Academic English for Tertiary Studies

EAP 5 – Weeks 1-5

Contents Page

Week One: Introduction to University Page

Assessment of student written work 2
EAP 5 Task Feedback 3
Learning Styles in Australia 4
Grammar: Sentence Level Revision 6
IELTS Timed Writing Practice 8
Grammar: Rewriting Sentence Fragments 10
Written Assignments Cloze 12
Faster Effective Reading Skills 13
Reading: Summerhill 16
Comparison of Academic Report and Essay 21
Academic Essay Structures 22
Critical Reading: Asia’s Once-A-Week Parents 23
Academic Language Focus 30

Week Two: Introduction to Research Reports

Paraphrasing 35
Reading: Three Mini Reports 36
Research Skills 41
Questionnaire Design 45
Writing style: Grammar and word choice 47

Week Three: Research Reports

Listening: The Importance of Questions 48
Research Report Planner 52
Research Report: Methodology 53
Methodology – Sample Structure 58
Methodology Model 59
Graphs Review 61
Referencing 65
Research Report: Introduction 69

Week Four: Research Reports

Research Report: Results 71
Referencing 78
Research Report: Discussion 79
Research Report: Summary 84
Research Report: Which Section? 86
Research Report: Abstract 87

Week Five: Revision and Mid-term Assessment

Oral Presentation Skills 89
The Language of Seminars 92
Grammar: It and There 94
Critical thinking 95
Reading: Sperm You Can Count On 96
Seminar Checklist 99

Appendix
Vocabulary List 1-5
Course Outline/English Requirements

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

V2.2 NOV 15 1
 English For Academic Purposes

Assessment of student written work

All general written work in the EAP courses are assessed and awarded marks according to the
following criteria:

Genre and Ideas /5

Text Organisation /5

Language and Grammar /8

Other Features /2

The information on this Task Feedback sheet is to help you understand the strengths and
weaknesses of your writing and to assist you with identifying areas where you need to develop and
improve.

You should understand that the criteria for each category are not of equal value. For example,
presenting a logical order of ideas is much more difficult than including a topic sentence in each
paragraph. Therefore, each criterion should not be interpreted as representing one mark.

The following ratings should help you to understand your mark:

18 – 20 Excellent (shows exceptional skill in all areas of the criteria)

17 – 18 Very Good (shows great skill in all areas of the criteria)

15 – 16 Good (meets the criteria above the average attempt)

12 – 13 - 14 Satisfactory (Average standard – acceptable at university)

10 – 11 Pass (Just meets the criteria of the assessment)

8–9 Below Standard (Does not meet the criteria in some ways)

6–7 Very Poor (Does not meet the criteria in many areas)

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 EAP 5 Task Feedback

Genre and Ideas: Overall Rating

How appropriate is your writing to an academic task? 5 4 3 2 1
For example:
Comments
You include a clear thesis statement

You select relevant information

You avoid the use of irrelevant information

You integrate the information into the answer

You use appropriate modality

Your answer is the specified length

Organisation Overall Rating
How effectively is your writing organised and structured? 5 4 3 2 1
For example,
Comments
You include an introduction which states a focused position

You present a logical flow of ideas

You reflect the development of ideas in your paragraphing

You use topic sentences to focus on one main idea

You include an appropriate conclusion

Language and Grammar Overall rating
How effective and accurate is your vocabulary and grammar? 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For example:
Comments
You use formal and impersonal language to explore ideas

You use a broad vocabulary, field specific terms and nominalisations

You maintain grammatical control in a variety of sentence types

You use transition signals and referents to achieve cohesion

Other features Overall rating
How is your presentation? 2 1 0
For example:
Comments
You write legibly

You spell accurately

You punctuate correctly

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 Learning Styles In Australia

Pre-Listening Discussion

In small groups or pairs, briefly discuss the following questions:

1. At university, what types of tasks did/do you have to do? (e.g. seminars, essays etc).

2. Did/do you have to do research on your own in order to write your essays?

3. Did/do you work collaboratively with other students to do research?

4. Are exams very important in your university?

5. Did/do you need to memorise lots of information and facts?

6. Who is responsible for your learning, the teacher or you?

Now you will hear a text about learning styles in Australia. You will hear the recording twice.

The first time you listen, try to note below any differences between your experience of learning and
that in Australia.

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 Learning Styles In Australia

The second time you listen, try to answer the following questions:

1. Who is responsible for learning in Australia?

2. Why do overseas students sometimes find the Australian style of learning difficult and
bewildering?

3. What 3 (three) things do overseas students sometimes believe about learning?

4. In Australia, what 4 (four) factors is the seminar-report approach characterised by?

5. Mention 4 (four) things that overseas students need to develop in order to cope in an
Australian graduate program.

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5
 Grammar: Sentence Level Revision

Sentences are made up of clauses.

There are four basic sentence patterns

1. A Simple Sentence consists of one independent clause.

e.g.

2. A Compound Sentence consists of two (or more) independent clauses joined by (a)
coordinating conjunction(s).

(Coordinating conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)

e.g

3. A Complex Sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses
joined by (a) subordinating conjunction(s).

(Examples of subordinating conjunctions are: because, while, when, although…)

e.g.

4. A Compound-Complex Sentence consists of two or more independent clauses and one or

more dependent clause(s) joined by coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
respectively.

e.g.

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 Grammar: Sentence Level Revision

Compound Sentences With Coordinators

A compound sentence can be formed with:

Independent Clause, + Coordinator + Independent Clause

1. In the last twenty years, Americans have reduced their smoking, ________ Europeans seem to
be smoking more than ever. (The two clauses express contrasting ideas).

2. Europeans should change their smoking habits, ___________ they will risk developing lung
cancer. (The two clauses express alternatives or possibilities).

3. Many Japanese men smoke, __________ the Japanese have long life expectancies. (The second
clause is an unexpected contrast to the information in the first clause).

4. The Japanese diet is becoming more Westernised, ____________ their life expectancy will
probably decrease in the future. (The second clause is a result of the first clause).

5. The Japanese have the longest life expectancy of any people, ___________ their diet is
extremely healthful. (The second clause gives the reason for the first clause).

6. The Japanese consume a lot of rice, __________ they eat more fish than red meat. (Both
clauses express equal related ideas).

7. Many Americans on the other hand, do not eat a healthy diet, _______ do they get enough
exercise. (The coordinator is used to join two equal negative independent clauses.

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Sentence Grammar
Author: Oshima & Hogue, (1991) Writing Academic English: Addison - Wesley 7
 IELTS Timed Writing Practice

Data Analysis Texts: Graphs and Tables

STRUCTURE:

- General introductory statement with information about the graph/table, title, source etc.

- Selection of significant points for comment

- General comment about significant point followed by details, i.e., movement from
general to specific.

- Comparison / contrast of significant points / trends etc.

- If appropriate, interpretation of data.

