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ACADEMIC WRITING Janet Holmén Freelance editor, linguistic editor and translator janet.holmen@gmail.com
A forty-minute crash course in
academic writing...
What can I teach you in 40 minutes?
Structure of a standard article Writing the article Tips on the English language
PhD student at UNIS
The original article This is the basic currency of science • Presents previously unpublished information
• Presents data the authors have generated themselves
Most original articles look pretty much alike Why?
An original article doesn’t merely state facts, give answers, provide solutions
it PERSUADES the reader of the validity of its conclusions
by the process of FORMAL ARGUMENT
“a series of reasons, statements or facts intended to support or
establish a point of view”
Formal argument:
Sequence of a formal argument: • State problem
• Present evidence
• Validate evidence
• Show implications
• Evaluate supporting and conflicting evidence
• Draw conclusions
Structure used in scientific writing:
I ntroduction M aterials and methods R esults A nd D iscussion
• State problem
• Present evidence
• Validate evidence
• Show implications
• Evaluate supporting and conflicting evidence
• Draw conclusions
Sequence of a formal argument: I ntroduction
M ethods
R esults
D iscussion
Introduction – function • Focus reader's attention
• Give necessary background
• Present research approach
• Spark interest
Introduction – problems • Too much background
• Too much peripheral information
• Too long
• B-o-o-o-o-o-ring
Methods – structure The structure will depend on the study!
• Where did you do it? • How did you gather data? • If experiments were involved, how did you do them? • If you use computer models, how are they constructed? • etc, etc, etc...
Use headings to orient the reader
Results – function To show what you found but not EVERYTHING you found and not more than once
This is the heart of your paper!
Results – problems • Inclusion of irrelevant detail
• Excess detail
What's irrelevant? What's too much?
Don’t present the same data both as a figure . . .
. . . and in the text! When cells were
treated with various doses of TCE (0, 0.125, 0.25, 1.0 and 2.0 mmol/L) for 24
h, the relative iNOS mRNA was 105.2±4.8%, 110.3±6.4%, 138.3±7.1%,
153.7±8.5%, 191.3±9.2%, and 228.1±12.4%, respectively (Fig. 6).
Discussion – end of formal argument You have already: • Stated the problem • Presented the evidence • Validated the evidence Now you must: • Discuss the implications • Evaluate supporting and conflicting evidence • Draw conclusions
Most difficult section to write!
Discussion – function • Show what your results mean – or at least what you think they mean
• Set them in the context of previous knowledge
• Suggest what the next step should be
Discussion – structure • Summarize your main findings first! • Describe what others have found • Compare these findings • Explain discrepancies • Mention limitations • Draw conclusions
... and convince the reader you're right!
Why? How?
Discussion – problems • Lack of a clear line of thought
• Unbalanced treatment of other's results
• Too much speculation . . . or too little
• Boring
A typical scientific study
field note
field note
field note field note
field note
field note
theory
theory
theory
measurement
measurement observation
observation
observation
observation
observation
data
data
data
data
data
data data
data data
field note
First find out what you have to say:
And then:
What is the best question my results give an answer to? ...but isn't that cheating?
Ask yourself:
What do my results mean?
Go ahead! Rewrite history!
In a scientific paper AIMS ≠ AIMS
They focus the reader's attention on what you are actually going to say
A scientific paper is not a field logbook
A scientific paper is the most efficient way of presenting new information and fitting it into an intellectual context where it makes sense To do this, you need a structure
The IMRAD structure helps
• Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussion
but not very much
...sometimes
Introduction – suggested structure Brief general overview of your research topic
Specific aspect addressed in this study
Hypothesis/research question
Research approach
Key findings
Introduction – example Broad overview: Zooplankton play an important role in marine arctic food webs by recycling nutrients and transferring energy from the photic zone to greater depths. Narrower view: Copepods are central species in arctic food webs, but their ecological role is not fully understood. Specific aim: This study examined the vertical distribution of key arctic zooplankton species and assessed copepod feeding rates on auto- and heterotrophic prey, in order to clarify energy and nutrient transfer in the upper water column.
Sometimes there is no hypothesis... • exploratory research
• method development
• baseline or long-term monitoring
Then at least formulate clear aims
To organize the Methods section Chronological order usually works well • When and where study was done • Data gathering methods • Data analysis • Statistical analysis
Structuring the Discussion • Formulate your conclusions and construct suitable "aims"
• Think about what information is needed to support your
conclusions
• Select relevant findings from your own study
• Arrange background, your own findings, and others' findings to make your line of reasoning clear and logical
Lack of coherence Problem: isolated facts are presented
Stainless steel contains iron, chromium, and other elements.
Most metals corrode when exposed to air.
The rust that forms on stainless steel is very stable.
This film is thinner than the wavelength of light.
This is why we call it “stainless” steel.
Creating coherence Cure: find words that show how the facts are related
Stainless steel contains iron, chromium, and other metals.
Most metals corrode when exposed to air, and a film of rust is formed.
In many cases, the film is instable and corrosion continues.
However, the film that forms on stainless steel is very stable, and it protects the metal from further corrosion.
This film is thinner than the wavelength of light and is therefore not visible to the unaided eye.
Thus, although stainless steel does in fact rust, the process is self-limiting and we cannot see the result.
This is why we call it “stainless” steel.
Abstract nouns – "nominalizations" Noun: A person, place, or thing that you can perceive with your senses
(lamppost, moonlight, polar bear) Abstract noun: A "thing" you cannot percieve with your senses
(creativity, intelligence, confusion) Nominalization: A verb turned a noun, usually by adding a suffix (-tion, -ence) create → creation prefer → preference
But all sentences need verbs... Nominalizations force you to use "helper verbs": • occurred • was brought about by • is achieved • can be accomplished through Nominalizations lead to creation of wordiness so
you should give preference to the verb forms. Nominalizations create wordiness so you should
prefer the verb forms.
Nominalizations are verbs in chains!
Identification of the ciliates was done under a microscope. The ciliates were identified under a microscope. In ringed seals, deterioration of immune responses was seen. In ringed seals, immune responses deteriorated. Deeper penetration of solar radiation led to enhancement of primary production. Deeper penetration of solar radiation enhanced primary production.
Interrupted thoughts
You know what you’re going to write, but readers don’t know until they have read it.
Interrupted thoughts
One American (New York) and two Swedish (Lund and Umeå) cities are involved in the project.
One American city (New York) and two Swedish cities
(Lund and Umeå) are involved in the project. The project involves three cities, one in the US (New
York) and two in Sweden (Lund and Umeå).
Interrupted thoughts
PCB burden in harp, ringed, bearded and hooded seal and walrus blubber samples was measured.
PCB burden was measured in blubber samples from walrus
and four seal species (harp, ringed, bearded and hooded seals).
Sesquipedalian circumlocutions (big words)
Slumbering mammals of the genus Canis should preferentially be allowed to remain in a recumbent position.
When the feline is remote from a locale, the murine biota engage in multifarious diversions of a recreational nature.
A single denizen of the air at one’s ready disposal is superior in value to two-fold as many such denizens if the latter are situated in a diminutive arboreal unit.
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