Unit 8 Conclusion
Main Elements:
1) containing a summary of the main points/results
2) drawing the conclusion(s) from the end-results
3) emphasizing the points different from the conventional ones
4) containing a prediction for the tendency/consequence
5) advancing well-supported proposals on succeeding research
6) …
For a paper, any one or any combination of these may be appropriate.
Sample 1
The most important conclusion that can be drawn from the test results described in this paper is that it is possible, with the use of silicon fume and water-cementitious material ratios of 0.25 or less, to make high-performance concrete that are extremely resistant to the internal damage which can result from drying, even at 110 C. It is thus most probable that, under natural exposure conditions, the resistance to the penetration of chloride ions of the concrete will not decrease significantly with time, unless they are not adequately protected against the effect of freezing and thawing cycles.
Sample 2
Concluding the above discussion, we may state the following:
Information on customer-order specific products should be distinguished sharply from information on anonymous products.
Information systems in the customer-order driven part of the supply chain should first of all support the creation of customer-order specific information by qualified engineers.
Large investment made in products or processes should be reflected in the information system by automatic generation of customer-order specific information.
Unit 9 Style and Mechanics
1. Style
Before embarking on any piece of writing, the writer must be very sure of whom his audience is. The learned dissertation is very different in language from a radio-talk delivered to the general public because the great differences of register exist. The writer must acquire the ability to recognize and distinguish between formal and informal styles, so that he can avoid using formal English where informal English is appropriate, or the other way round. The most important thing is simply to be consistent in the language to be used Sample 1
I got to the platform ten minutes before the train was due to come in. Suddenly there was an announcement over the loudspeaker: the train had been delayed for three hours, and I had to be at Gatwick airport by eight o’clock. Thus I was obliged to address the problem of alternative transportation and darted off immediately to the bus station.
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Sample 2
The high velocity of change can be traced to many factors. Population growth, urbanization, the shifting proportions of young and old---all play their part. Yet technological advance is clearly a critical node in the network of causes; indeed, it may be the node that activates the entire net. One powerful strategy in the battle to prevent mass future shock, therefore, involves the conscious regulation of technological advance. Sample 3
It has been noted with concern that the stock of books in the library has been declining alarmingly. Students are asked to remind themselves of the rules for the borrowing and return of books, and bear in mind the needs of other students. Penalties for overdue books will in the future be strictly enforced. ( an announcement from a library) Sample 4
The number of books in the library has been going down. Please make sure you know the rules for borrowing, and don’t forget that the library is for everyone’s convenience. So from now on, we’re going to enforce the rules strictly. You have been warned.
Some specific features that distinguish informal English from formal one 1)
? Eager to finish the work, he continued to do it until midnight.
? Shrewd and powerful, he exerted enormous influence on the king.
2)
She decided to go home at once, knowing that her mother was anxiously waiting for her. 3)
? Population growth, urbanization, the shifting proportions of young and old---all play
their part.
? Lastly, the support of his friends in national government contributed to his success at
provincial level.
? The improvement was also brought about by a series of special meetings which
Frankson arranged between the employers and the workers.
? A good command of English of English is the basic requirement for every student.
4) Rhetorical devices are often used in formal style:
Through the window, came in the sweet song.
cf. The sweet song came in through the window.
5)
To rid the world of pollution, we must make some fundamental changes in the way many of us live.
6)
The function of a fuse is to protect a circuit.
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7)
Steels which have a carbon content between 0.5% and 1.3% are known as high carbon steels. cf. Steels with a carbon content between 0.5% and 1.3% are known as high carbon steels. 8)
You never know what new measures the President will take.
One never knows what new measures the President will take.
9) Contractions like don’t, he’s, I’ve, etc., are generally used in informal writing. In formal writing the full forms are preferred.
do not I have …
10) In informal style they is often used as a pronoun referring to everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody:
Anyone can take a brochure if they want it.
Anyone can take a brochure if he or she wants it.
11) In formal English pronouns such as we, you and I should except where they are to be expected (autobiography, speeches, etc.). When expressing an opinion or belief, it is better to use We couldn’t start because of the heavy rain. cf.
The heavy rain prevented us from starting.
the author, the writer, the present author,
As will be argued below,
It would seem that…
It is estimated…
It is contended…
It is tempting to suggest that…
It is argued…
One can conclude that…
It may be safely concluded that…
In conclusion, …
It is found through research…
Research has found…
Studies have revealed…
… 13)
Victor finding the error quickly, thanks to his carefulness, saved Weiwei many hours of extra work.
14)
A famous professor of biology, Dr. Jones is the new president of the university.
15)
? The aim of science is to describe the world in orderly language, in such a way that we can,
if possible, foresee the results of those alternative courses of action between which we are always choosing.
? If a needle is thrown at random on a sheet of paper ruled with lines whose distance apart is 3
exactly equal to the length of the needle, how often can it be expected to fall on a line and how often into a blank space?
16)
It will not be done by the Government; it cannot be done by the Parliament.
17)
The politician is concerned with successful elections, whereas the statesman is interested in the future of his people.
18)
Although its aims are laudable---helping infertile couples have children---the new reproductive science is raising piercing challenges to long-standing concepts of parenthood, family and personal identity.
19)
? Dinner will be served outdoors, weather permitting.
? Movies and television are ultimately collaborative efforts, the wardrobe supervisor working
closely with the director, producers and actors to create the right visual cues.
