castle of writing2 S4001 International Performance Course Academic Writing Introduction § § Why is the writing done? § § § § § expert scientific student general § § § § § expert scientific student general - - - - - - § D:\Users\18364\Desktop\wordle.4.png §neatly presented cohesive with full forms of words §objective correct without redundancies §explicit factual with flowing structure §hedged unambiguous without clichés §frequent third person pronouns accurate responsible §well structured neutral backed up by evidence §professionally acceptable revised understandable §linear structure timeless specific §without colloquialisms re-drafted referenced §precise clear nominalised §claiming authority formal tentative §more frequent passive voice impersonal no negative forms §with explicit links between presented ideas coherent §with clear understanding of the subject matter concise §relevant within the discourse of your discipline style § § - - - - - § (Adapted from: http://www.chemistry-blog.com/category/fun/page/2/) concise writing concise writing §Concise writing presents information that is important to the reader. There are no unnecessary words, sentences or paragraphs. Redundant expressions and structures are eliminated or replaced wordy with more concise words or phrases that have the same meaning. Adapted from: Cooper, P. (2011): Academic Writing and Czech Universities § Chromatography is an experimental technique used by chemists as a means to help them separate different compounds in experimental samples using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [42 words] Chromatography is an experimental technique used by chemists as a means to help them separate different compounds in experimental samples using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [42 words] Chromatography is an experimental technique used by chemists to separate compounds in experimental samples using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [36 words] Chromatography is an experimental technique used by chemists as a means to help them separate different compounds in experimental samples using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [42 words] Chromatography is an experimental technique used by chemists to separate compounds in experimental samples using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [36 words] Chromatography is used to separate compounds using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [28 words] Chromatography is an experimental technique used by chemists as a means to help them separate different compounds in experimental samples using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [42 words] Chromatography is an experimental technique used by chemists to separate compounds in experimental samples using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [36 words] Chromatography is used to separate compounds using the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase as well as the affinity of the compound for the stationary phase. [28 words] Chromatography separates compounds based on the affinity of the compound for the mobile phase relative to the stationary phase. [19 words] [42 words] 14 de-personalisation 15 Discipline Total Citation I Me My We Us Our Other Physics 64,6 8,7 0,0 0,1 0,0 39,3 0,6 14,4 1,4 Marketing 61,3 6,9 1,6 0,0 0,7 31,0 1,1 18,9 0,6 Biology 56,2 22,6 0,0 0,1 0,1 24,0 1,1 7,2 0,7 Philosophy 52,7 3,1 35,6 2,5 7,7 1,4 0,2 0,6 0,0 Electronic eng. 44,4 10,7 0,0 0,0 0,0 23,3 0,4 8,6 0,5 Mechanical eng. 17,8 9,6 0,0 0,0 0,0 5,5 0,0 1,4 0,4 Overall 50,5 8,3 11,2 0,8 2,4 17,8 0,8 8,3 1,1 On self-mention in academic articles: Frequency of self-mention forms per discipline (Ø per 10,000 words). Adapted from: K. Hyland/English for Specific Purposes 20 (2001) 207-226 16 §All manuscripts must…be written in objective third person point of view throughout (Use "the authors" or "the researchers" NOT "I" or "we")… § § (Adapted from: http://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/) § passive vs active Introduction Method Results Discussion A P A P A P A P Physical sciences 63,0 37,0 26,0 74,0 72,0 28,0 71,0 29,0 Biological sciences 74,0 26,0 38,0 61,05 68,0 32,0 79,0 21,0 Social sciences 84,0 16,0 46,0 54,0 77,0 23,0 85,0 15,0 Percentages of voice per section in the processes of three types of sciences in 21 research articles. A=active, P=passive Source: I.A.Martinez/English for Specific Purposes 20 (2001) 227-247) NOTE: To read more on passive: Lilita Rodman: The passive in technical and scientific writing; http://www.jaconlinejournal.com/archives/vol2/rodman-passive.pdf §We should reject this conclusion for two reasons. §vs § This conclusion should be rejected for two reasons. § §… §It is unclear at this time as to what extent cremophore is responsible for these side effects, but similar hypersensitivity reactions in dogs have been attributed to histamine release by cremophore EL. § § §Experts presented and discussed a total of ten §innovative papers during the two-day workshop sessions. § §vs § §A total of ten innovative papers §were presented and discussed §during the two-day workshop sessions. §To measure the number of gene copies the cellular DNA §is broken into small pieces, the double strands are denatured §(separated into single strands) by boiling, and a small amount of §the radioactively labeled complementary DNA is added §to the mixture under experimental