Summary book English for Writing Research Papers (Academic English)
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Cours
Academic English (840098B6)
Établissement
Tilburg University (UVT)
Samenvatting van het boek English for Writing Research Papers (Adrian Wallwork, second edition) voor de colleges van Academic English. Dit is een aanvulling op de aantekeningen van het college, om de stof nog meer te verduidelijken.
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Ch 3. Structuring Paragraphs
3.1 What’s the buzz?
- Difficult to read when it is: poorly structured, poorly punctuated, written in long paragraphs and
sentences full of ambiguity (onduidelijkheid) and redundancy (overbodige woorden)
- A good writing means always thinking from a reader perspective
How can I make it easier for the reader to follow what I am saying and clearly understand the
benefits of my methods and findings?
How can I do all this while expecting the minimum possible amount of effort from my
readers?
3.1 Begin with a mini summary plus an indication of the structure
- Readers may begin with a random section in the paper, so consider starting some sections (like the
introduction, discussion and conclusion) with a one or two-sentence summary of the main aims
and/or findings of the paper
- You can also outline what will be contained in the rest of the section (and you can refer to future
sections, so readers can see the logical)
- Keep such references as short as possible as they can become quite heavy and annoying for the
reader
3.3 Go directly to the point
- In shorter papers you may have space to have mini summaries at the beginning of the sections, but
readers don’t often have time or the indication to read them, so in such cases you need a more direct
approach
- Meaning: not exactly telling the reader what you did, but telling what it means/what you found
3.4 Choose the most relevant subject to put it at the beginning of a sentence that opens a new
paragraph
- X was elicited (uitgelokt) by Y or Y elicited X. Your choice will depend on whether you want to
emphasize (benadrukken) X or Y. The one you want to emphasize should be put as the subject
(onderwerp).
- Don’t waste the space of a sentence that comes immediately before and after a full stop, because
these are the moments where you potentially have the reader’s attention (also words with a capital
letter) -> use useful information there!!
- Shift ‘’no value added’’ phases to later on in the sentence/reduce them to one word if possible
- Best subject first sentence: most recent or newest information
- Summary: put the key element to your ‘’story’’ in the first position of a new paragraph
3.5 Deciding where to put new and old information within a sentence
- The information that you can’t remove in sentence, so if the sentence wouldn’t make sense if it is
gone, is the most important information
- Put the old information before the new information in one sentence
- Readers focus on the first and last words of a sentence, so put there the most important
information
3.6 Deciding where to put new and old information within a paragraph
- Role of the first two sentences: set the context and gently guide the reader into the paragraph
- Third sentence: introduces the new element, it highlights the problem that the paper intends to
tackle
- Readability, a key word that immediately alerts the reader to the topic of the sentence and of the
abstract as a whole (at the end, when you give new information)
3.7 Use ‘’generic + specific’’ constructions with caution
,- Introducing a paragraph is good, but it has to be interesting for the reader. Don’t list concepts here.
- Pay attention that you don’t use too many generic (algemene, onnodige) sentences. Delete them
and write more specific sentences
3.8 Try to be as concrete as possible as soon as possible
- Explain concepts immediately and don’t let the reader wait with understanding the information
3.9 Link each sentence by moving from general concepts to increasingly more specific concepts
- Formula
Main topic introduces subtopic 1
Subtopic 1 is specified by introducing subtopic 2
Subtopic 2 is specified by introducing subtopic 3
A further/related aspect of subtopic 3 is introduced via subtopic 4
Etc.
- Each sentence is a link in a chain, a full chain is a paragraph, a series of linked changes is a section
3.10 Don’t force readers to hold a lot of preliminary information in their head before giving them the
main information
- Chunk the sentences, so the reader can absorb the information in manageable chunks
- This enables the readers to progress forwards without having to re-read anything
3.11 Present and explain ideas in the same (logical) sequence
- Logical series of steps
Definition of main concept given
Clear indication of the number types of the main concept
The types of the main concept are explained individually
Additional information about the types of the main concept
Returns to the second topic, which is subdivided here
Interesting facts about another thing of the main concept
- Each sentence extends the information given in the previous sentence, so that is a logical
progression for the reader
- Beginning of a paragraph: author presents a list of topics of a paragraph that he intends to discuss
further in the later part of the paragraph -> deals with the topics in the same order and format as
initially presented to the readers
3.12 Use a consistent numbering system to list phases, states, parts etc.
- Use: first(ly), second(ly), third(ly), etc., final(ly)
- End the numbering system the same way that you started it (don’t abandon it!)
3.13 Break up long paragraphs
- It is important to break up long paragraphs
Long blocks of text are visually unappealing for readers and tiring for the eyes
(fail of readability)
If you separate in paragraphs the logical sequence of your points are more clearly
You write more clearly if you use shorter paragraphs, because it forces you to think of the
main point of your paragraph
Shorter paragraphs enables you to quickly identify if you need to add extra information
- Maximal length paragraph: 15 sentences
- If you wrote more than 8-12 lines or 4-6 sentences, you may need to re-read and think about where
you could start a new paragraph
- There is an opportunity to begin a new paragraph every time there is a change in a focus
3.14 Look for the markers that indicate where you could begin a new sentence or new paragraph
- Words that indicate that you could begin a new paragraph
, - There is no minimum length to a paragraph, but just two or three short sentences are strange
- When do you begin a new paragraph?
You begin to talk about a different phase in the logical build-up of research in your field
You start talking about another author
3.15 Begin a new paragraph when you begin to talk about your study and your key findings
- Whenever you want to highlight the importance of your study or findings, begin a new paragraph
- If you don’t do it you lose an opportunity to get the reader to focus on your findings
3.16 Concluding a paragraph: avoid redundancy (overbodige dingen)
- No need for a summary paragraph between paragraphs, but just a clear and logical link in terms of
advancing one idea to the next
3.18 Summary
- Always think about your readers – order the information you give them in the most logical way and
in the simplest form
- Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, then use the rest of the paragraph to develop this
topic. If appropriate have a short concluding sentence at the end of the paragraph
- Decide whether to begin a new section with a short summary, or whether to go directly to the main
points
- Put the topic as the subject of the paragraph or sentence, then give known information (context,
background) followed by the new information. Consider not giving the known information if it will be
obvious for your readers
- Move from the general to the increasingly specific, do not mix the two
- Always progress in the most logical and consistent order, do not go backwards and forwards
- Break up long paragraphs
- Begin a new paragraph when you move on to a new topic, you have been talking about the
literature and now you start talking about your contribution, you are talking about your contribution
and you want to mention a specific gap that your contribution fills, you are discussing your results
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