研究生學(xué)術(shù)英語寫作教程Unit-7-Concluding-Research

1、Unit Seven Concluding Research Objectives: Be clear about the significance of this section Try to understand the importance of summarizing in academic writing Learn to be skilled in paraphrasing in academic writing Learn to restate your thesis statement Learn to draw a conclusionContents: Brief intr

2、oduction to this section Reading & Discussion: What information elements are usually involved in writing a Conclusion section? Language Focus: How to summarize and paraphrase Writing Practice: How to restate your research objectives Writing Project: How to outline your conclusion1. Reading Activ

3、ityThe conclusion of a research paper reaffirms the thesis statement, discusses the issues, and reaches a final judgment. It is a belief based on your reasoning and on the evidence you have accumulated. This is the place for sharing with readers the conclusions you have reached because of your resea

4、rch. A conclusions is usually a shorter section of an academic text. It manifests the value of your research as well as your understanding of the material that you have presented. It should be a strong recapitulation of your major ideas.1.1 Pre-reading TaskThe following is the concluding section of

5、a research article in the field of applied linguistics. Think about the following questions before reading the text and then have a discussion with your classmates:1) What is the function of the concluding section in a research paper?2) What information elements does a concluding section normally in

6、clude?1.2 Reading Passage Our experiment indicated that learners better comprehended English idioms sharing the same metaphoric themes as Chinese than those sharing different metaphoric themes, conforming to Boers & Demecheleer's (2001) study result with French-speaking subjects. NL (native

7、language) played an important role, in that positive transfer appeared in most subjects' understanding of idioms with identical expressions and meanings in NL and TL (target language), and negative transfer appeared in the understanding of those with similar expressions and meanings or those wit

8、h identical expressions but different meanings in NL and TL; besides, negative transfer occurred in the understanding of every kind of English idioms. Finally, though the idioms in the experiment were rated as having an intermediate level of semantic transparency and were listed without any contextu

9、al clues, 37% of the subjects responses were completely or partially correct, giving support to the point that a cognitive semantic view can facilitate the learning of idioms for non-native speakers.This study has several implications for teaching idioms. Firstly, it is important to inform learners

10、of the different metaphoric themes in the target culture. Secondly, more attention should be given to idioms without NL equivalents. Thirdly, overt comparisons can be made to show learners which idioms can be transferred from their NLs and which idioms are likely to cause interference, thus taking a

11、dvantage of positive transfer while avoiding the occurrence of negative transfer. Fourthly, while helping learners realize the absurdity of the literal meanings of some English idioms, encourage them to tackle the semantics of the idiom as a problem-solving task, and teach them strategies for dealin

12、g with figurative language to take advantage of the semantic transparency of some idioms.However, there was an obvious limitation in this study: the number of the idioms selected was too small. We expect more studies to be carried out in more aspects including the strategies used in idiom comprehens

13、ion and production, EFL learners', EFL teachers' and English-speaking people's attitude towards English idiom learning and the treatment of them in the existing teaching materials. ( Liu, 2008 )1.3 Reading Comprehension1. Read the text carefully and decide what information elements a con

14、cluding section includes and how they function. Information ElementsFunction2. What are the major findings of the experiment?3. What verb tenses are mainly used in the text? What is the proportion of active voice verbs to passive voice verbs in this conclusion section? 2. Language Focus2.1 Summarizi

15、ng There are three ways to include source material in your research paper writing: summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting. Each of these strategies capitalizes on different types of information that can be useful. To summarize is to put in your own words a shortened version of written or spoken mate

16、rial, stating the main points and leaving out anything that is not essential. Summarizing is more than retelling; it involves analyzing information, distinguishing important elements from unimportant elements and transforming large chunks of information into a few short cohesive sentences. Look at t

17、he following example. OriginalThis effort to communicate-first through spoken messages, then through pictographs, then through the written word, and finally through printed words - demonstrates peoples innate desire to share information with one another. Storability, portability and accessibility of

18、 information are essential to todays concept of mass communication. (Source: Shirley Biagi, Media Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media, 2nd edition, p. 24 )SummaryIn Media Impact, Shirley Biagi explains that people have always had an inherent need to communicate. The ability to store, carry and hav

19、e access to information is necessary in modern mass communication.How to Summarize?There are several techniques to be used while summarizing a text and they all stress full understanding of a text and require the reader to spot the main ideas in it. Here are some useful tips about summarizing:·