conditions. § nominalisation You can understand something better if it is repeated. You can understand something better if it is repeated. Comprehension is aided by repetition. This can serve as a template, thanks to which proteins can be synthesised. This can serve as a template for the synthesis of proteins. The body temperature rose suddenly, as a consequence, the invading pathogen grew less quickly. The sudden rise in body temperature may also have caused the inhibition of the growth of the invading pathogen. The body temperature rose suddenly, as a consequence, the invading pathogen grew less quickly. The sudden rise in body temperature may also have caused the inhibition of the growth of the invading pathogen. Incomplete implementation of strategized programmatics was designated to maximize acquisition of awareness and utilization of communication skills pursuant to standardized review and assessment of linguistic development. Adapted from: http://stevenpinker.com/files/pinker/files/why_academics_stink_at_writing.pdf Incomplete implementation of strategized programmatics was designated to maximize acquisition of awareness and utilization of communication skills pursuant to standardized review and assessment of linguistic development. Adapted from: http://stevenpinker.com/files/pinker/files/why_academics_stink_at_writing.pdf coherence and cohesion §Reformulation (ii) § § § § § § § § § § § § § § 5. § Adapted from: Ellwood, C.(2011) C:\Users\stepanek\Desktop\1.png What did students notice? What they liked about this? §Reformulation (ii) § § § § § § § § § § § § § § 5. § Adapted from: Ellwood, C.(2011) C:\Users\stepanek\Desktop\1.png What did students notice? What they liked about this? C:\Users\stepanek\Desktop\1.png hedging language of caution tentative language Academic writing might give the impression that it is factual, conveying precise, accurate and objective facts and information. “However, it is now recognised that an important feature of academic writing is the concept of cautious language, often called hedging.“ In other words, it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims you are making.” Adapted from: Cooper, P. (2011): Academic Writing and Czech Universities Hedge Class Function Shields Devices that take responsibility for the claim made away from the author. They function as a tool protecting the author from any criticism. The writer aims at not being on record with regard to the propositions expressed in the text. Responsibility shifting e.g. …([1], [2], [3],)…, …it is shown in [3]…, Romanowska found…, …we refer reader to [3, 4]…, …see [10]… Speaking facts The writer shields his/her claims through stating “the commonly accepted” view. e.g. Definition 1…, A map is…, …is defined to be…, …space is said to be… Mitigators The author admits his/her responsibility for the claims made. The writer takes stance while using mitigators, but decides to weaken his/her propositions for various reasons. Approximation e.g. …some…, …more…, Several, …similar… Possibility e.g. …may…, …can…, …possible… Understatement By using these devices, authors lessen the importance and the validity of their claims. e.g. …notions…, …concept… Admitting incompleteness e.g. …briefly…, however,… Introductory verbs e.g. seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, believe, doubt, be sure, indicate, suggest Modal verbs e.g. would, may, might, could Frequency adverbs e.g. often, sometimes, usually Modal adverbs / adjectives e.g. probably, possibly / probable, possible Modal nouns e.g. assumption, possibility, probability “That” clauses e.g. It could be the case that…. It might be suggested that… “To”-clause + adjective e.g. It may be possible to obtain In addition, to the best of our knowledge, there is no facile and practical method for the synthesis of this compound in the literature. This system prevents attacks on both server and client sides. According to simulation studies, under some circumstances this system may reduce certain types of attacks on both server and client sides. It could be concluded that some evidence seems to suggest that this system might, under some circumstances, have the tendency to reduce at least certain types of attacks on both server and client sides The fluorescence lifetime measurement of the diol/carbonate pair will be complete in two months. The fluorescence lifetime measurement of the diol/carbonate pair is expected to be complete in two months. It is estimated that in the next fifty years the world’s population might again grow 40-50% and if we continuously used the amount of water that we are currently using the water supply may significantly diminish. In the next fifty years the world’s population will again grow 40-50% and if we continuously use the amount of water that we are currently using the water supply will significantly diminish. Adapted from: Robinson, M., Stoller,F. (2008): pp.594-596 accuracy and precision § say-express It is …. certain almost certain very probable / highly likely probable / likely possible unlikely very / highly unlikely …that we will experience similar reactions when acids are used. Adapted from: Štěpánek, L., deHaaff, J.