GRAMMATICAL FEATURES

- Present and past tenses

- Verbs of change

- Nouns of change

- ‘Descriptors’ – qualitative adverbs and adjectives

- Numbers including percentages, ratios and proportions

- Comparison / contrast structures

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 IELTS Timed Writing Practice

Data Analysis Texts: Graphs and Tables

The diagram below shows the distribution of

men and women in key professions in Malaysia
in 1970. It is immediately apparent from the Verbs in present tense
diagram that in 1970 the professions in
Malaysia were almost totally dominated by
men. Many key professional people, including
jurists, accountants, architects, engineers and Verbs in past tense
economists were men, occupying more than
90% of all positions. Architecture and
engineering were particularly male dominated,
with only 3% of professionals in those areas
women.
Qualitative adverbs
Women were only slightly better represented in and adjectives
science and medicine, comprising around 15%
of scientists, mathematicians, doctors and
dentists. In education, the proportion of women
decreased according to the level, from around
40% of teachers in primary and secondary Verbs of change
schools to under 25% of teachers in universities
and higher education.

The only profession where women

predominated was in the traditionally female
area of nursing, with 99% of all nurses and Numbers including
midwives being women. The diagram therefore percentages,
shows a very traditional pattern of male and ratios, proportions.
female roles in professions in Malaysia in 1970.

(172 words)

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Data Analysis Texts
Author: Deakin, G. (Ed), (1994) Practice Tests for IELTS: Indonesia Australia Language Foundation 9
 Grammar: Rewriting Sentence Fragments

Section A

Read through the following sentences. Some of them are complete, others are incomplete. Mark
them FRAG if they are sentence fragments (incomplete), or SENT if they are complete sentences.
Rewrite the fragments on a separate piece of paper to make a complete sentence.

_________ 1. The need for governments to impose stricter controls over gun laws, for
example.

_________ 2. Third, the fact that many people are fundamentally opposed to the new
law.

_________ 3. The best political speech I have ever heard.

_________ 4. Senator Newman gave the best political speech I have ever heard.

_________ 5. When she spoke about her experiences with euthanasia.

_________ 6. For example, many members of parliament have private secretaries.

_________ 7. Although people want to believe that the police are doing their best to control
the situation.

_________ 8. Finding a solution to this issue is going to be a very difficult task.

_________ 9. Many members of the public who didn’t have the opportunity to attend the
meeting.

_________10. Attending meetings during the morning and visiting patients during the
afternoon.

_________11. Because the government didn’t feel the need for further debate on the subject.

_________12. The private members bill recently passed by the government, the one which
brought an end to euthanasia in the Northern Territory.

_________13. The first news of the tragedy came three days after the military allowed UN
forces to re-enter the war zone.

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 Grammar: Rewriting Sentence Fragments

_________14. When foreign aid was finally able to reach those who were stranded by the
floods.

_________15. Flood waters reaching well above the predicted levels and causing
widespread damage to crops and villages.

_________16. Opponents of the government’s proposed development of the East

Circular Quay site.

_________17. Because of the increase in demand for World Cup soccer shirts following
the hugely successful screening of the event by SBS.

_________18. Since it was revealed that ticket sales for the 2000 Sydney Olympics
were going to be severely restricted.

_________19. Anti-aircraft noise campaigners have taken steps to ensure that no night
flights will be allowed to land at Sydney’s International Airport.

_________20. Members of the newly elected One Nation party yesterday faced
renewed criticism from other party members.

_________21. With the new wonder drug Viagra already flooding onto the Australian
market and the controversy surrounding the sudden deaths of three men
who have been taking the drug.

SECTION B

Read the following short text. Put brackets ( ) around any sentence fragment that you find and mark
them FRAG. Then correct all the fragments. Rewrite the text again using the correct punctuation.

Helen Keller (1880 – 1968) was an American author and lecturer, who, having overcome
considerable physical handicaps. She served as an inspiration for other afflicted people. She was
born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. When she was 19 months old. Stricken with an acute illness that left
her deaf and blind. No way could be found to educate her until her seventh year. When she began
her special education in reading and writing with Anne Mansfield Sullivan. Learning to read by the
Braille system and to write by means of a specially constructed typewriter. In 1890, she learned to
speak after only one month of study. Ten years later, she was able to enter Radcliffe College, from
which she graduated with honors in 1904. After lectured throughout the world. Helen Keller
author of many books. Her life is the subject of a film, The Unconquered (1954) and a play, The
Miracle Worker (1960, made into an award-winning film in 1962), by the American author William
Gibson (1914-).

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 Written Assignments

The ______________ step in completing a written assignment is analysing the set topic. This
involves identifying ______________ things as: the content indicated, the focus required, the issue
to be determined and the method to be used in the essay. Through attention to ______________
factors, the writer will be kept on the topic rather ______________ rambling off it.

The second step _________________ reading and note taking. University essays __________
expected to be the result of wide and critical reading. Such reading, ___________ course, needs to
be selective so students need to ___________ as well as read in detail. In order to remember the
information, relevant notes should _____________ taken. For notes to be of value to the student,
_____________ need to be legible, filed in a suitable manner (easily able to be retrieved – that is),
with clear referencing and with room for comment.

For an essay _____________ present a reasoned argument, _______________ should be planned.

Some assignments will already have a pre-determined structure, for _____________: a lab report or
a book review, though it will still be necessary to plan ___________ sequencing of information
within the defined sections of these. The effectiveness of essays, _____________, relies heavily on
the structure. Individuals differ in the details of their essay plans but some planning ___________
essential.

______________ is necessary to write more ___________ one draft. The first draft is the creative
stage and in successive drafts ideas will be refined, rearranged and even discarded __________ that
the argument fits together smoothly. The first draft is just a beginning – to be developed
___________ refined during subsequent drafts. ______________ the final draft, the goal should be
to ensure effective presentation through the clear organisation of content, __________ well as
through accuracy in grammar, spelling and format.

It should be noted _______________ improvement in essay writing only comes from

______________ essay writing!

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 Faster Effective Reading Skills

Over the next eight weeks you will hopefully be experimenting with ways of improving your
reading skills. The idea is that you should try to increase the number of words you read per minute,
while at the same time you retain a high level of comprehension.

If you continue to read slowly every text you are given, you will not be able to achieve permanent
improvement in your reading speed.

The following list of GOOD HABITS and BAD HABITS should help you to focus on improving
those reading skills. As you read, think about what is happening to your eyes, your hands and
inside your head. If you feel you are not improving, change your habits and try out new methods.

Bad Habits which slow you down

vocalising - this is when you mouth or say the words as you are reading.

pointing - either with your finger, a pencil or ruler.

head movement - following the lines of print with your head.

dictionaries - if you choose an appropriate level text, you shouldn’t need a

dictionary. Guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the
context around them.

Over the weeks, try to minimise or to remove such habits completely from your reading practice.

Good Habits which help you increase reading speed.

practise - read easy, interesting texts which you like and enjoy reading, on
a regular basis, ie. every day.

question - check comprehension at the end of a chapter or every 10-12

pages by asking yourself and trying to answer questions about the
text.

exercise - from time to time, take 3 –4 pages of a book you like and read
them as fast as you possibly can. Don’t worry about
comprehension. Then go back and read those pages at normal
speed. You may be surprised to find that your ‘normal’ speed
has increased!