20、 Start by reading a short text and highlight the main points as you read.· Reread the text and make notes of the main points, leaving out examples, evidence, etc.· Restate or repeat the ideas of the source in different words and phrases. · Do not add your own ideas, opinions or judgme

21、nt of the arguments. · Make it shorter than the source. Read the following text and write a summary.Original Text I come from Taiwan, but I have lived in Canada for several years now. I am surprised at how Canadian society respects the rights of women, both at work and home. Personally I believ

22、e women in Canada are better off than women in Taiwan. However, some of my female friends in Canada miss the good old days when women were treated in a different way. You see, in the past, gentlemen followed different rules of behavior. They would open the doors for ladies, pull out chairs for ladie

23、s to sit down, stand up when a lady left the table, and offer to pay the bill at restaurants. Now, however, most Canadian believe that men and women should be considered equal. For example, women now generally have to pay for their own meals. 2.2 ParaphrasingThe Oxford English Dictionary defines a p

24、araphrase as “an expression in other words, usually fuller and clearer, of the sense of any passage or text; a free rendering or amplification of a passage. . . . Paraphrasing is to express the meaning of (a word, phrase, passage) in other words, usually with the object of fuller and clearer exposit

25、ion so as to bring out the sense” (XI: 204). To paraphrase means to completely reproduce the original meaning in our own words (but never include our own opinion ). Look at the following example.Source material Aggressiveness, present in many male teenagers, has often been characterized as having a

26、biological base. However, social study theorists Bandura and Walters (1959) did a study which indicated that aggressiveness might be a product of environment factors and especially, social reinforcement. In this study, they found that aggressive boys had encouragement from their parents to be aggres

27、sive outside their home. Since their fathers experienced indirect pleasure from hearing about their sons aggressive behavior, this provided reinforcement for the boys.Acceptable paraphrase: Social scientists have often described aggressiveness, which is evident in many adolescent boys, as having a b

28、iological component. However, research completed by social study theorists Bandura and Walters (1959) showed that aggressiveness might result from factors in the environment and, in particular, social reinforcement. It was found in the study that young males who were aggressive had been encouraged b

29、y their parents to be aggressive away from their home. Their fathers received vicarious gratification from learning of their sons aggressive behavior. Consequently, the boys behavior was reinforced by their fathers experience. ( Cong, 2009 )There are basically two ways to paraphrase this: by making

30、word-level transformations (and maintaining the original syntax) or by considering its “deep structure” and making more significant changes. Note how these paraphrases differ: Source sentence: The temperature in many parts of the world is gradually rising.Paraphrase: (1) The temperature in lots of p

31、laces around the earth is slowly increasing.(2) Most parts of the world are getting hotter steadily. Example (1) represents a word-level paraphrase and example (2) is a deep-level transformation. It is usually believed that making word-level paraphrases is easier than deep-level transformations. Her

32、e are some guidelines for paraphrasing: Use synonyms. Change word forms. Make necessary structural adjustments. Change between the affirmative and the negative. Include reference to the original source. Read the following text carefully and try to rewrite an acceptable paraphrase. Original Starting

33、in the 15th century, the reality and the idea of the family were to change: a slow and profound revolution, scarcely distinguished by either contemporary observers or later historians, and difficult to recognize. And yet the essential event is quite obvious: the extension of school education. We hav

34、e seen how in the middle ages childrens education was ensured by apprenticeship in adults, and that after the age of seven, children lived in families other than their own. Henceforth, on the contrary, education became increasingly a matter for the school. The school ceased to be confined to clerics

35、 and became the normal instrument of social initiation, of progress from childhood to manhood. ( Source: Aries, P. 1962. Contemporary Childhood: A Social History of Family Life )3. Writing Practice3.1 Reorder sentences Read the following jumbled conclusion from a thesis in computer science and engin

36、eering: the topic is: The Steiner Tree Problem. Please rearrange the following sentences so that they make more sense and follow the logical order of a conclusion. A. An advantage of this algorithm is that the computations of the bead's movement can be done in parallel, provided that there is a

37、synchronization barrier to update their new positions. B. This can take advantage of some parallel computers, for example, mapping each bead to a (virtual) processor. C. It is possible that these techniques can also be applied to solve the SMT if a good mapping of the problem to an appropriate netwo

38、rk architecture is found.D. The Steiner tree has been shown to be an optimization problem. Neural network has been successfully applied to solve many optimization problems, for example, TSP. Some of these techniques have been discussed. This could be an interesting area for research in the future.E.

