教学材料《学术写作》-Unit 6 Textual Development

6.1Description6.1.1ObjectiveDescriptionInmostcases,whenaprofessionalauthorwriteshisresearchpapers,hehastotakeanobjectiveapproachinsteadofasubjectiveonebecauseinhisprofessionalresearch,hehastofocusontheobjectheisportrayingratherthanonhispersonalreactionstoit.Alltherelatedsituationsrequireaprecisedescriptionoftheconditionsorprocesseshisresearchinvolves.下一页返回6.1DescriptionAndinsuchcaseshisgoalistosupplyinformation—tobuildupasaccurateapictureashecanforhisreaders.Ofcourse,objectivityisanidealthatscientists,engineersortechnologistsaimatbutneverachievefully.Anyhow,theyhavetoselectdesirabledetailsandeliminateothers,thoughtheycanhardlybecompletelyobjective.上一页下一页返回6.1Description6.1.2SubjectiveDescriptionIncontrasttoobjectivedescriptionissubjectiveorimpressionisticdescription,whichshowstheauthor’simpressionsoforresponsestowhattheysee.Insuchdescriptions,theauthordoesnotonlywanttodescribetheobjectitselfbutalsoexpressdirectlyorindirectlyhisimpressionsoropinionsofwhatheisdescribing.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionAndtherefore,asarule,asubjectiveorimpressionisticdescriptionaimsnotonlyatconveyingtheactualrecordofsightsandsounds,butalsotheauthor’sattitudesandbiasonwhatheisdescribing.Neitherofthetwoapproachestodescriptionexitsindependently.Objectivedescriptionisalwaystheproductofasubjectiveselectionofdetails,whilesubjectivedescriptioncapturesreactiontoanobjectivereality.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionAskillfulprofessionalwriter,however,shouldadjustthebalancebetweenobjectivityandsubjectivitytosuitthetopic,thesis,purpose,andaudienceofapaper.6.1.3GeneralRequirementsforResearchDescriptionWhengivingaresearchdescription,differentresearchersmayhavedifferentmethodsorindividualities.Inprofessionalresearch,however,freedomofindividualityissomehowlimited.Somegeneralwritingrequirementscanbecustomaryorprofessional“regulations.”上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionA.PresentingaPictureoftheObjectAresearchdescription,aswehaveoftenseen,isintendedtopresentapictureoftheappearanceofanobjectorthedetailsorprocessofaninvestigation.Thusitmustincludeinformationaboutthefactorsinwhichtheresearchtopicisinvolved.Someofsuchfactorsmaybevisiblewhileothersmaybeinvisible.Andtheemphasisisconstantlyorientedtothewaysandmannersinwhichthefactorsconcernedfunction.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionAnumberofwordsthatlistorclassifyfactsareusuallyusedforthepurpose,suchasgroup,set,class,kind,variety,benumberedamong,beincludedin,begroupedwith,exclude,except,include,comprise,contain,takein,excluding,excepting,also,inaddition,likewise,subdivision,subgroup,subset,similarly,etc.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionB. Illustrating the Object in Artificial LanguageAresearchdescriptionisoftenaccompaniedbyoneormorefigures,graphs,picturesortables.Alltheinformationanddatashouldbepresentedasfigurativelyandobviouslyaspossible.Detailsororiginsofsuchdataandinformation,ifnecessary,mayappearinthedescriptionitselformaybepostponedtilltheendofthepaperintheformofnotesorreferences.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionC.MakingNecessaryComparisonItisoftenpossibletomakethedescriptionclearerbymeansofcomparinganobjectoraprocess,say,anexperiment,withsomethingthatthereaderisfamiliarwith.Forexample,atelescopeaninventorintendstoinnovatecanbemadetocomparewithsomethingoftheexistingtypeswithsimilarfunctions.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionWhendescribingshapesorformsofsomethingunderdiscussion,someauthorswouldcustomarilycompareittotheshapeofletters,asseeninphrasesL-shaped,S-shaped,shapedlikeanH,somewhatresemblinganinvertedU,orhavinganZigzagpath.