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Reading
Author: Adapted from Mosback G. & V. (1994) Practical Faster Reading: Cambridge UP 13
 Faster Effective Reading Skills

paragraph structure - look for the topic sentence in a paragraph. This will
express the central idea and help speed up comprehension.
The final paragraph is also very important because it usually
summarises everything you have just read about!!

fixation - as you read your eyes move in an arc across the lines of
print. Each time you reach the bottom of an arc, you
pause to take in the words. These pauses are fixations.
Good readers take in 2.5 to 3 words per fixation.

As you complete each speed reading, try out different methods for improving your speed and
comprehension until you find something that works well for you.

If you are still taking 5 minutes to read the texts after the first few weeks, force yourself to stop
after 4, then 3 minutes and assess whether or not this affects your comprehension.

What can you learn from your results?

Your speed / score combinations can tell you something about your reading.

If your speed is HIGH and your score is HIGH, you should congratulate yourself! But see if
you can do even better.

If your speed is HIGH and your score is LOW, you may be rushing your reading and not
comprehending enough. Try to slow down and concentrate harder.

If your speed is LOW and your score is HIGH, you are reading too inefficiently. Try to read
faster without losing comprehension.

If your speed is LOW and your score is LOW, you’re in trouble! Try to increase your speed and
concentrate on retaining what you read. Good Luck!

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Reading
Author: Adapted from Mosback G. & V. (1994) Practical Faster Reading: Cambridge UP 14
 Speed Reading Chart – EAP 5

Use this table to calculate your reading speed for 500 word texts.

Time Speed Time Speed

(minutes / seconds (words per minute) (minutes / seconds (words per minute)
1.00 500 3.10 158
1.10 430 3.20 150
1.20 375 3.30 143
1.30 335 3.40 135
1.40 300 3.50 130
1.50 275 4.00 125
2.00 250 4.10 120
2.10 230 4.20 115
2.20 215 4.30 110
2.30 200 4.40 107
2.40 185 4.50 103
2.50 175 5.00 100
3.00 165 5.20 95

Time
380
360
340
320
Speed in words per minute

300
280
260
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Score
You are reading
10 too slowly
Total correct answers

9
8 Try to go faster
7
6
5 Your
4 comprehension is
too low. Do not
3
read too slowly,
2 but try to
1 understand more

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 Reading: Summerhill

Synonyms
In the gap in the following sentences, put one word that has a similar meaning to the underlined
word. Notice that sometimes the word class changes (e.g. adjective to noun).

1. He has an innate ability for languages. He is also a ______________ tennis player.

2. The people were downtrodden by the old regime but this _____________ didn’t stop with the
new government.

3. It was Ms Smith’s conception for the display. Many of the company’s new
_________________ have come from her.

4. You should renounce those bad habits. If you don’t ______________ them soon, it will be too
late.

5. The dog was very docile. The Johnsons decided to buy it because of its _______________
nature.

6. The class system encourages snobbish attitudes. Such ___________________ behaviour is out
of place in an egalitarian society.

In the following text, A. S. Neill describes his famous school, Summerhill, which he founded in
1921.

Text 1:

THE IDEA OF SUMMERHILL

This is a story of a modern school – Summerhill. Summerhill began as an experimental school. It is no longer
such; it is now a demonstration school, for it demonstrates that freedom works.
When my first wife and I began the school, we had one main idea: to make the school fit the child – instead of
making the child fit the school.
Obviously, the school that makes active children sit at desks studying mostly useless subjects is a bad school. It is
a good school only for those who believe in such a school, for those uncreative citizens who want docile, uncreative
children who will fit into a civilisation whose standard of success is money.
I had taught in ordinary schools for many years. I knew the other way well. I knew it was all wrong. It was wrong
because it was based on an adult conception of what a child should be and of how a child should learn.
Well, we set out to make a school in which we should allow children freedom to be themselves. In order to do this,
we had to renounce all discipline, all direction, all suggestion, all moral training, all religious instruction. We have
been called brave, but it did not require courage. All it required was what we had – a complete belief in the child as
a good, not an evil, being.
My view is that a child is innately wise and realistic. If left to himself without adult suggestion of any kind, he will
develop as far as he is capable of developing.
Logically, Sumemerhill is a place in which people who have the innate ability and wish to be scholars will be
scholars; while those who are only fit to sweep the streets will sweep the streets. But we have not produced a street
cleaner so far. Nor, do I write this snobbishly, for I would rather see a school produce a happy street cleaner than a
neurotic scholar.
What is Summerhill like?…..

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Reading Text
Author: Soars, J & L, (1989) Headway, Advanced: Oxford UP 16
 Reading: Summerhill

Questions for prediction

The text goes on to describe Summerhill. Before you read, discuss what you think the answers are
to these questions.
1. Can the children choose whether to go to lessons or not?
2. Is there a timetable for lessons?
3. Do children have classes according to their ages or according to their interests?
4. Does Summerhill have special teaching methods?
5. Are the children happy?
6. Is every single decision about everything made democratically by both teachers and
children?
7. Does Neill find it easy to influence the children at Summerhill?

Text 2:

….Well, for one thing, lessons are optional. Children can go to them or stay away from them – for
years if they want to. There is a timetable – but only for the teachers.
The children have classes usually according to their age, but sometimes according to their interests.
We have no new methods of teaching, because we do not consider that teaching in itself matters
very much. Whether a school has or has not a special method for teaching long division is of no
significance, for long division is of no importance except to those who want to learn it. And the
child who wants to learn long division will learn it no matter how it is taught.
Summerhill is possibly the happiest school in the world. We have no truants and seldom a case of
homesickness. We very rarely have fights – quarrels, of course, but seldom have I seen a stand-up
fight like the ones we used to have as boys. I seldom hear a child cry, because children when free
have much less hate to express than children who are downtrodden. Hate breeds hate, and love
breeds love. Love means approving of children, and that is essential in any school. You can’t be on
the side of children if you punish them and storm at them. Summerhill is a school in which the
child knows that he is approved of.
The function of the child is to live his own life – not the life that his anxious parents think he should
live, nor a life according to the purpose of the educator who thinks he knows what is best. All this
interference and guidance on the part of adults only produces a generation of robots.
In Summerhill, everyone has equal rights. No one is allowed to walk on my grand piano, and I am
not allowed to borrow a boy’s cycle without his permission. At a General School Meeting, the vote
of a child of six counts for as much as my vote does.
But, says the knowing one, in practice of course the voices of the grownups count. Doesn’t the
child of six wait to see how you vote before he raises his hand? I wish he sometimes would, for too
many of my proposals are beaten. Free children are not easily influenced; the absence of fear
accounts for this phenomenon. Indeed, the absence of fear is the finest thing that can happen to a
child.

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Reading Text
Author: Soars, J & L, (1989) Headway, Advanced: Oxford UP 17
 Reading: Summerhill

SUMMERHILL DISCUSSION

Here are some opinions of A.S. Neill, founder of the Summerhill School. Discuss these opinions
with your group and be prepared to share your arguments in support, or in opposition, with the
class.

1. Parents and teachers make it a business to influence children because they think they know what
children ought to have, ought to learn, ought to be. I disagree. I never attempt to get children to
share my beliefs or my prejudices.

2. My experiences of many years in handling children at Summerhill convince me that there is no

need whatsoever to teach children how to behave. A child will learn what is right and what is
wrong in good time – provided he is not pressured.