39、 The Steiner minimal tree problem has been studied in the above discussion. A node-splitting algorithm that finds a good heuristic solution to the problem has been developed. In some cases, it is better, for instance, than Korhonen's algorithm. F. Comparison shows that the node-splitting method

40、is comparable to other heuristic methods.( adapted from Zhou, 2009: 312)3.2 Restatement of research objectiveLook at your thesis statement again and rework it in a new way. Avoid repeating key words and phrases from the thesis statement because you don't want the summary statement to sound borin

41、g or repetitive. Using a thesaurus is a good way to find new, interesting words.This study set out to determine .The present study was designed to determine the effect of .In this investigation, the aim was to assess .The purpose of the current study was to determine .This project was undertaken to

42、design . and evaluate Returning to the hypothesis/question posed at the beginning of this study, it is now possible to state that Here are some examples of research questions and summary statements:Research question: What is more important, competitive price, fuel economy, or high resale value

43、when Chinese people buy cars. Summary Statement: The research was to determine what factors contribute more to Chinese people purchasing cars, competitive price, fuel economy, and high resale value.Rewrite the following thesis statements:1) What in San Francisco attracts visitors more, its magn

44、ificent location, its theaters and art galleries, or its fine restaurants?2) Do employees have to be trained for working in the Australian multicultural workplace? But managers also need to be trained. (It is clear, therefore, that both.)3) What is the 1994 rate of juvenile delinquency in the U.S.?

45、4) Does education play a role in reducing juvenile delinquents' return to crime? 5) What marketing strategies does the Coca-Cola company currently apply?6) Do children sent to day care or preschool start kindergarten with more highly developed language skills?7) How might the discovery of a gene

46、tic basis for obesity change the way in which we treat obese persons, both medically and socially?3.3 Summarizing the findingsRead the following text and identify major points and write a summary. Global Implications of Patent Law VariationA patent is an exclusive right to use an invention for a cer

47、tain period of time, which is given to an inventor as compensation for disclosure of an invention. Although it would be beneficial for the world economy to have uniform patent laws, each country has its own laws designed to protect domestic inventions and safeguard technology. Despite widespread var

48、iation, patent laws generally fall under one of two principles: the first-to-file and first-to-invent. The first-to-file principle awards a patent to the person or institution that applies for a patent first, while the first-to-invent principle grants the patent to the person or institution that was

49、 first to invent and can prove it. Most countries have adopted the first-to-file system. However, the United States maintains a first-to-invent system, despite obvious shortcomings. Patent ownership is not recognized globally. On the contrary, ownership may change depending on the country. It is not

50、 uncommon for an invention to have two patent owners one in the United States and one in the rest of the world. This unclear ownership often has economic consequences. If a company is interested in using a patented invention, it may be unable to receive permission from both patent owners, which in t

51、urn may prevent manufacture of a particular product. Even if permission is received from both owners, pay royalties to both may be quite costly. In this case, if the invention is useful enough, a company may proceed and pass on the added cost to consumers. International economic tension has also bee

52、n increasing as a result of differing policies. Many foreign individuals and companies believe that they are at a serious disadvantage in the United States with regard to patent ownership because of the logistical difficulties in establishing first-to-invent status. Further, failure of the United St

53、ates to recognize patent ownership in other countries is in violation of the Paris Conventions on Industrial Properties, which requires all member nations to treat all patents equally. The conflict surrounding patents has prompted the World Intellectual Properties Organization (WIPO) to lobby for un

54、iversality in patent laws. WIPO maintains that the first necessary step involves compelling the United States to reexamine its patent principle, taking into account the reality of a global economy. This push may indeed result in more global economic cooperation.3.4 Write a concluding sectionThe foll

55、owing is a research on the effectiveness of structured development lessons in English using 4 macro-skills intended for public science high school students. Read the following paper and write a concluding section for it. The teacher-researcher found out that the students' difficulties in or

56、al and written English were speaking or conversational English, including correct usage, listening and answering questions. The causes for these difficulties were: students have poor background at the elementary level; English is not heard at home; teachers prefer to speak the dialect often; there m

57、ight be lack or absence of English books.The main thrust of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of structured development lessons in English using the 4 macro-skills intended for the public science high school students. Specifically, the study answered questions on the level of language profi

58、ciency of the freshmen science high school students with reference to pronunciation and correct usage; mean pretest and posttest scores of the students based on the structured lessons of macro-skills' learning performance; significant difference in the mean pretest and posttest scores of the students in listening, speaking, reading, and writing; mean gain in the posttest; and module which can be proposed based on the findings of the study.The study used the Descriptive Survey Method and the main tool used was the research-made or