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Background
to Writing
UNIT
1 The purpose of academic writing
Writers should be clear why they are writing. The most common reasons for writing include:
- to report on a piece of research the writer has conducted
- to answer a question the writer has been given or chosen
- to discuss a subject of common interest and give the writer’s view
- to synthesise research done by others on a topic ! Can you suggest any other reasons?
Whatever the purpose, it is useful to think about the probable readers of your work. How can you explain your ideas to them effectively? Although there is no fixed standard of academic writing, it is clearly different from the written style of newspapers or novels. For example, it is generally agreed that academic writing attempts to be accurate and objective. What are its other features?
Most academic courses test students through written assignments. These tasks
include coursework, which may take weeks to write, and exam answers, which often
have to be written in an hour. This unit deals with:
- the names of different writing tasks
- the format of long and short writing tasks
- the structure of sentences and paragraphs
Notes A piece of research, either individual or group work, with the topic chosen by the student(s). Report The longest piece of writing normally done by a student (20,000+ words), often for a higher degree, on a topic chosen by the student. Project A written record of the main points of a text or lecture, for a student’s personal use. Essay A general term for any academic essay, report, presentation or article. Dissertation/ Thesis A description of something a student has done. Paper The most common type of written work, with the title given by the teacher, normally 1,000–5,000 words. 4 Part 1: The Writing Process ! Working alone or in a group, list your ideas below.
2 Common types of academic writing
Below are the most normal types of written work produced by students. ! Match the terms on the left to the definitions on the right. Impersonal style – avoids using ‘I’ or ‘we’
3 The format of long and short writing tasks
Short essays (including exam answers) generally have this pattern: Introduction Main body Conclusion Longer essays and reports may include: Introduction Main body
6 Part 1: The Writing Process sentence heading sub-title paragraph title phrase
4 The features of academic writing
There are no fixed rules for the layout of academic work. Different schools and departments require students to follow different formats for written work. Your teachers may give you guidelines, or you should ask them what they want, but some general features apply to most formats. ! Read the text below and identify the features underlined, using the words in the box. (a) A fishy story. (b) Misleading health claims regarding omega-3 fatty acids. (c) Introduction. (d) There has been considerable discussion recently about the benefits of omega- fatty acids in the diet. (e) It is claimed that these reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and may even combat obesity. Consequently, food producers have added omega-3s to products ranging from margarine to soft drinks in an attempt to make their products appear healthier and hence increase sales. (f) However, consumers may be unaware that there are two types of omega-3s. The best (long-chain fatty acids) are derived from fish, but others (short-chain fatty acids) come from cheaper sources such as soya. This latter group have not been shown to produce the health benefits linked to the long-chain variety. According to Tamura et al. (2009), positive results may only be obtained either by eating oily fish three times a week, or by taking daily supplements containing 500 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). (a) _______ (b) _______ (c) _______ (d) _______ e) _______ (f) _______
5 Some other common text features
(a) Reference to sources using citation : According to Tamura et al. (2009) (b) The use of abbreviations to save space: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (c) Italics : used to show words from other languages: Tamura et al. (= and others) (d) Brackets : used to give extra information or to clarify a point:... but others (short-chain fatty acids) come from cheaper sources such as soya. Title
1.1: Background to Writing 7
6 Simple and longer sentences
! Study the table below. Dragon Motors – vehicle production 2009– 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 135,470 156,935 164,820 159,550 123, All sentences contain verbs: In 2009, the company produced over 135,000 vehicles. Between 2009 and 2010, vehicle production increased by 20 per cent. Simple sentences (above) are easier to write and read, but longer sentences are also needed in academic writing. However, students should make clarity a priority, and avoid writing very lengthy sentences with several clauses until they feel confident in their ability. Sentences containing two or more clauses use conjunctions , relative pronouns or punctu- ation to link the clauses: In 2009, Dragon Motors produced over 135,000 vehicles, but the following year production increased by 20 per cent. (conjunction) In 2011, the company built 164,820 vehicles, which was the peak of production. (relative pronoun) Nearly 160,000 vehicles were produced in 2012; by 2013, this had fallen to 123,000. (punctuation) ! Write two simple and two longer sentences using data from the table above. (a) _______________________________________________________________________ (b) _______________________________________________________________________ (c) _______________________________________________________________________
(d) _______________________________________________________________________
" See Unit 2.13.5 Style: Varying sentence length
Reading
Finding Suitable Sources
UNIT
Students often underestimate the importance of effective reading, but on any
course it is vital to be able to find and understand the most relevant and suitable
sources quickly. This unit:
- examines the most appropriate text types for academic work
- explores ways of locating relevant material in the library
- explains the use of electronic resources
1 Academic texts
You may need to read a variety of types of texts, such as websites or journal articles, for your course. So it is important to identify the most suitable texts and recognise their features, which will help you to assess their value. ! You are studying Tourism Marketing. Read the text extracts 1–4 below and decide which are the most suitable for academic use, and why. Text Suitability? 1 2 3 4 Yes, it summarises some relevant research, and includes citations.