3. The aim of life is happiness. The evil of life is all that limits or destroys happiness. Happiness
always means goodness; unhappiness in its extreme limits means…minority torture, or war.

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Reading Text
Author: Soars, J & L, (1989) Headway, Advanced: Oxford UP 18
 Reading: Summerhill

Critical Thinking

Tertiary students are expected to think critically about issues and to demonstrate this in their
writing. In order to develop critical thinking and writing skill, students should practice moving
from descriptive statements to analytical statements to evaluative statements.

Example 1:

Description Summerhill offers students the freedom to choose what they will learn.

Analysis Very young students may not understand the implications of their
choices. For example, they may not see the long term effects of
choosing less academic subjects in preference to more difficult academic
subjects.

Evaluation Although such a policy of freedom may be attractive, particularly to

younger students, its implications are too serious. Early educational
choices may ultimately limit a person’s potential, and this early freedom
could become the source of later frustration.

Example 2:

Description Summerhill offers students the freedom to choose what they will
learn.

Analysis Students learn better and develop more self esteem when they
succeed in study. In traditional school systems many students
struggle to master skills and concepts for which they may have no
aptitude.

Evaluation Such a struggle seems pointless. Students are better off spending
their time developing skills for which they have aptitude and
enjoying their learning experiences.

TASK: Write another descriptive sentence about Summerhill. Analyse the

implications of this statement and conclude with an evaluation.

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 Reading: Summerhill

Research

Using a web browser of your choice access the following URL: www.summerhillschool.co.uk Your
teacher will give you one of the following areas to research and make notes on. When you have
finished, get together with 4 other students who have the information you need to complete the grid.

Your Notes
About A.S. Neill

Summerhill:
the early days

Summerhill and
freedom

The Summerhill
community

A day at
Summerhill

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 Comparison of Academic Report and Essay

Report Writing Essay Writing

Organises information into sections Organises information into paragraphs

Uses headings/subheadings in each section Does not use headings/subheadings
9 common sections: Paragraphs organised into 3 sections:
- Title page - Introduction
- Contents page - Body
- Abstract - Conclusion
- Introduction - Reference list (with heading)
- Methodology Uses topic sentences to begin support
- Results paragraphs
- Discussion/conclusion Does not use tables/diagrams/charts
- Appendix Uses academic language
- Reference List Uses modality; generally uses present
Uses tables/diagrams/charts tense
Uses academic language
Each section requires different verb forms
e.g.
methodology – passive form;
results – past tense;
discussion – modals

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 Academic Essay Structures

Argument Essay Discussion Essay Persuasive Analytical Essay

Examines one side of an issue Examines both positives and Examines in detail both sides
i.e. positive or negative. negatives of an issue. of an issue in the same
paragraph offering counter
arguments

Introduction (paragraph 1) Introduction (paragraph 1) Introduction (paragraph 1)

background background background
thesis/argument thesis/argument thesis/argument
essay outline essay outline essay outline

Body (paragraph 2) Body (paragraph 2) Body (paragraph – option 1)

topic sentence: essay topic sentence: essay topic sentence: essay
outline (1) linked to thesis outline (1) linked to thesis outline (1) linked to thesis
opinions and facts opinions and facts opinions and facts
supporting the argument supporting the argument supporting the argument
opinions and facts against
the supporting argument
(counter argument)
opinions and facts refuting
the counter argument

Or

Body (paragraph 3) Body (paragraph 3) Body (paragraph – option 2)

topic sentence: essay topic sentence: essay topic sentence: essay
outline (2) linked to thesis outline (2) linked to thesis outline (2) linked to thesis
opinions and facts opinions and facts against opinions and facts
supporting the argument the argument supporting the argument

Or

Body (paragraph – option 3)

topic sentence: essay
outline (3) linked to thesis
opinions and facts against
the argument
(counter argument)
opinions and facts refuting
the counter argument
Conclusion (final paragraph) Conclusion (final paragraph) Conclusion (final paragraph)
summarises main ideas summarises main ideas summarises main ideas
repeats thesis repeats thesis repeats thesis
final statement – strong final statement – strong final statement – strong
modality modality modality

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 Critical Reading: Asia’s Once-A-Week Parents

For each of the following passages taken from a newspaper article, choose whether you think the
sentence following each passage is true (T), false (F) or no evidence supplied (N).

1. At Seoul’s first 24-hour childcare centre there is only one rule: parents must come in to take
their children overnight at least once a week.

a. Most children in Seoul only see their parents once a week.

b. Children are not allowed to be permanent residents at 24-hour childcare centres.
c. Parents must visit their children at least once a week.

2. But the Loveline childcare centre, on the sixth floor of a high-rise city block, is a
symptom of the profound change in family structure affecting cities right across
the region.

a. The traditional family pattern is altering.

b. There are slight changes happening to the traditional family in Seoul.
c. The changes to the family structure are negatively affecting the children.

3. Li-ong’s parents are divorced and her father has sole custody. But, like so many
of the workers of Asia’s newly industrialised societies, he works very long hours in
a city with few support services and he cannot cope.

a. One of the reasons for the growth of the 24-hour childcare centre is a lack of assistance
for single working parents.
b. Li-ong’s father has no extended family to help him with the long hours he works.
c. Because it is a newly industrialised society, Seoul has few support services.
d. Li-ong’s mother shares the parenting with the father.

4. The extended family of only one generation ago has dispersed and so there is no
grandmother or older sister or housewife aunt to step in.

a. In the past, children could not be cared for by other relatives.

b. The extended family often prevented the problem of childcare.
c. The disappearance of the extended family has created more single parents.
d. In the last few years, the extended family has disappeared.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

23
 Critical Reading: Asia’s Once-A-Week Parents
5. While Confucian tradition in Korea requires a woman to give up work on
marriage and the maternal grandmother to assist with the upbringing of girls
and the paternal grandmother with boys, the reality is high female workforce
participation rates.

a. The grandmother still plays an important role in the upbringing of the children.
b. Women have always continued to work after marriage in Korea.
c. The traditional role of women in Korea is no longer true.
d. The rate of female workers is higher than men.

6. The centre was opened after a research project by the Loveline Private
Welfare Agency identified young children of working parents without
adequate care as a real problem in Seoul, a city of more than 10 million.

a. The opening of the centre caused inadequate care for young children of working parents.
b. The opening of the centre has solved the problem of inadequate care for young children of
working parents.
c. The opening of the centre resulted from the problem of inadequate care for young children
of working parents.

7. Statistics compiled by the Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI)

show that the workforce participation rates for females aged 15 and over
increased from 38.4% in 1980 to 47.2% in 1992.

a. The number of men working is decreasing.

b. The number of women in the workforce is less than half.
c. Less than one-third of women worked in 1980.

8. Loveline also runs a crisis telephone service and an analysis of the calls, Mr
Shim said, identified marriage breakdown and the pressure on single parents
as two of the city’s most serious problems.

a. The most serious problem is being a single parent.

b. Pressure on the parents causes marriage breakdown.
c. Calls to Loveline are generally about failure of marriage and the difficulties arising
from being a sole parent.