(2011): Academic English, Grada, Praha, p.29 titles A B C D sentences C:\Users\stepanek\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Outlook\LA054R0A\image1.PNG Since it was, as mentioned, a test, we did not try to achieve the best results, we just wanted to verify the idea of time characteristics. The(Our) intention was to verify (its) time characteristics (of…) by means of a (…) test. Academic Presentations Preparation 48 TIME MANAGEMENT TOPIC AIMS and OBJECTIVES AUDIENCE ANALYSIS RESEARCH DATA SELECTION DRAFTS AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS NOTES REHEARSAL Indidvidual Parts 49 TITLE INTRODUCTION MAIN BODY CONCLUSION DELIVERY Voice Stance Facial Expression Eye contact Gestures Body Movement QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Titles 50 §Attractive §Brief §Clear §Descriptive § §(AI for brainstorming) § Introductory Part 51 §GREETING §POSITIVE COMMENTS §NAME + POSITION §TOPIC / TITLE / SUBJECT §PURPOSE §OUTLINE § §TIME §AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS § §QUESTIONS •goal •time •structure Main Body Part 52 §STRUCTURE § §STYLE § §AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS § § § § Main Body Part 53 §CONVERSATIONAL style (but not too familiar) § - SHORT sentences, § - CONCRETE language offering EXMAPLES, § - COHERENT ideas that follow each other NATURALLY while using effective transitions § §TRANSITIONS TYPES: e.g. clear sign posting language, pausing, point-by-point, flashback, questions §FREQUENT TRANSITIONS ISSUES: no transitions, too short, one (the same) for the whole talk § §AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS: § - less is more § - effective support of you as a speaker § - offer diverse means of communication § § § § Final Part 54 §SIGNAL TO END § §SUMMARY § §CONCLUSION § §CLOSE § §INVITATION FOR QUESTIONS § § § § § coherence 55 §A •A1 •A2 •A3 §B •B1 •B2 •B3 §C •C1 •C2 •C3 Questions and Answers Part 56 § invite questions § listen carefully right to the end § welcome the question § repeat, paraphrase, or clarify if necessary § take time to think before answering § answer the question relevantly § check whether the questioner is satisfied § § § § § A) disagreement B) compliment C) questioning the accuracy of your sources D) interrupting E) clarification F) irrelevant question G) repetition H) asking for proof I) showing off J) asking strings of questions Delivery 57 § § § § § voice stance facial expression eye contact gestures body movement Delivery 58 § § § § § Note: The videos are not examples of applicable/good presentations for our purposes, they only include certain aspects (or content) that can be useful to notice and be aware of. 1) voice focus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlI-e4QJWG0 - minute: 3´30´´ on... .. a comment on an “ideal” intensity of a credible voice - minute: 7´28´´ on... Margaret Thatcher example - minute: 14´40´´ on... projecting a voice to express different emotions Btw, the video is in Spanish with English subtitles on purpose, diverse research in different cultures/languages come to very similar results on how human beings perceive different uses of voice. In other words, ideas from this presentation can be applicable to your mother tongues as well. 2) rhythm / parallelism / repetition : https://www.ted.com/talks/rives_the_4_a_m_mystery?language=en This video is a great example of work with rhythm, repetition and parallelism (repetition of grammatical structures or vocabulary). Rythm and repetition work in any language, however, there are specific characteristics in each language, which can change the impact; e.g. parallelism works differently in non-English languages, basically, does not work so well. J It can be interesting to watch the whole talk (9 mins) and focus on the speaker´s work with rythm, repetition and parallel structures, or here are some examples: Please, ignore the content, it is pure enterntainment. - minute: 0´47´´ - 1´50´´ ... “a time for ...” - parallelism (repetition –ideally 3x - for emphasis) - minute: 1´50´´ - 5´11´´... notice how the presenter works with the rhythm of the speech (slow, fast, repetitions, rhythmic sequences) - minute: 7´42´´... “way back ...” - parallelism (repetition –ideally 3x -for emphasis) 3) audio-visual / body language https://www.ted.com/talks/beau_lotto_amy_o_toole_science_is_for_everyone_kids_included?language=en -minute: 0´10´´ - 3´00´´ - audio-visuals: compare the visuals of the first two minutes with those of the later minutes and think of effectiveness and relevance of the two types; and on the expectations set at the beginning. - minute: 1´30´´ - 2´00´´: body language + voice (the teacher) – compare with: 6´12´´- 7´00´´ (the student), you can even try and watch both bits without sound first, only than with the sound to get a better focus on the body language itself -minute 6´12´´ - 7´11´´ (focus on the body language of the teacher at the back) – compare with 7´58´´ - 9´20´´ (focus on the body language of the teacher at the back) Delivery 59 § § § § § Note: The videos are not examples of applicable/good presentations for our purposes, they only include certain aspects (or content) that can be useful to notice and be aware of. 4) audio-visuals – when you need to be make sure your audience (general public in this cse) gets the point You may know Hans Rosling and his lecture shows. Apart from enjoying the learning experience, it may be useful to notice how his use of audio-visuals is effective. What strategies does he use to make sure everybody understands what he shows? 1)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w 2)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LyzBoHo5EI&t=48s