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionD.SizingtheObjectSpeciallyIndescribingsize,anexperiencedprofessionalwriterusuallytriestoavoidsuchgeneralwordsas“large,”“small”or“quitebig.”Instead,hepreferstosay3cm2(squared)or10meters’high.E.LocatingtheObjectCorrectlyhepositionsofvariouspartsofanobjectoraplacemustbeindicatedwithcareunlessthefigureorpictureitselfalreadyshowsthepositionofeachpartclearly.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionF.Generalizing/SystematizingtheObservationCarefullyAresearchdescriptionhasalsotoindicatehowthenewobservationsandideasbeingadvancemayrequireachange—byfurthergeneralizationorsystematization—intheconceptualstructureofagivenscientificfield.Inorderforhisreadersandhiscolleaguestosharehisexperience,awriteroftenexplainshisownunderstandingoftheprocessofhisdiscoveryorinvention,itssignificanceorpromisingfunctions.Discussionsofsuchnatureareusuallydoneinatentativemannerfortheresearchitselfisnewfortheauthorhimselfaswellasforhiscolleagues.上一页下一页返回6.1DescriptionWordsandphrasesusuallyusedinstatingtheproperty,function,classification,definition,etc.include:totake(aword)tomean,thiswordmeans/signifies,themeaningofthisword,inanothersense,alternatively,distinguishingfeatures,mainfeatures,istobe/mustbedistinguishedfrom,essentially,really,theessenceoftheword,inthetrue/realsenseoftheword,thisisnamely,inotherwords,by...,Idonotmean,nottobeconfusedwith,etc.上一页返回6.2LogicalDevelopment6.2.1DevelopingbyChronologicalSequenceTracingthedevelopmentofthetopicfromitsoriginanditsstage-by-stagedevelopment,thewriterthenmakeshisdescriptionthroughhisobservationofthechangeofthetopicwithtime.下一页返回6.2LogicalDevelopment6.2.2DevelopingbyInvestigationProceduresThedescriptionofinvestigationprocedurecanbetakenasausefulclueforlogicaldevelopment.6.2LogicalDevelopment6.2.3DevelopingtheResearch“fromAbstracttoConcrete”By“fromabstracttoconcrete”wemeantheapproachofprovidingconclusivestatementsfirstandspecificsupportingmaterialssecond.Thisdeviceisalsocalledthe“deductivemethod.”上一页下一页返回6.2LogicalDevelopment6.2.4DevelopingtheResearch“fromConcretetoAbstract”Developingtheresearchfromconcretetoabstractisanapproachoflogicaldevelopmentjustoppositetothepreviouspattern.Thisapproachisfeaturedbyprovidingsupportingmaterialsfirstandtheconclusivestatementscomeafterthem.Soitisalsocalledthe“inductivemethod.”上一页下一页返回6.2LogicalDevelopment6.2.5DevelopingbyUsingOtherLogicalSequencingLogicaldevelopmentcanalsobeachievedthroughotherapproaches,suchasbymodifyingthearrangementsofsubjects,byfollowingtheclueofparameters,etc.Itistruethat,asweoftensay,“allroadsleadtoRome.”上一页返回6.3Reasoning(Persuasion)Thetaskofreasoningistojustifythewriter’sinferenceandtrytopersuadethereadersoftheproposalsofferedbythewriter.Thistaskinvolvesheavilytheanalysisofhisreasons.Theanalysis,viewedinthecontextofresearchpaperwriting,consistsoftheprocessofexaminingwhathesaysinhisresearchdescription,calculationandinferencetodistinguishitsconstituentpartsorelementseitherseparatelyorintheirrelationtothewhole.下一页返回6.3Reasoning(Persuasion)Whatseemsmuchmoreimportantforasuccessfulresearcharticleistheobjectiveanalysis.Inordertomakesuchobjectiveanalysis,thewritermustfirstofallbethethoroughmasterofhisresearchtopic.Thentheexperimentorinvestigationhisresearchinvolveshastobetightlyproved,thatistosay,itisworthyofthenameofarealresearch.Iftheprerequisitesweresatisfed,theactualanalysiswouldposenounusualproblems.Thefollowingpointsaretobeborninmind.上一页下一页返回6.3Reasoning(Persuasion)(1)Abriefintroductionisusuallysuffcienttocover,sofarascircumstancesdemand,suchpointsasthepurposeforwhichhisresearchhasbeenmade.(2)Thebasisonwhichthemajordivisions,thechiefhypothesesorexperimentsrest.Necessaryanalysesofthereasonsforhischoice,thesourceoffacts,preconditions,theenlightenmenthereceivedoraccepted,andtheassumptions,deductions,inferences,innovationsornewdiscoverieshemadearebasedonhisinterpretationofthereadyfacts.上一页下一页返回6.3Reasoning(Persuasion)