9. In the past, the influence of Confucianism meant that even if there were
difficulties between husbands and wives they would stay together because
they felt too ashamed to get divorced.

a. Divorce was acceptable in the past.

b. People stayed together more frequently in the past.
c. Differences between husbands and wives are responsible for the rise in divorce rates.
d. Confucianism influence of people to divorce.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

24
 Critical Reading: Asia’s Once-A-Week Parents
by Louise Williams in Seoul

At Seoul’s first 24-hour childcare Asia’s newly industrialised societies, chairman, Mr Shim Chul-ho.
centre there is only one rule: he works very long hours in a city with “Fast economic growth has
parents must come in to take their few support services, and he cannot brought women into the
children out overnight at least once cope. workforce because of labour
a week. The extended family of only one shortages and increased family
The smooth wooden floors where generation ago has dispersed and so stress.
the children sleep, the colourful there is no grandmother or older sister “In the past we had extended
little chests of drawers and the or housewife aunt to step in. families and the responsibility
communal bathroom with kindy - While Confucian tradition in Korea for childcare was usually taken
sized toilets and showers are about requires a woman to give up work on by grandmothers. Now we just
as far away as you can get from the marriage and the maternal grandmother have two working parents and
bosom of the traditional extended to assist with the upbringing of girls the children living together,
Asian family. and the paternal grandmother with the which is a very difficult life for
But the Loveline Childcare Centre, boys, the reality is high female a woman because she is still
on the sixth floor of a high-rise city workforce participation rates. expected to do everything at
block, is a symptom of the Loveline takes children from three home.”
profound change in family years old for up to six nights a week, or Statistics compiled by the
structure affecting cities right on a daily basis for 12 hours a day. Korean Women’s Development
across the region. The waiting list is long and the centre Institute (KWDI) show that
Hyung Li-ong is now five and has routinely asks parents to look work force participation rates
lived at the childcare centre for two elsewhere says a teacher, Ms Kim Mi- for females aged 15 and over
years, except on Saturday night duck. increased from 38.4 percent in
when her father takes her to his “For about a month both the parents 1980 to 47.2 percent in 1992.
sister’s house “to watch TV and and the children normally feel sad and Loveline also runs a crisis
shop for new clothes”, she says. the mother is usually crying but the telephone service and an
Inside her “home” are plastic children adapt,” she said of the analysis of the calls, Mr Shim
cubbies and slides, small tables, overnight care. “The one condition is said, identified marriage
bookshelves crammed with videos, that the mothers or fathers promise breakdown and the pressure on
toys and books, and 35 other pre- their children that they are going to single parents as two of the
schoolers, clapping their hands and come and see them once a week.” city’s most serious problems.
singing, above the tangle of traffic The centre was opened after a research “In the past the influence of
in central Seoul. project by the Loveline Private Welfare Confucianism meant that even if
Once a day the children go to a Agency identified young children of there were differences between
nearby primary school where they working parents without adequate care, husbands and wives they would
join in playtime. as a real problem in Seoul, a city of stay together because they felt
Li-ong’s parents are divorced and more than 1 million. too ashamed to get divorced.
her father has sole custody. “This kind of centre reflects a major Nowadays, people are
But like so many of the workers of lifestyle change,” said the Loveline separating.”

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Reading Text 25
Author: Williams, L. Sydney Morning Herald. 1995
 Critical Reading: Asia’s Once-A-Week Parents
Reading Quiz
1. Find a word in the reading passage that matches the meanings given below:

care / control __________________________ shared ______________________________

put together ___________________________ for small children _____________________

centre / heart ____________________________

2. Write true (T), false (F) or no evidence (N) for the following statements. Put the paragraph
number where you have found the evidence to support your answer.

T F N
a. Where the children stay in the centre is very similar to their own
home. __ __ __
b. The childcare centre is located in a multi-storey building __ __ __
c. Li-ong’s father is not coping with the divorce. __ __ __
d. Many single parents put their young babies in the centre. __ __ __
e. The children usually settle into the lifestyle at the centre. __ __ __
f. People can put their children immediately into the centre. __ __ __
g. Occasionally the centre asks parents to look for another place
for the children. __ __ __
h. The recession is the cause of women in the workforce. __ __ __
i. The responsibility for children is difficult for women. __ __ __
j. The influence of Confucianism is not as strong as it was in the past. __ __ __

3. Fill in the cloze passage with an appropriate word.

Seoul is breaking with _____________ family patterns by having the ____________
24-hour childcare centre ___________ parents can leave their children
________________ the majority of the __________________. This has arisen mainly
______________ of the increase of _____________ in the workforce and _____________
parent families. These two ___________ have resulted in inadequate care for young
children with _____________ parents and the need for ________________ a radical
solution as ___________ 24-hour childcare centre where the ___________ rule is that
parents must ______________ their children away from the centre
___________________ at least once a week

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

26
 Critical Reading: Asia’s Once-A-Week Parents

Text Analysis

The writer talks a lot in this text about the family, and makes a distinction between traditional and
modern families. She is especially concerned about the change in family structure. Read through
the following words and phrases taken from the text and talk with other students about what she is
trying to convince us of, as readers, and to what extent you accept this.

The Family in Asia

The Traditional Family The Modern Family
the bosom of the traditional extended Asian profound change in family structure…
family… divorce…
sole custody…
extended family of only one generation ago cannot cope…
has dispersed… reality is high female workforce…
participation rates…
Confucian tradition requires women to give up young children of working parents…
work…. without adequate care…
major lifestyle changes…
in the past we had extended families and the increased family stress…
responsibility for childcare was usually taken difficult life for a woman….
by grandmothers… marriage breakdown…
pressure on single parents…
in the past the influence of Confucianism Nowadays, people are separating…
meant …. too ashamed to get divorced…

Is the author trying to lay the blame for changes in the family structure upon any particular
cause?

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

27
 Critical Reading: Asia’s Once-A-Week Parents

Text Analysis
The writer also gives us her impression of Seoul. The following words and phrases were used in
the text to describe the city. What impression is she trying to give of the city?

Seoul
high-rise city
tangle of traffic
Asia’s newly industrialised societies
a city with few support services
a city of more that 10 million
fast economic growth
labour shortages

Throughout the text the author only uses two words to describe the recipients of the childcare,
namely ‘children’ and ‘preschoolers’. There are many other nouns which could be used to describe
‘children’. Why do you think the author only used these two?

Do you think the meaning of the text would have changed if the author had used words like
‘toddlers’, ‘rug-rats’, ‘tots’, ‘infants’ or ‘babies’?

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

28
 Critical Reading: Asia’s Once-A-Week Parents

Text Analysis

We all have our own impression of what a childcare centre is and should be like. Talk to other
students around you about your ideas.
Now read through the following words and phrases taken from the text and talk about what this
author is trying to tell us about childcare centres. To what extent do you agree with the author’s
position?

The Loveline Childcare Centre

Words and Phrases from texts Consider…

smooth wooden floors / colourful little chests of drawers How many human participants are
communal bathroom / kindy-sized toilets and showers mentioned? Does this affect your
plastic cubbies and slides / small tables / bookshelves opinion of the centre?
crammed with ….
“home”
a symptom What kind of impression does the
on the 6th floor of a high-rise city block use of adjectives give you about
the centre takes the centre?
waiting list
a teacher, Ms Kim Mi-duck The writer has continually put the
the centre routinely asks ‘centre’ in the subject position.
children adapt Why do you think she did this?
the overnight care
rule / condition / promise
Loveline private welfare agency What type of ‘organisation’ do you
research project think Loveline is?
the centre reflects
Loveline chairman, Mr Shim Chul-ho
crisis telephone service

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

29
 Academic Language Focus

A distinctive feature of academic writing style is choosing the more formal alternative when
selecting a verb, noun or other part of speech.