20)
He experienced love and hate, grief and happiness.
2. Diction
3. Tone
The tone/attitude towards the subject should be serious, not ironic or flippant. Humorous, casual or conversational approaches are usually inappropriate for research papers.
4. Point of view in person
Most research papers should be written in the third person, that is, with nouns or third-person pronouns as subjects of the sentences. The first-person pronoun is appropriate when the writer relates a personal experience. In papers that call for a subjective response to texts, ideas, or situations (literary criticism, for example), the writer will use first-person pronouns.
5. Tense
1) Literature
Narrate events in literary works in the present tense to indicate that multiple experiences of reading serve to repeat the action.
eg: After passing up the opportunity to kill the kneeling Claudius, Hamlet enters his mother?s bedchamber, where he kills Polonius.
2) Theory or philosophy
The past tense is appropriate for discussion about works of theory or philosophy.
eg: , Kant speculated that…
The present tense may also be used in such discussion to indicate that a given work continues to present the same ideas.
eg: , Kant demonstrates that…
3) Research results
When reporting the results of research, use the past tense to describe the result of a particular 4
experiment. Use the present tense for generalization or conclusions
4) Review of literature
In a review of literature, the writer may use either the past tense or the present perfect tense in summarizing findings.
eg Researchers demonstrated that…
Researchers have demonstrated that…
6. Sentence structure
Grammatical correctness is not the sole attribute of a good sentence. A good sentence reinforces the meaning through its structure and pace. Explore the full range of possibilities for expressing the logical relationships of ideas in a variety of sentence structures, including compound and complex sentences and parallel constructions.
7. Active and passive voice
Active voice is a stronger, more vigorous construction than passive voice. Sentence should be active except when the writer specifically wants to emphasize the subject was acted upon, or when the writer either does not know the subject or it is irrelevant.
8. Parallelism
Chapter titles, subtitles and headings should be parallel, that is, entries at the same level of subordination should take the same grammatical form.
I. Dangers of Nuclear Power Plants
1. Leakage of radiation
2. Disposal of nuclear waste
3. Sabotage by terrorist groups
II. Safety Features of Nuclear Power Plants
1. Sound design and construction
2. Monitoring system
3. Automatic correction devices
9. Logical consistency
Logical consistency requires that headings at the same level have approximately equivalent importance and refer to similar categories of ideas. Each heading at a given level should represent the same degree of generalization and refer to approximately the same kind of information.
10. Source references
1) Direction quotation
a) Keep the quotation as brief as possible. The volume of direction quotation in any piece of academic paper should be kept within 10~20% of the total paper.
b) Be accurate. No word or punctuation should be changed.
c) Indicate the source of the quotation.
d) When the quotation is less than three lines, incorporate it in the flow of the paragraph with a pair of quotation marks. When the quotation is longer than three lines, use a separate and indented paragraph, without quotation marks, to indicate the quotation.
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Sample
Writing is not just the written form of spoken language; there surely exist enormous distinctions between spoken language and written language. While spoken language is used “largely for the establishment and maintenance of human relationships (primarily interactional use)”, written language is “largely for the working out of and transference of information (primarily transactional use)” (Brown and Yule, 1983: 13). By studying the work of many scholars engaged in the research of spoken language, Brown and Yule (1983) extract some features of spoken language:
a) spoken language contains many incomplete sentences.
b) spoken language possesses little subordination.
c) spoken language uses little passive construction.
d) spoken language employs few metalingual markers, except for ?but?, ?and?, ?then? and rarely ?if?, to mark relationships between sentences.
e) speaker may use many generalised vocabulary such as ?a lot of?, ?got?, ?thing? and ?do?. f) speaker may produce many prefabricated ?fillers?.
…
Richards (1990) remarks that the fact that the rules of written discourse are very different from those of spoken discourse partly accounts for the difficulties learners encounter in mastering the ability to write well. Based on Brown and Yule (1983), he concludes:
Written language … employs a different syntax and vocabulary from spoken discourse. It also has a more elaborated linguistic system characterized by the use of complex rather than simple clauses, a great variety of clause types, more specific vocabulary, a higher frequency of complex verb phrases and tenses, and a greater variety of devices for expressing such syntactic processes as relativization, nominalization, and complementation.
(Richards, 1990: 101)
Useful expressions to indicate the source of a direct quotation:
? As X said /stated /mentioned /insisted /declared / wrote /reported / said…
? X said /further stated /continued /firmly believes /later insisted…
…
2) Paraphrase
a) Give credit to the source of the idea or material being paraphrased. Failing to do so is regarded as dishonesty.
b) Restate the idea with different vocabulary and sentence structure. A mere change of a few words without changing the structure is regarded as plagiarism in disguise.
Useful expressions to introduce a paraphrase:
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?
?
?
?
?
…
As X points out, … X claims /found / discovered /argues that… Research by X suggests that… In an article / a study by X, … A study by X indicates that…
Unit 10 Acknowledgement
The content usually includes two parts: gratitude to personal or institutional assistance and gratitude to financial support from certain sources.
Formalized Expressions:
? The author wishes to express his/her most sincere thanks/gratitude to…
? The author is indebted to… for…
? I owe a special debt to…
? It is a great honor to acknowledge/appreciate Prof. … for…
? Thanks are due to… for…
? We gratefully recognize the contribution of … and … who…
? The above research was made possible by a grant from…
? We have also benefited from…
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