Friday, 28 June 2013
Task 1
Consoli, Claudia
Carrizo, Liliana
ESP Unit 2 final task final draft
Academic Conventions in RA
Introductions and Methods
APRIL 2013
Academic Conventions in Research Articles: A Deep Analysis
Research articles were born with the idea of reporting results of an original research contributing in that way to the body of knowledge of a particular field. Scientific research should be systematic.
The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast an article from the educational field and one from the medicine field; concentrating on their introductions and methods sections to show that even though academic styles could be different the general format is consistent in both papers.
For researchers and writers in general the introduction to an article or paper should be utmost importance. Swales and Feak (1994) confirm that the writing of introductions is a time-consuming and vexing process. Introductions are not only the selling point of a research article but they also contain organizational patterns called moves. Swales’s model includes three basic moves in research article introductions writing. The first move is called establishing a territory(introduces the general topic) the second move is called establishing the niche (identifies the more specific areas that require further investigation) and the third move is called occupying the niche (introduces the current research study in the context established previously)
On the one hand, the article from the medical field concentrates on violence and the risk to medical practitioners and general public alike in crowed emergency rooms. The introduction to the paper holds expert, brief and concise language which establishes the importance of the research (this being the first move). Moving seamlessly into showing the need for this research and announces the principal findings (these constituting moves 2 and 3).
On the other hand, the educational paper, presents a short abstract naming the basic purpose of the article but there is no proper introduction. Thus, creating an understanding difficulty for the readers. Following Swales’s Create A Research Space (CARS) model not only organises the text and helps the writer communicate his ideas with ease but also provides the reader with the necessary context to fully understand the paper.
As regards Methods the first article is more than complete. It specifies the place of study and its participants, the duration of such study and the study design, a statistical analysis, ethical issues, and finally the results. Moreover , such results are illustrated in charts and tables. The educational paper starts defining learning disabilities ( the point of the study) and suggest possible ways of dealing with them in the classroom. However, there are no titles or subtitles determining the parts of the article nor participants, materials or procedures are not mentioned.
All in all, the papers selected present numerous differences between them. Stemming from the fact that each of them belongs to a different field and that they are both written with a dissimilar purpose in mind. The medical paper tries to show and analyze violence in the emergency room. It depicts its origins and reports their findings. The educational paper concentrates on defining learning disabilities and providing a list of suggestions for the classroom use. Although the educational paper seems to be less scientific than the medical one, it could be claimed that both papers reach their target audience clearly and convincingly.
References
Eroglu.S, Ozge O, Sağıroğlu E., Denizbasi, A., Akoglu, A. (2013) Analysis of Violence in a Crowded Emergency
Room. British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research 3(4): 1208-1221. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedomain.org/abstract.php?iid=205&id=12&aid=1182#.UWF0k6KkxX5
Root, C.(1994) A Guide to Learning Disabilities for the ESL Classroom Practitioner.Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language.1 (1).Retrieved from: http://www.cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej01/a.4.html
Swales, J.M., & Feak, C.B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. Ann Harbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Thursday, 22 November 2012
An Academic Writing
Foundation Course Embracing Practical and Theoretical Training
Bailey (2006) acknowledges the
importance of the use of academic writing when international students embark on
university course of studies. Not only does the book provide the possibility of
learning different styles of writings, but also of using the material with
various levels and groups.
Another interesting characteristic is
that this book can be used either with a teacher or individually on the grounds
that “the structure of
the book has been made as simple as possible” (Bailey, 2006, p.7) .
In
this traditional book, Bailey (2006) divides his work into four parts which are
intrinsically connected with simple and basic characteristics of academic
writing. Part one and two help the students to understand the format, layout and
important skills of academic writing. Then, part three and four deal with grammatical
issues and some limited writing models. Towards the end of the book, there is a
small section devoted to writing tests which are connected with some of the
aspects of the units.
After
working with this book, the students might feel they have acquired useful
academic writing tools- in other words; the learners would be able to recognize
and use the fundamental elements of academic papers. However, Bailey’s (2006)
would have been more appealing if he would have added further writing models
such as book reviews, book critiques and annotated bibliography.
In addition to this, the
book encompasses some flaws related to specific aspects of academic writings.
For instance, it would have been better if Bailey (2006) had added more detailed
information as regards the different types of in text citations and references.
Besides, in no case does Bailey (2006) provides data concerned with the various
academic styles, for instance, APA(American Psychological Association) and MLA
(Modern Language Association) styles.
In
this academic writing book, Bailey (2006) explores the most significant features
of academic writing consequently, it could be claimed that this book is
suitable for elementary levels. Nevertheless, Bailey (2006) fails to delve into
various useful and important academic topics which are of paramount importance
for advanced and proficiency levels.
References
Bailey,
S. (2006). Academic Writing: A handbook
for International Students (2nd ed.).Retrieved
October 2012 , from Taylor &
Francis e-library:http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/iif_kgpm_t27.pdf.
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Mobile Learning
Constraints considering Ballance (2012) Comments: An Annotated Bibliography
Stockwell, G. (2012). Working with constraints in mobile learning: a response to Ballance.
Language Learning and Technology, 16 (3), 24-31. Retrieved October 2012, from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/stockwell.pdf
Argued that Ballance (2012) remarks fail “ to
consider the ways in which learners engaged in the activities and their views
towards mobile learning in general” (p.24). Summarised and replied to Ballance
claims and misconceptions as regards vocabulary activities and obsolete finding
related to smart phones. Explained teachers should adapt to technological
changes without disregarding pedagogical approaches and students’ needs.