Verbs:

English often has two (or more) choices to express an action or occurrence. The choice is often
between a phrasal or prepositional verb (verb + preposition) and a single verb, the latter with
Latinate origins. Often in lectures and other instances of everyday spoken English, the verb and
preposition is used: however, for written academic style the preferred choice is a single verb
wherever possible. This is one of the most dramatic stylistic shifts from informal to formal style.

Researchers looked at the way strain builds up around a fault. (less formal style)

Researchers observed the way strain accumulates around a fault. (academic style)

Task One
Choose a verb from the list that increases the formality of each sentence. Note that you may need to
add tense to the verb from the list.

assist reduce create investigate raise

establish increase determine fluctuate eliminate

1. Expert Systems can help out the user in the diagnosis of problems

____________________________________________________________

2. This program was set up to improve access to medical care.

____________________________________________________________

3. Research Expenditures have gone up to nearly $350 million.

____________________________________________________________

4. The use of optical character readers (OCR’s) should cut down the number of problems with
the US mail service

___________________________________________________________

5. Researchers have found out that this drug has serious side effects.

____________________________________________________________

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Language
Author: UNSW (unpublished)
30
 Academic Language Focus

6. Building a nuclear power plant will not get rid of the energy problem completely.
____________________________________________________________

7. Researchers have been looking into this problem for 15 years now
____________________________________________________________________

8. This issue was brought up during the investigation ___________________________

9. Engineers can come up with better designs using CAD _______________________

10. The emission levels have been going up and down ___________________________

Task Two
Increase the formality of each sentence by substituting a single verb for the one in italics

1. The implementation of computer–integrated–manufacturing (CIM) has brought about

some serious problems _________________________________________________

2. The process should be done over until the desired results are achieved.
____________________________________________________________________

3. Plans are being made to come up with a database containing detailed environmental
information for the region ______________________________________________

4. Subtle changes in the earth’s crust were picked up by these new devices
____________________________________________________________________

5. Proposals to construct new nuclear reactors have met with great resistance from
environmentalists _____________________________________________________

Nouns and Other Parts of Speech

English has a very rich vocabulary derived from many languages. Because of this, there may be
more than one way to express an idea. You should strive to choose words that are less informal in
nature, and also precise. In lectures, you will likely hear less formal speech; however, in writing
you should use the more formal form if one exists.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Language
Author: UNSW (unpublished) 31
 Academic Language Focus

Task Three
Which of the italic words would be more suitable for an academic paper?

1. The government has made good / considerable progress in solving environmental problems.

2. We got / obtained encouraging results.

3. The results of a lot of/numerous different projects have been pretty good /
encouraging.

4. A loss of jobs is one of the things that will happen/consequences if the process is
automated.

Supply a more academic word or phrase for the italicized words in each sentence

5. The reaction of the officials was sort of negative ____________________________

6. The economic outlook is mighty nice _____________________________________

7. The future of Federal funding is up in the air _______________________________

8. America’s major automakers are planning to get together on the research needed for
more fuel-efficient cars ________________________________________________

Language Focus: Formal Grammar Style

The following are some non-vocabulary related recommendations for maintaining a formal
academic writing style.

1. Avoid contractions

Export figures won’t improve until the economy is stronger.

Export figures will not improve until the economy is stronger.

2. Use the more appropriate formal negative forms

not……any no
not……much little
not……many few

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Language
Author: UNSW (unpublished) 32
 Academic Language Focus
The analysis didn’t yield any new results.
The analysis yielded no new results.

The government didn’t allocate much fundings for the program.

The government allocated little funding for the program.

This problem doesn’t have many viable solutions.

This problem has few viable solutions.

3. Limit the use of “run on” expressions, such as “and so forth” and “etc”

These semiconductors can be used in robots, CD players, etc.

These semiconductors can be used in robots, CD players, and other electronic devices.

4. Avoid addressing the reader as ‘you’.

You can see the result in Table 1.

The results can be seen in Table 1.

5. Limit the use of direct questions

What can be done to lower costs?

We now need to consider what can be done to lower costs.

We now need to consider how costs may be lowered.

6. Place adverbs within the verb

Adverbs often are placed mid-position rather than in the initial or final positions. In informal
English, adverbs often occur as clauses at the beginning or end of sentences.

Then the solution can be discarded.

The solution can then be discarded.

The blood is withdrawn slowly.

The blood is slowly withdrawn.

In summary, most of our recommendations are designed to help you maintain a scholarly and
objective tone in your writing. This does not mean (and we have not said) that you should never
use I or we in your writing. The use of I or we does not make a piece of writing informal. The
vocabulary shift and some of the other features we have mentioned are more important for
maintaining a consistent academic style.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Language
Author: UNSW (unpublished) 33
 Academic Language Focus

Task Four

Increase the formality of each sentence.

1. If you fail the exam, you can’t enter the university

2. OK, what are the causes of deformation? Many possibilities exist.

3. You can clearly see the difference between these two processes.

4. A small bit of ammonium dichromate is added to gelatin solution gradually.

5. These special tax laws have been enacted in six states: Illinois, Iowa, Ohio etc.

6. The subject didn’t have much difficulty with the task.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Language
Author: UNSW (unpublished) 34
 Paraphrasing Exercise
*Original Sentence:

A manager’s success is often due to perseverance.

Possible Paraphrases

1. A manager ______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

2. Persevering _____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

3. A persevering ___________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

4. Successful ______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

5. Success ________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

6. If a ____________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

7. The success _____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

8. _______________________________________________________________

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

35
 Reading: Three Mini Reports

Familiarity with the genre or text type which is being read is of considerable help in approaching
any text. If the reader is aware of the kind of information which is likely to be found, and its
probable position in the text, his expectations are heightened and he can process the information in
the text more quickly and efficiently.

WORKSHEET 1. Skimming for text structure

Skim each article and complete the flow charts below by inserting one of the following
headings (indicating various types of information) in each box. Indicate also the paragraph
or paragraphs which contain the information. (Headings have been inserted for the first
report.)

Procedure – General assumptions (including previous work on the subject) –

Conclusions – Summary (including researcher/s and publication) – Results

What use is psychology Eating people is wrong Too relaxed to read?

Summary (par. ) (par. ) (par. )
Procedure (par. ) (par. ) (par. )
Results (par. ) (par. ) (par. )
Conclusions (par. ) (par. ) (par. )

Intensive Reading
WORKSHEET 2. Checking understanding

Read carefully the research report “What use is psychology?” and answer the following
questions.

1. What common characteristics did Houston’s subjects have?

2. What common characteristics did his questions have?
3. How can the higher incidence of wrong answers to one of the questions be explained?
4. What use, then, is psychology, according to Houston?

