ENG 670

Dr. Martinez

A problem-solution approach

Importance of

introduction

• PRESUME IMPATIENCE

"Establishing territory"

• "The survey of the literature ... establishes the

writer's credentials ..."

• Signal early what problems you intend to solve

("signal" - not broadcast)

• The intro/lit review establishing credentials and

place to show there's a "gap" to fill, "justifying

adding yet another article...." ("Establishing a

niche")

"Occupying a niche"

• Success will depend on how well you

established your territory and the gap

• In data-based empirical research papers, this

is where RQs (research questions) come in

• For others (e.g. the "Forum" journal article that

you read), the Hoey (1981) problem-solution-

evaluation move is more common

the power of "however"

Importance of

conclusion

• "...the conclusion starts with the specific study

or technique described in the article and

moves to the general." -- why?

Importance of revision

• "One should also give the article to a colleague

who may have many comments or suggestions

and may find points which are unclear" (a new

set of eyes)

• "...one will probably have to rewrite large

sections of the text based on the feedback

from other readers."

For homework

• Read both manuscripts: which one got rejected and why?

• Which one did you like more. Please be specific, and consider

the points outlined in the Forum article ("problem-solution") you

read.

• For the "Applied Linguistics" article especially, consider the the

reader/peer response questions in the Forum article (p. 24).

• For the "International Journal of Corpus Linguistics" article

especially, also use the "Framework for conducting a systematic

critique of a research article"

• Come to class with at least one full page of notes.