academic-writing-2-2009.ppt [Yhteensopivuustila]TDTS09/timetable/tdts09-fo03-rapportskrivni… ·...
Transcript of academic-writing-2-2009.ppt [Yhteensopivuustila]TDTS09/timetable/tdts09-fo03-rapportskrivni… ·...
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Research paper structure
� Title
� Abstract
� Introduction
� Methods
� Results
� Discussion
� Acknowledgements
� References
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Overview of a Research Paper (RP)
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Introduction (I)
Methods and
Materials (M)
Results (R)
Discussion (D)
General
Specific
Specific
General
List of references
Many different styles. Popular one: Chicago Manual of Style:
Author. Year. Title of work. Source.
Swales, J.M. and C.B. Feak 2000. English in today’s research
world: A writing guide. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Cass, S. 2001 MEMS in space. IEEE Spectrum, July, 56-61.
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Language issues
� American or British English?
� Be consistent. Synonyms not often a good idea …
� Passive or active voice?
� Tense usage?
� Learn “connectives” that can make your text cohesive.
� Use proofing tools and other people for reviewing your text.
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Proofing tools
� Spell checkers
� Grammar tools
� Hyphenation
� Many false alarms
� Improved considerably the last ten years! Use them!
� An automatically grammar checked text is far from being a good
text.
� But … best “proofing tool” is probably a colleague.
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Reports as examination
� Scientific writing – building your work on the writings of somebody else.
� Examination – convincing your assessor that you understand what you're writing about.
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Reports as examination
Potential problems
� Collaboration when not permitted
� Plagiarism
Charges of cheating are brought before the Disciplinary Board
and may result in suspension.
Reports as examination
How? Give credit where credit is due!
� Be clear about sources, use citations when quoting, paraphrasing or borrowing ideas.
� Collaborative writing or not?
Managing your sources
� Using citations (Ragnemalm, 2007), (Ragnemalm 2007) or [1]
� and references:
Ragnemalm, Eva L. Talk given at Linköping University on the 15th of October 2007.
[1] Ragnemalm, Eva L. Talk given at Linköping University on the 15th of October 2007.
Quotations
When you use another's exact words.
� Quotation marks ”indicate exactly what words were written or said”.
� The citation (Ragnemalm, 2005) or [12] indicates from where.
To use another’s exact words without indicating it is plagiarism.
Use quotations sparingly.
Paraphrases
� When you rewrite a piece of text using your own words but retaining the general message.
� Paraphrasing is plagiarism if the citation is left out OR if the wording is too close to the original.
Paraphrasing examples
Original text (from Lu, 1997):
Descartes introduces the possibility that the world is controlled by a malicious demon who has employed all his
energies to deceive him.
Paraphrase:
Descartes suggests that the world is controlled by an evil
demon who may be using his energies to deceive (Lu, 1997).
Comment: Plagiarism: even though the citation is provided, the
sentence still has exact wording (italicized).
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Paraphrasing examples, cont'd
Original text (from Lu, 1997):
Descartes introduces the possibility that the world is controlled by a malicious demon who has employed all his
energies to deceive him.
Paraphrase:
Descartes suggests that the evil power who rules the world
may be attempting to mislead him (Lu, 1997).
Comment: Not plagiarism: the language is fully rewritten, and a
citation is provided.
Paraphrasing examples, cont'd
Original text (from Lu, 1997):
Descartes introduces the possibility that the world is controlled by a malicious demon who has employed all his
energies to deceive him.
Combination of paraphrase and quotation:
Descartes suggests that the evil power who rules the world
may be using “all his energies to deceive him” (Lu, 1997).
Comment: Not plagiarism: the paraphrased portion is fully
rewritten, the exact language is quoted, and a citation is provided.
Borrowed ideas
� Somebody else’s new concept
� Somebody else’s observations
� Somebody else’s general idea
� Somebody else’s chain of reasoning
� Somebody else’s diagram
� Somebody else’s table
� Somebody else’s figure
�
� etc.
When not to cite?
� Your own ideas
� Your own conclusions
� Your own reflections
� Your own analysis
� Your own experience
� Your own observations
� etc.
� When using “common knowledge”
Choosing when to cite, exercises
Do you have to give credit? If so, how? If not, why?
Situations:➢ You are reporting new insights about your own experiences.➢ You are using an editorial from your school's newspaper with which you disagree.➢ You use some information from a source without ever quoting it directly. ➢ You have no other way of expressing the exact meaning of a
text without using the original source verbatim.
Choosing when to cite, exercises cont'd
Do you have to give credit? If so, how? If not, why?
Situations:➢ You mention that many people in your discipline belong to a certain organization.➢ You want to begin your paper with a story that one of your
classmates told about her experiences in Bosnia.➢ The quote you want to use is too long, so you leave out a
couple of phrases.
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Urkund – discovering plagiarism
Urkund is a service provided for Swedish universities.
• Reports are submitted to Urkund
• Comparisons with database and the web
• Teacher is informed of similar documents
Bibliography
� Björk & Räisänen (2003), Academic writing: A university writing course. Third edition. Studentlitteratur.
� Zobel, Justin (2004), Writing for computer science. Second edition. Springer.
� The trustees of Hamilton college, 2005. Hamilton College Writing center; Using Sources. http://www.hamilton.edu/academics/resource/wc/usingsources.html (visited 2008-10-31)
� OWL at Purdue, 2005. Online Writing Lab at Purdue University, Avoiding
Plagiarism. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
(visited 2008-10-31)
� Swales, John M. & Feak, Christine B. (2004), Academic Writing for Graduate
Students - Essential Tasks and Skills, .University of Michigan Press .
� Berndtsson, M. & Hansson, J & Olsson, B & Lundell, B. (2002), Planning and Implementing Your Final Year Project with Success! - A Guide for Students
in Computer Science and Information Systems. Springer-Verlag London Ltd.
– Also available in a Second edition now.