10 Part 1: The Writing Process
To promote tourism and market destination, it is important to study the tourists’ attitude, behaviour and demand. The studies of Levitt (1986) and Kotler and Armstrong (1994) suggest that an understanding of consumer behaviour may help with the marketing planning process in tourism marketing. The research of consumer behaviour is the key to the underpinning of all marketing activity which is carried out to develop, promote and sell tourism products (Swarbrooke and Horner, 1999; Asad, 2005). Therefore, the study of consumer behaviour has become necessary for the sake of tourism marketing.
The romance of travel has always fascinated me, and our recent trip to Thailand lived up to expectations. We flew from Dubai and after a comfortable flight arrived in Bangkok just as the sun was rising. Our stay in the city lasted only a couple of days before we set off for the hill country around Chang Mai, where we were planning to visit some of the indigenous tribes who live in this mountainous region. When we arrived, the weather was rather disappointing, but after a day the heavy rain gave way to sparkling clear sunshine.
Holiday trips to the Antarctica have quadrupled in the past decade and last year more than 46,000 people visited the land mass and surrounding oceans. However, safety fears and concerns about the impact visitors are having on the delicate frozen landscape have soared and members of the Antarctic Treaty – an agreement between 28 nations, including the UK, on the use of the continent – are now meeting to discuss ways to regulate tourism. British officials are seeking to establish a ‘strategic agreement for tourism’ around the South Pole. If successful, it will see treaty members introduce new measures to improve the safety of tourist trips, while also reducing the impact that visitors will have on the environment. The regulations could see limits on the number of ships and landings, restrictions on how close they come to shore, a ban on building tourist facilities and hotels on the continent, and rules on waste discharges from ships.
2 Types of text
! The table below lists the most common written sources used by students. Work with a partner to consider their likely advantages and disadvantages. 12 Part 1: The Writing Process Text type Advantages Disadvantages Textbook Website Journal article Official report (e.g. from government) Newspaper or magazine article e-Book Written for students May be too general
3 Using reading lists
Your teacher may give you a printed reading list, or it may be available online through the library website. The list will usually include textbooks, journal articles and websites. If the list is electronic, there will be links to the library catalogue to let you check on the availability of the material. If the list is printed, you will have to use the library catalogue to find the texts. You do not have to read every word of a book because it is on the list. Your teacher will probably suggest which pages to read, and also tell you which parts are the most important. On reading lists, you will find the following formats: Books Miles T. R. Dyslexia: a hundred years on/ T. R. Miles and Elaine Miles, 2nd ed. Open University Press, 1999. Journal articles Paulesu E. et al. Dyslexia: cultural diversity and biological unity. Science , 2001, 291, pages 2165–2167. Websites www.well.ox.ac.uk/monaco/dyslexia.shtml
4 Using library catalogues
University and college libraries usually have online catalogues. These allow students to search for the materials they want in various ways. If you know the title and author’s name, it is easy to check if the book is available, but if you are making a search for material on a specific topic, you may have to vary the search terms. For instance, if you have been given an essay title: ‘Is there a practical limit on the height of tall buildings? Illustrate your answer with reference to some recent skyscrapers.’ you might try:
- skyscraper design
- skyscraper construction
- design of tall building