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Mini Reports 36
Author: Hoarman, L., Leech, P. & Murray, J. (1988) Reading Skills for The Social Sciences: Oxford UP
 Reading: Three Mini Reports
WORKSHEET 3 Information extraction

Read carefully the research report “Eating people is wrong” and complete the table below.

Popularity of other nationalities (follow up)

Title of Research:

Researcher and
Affiliation:

Published in:

To verify changes in attitude towards national groups.

Purpose of research:

When conducted:

Procedure:

Results:

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Mini Reports 37
Author: Hoarman, L., Leech, P. & Murray, J. (1988) Reading Skills for The Social Sciences: Oxford UP
 Reading: Three Mini Reports

WORKSHEET 4 Information extraction

Read carefully the research report “Too relaxed to read?” and complete the table below.

Phase 1 of experiment (2 weeks):

Procedure for all groups:

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Phase 2 (5 weeks)

Results
Group Procedure
Accuracy Speed Comprehension
improved
no improvement

no improvement

Conclusions:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Language Work
In preparation for the following activity, re-read the three research reports and underline
all the verbs.

Note that the single sections of the reports are usually characterised by a particular verb tense. For
example, the section regarding general assumptions will normally include verbs in the present tense, used
to express ‘general truths’ or describe a situation, or verbs in the present perfect, used in this case to imply
present relevance of a past event. If a section regarding the purpose of the research is included, we are
likely to find the infinitive of purpose (e.g. “To determine whether ‘x’ was true, a questionnaire was
distributed …”) or alternative linguistic forms (“For the purpose of …”, “In order to …”). Sections on
procedure and results will predictably make wide use of the past or past perfect tense, while comments
and conclusions may include forms expressing possibility or probability (“‘x’ may occur …”, ‘y’ may
have depended on …”), or present or future tenses (“When ‘x’ is the case, ‘y’ will occur …”). Notice
also the frequency of passive forms (“Subjects were asked to complete …”, “50 questions were answered
…”).

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Mini Reports 38
Author: Hoarman, L., Leech, P. & Murray, J. (1988) Reading Skills for The Social Sciences: Oxford UP
 Reading: Three Mini Reports
WORKSHEET 5 Identifying tense patterns

Complete the research report below by inserting the appropriate tense of the verbs in
brackets. (Remember that certain tenses are recurrent in the different sections of a research
report, as described above). Use one form expressing probability or possibility.

(converse) When foreigners __________________ in English, their bodies seem to do likewise.

(know) Researchers _______________ for some time that Arabs, South Americans, and
(prefer) Eastern Europeans _______________ close conversational encounters, while Asians,
(keep) Northern Europeans and North Americans _________________ their distance.
In the most recent study 35 Japanese and 31 Venezuelan students who
(study) _________________ English before coming to America, and 39 American students
(talk) each __________________ to someone from his or her own country about hobbies or
(tell) sports. Half of the foreign students ___________________ to speak in their native
language, the others to speak in English.
(ask), (talk) The participants ___________________ to sit down when they ______________ and
(have to) _____________________ arrange their own chairs. Speaking their native languages,
(perform) each group __________________ as expected. The Venezuelans
(sit) __________________ closest (32.2 inches apart on average), the Americans
(be) __________________ in between (35.4 inches), and the Japanese
(place) __________________ their chairs farthest apart (40.2 inches). But the spacing
(change) __________________ dramatically for the foreign students speaking English. The
Venezuelans sat an average of 7.9 inches farther away than their countrymen
speaking Spanish – farther away, in fact, than the Americans. The Japanese students
(move) _________________ their chairs an average of 1.6 inches closer than the Japanese
who were speaking Japanese.
Why did the English-speaking Venezuelans choose such a large distance? Perhaps,
(speculate) the researchers __________________ because they were not sure of the American
(know) ‘distance norms … They ____________________ the proper direction to move, but
not how far. “Why did the English-speaking Japanese make a smaller adjustment?
(suggest), (be) The researchers ______________________ that this ______________________ due
to the fact that they did not speak English as well as the Venezuelans.
(do) The research _____________________ by Nan Sussman, a psychologist at the
International Council on Education for Teaching, Washington, D.C., with Howard
Rosenfield, a psychologist at the University of Kansas.
(appear) A report __________________ in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
Vol. 42, No 1.
Adapted from an article in Psychology Today, July 1982.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Mini Reports 39
Author: Hoarman, L., Leech, P. & Murray, J. (1988) Reading Skills for The Social Sciences: Oxford UP
 Reading: Three Mini Reports

WORKSHEET 6. Checking understanding

Making reference to the text, decide whether the statements below are true or false.

1. Each of the participants spoke to someone from a different

country. ____________

2. All the foreign students spoke in English. ____________

3. The participants positioned their own chairs. ____________

4. The language spoken by each participant did not affect the

result of the experiment. ____________

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Mini Reports
Author: Hoarman, L., Leech, P. & Murray, J. (1988) Reading Skills for The Social Sciences: Oxford UP
40
 Research Skills

Accessing UWS Library Databases

ABI/Inform and ProQuest are two commonly used UWS Databases. The following step by step
procedure will take you to these databases. The accompanying UWS Library sheets provide useful
information about searching for data and research material.

1. Click onto the internet.

2. Click onto UWS Library Web Page i.e. http://library.uws.edu.au

3. UWS Library will appear. Click onto E-Resources.

4. E-Resources will appear. Scroll onto E-Resources and click.

5. Highlight ABI/Inform Global. Click the GO button.

6. ProQuest will appear.

7. You are now ready to enter your search words to find information about your topic. Read the
search tips on truncation and search strategies to help you with the search words. As you build
up your information remember to record all necessary details for your Reference List.

Advantages of the UWS Library Database.

Why use the UWS Database?

Journal articles in the database are up to date. Whereas some books may be 10 to 25 years
old, many journal articles have been written within the last 6 months.
Journal articles are written by experts in the field. The authors are qualified and credible,
their names are provided plus all other necessary referencing details.
The database is convenient and accessible there is no need to visit the library when you can go
online!
Most university courses require students to access the library databases for research, so now is
the time to learn how to use this facility.

Other useful databases

www.findarticles.com
www.scholar.google.com

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Research Skills 41
Author: B. Mansfield, F Webster, updated 6/11/06
 Research Skills

The Research Process

Analyse the topic
Break the topic into essential concepts
Identify concepts not fully understood

Analyse the Topic

What does the topic mean?

What type of materials do you need e.g. books, journal articles, newspaper articles or statistics?

Break the topic into essential concepts

Break the topic into basic concepts; that is into key words or phrases

Identify concepts not fully understood

Use appropriate subject-related dictionaries (in Reference Collection), e.g. psychology dictionaries,
education dictionaries etc. for an overview of concepts and theories.

Use appropriate encyclopedias (in Reference Collection) or textbooks.

Journal Articles

To find articles in journals use library databases. There are a number of databases relevant to each
subject area at: http://library.uws.edu.au/databases/index.phtml

What is a database?

A database is an organised collection of data or information. An online bibliographic or library

database is an organised index to the literature of a particular subject, so that information and
references to articles published in the subject area can be easily retrieved. It is not a catalogue of
the Library and not all journal sites will be available in the library. Some databases include the full
text of articles, while others give the references only. You may also have to check the Library
catalogue – UWS Voyager to see if the Library holds specific journal titles. Choose [Journal Title
Keyword] option for best results. Alternatively use Serials in Australian Libraries in alphabetical
listing to find journals held at other libraries.