References
Stockwell, G. (2012). Working with constraints in mobile learning: a response to Ballance. Language Learning and Technology, 16 (3), 24-31.
Retrieved October 2012, from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/stockwell.pdf
Ballance, O.J. (2012). Mobile language learning: more
than just “the platform”. Language Learning and Technology,
16(3),21-23.
Retrieved October 2012, from
Mobile Language Learning Platform and its
Obsolete Effects Outline
Purpose: To provide a general overview of Stockwell’s (as cited in
Ballance, 2012) article about the obsolete effects of using mobile phones for
vocabulary activities.
Thesis: The data shows that Stockwell’s findings are limited in
various terms.
Audience: Teachers ,
Researchers, Students.
I. Electronic platforms
A. Computer
assisted language learning (CALL)
1. Development
B. Mobile
assisted language learning (MALL)
1. Obsolet
effects
a.
technology and devices
b.
computer and mobile phones software platforms
c.
potential of the activities used
d.
environment
II. Conclusion
Ballance, O.J. (2012). Mobile language learning: more
than just “the platform”. Language Learning and Technology,
16(3),21-23.
Retrieved October 2012, from
Stockwell, G. (2012). Working with constraints in mobile learning: a response to Ballance. Language Learning and Technology, 16 (3), 24-31.
Retrieved October 2012, from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/stockwell.pdf
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Developing Academic Literary Skills
through On Line Research Projects Academic Summary
“Writing for the
World: Wikipedia as an Introduction to Academic Writing” (Tardy, 2010) is an
article on the use of a free encyclopaedia to facilitate an understanding of
academic writing rules. Writing academic texts involves facing various
challenges as not only do the learners have to acquire the ability to use the
community specific jargon, but also the particular genre. Therefore, Tardy
(2010) notes that using a well-known website, at school, would encourage the
students to begin utilizing academic literacy skills.
Tardy (2010) defines the term wiki as
“a collaborative web-based spaced that can be modified by any users” (p.13) thus, enabling the students to publish their tasks. When
dealing with the assignment, the learners can choose topics related to their
interests while getting to know the format and characteristics of the site.
Then, the students have the opportunity of following certain stages which are
similar to those of academic writing. For instance, the learners have to do
research, outline and paraphrase the projects, organize their writing, revise
citations and references and finally, check word choice and spelling.
All things considered, it could be
claimed that Wikipedia can be seen as an empowering tool to lead the students
into the academic field. This web site allows for a progressive learning of the
academic skills in a collaborative way.
Finally, Tardy (2010) points out that carrying out this assignment is a rewarding
activity on the grounds that the students have the possibility of sharing their
reports in a virtual community.
References
Tardy, C. M. (2010). Writing for the world: Wikipedia as an
introduction to academic
writing. English Teaching Forum, 1, 12-27. Retrieved
from http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/docs/10-48-1-c.pdf
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Evidence Underpinning Swales’ Conceptualization of Discourse Community
Swales (1990) maintains that, for procedural purposes, it
is necessary to define the term discourse community and even better to offer a
set of criteria sufficiently narrow in order to eliminate many of the marginal,
blurred and controversial contenders . Therefore, he proposes six
characteristics that will be sufficient to identify a group of individuals as a
discourse community. After analyzing different sources, it could be said that these
defining features are displayed throughout various articles.
To begin with, the fact, that a discourse community has
common public goals, has been supported by Kutz.(1997) He claims that the
members of a discourse community have developed a common discourse that
involves common purposes and shared understandings about how to communicate
their knowledge and achieve their shared purposes .
Besides
this, a discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its
members. Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles and Lopez-Torres (2003) share the view that “teachers
interact with colleagues in goal-directed activities that require communication
and the exchange of ideas” (p3). For instance, the writers’ article points out
the importance of a team discussing their beliefs and practices within the
routines of their daily work.
Furthermore,
a discourse community relies on participatory mechanisms to provide information
and feedback .Wenzlaff and Wieseman(2004) demonstrate that a collaborative
culture of teachers, from different levels of schooling and content areas, can
help each other to broaden their perspectives about teaching and learning and
educational systems. This is possible due to the various tools that are used to
communicate, for example, they have to write assignments, reflecting on their
"doing."
In addition to this, a
discourse community holds one or more genres. It is of major importance to
define the term genre. Swales (1990) explains that genres are types of texts which
developed in response to rhetorical needs. This is illustrated by the fact that
Kelly Kleese (2004)states that community college discourse most often takes the
form of oral dialogue or text such as
e-mail, electronic mailing lists, and discussion forums on the Web.
Another
important characteristic is the one that depicts a discourse community as
having some specific lexis. For instance, in the university discourse community
, the term nontraditional is widely used to describe traditional students
(Kelly-Kleese,2001).
Finally,
a discourse community has members with a suitable degree of relevant content
and discoursal expertise. In this light, Wenzlaff and Wieseman (2004) conclude
that “for the learning to have long-standing impact, teachers need teachers to
grow with in a discourse community”(p.9).
On
the whole, it may be concluded that the writers of the articles analised the
concept developed by Swales(1990). This theory portrays discourse community as
a group of people who share goals, mechanisms, genres, specialized terminology
and high general level of expertise .
References
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and
research settings.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.
Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA
community college review: community college
scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved October
2007,
Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K.
C. (2004). Teachers need teachers to grow.
Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved October
2007, from
Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor’s
choice: An open memo to Community College
Faculty and Administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved October
2007,
Hoffman-Kipp,
P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond
reflection:
teacher learning as praxis. Theory
into Practice. Retrieved October 2007, from
Kutz, E. (1997). Language and
literacy: Studying discourse in communities and
classrooms. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook Publishers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)