- construction of tall buildings If you use a very specific phrase, you will probably only find a few titles. ‘Skyscraper construction’, for example, only produced three items in one library catalogue, but a more general term such as ‘skyscrapers’ found 57. ! You have entered the term ‘skyscrapers’ in the library catalogue, and these are the first 10 results. In order to answer the essay title above, which would you select to borrow? Give your reasons. 1.2: Reading: Finding Suitable Sources 13 Full details Title^ Year^ Location^ Holdings 1 Skyscrapers: a history of the world’s most extraordinary buildings/by Judith Dupré; introductory interview with Adrian Smith 2013 Main library Availability 2 Manhattan skyscrapers/Eric P. Nash; photographs by Norman McGrath. 3rd ed. 2010 Main library^ Availability 3 Art deco San Francisco [electronic resource]: the architecture of Timothy Pflueger/ Therese Poletti; photography by Tom Paiva 2008 Fine Arts library Availability 4 Skyscraper for the XXI century/edited by Carlo Aiello 2008 Science library^ Availability 5 Taipei 101/Georges Binder [editor] 2008 Main library Availability 6 Tall buildings: image of the skyscraper/ Scott Johnson 2008 Fine Arts library^ Availability 7 Skyscrapers: fabulous buildings that reach for the sky/Herbert Wright 2008 Main library Availability
3 Three New Skyscrapers MoMA , No. 25 (Winter, 1983), p. 4 4 Stars for Skyscrapers Lee Richard Hayman The Phylon Quarterly , Vol. 19, No. 3 (3rd Qtr., 1958), p. 276 5 Dawn Rises over Skyscrapers Deane Fisher Phylon (1960–),Vol. 28, No. 2 (2nd Qtr., 1967), p. 138 6 Mario Palanti and the Palacio Salvo: The Art of Constructing Skyscrapers Virginia Bonicatto, Chris Miller Getty Research Journal , No. 5 (2013), pp. 183– Note that many of these articles will be out of date or irrelevant, but these search engines allow you to access a great variety of material quickly. It is usually sufficient to read the abstract to find out if the article will be relevant to your work. Note that most journal websites contain a search engine to allow you to search all back issues by subject. They may also offer links to articles in other journals on the same topic. The best way to become familiar with these methods is to practise. Library websites usually contain tutorials for new students, and librarians are always willing to give help and advice when needed. ! Select a specific topic from your subject area. (a) Use the library catalogue to search for relevant books. Write down the most useful titles. (b) Look for a few relevant journal articles, using the library portal. Write a reference for each article. 1.2: Reading: Finding Suitable Sources 15
Reading
Developing Critical
Approaches
UNIT
Students are expected to take a critical approach to sources, and this requires a
good understanding of written texts. This unit:
- explains effective reading methods
- examines common text features, including abstracts
- explores and practises a critical analysis of texts
1 Reading methods
It is easy for students to underestimate the importance of reading skills. But, especially for international students, reading academic texts in the quantity required for most courses is a demanding task. Yet students will not benefit from attending lectures and seminars unless the preparatory reading is done promptly, while most writing tasks require extensive reading. Moreover, academic texts often contain new vocabulary and phrases, and may be written in a rather formal style. This means that special methods have to be learnt to cope with the volume of reading required, which is especially important when you are reading in another language. Clearly, you do not have time to read every word published on the topic you are studying, so you must first choose carefully what you read and then assess it thoroughly. The chart opposite illustrates the best approach to choosing suitable texts. ! Complete the empty boxes in the chart with the following techniques:
- Read intensively to make notes on key points
- Scan text for information you need (e.g. names)
- Survey text features (e.g. abstract, contents, index)
18 Part 1: The Writing Process Abstract See section 3 below. Contents A list of the main chapters or sections. This should tell you how much space is given to the topic you are researching. Introduction or preface This is where the author often explains his or her reasons for writing, and also describes how the text is organised. References This list shows all the sources used by the author and referred to in the text. (In the USA, this is usually called a bibliography.) It should give you some suggestions for further reading. Bibliography These are the sources the author has used but not specifically referred to. A bibliography is not required for most short writing tasks. (Note that in the USA this is usually the name given to the list of references.) Index An alphabetical list of all the topics and names mentioned in a book. If, for example, you are looking for information about a person, the index will tell you if that person is mentioned, and how often.
