Week 2

Critical Reading and Language for Academic Research

Writing

At the end of the lecture, students should be able to

• to demonstrate understanding on the relationship of language and academic context

• to demonstrate understanding on the importance of critical reading for novice researchers

• to demonstrate understanding on key parts of a research report

Language and Academic Context

The language used in academic context is distinct from the language we are familiar with and use in other contexts such as home or the workplace.

There is comparatively high degree of formality in the language of academic texts.

This formality is achieved through use of specific vocabulary and conciseness of the language.

There is a high proportion of content word that makes it tightly packed with information.

The language used in academic context is often impersonal and often avoids expressions of feelings

The language often uses ‘abstract rhetors’ such as, ‘Table 2 shows’ or ‘The data suggest..’

Creswell (2009)

Most importantly, you have to be aware that Language constructs, and is constructed by, features of its academic context (language and academic contexts are interdependent of each other). This means that your language may be grammatically correct but still inappropriate if you fail to consider the context of academic communication. Consider these simple statements:

“Medical students must learn how to treat their customers well.” “Business students must learn how to treat their customers well.” “Law students must learn how to treat their customers well.”

Question:What is your opinion on the use of the words ‘treat’ and ‘customers’? Are the statements grammatically correct?Are the statements pragmatically correct?

•••

It is also important to remember that in research writing, you will be blending all academic discourse* that you have used before. You will have to show the ability toq inform/explainq show analysisq argue/convinceq ask questionsq reportq interpretq discussq compare & contrastq concludeq suggest or recommend

q

q

•

•

•

q summarizeq cite/acknowledgeq illustrateq to show cohesion and

coherenceq quantify (or qualify)q present facts or opinion

Howe and Henrikkson (2007)

 “Academic discourse refers to the ways of thinking and using language which exist in the

academy.” (Hyland, 2009) 

READING CRITICALLY FOR ACADEMIC WRITING

Reading and Writing are among the most useful and important skills that can be cultivated in college and implement continually throughout our academic life in college

Reading prepares you to learn what other people have discovered in the past, to understand what you read today, to receive and adapt tomorrow’s idea

It trains us to think, to acquaint ourselves with other people’s new ideas and knowledge, to evaluate and adapt them, and contribute new ideas and discoveries of our own

Writing, on the other hand is undeniably hard work, and not just for beginners

We enjoy an enormous advantage if we are articulate writers, alert and insightful readers, and resourceful researchers

We should accept the difficulty and preserve through periods when writing gets tough, knowing eventually we will work through them

As writers, we are artists in a sense that we are able to use our imaginations, experiences, and talents to create, from the unlimited options available to us, works that are original and effective

Writing gives us the means to communicate and due to hard work and hard choices involved in writing, the sense of achievement we derive from having created a work uniquely our own can be great and exciting

For a start, what can you critically observe when reading a research report ?

•

•• Reading, writing and research are

interrelated activities, so it makes sense to study them together

• Doing research often involves finding what other people have written, reading it, and then writing in response

• Research papers do not grow out of your personal experiences and opinions to the same extent that other types of compositions do

• They require our critical thinking skills to evaluate information and ideas that we uncover while learning about a topic through research

•

•

Critically observeCritically observe

The format usedThe format used

The key terms/areas/topics

The key terms/areas/topics

ReferencingReferencing

The general problem or issue

raised

The general problem or issue

raised

The purpose of research

The purpose of research

The research questions

The research questions

The method of collecting dataThe method of collecting data

The findingsThe findings

Conclusion and Recommendation

Conclusion and Recommendation

As you read you will discover the various format used for a research article. For instance:

INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW

METHODOLOGY Data ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTIONINCLUSIVE OF LIT

REVIEWMETHOD

FINDINGS/ RESULT

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

or

(Creswell, 2009)

(APA model)

General parts of a research report (APA)

Introduction• It typically introduces the background

of the research.• It may include a review on the

literature related to the research topics. It gives an overview of the field of inquiry: what has already been said on the topic, who the key writers are, what the current theories and hypotheses are (for experimental studies only)

• It presents what questions are being asked (for descriptive and experimental studies)

Method

• a method refers to a simple set of procedures, a description of process, instantiated and materialized by a set of methods, techniques and tools

•

Data Analysis/Discussions In data analysis, the researcher reports the findings of the research Discussion is where the researcher compares and contrasts important

relationships among what has been done in the past, the purpose of the study, the stated research questions, and the results of the current study.

The discussion evaluates what has been done and a “measuring up” to see if the reported results fit the researcher’s expectations.

The discussion also comprises the conclusion which sums up the whole paper, the purpose and findings reported in the paper.

The discussion also comprises the implications and limitations of the study.

You will also come across common key terms like

Different citation techniques such as

Modern Language Association (MLA) Footnote/Endnote styleØ Gibaldi describes…and he also writes “this handbook is a

guide for the preparation of research papers” (5).Ø

Ø Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003.

American Psychological Association (APA) style She stated, “The list of rules… in this manner” (Anderson,

1984, p. 198), but she still was upset.

Gibaldi, J. (2003) MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA.

http://www.sbcc.edu/clrc/files/wl/downloads/MLAvsAPAChart.pdf

qResearch area:qResearch topic:qKeywords:q Issue:qVariables:qTheory:qSotP:qResearch purpose:qResearch objective

/questions:qHypotheses:qSample/participant:qImplications:qRecommendations:

CRITICAL READING FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Critical Reading

Especially for novice researchers, critical reading will help you to double check your sources and it will make sure that any reports that you write are based on good evidence. If you don’t read text critically, you can be easily led to believe biased or false arguments/opinions.

http://petermjfitzgerald.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/critical-reading-and-thinking/

CRITICAL READING FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Critical Reading Questions you may ask while reading are:

Is the problem worth researching on?

Does the author present something current, interesting and useful?

What is the method used and is it coherent with the questions asked?

How are the findings presented?

Are the findings in line with other researches?

Is there anything missing from the text that should be there?

Do you suspect the/any information to be misleading or incorrect?

Is the language clear and easy to understand?

Tasks:

1. Critically read and discussthe article on Factors Influencing Students Career Choices among SecondarySchool students in Kisumu Municipality, Kenya .

2. In your group, find an article to read and present to the class

The end