexpectstudentstoadoptacriticalapproachtotheirsources:sometimesonlyforMaster’sworkalwaysAcademicwritingTranslationstrategiesCourseContentUnit1:TheWritingFoundationsUnit2:WritingStagesUnit3:ElementsofWritingIUnit4:ElementsofWritingIIUnit5:WritingModelsAttendance(20%)Classperformance(20%)Finalpaper(60%)

Topic:major/work-relatedForm:asurveyreportwithnolessthan1500wordsAssessmentWritingFoundationsTopic1:BackgroundtoWritingTopic2:AvoidingPlagiarismTopic3:SummarisingandParaphrasing

Topic1:BackgroundtoWriting

Thepurposeofacademicwriting•toansweraquestionthewriterhasbeengivenorchosen•toreport

apieceofresearchthewriterhasconducted•tosynthesizeresearchdonebyothersonatopic

CommontypesofacademicwritingNotesReportProjectEssayDissertation/ThesisPaperApieceofresearch,eitherindividualorgroupwork,withthetopicchosenbythestudent(s).Thelongestpieceofwritingnormallydonebyastudent(20,000+words)oftenforahigherdegree,onatopicchosenbythestudent.Ageneraltermforanyacademicessay,reportorarticle.Astudyofsomethingthathashappened(e.g.asurveyastudenthasconducted).Themostcommontypeofwrittenwork,withthetitlegivenbytheteacher,normally1,000–5,000words.Awrittenrecordofthemainpointsofatextorlecture,forastudent’spersonaluse.

ShortessaysIntroduction

Main

BodyConclusionTheformatoflongandshortwritingtasks

LongeressaysIntroductionMainBodyConclusionLiterature

reviewCasestudiesDiscussionReferencesAppendicesDissertationsandjournalarticlesAbstractListofcontentsListoftablesIntroductionMainbodyLiteraturereviewCasestudyFindingsDiscussion

ConclusionAcknowledgementsReferencesAppendicesFindthewordsinthelistsabovethatmatchthefollowingdefinitions:Ashortsummaryof100-200wordswhichexplainsthepaper’spurposeandmainfindings.Alistofallthesourcesthewriterhasmentionedinthetext.Asection,attheend,whereadditionalinformationisincluded.

abstractreferencesappendixAshortsectionwherepeoplewhohavehelpedthewriterarethanked.Partofthemainbodyinwhichtheviewsofotherwritersonthetopicarediscussed.Asectionwhereoneparticularexampleisdescribedindetail.

literaturereviewacknowledgementscasestudyTheformatofacademicwritingReadthetextbelowandidentifythefeaturesunderlined,usingthewordsinthebox.sentenceheadingsub-titleparagraphtitlephrase(a)TheEffectivenessofMicrocredit(b)AnevaluationofprogramsinIndiaandthePhilippines(c)Introductiontitlesub-titleheading

Inthelasttenyears,considerableclaimshavebeenmadeaboutthevalueofmicrocredit(alsoknownasmicrofinance),theprovisionofunsecuredsmallloanstothepoorindevelopingcountries.Butithasprovedsurprisinglydifficulttoaccuratelymeasuretheeffectivenessoftheseloans,withoutinterferencefromothernon-commercialfactors.phrasesentenceTworecentstudieshaveattemptedtocomparetheeffectsonrandomlychosengroupsofpeoplewithaccesstomicrocredit,comparedtothosewithout.Thefirst(Bannerjeeetal.,2009),basedatMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT),lookedatslumdwellersinthecityofHyderabadinIndia,whilethesecond(KarlanandZinman,2009)comparedborrowersandnon-borrowersinthePhilippines.Overall,neitherstudyfoundevidencethatmicrocredithadanyeffectinreducingpoverty,althoughitmayhavesomeotherpositiveaspectssuchasreducingtheconsumptionofalcoholortobacco.paragraphTopic2:AvoidingPlagiarism

Whatisplagiarism?

Basically,plagiarismmeanstakingideasorwordsfromasource(e.g.abookorjournal)withoutgivingcredit(acknowledgement)totheauthor.Inacademicwork,ideasandwordsareseenasprivatepropertybelongingtothepersonwhofirstthoughtorwrotethem.Ifyouborroworrefertotheworkofanotherperson,youmustshowthatyouhavedonethisbyprovidingthecorrectacknowledgement.