3 Reading abstracts
Abstracts are normally found in peer-reviewed journal articles, where they are a kind of summary to allow researchers to decide if it is worth reading the full article. As a student, you will not normally have to write abstracts, but it is important to be able to read them effectively. ! Study this example: Citizenship Norms and the Expansion of Political Participation Russell J. Dalton A growing chorus of scholars laments the decline of political participation in America, and the negative implications of this trend for American democracy. This article questions this position – arguing that previous studies misdiagnosed the sources of political change and the consequences of changing norms of citizenship for Americans’ political engagement. Citizenship norms are shifting from a pattern of duty-based citizenship to engaged citizenship. Using data from the 2005 ‘Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy’ survey of the Center for Democracy and Civil Society (CDACS) I describe these two faces of citizenship, and trace their impact on political participation. Rather than the erosion of participation, this norm shift is altering and expanding the patterns of political participation in America. (Dalton, R. J. (2008) Political Studies 56 (1): 76–98)
Abstracts normally have a standard structure: (a) Background (b) Aim and thesis of paper (c) Method of research (d) Results of research ! Underline and label these components (a–d) in the abstract above.
4 Fact and opinion
When reading, it is important to distinguish between facts: Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia and opinions: Kuala Lumpur is a welcoming, bustling city In addition, the reader needs to decide if the facts given are true: Singapore lies near the equator (true) Singapore was an ancient trading port (false) You need to be careful of texts that contain unsupported opinion or ‘facts’ that you think are wrong. ! Read the following and underline facts ( _____ ) and opinions ( ......... ). Decide if the facts are true. (a) Sydney is the capital of Australia. (b) Australia is a dynamic, prosperous and enterprising country. (c) The majority of Australians live on sheep farms. (d) Most Australians are open-minded and friendly. (e) Australia is the largest island in the world, and has extensive mineral deposits. (f) Among the 22 million Australians are some of the world’s best cricket players.
5 Assessing Internet sources critically
You cannot afford to waste time on texts that are unreliable or out of date. If you are using material that is not on the reading list, you must assess it critically to ensure that the material is trustworthy. Internet sources are plentiful and convenient, but you need to ask several questions about each site: 1.3: Reading: Developing Critical Approaches 19
In contrast, the second text is written in accurate, semi-formal language and includes a source. It seems likely to be more reliable.
6 Further practice
! Read the following texts and decide if you can trust the information. Give reasons for your decisions in the table below. 1.3: Reading: Developing Critical Approaches 21
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Most students find that they have financial difficulties at times. It has been estimated that nearly 55 per cent experience financial difficulties in their first year at college or university. It’s often hard living on a small fixed income, and the cost of accommodation and food can come as a shock when you first live away from your parents. The most important thing, if you find you are getting into debt, is to speak to a financial advisor in the Student Union, who may be able to help you sort out your problems. 1 _______________________________________________________________________ 2 _______________________________________________________________________ 3 _______________________________________________________________________
22 Part 1: The Writing Process
EDUCATING THE POOREST
How can we get the world’s poorest children into school? This is a difficult question with no easy answer. In 1999 the UN adopted a set of goals called ‘Education for All’, but in many countries there has been little progress towards these aims. In Nigeria, for instance, the number of children not going to school has hardly changed since then. It is estimated that worldwide, about 72 million children never attend school, 45 per cent of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa. Even when schools and teachers are provided, there’s no guarantee that teaching is being done: World Bank research in India shows that a quarter of teachers don’t attend school on any one day. Several proposals have been made to improve matters. A British academic, Professor Tooley, argues that low-cost private schools are more effective in delivering education to the poor since parental pressure maintains good standards. State schools could also relate pay to performance: research by Muralihadan and Sundararaman in India found that this improved students’ test performance far more significantly than spending the same money on teaching materials. ! You are writing an essay on expanding educational provision in developing countries, titled ‘Improving literacy in sub-Saharan Africa’. You find the following article in a current magazine. Read it critically and decide whether you could use it in your work. Positive aspects: ________________________________________________________________ Negative aspects: ________________________________________________________________
7 Critical thinking
Even when you feel that a text is reliable and that you can safely use it as a source, it is still important to adopt a critical attitude towards it. This approach is perhaps easiest to learn when reading, but is important for all other academic work (i.e. listening, discussing and writing). Critical thinking means not just passively accepting what you hear or read, but instead actively questioning and assessing it. As you read, you should ask yourself the following questions: (a) What are the key ideas in this? (b) Does the argument of the writer develop logically, step by step? (c) Are the examples given helpful? Would other examples be better? (d) Does the author have any bias (leaning to one side or the other)? (e) Does the evidence presented seem reliable, in my experience and using common sense? (f) Do I agree with the writer’s views?