SummaryandcitationRodgers(2007)arguesthatfamily-ownedbusinessessurviverecessionsbetter.QuotationandcitationAsRodgersmaintains:‘Thereisstrongevidencefortheresilienceoffamilybusinessesinrecessionarytimes’(Rodgers,2007:23).Thesecitationsarelinkedtoalistofreferencesattheendofthemaintext,whichincludethefollowingdetails:AuthorDateTitlePlaceofpublicationPublisherRodgers,F.(2007)TheFamilyBusiness:Are-assessmentOxfordCritchlowDegreesofplagiarism

Workingwithapartner,considerthefollowingacademicsituationsanddecideiftheyareplagiarism.SituationPlagiarism?Yes/No1234YYYNCopyingaparagraph,butchangingafewwordsandgivingacitation.Cuttingandpastingashortarticlefromawebsite,withnocitation.Takingtwoparagraphsfromaclassmate’sessay,withoutcitation.Takingagraphfromatextbook,givingthesource.275678910YYYNNY/NTakingaquotationfromasource,givingacitationbutnotusingquotationmarks.Usinganideathatyouthinkofasgeneralknowledge(e.g.theGreatDepressionwascausedbyrestrictionsonfreetrade),withoutcitation.Usingaparagraphfromanessayyouwroteandhadmarkedtheprevioussemester,withoutcitation.Usingtheresultsofyourownresearch(e.g.fromasurvey),withoutcitation.Discussinganessaytopicwithagroupofclassmatesandusingsomeoftheirideasinyourownwork.Givingacitationforsomeinformationbutmisspellingtheauthor’sname.Howtoavoidplagiarism?Avoidingplagiarismbysummarisingandparaphrasing

Quotationsshouldnotbeoverused,soyoumustlearntoparaphraseandsummariseinordertoincludeotherwriters’ideasinyourwork.•Paraphrasinginvolvesrewritingatextsothatthelanguageissubstantiallydifferentwhilethecontentstaysthesame.•Summarisingmeansreducingthelengthofatextbutretainingthemainpoints.Avoidingplagiarismbydevelopinggoodstudyhabits

Positivehabits

Planyourworkcarefullysoyoudon’thavetowritetheessayatthelastminute.Takecaretomakenotesinyourownwords,notcopyingfromthesource.Keeparecordofallthesourcesyouuse(e.g.author,date,title,pagenumbers,publisher).Makesureallyourin-textcitationsareincludedinthelistofreferences.Topic3:SummarisingandParaphrasingWhatmakesagoodsummary?Writeasummaryofoneofthetopicsbelowinnomorethan20words.(a)Acompanyyouareworkingfor(b)Atownorcityyouknowwell(c)AproductyouhaverecentlyboughtAgoodsummary:selectionofmostimportantaspects/cleardescription/accuracy

Summarisingisaflexibletool.Youcanuseittogiveaone-sentenceoutlineofanarticle,ortoprovidemuchmoredetail,dependingonyourneeds.Generally,asummaryfocusesonthemainideasandexcludesexamplesorsupportinginformation.StagesofsummarisingReadtheoriginaltextcarefullyandcheckanynewordifficultvocabulary.Markthekeypointsbyunderliningorhighlighting.Makenotesofthekeypoints,paraphrasingwherepossible.Writethesummaryfromyournotes,reorganisingthestructureifneeded.Checkthesummarytoensureitisaccurateandnothingimportanthasbeenchangedorlost.PracticeADISRUPTIVETECHNOLOGYThisphrasewasfirstusedbyJosephBowerandClaytonChristensen,oftheHarvardBusinessSchool,in1995.Theyemployedittodescribeanewtechnologythatappealstoaminoritysectionofthemarket,butalargeenoughminoritytoallowthetechnologytotakerootanddevelop.Companiesthatcontinuetousetheoldertechnologyruntheriskofbeingleftbehindiftheydonotadopttheinnovationattherightmoment.Aclearexampleinthemid-1990swasthedigitalcamera.Thefirstmodelshadlowerpicturequalitythanfilmcamerasandwereexpensive.Buttheirimportantadvantagesweretheabilityofthephotographertoseetheresultsimmediately,andbeingabletodownloadtheimagestoacomputerforstorage,printingoremailing.Sincethen,digitalcamerashavecompletelytransformedtheindustry.Thebusinessofmakingfilmhasalmostvanished,andthevastmajorityofcamerassoldarenowdigital.Summary

Digitalcamerasareagoodexampleofadisruptivetechnology,atermusedbyBowerandChristensenofHarvardBusinessSchoolin1995todescribea

newtechnologythatinitiallywinsenoughmarketsharetosurviveanddevelop.Thesecamerasatfirstproducedinferiorpictures,buthadtheadvantagesofshowingthephotoinstantly,andallowingtheusertodownloadtheimage.Inafewyears,theybecamedominantinthecameramarket,whiletraditionalfilmcameraswerealmostredundant.ParaphrasingParaphrasing

Paraphrasingandsummarisingarenormallyusedtogetherinessaywriting,butwhilesummarisingaimstoreduceinformationtoasuitablelength,paraphrasingattemptstorestatetherelevantinformation.Forexample,TherehasbeenmuchdebateaboutthereasonsfortheIndustrialRevolutionhappeningineighteenth-centuryBritain,ratherthaninFranceorGermany.couldbeparaphrased:WhytheIndustrialRevolutionoccurredintheUKintheeighteenthcentury,insteadofonthecontinent,hasbeenthesubjectofconsiderablediscussion.

Notethataneffectiveparaphraseusually:•hasadifferentstructuretotheoriginal•hasmainlydifferentvocabulary•retainsthesamemeaning•keepssomephrasesfromtheoriginalthatareincommonuse(e.g.‘IndustrialRevolution’or‘eighteenthcentury’).PracticeTHECAUSESOFTHEINDUSTRIALREVOLUTION

Allen(2009)arguesthatthebestexplanationfortheBritishlocationoftheindustrialrevolutionisfoundbystudyingdemandfactors.BytheearlyeighteenthcenturyhighwagesandcheapenergywerebothfeaturesoftheBritisheconomy.Consequently,themechanisationofindustrythroughsuchinventionsasthesteamengineandmechanicalspinningwasprofitablebecauseemployerswereabletoeconomiseonlabourbyspendingoncoal.Atthattime,noothercountryhadthisparticularcombinationofexpensivelabourandabundantfuel.AfocusondemandmayhelptoexplaintheUKoriginoftheIndustrialRevolution.Atthattime,workers’paywashigh,butenergyfromcoalwasinexpensive.Thisencouragedthedevelopmentofmechanicalinventionsbasedonsteampower,whichenabledbossestosavemoneybymechanisingproduction(Allen,2009).ThereasonwhyBritainwasthebirthplaceoftheIndustrialRevolutioncanbeunderstoodbyanalysingdemandintheearly1700s,accordingtoAllen(2009).Hemaintainsthat,uniquely,Britainhadthecriticalcombinationofcheapenergyfromcoalandhighlabourcosts.Thisencouragedtheadoptionofsteampowertomechaniseproduction,thussavingonwagesandincreasingprofitability.Quitegood,butlackofprecision(atthattime)andunsuitableregister(bosses)Thebestparaphrase,withallmainpointsincludedandasignificantlydifferentstructure(c)Allen(2009)claimsthattheclearestexplanationfortheUKlocationoftheIndustrialRevolutionisseenbyexaminingdemandfactors.Bytheeighteenthcentury,cheapenergyandhighwageswerebothaspectsoftheBritisheconomy.Asaresult,themechanisationofindustrythroughinventionssuchasthesteamengineandmechanicalspinningwasprofitablebecauseemployerswereabletosavemoneyonlabourbyspendingoncoal.Atthattime,Britainwastheonlycountrywithsignificantdepositsofcoal.Apoorparaphrase,withonlyafewwordschangedandextraandinaccurateinformationadded(Britainwastheonlycountry...)(a)Changingvocabularybyusingsynonyms:arguesclaimseighteenthcentury1700swageslabourcostseconomisesaveNB.Donotattempttoparaphraseeveryword,sincesomehavenotruesynonym,e.g.demand,economy,energyTechniquesforparaphrasing(b)Changingwordclass:explanation(n.)explain(v.)mechanical(adj.)mechanize(v.)profitable(adj.)profitability(n.)Techniquesforparaphrasing(c)Changingwordorder:...thebestexplanationfortheBritishlocationoftheindustrialrevolutionisfoundbystudyingdemandfactors.AfocusondemandmayhelpexplaintheUKoriginoftheindustrialrevolution.TechniquesforparaphrasingNotethatinpractice,allthesethreetechniquesareusedatthesametime.

Thegrowthofthecarindustryparallelsthedevelopmentofmoderncapitalism.ItbeganinFranceandGermany,buttookoffintheUnitedStates.ThereHenryFordadaptedthemovingproductionlinefromtheChicagomeatindustrytomotormanufacturing,thusinventingmassproduction.Inthe1920sAlfredSloan’smanagementtheorieshelpedGeneralMotorstobecometheworld’sdominantcarcompany.Afterthesecondworldwarthecarmakersfocusedonthestylingoftheirproductstoencouragemorefrequentmodelchanges.Fromthe1970stherewascriticismoftheindustryduetotheinefficiencyofmostvehicles,whichusedpetrolwastefully.Atthesametime,tradesunionsbecameincreasinglymilitantindefenseoftheirmembers’jobs.Todaytheindustryownssomeofthemostfamousbrandsintheworld.However,manycarmakersarecurrentlythreatenedbyincreasedcompetitionandsaturatedmarkets.Readthefollowingtextandthenpractisethetechniquesillustratedabove.Practice(a)Findsynonymsforthewordsunderlined.

(i)Thegrowthofthecarindustryparallelsthedevelopmentofmoderncapitalism.Example:Theriseoftheautomobileindustrymatchestheprogressofcontemporarycapitalism.(ii)ItbeganinFranceandGermany,buttookoffintheUnitedStates.ItstartedinFranceandGermany,butacceleratedintheUnitedStates.(iii)ThereHenryFordadaptedthemovingproductionlinefromtheChicagomeatindustrytomotormanufact