Truncation

Try truncation symbols to broaden a search. Truncation symbols vary from one database to
another. Use the Help in each database to find out which symbol is used.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Research Skills
Author: UWS Library, (2001) 42
 Research Skills

E.g. Comput’ would search for words

Compute / computer / computes / computed / computers
Using Boolean Operators: AND, OR & NOT

AND
Combines subjects or keywords to focus a search
Limits the search to records which contain both terms

E.g. Aged AND Social Policy

The shaded area represents information
on the Aged AND Social Policy.
OR
Expands the search by using synonyms, records retrieved may contain either or both items

E.g. Aged OR Elderly

The shaded area represents information
on the Aged OR the Elderly.
NOT
Excludes concepts or terms from the search

E.g. Pollution NOT Water

The shaded area represents information
on Pollution NOT Water pollution.

Too Many Hits?

Narrow your search. Add another concept e.g. Australia.

or

Limit your search by date, publication type (e.g. journal article) or language.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

43
 Research Skills

Not Enough Hits?

Broaden your search by using OR to include synonyms.

Citation
> Treadgold, T. (2000). Getting the job done. Business Review Weekly, 22(32), > 88-90.

Author Article Title Journal Title Volume No. Issue No. Page No.

Database entry:

WebSPIRS – Netscape
Records 1 to 10 of 1784
Print Start Email Back to Search

<Previous Choose Display Go To

Record 8 of 1784 in APAIS New 2000 (Public Affairs)

Title: Talent War (collection of two articles on employment recruitment)
Author: Way-Nicholas-Palmer-Joy
Source: Business Review Weekly, v.22,no32, 18 Aug 2000: (64)-68,70,72,74,-75
ISSN: 0727-758X
URL: http://www.brw.com.au/newsadmin/stories/brw20000818/6808htm

Record 9 of 1784 in APAIS Nov 2000 (Public Affairs)

Title: Getting the job done
Author: Treadgold-Tim

Source: Business Review v.22 no.32 18 Aug, 2000: 88-90

ISSN: 0727-758X Weekly

URL: http://www.brw.com.au/newsadmin/stories/brw/200-0818/6763.htm

Record 10 of 1784 in APAIS Nov 2000 (Public Affairs)

Title: Steel City shines (How Newcastle is coping with the loss of its main industry)
Author: Way-Nicholas
Source: Qantas Club, Winter 2000 – 24-26
ISSN: 1442-7249

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

44
 Research Report: Questionnaire Design

A. Essential points to remember

1. Have precise goals and objectives.
2. Know your topic.
3. Know your people: - design questions your group can answer
- be aware of the emotional effect of questions.

B. How Much?
1. Time
2. Sample
3. Response Rate

C. Appearance and Format

1. Make it attractive.
2. Number questions.
3. Include clear instructions.
4. Group common items together.
5. Begin with interesting and non-threatening questions.

D. Question Construction
1. Be clear and unambiguous.
2. Decide on what type of question:
a. Yes/No
b. Multiple choice
c. Open-ended
d. Ranking – i.e., 1 = not stressful, 2 = moderately stressful
3 = very stressful
3. Use simple language.
4. Check your questions for correct grammar.

E. How to ask questions

1 Be sensitive about questions that may offend.
2. Use simple words.
3. Avoid questions that lead to one response.
4. Ask for one piece of information at a time.
5. Be careful with general adjectives such as ‘several’, ‘ significant’ and ‘usually’.
6. Avoid vague words and controversial words.
7. Always thank the subjects for participating in your survey.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

45
 Research Report: Questionnaire Design

The following questionnaire contains many mistakes. As you complete the questions see how many
mistakes or problems you can find. Try to rewrite the questions.

QUESTIONNAIRE: Attitude towards smoking

1. What is your age? < 18 > 18 21-25 25-30 >33

2. Do you smoke? Yes No

3. How often do you smoke? Less than 5 cigarrettes per day

More than 5 cigarettes per day O
between 5 and 10 cigareetes per day
more than 10 to 15 cigs per day

more than 20 to 25 per day

more than 25 to 30 per day
more than 30 to 35 per day
more than 35 to 40 per day
more than 40 to 45 per day O
more than 45 to 50 per day What is your nationality._____________________________

5. How much do you spend on cigarrettes.

Less than 10 O
Between 10 and 15 O
More than 15 O

7. Do you think smmokking is bad for your health and cheap yes no

8. Do you drive a car in Sydney Why? Why not.

9. Please rank the following with 1 = MOST IMPORTANT
2 = IMPORTANT
3. = least important
Why do you think peaople smoke? Image….looks cool
Habit
Stress
Relaxing
10. Do you have any children yes no

Thank you for your generosity time.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

46
 Writing style: Grammar and word choice

Below you have 25 sentences. Three of the sentences have no mistakes and you may also find that
some have more than one. Time yourself and see if you can find the mistakes in less than five
minutes.

1. Fossil remains of dinosaurs are found recently.

2. The government must tighten the law in this respect.
3. Nowadays, especially young people, everyone should practise safe sex.
4. He arised the matter at the meeting before last.
5. I wonder how can the writer explain this statement.
6. Success can only be achieved by hard work.
7. I suggest you to try working a bit harder.
8. Instead, the money should be spent on improving school buildings and to help old people.
9. If people are careful when they drive, there will be fewer accidents.
10. This is a delicate matter what has raised considerable controversy.
11. Smoking is very harmful our health.
12. Less people would mean less problems.
13. Should education be free for all?
14. Passing exams often depends of luck.
15. We pick knowledge throughout life.
16. The idea is certainly sound and, in my opinion, it should not be introduced.
17. He bought the stationary he needed and then rushed home to right the letter.
18. The goverment are surely responsible in this case.
19. Had they acted sooner, then the collapse of the housing market would not happen.
20. He appears to be very experienced with deal with people.
21. We are all sensible to criticism at times.
22. I’ve kept a dairy since I was in primary school.
23. He has to pay $50 fee when he was caught parking in a restricted area.
24. I often loose my way around here.
25. Recent statistics have show that the distance between the rich and the poor is increasing.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Grammar 47
Author: McCarter, S. (1996) A Book On Writing: Intelligence
 Listening: The Importance Of Questions
Exercise 1 Listening Comprehension
Read the following sentences and as you listen to the Stage 2 talk decide whether they are true or
false according to the passage. Write T (true) or F (False) in the brackets ( ) after each sentence.

1. Discussion work has limited value for the student who is not good at asking questions. ( )
2. The teacher may think a student’s question is a statement if the correct grammatical
form is not used. ( )
3. The teacher must make certain that he is clear about the exact reference of a student’s
question. ( )
4. The student’s question on ‘cost inflation’ is considered a bad one. ( )
5. Absence of the interrogative form may cause a student to sound impolite. ( )

Exercise 2 Listening and Blank-filling

Complete the following by writing one or more words in each space as you listen to the talk.

THE IMPORTANCE OF QUESTIONS

In order to obtain full value from a group discussion, a student must be good _______________ questions. If
he isn’t, then any attempt he makes to resolve his difficulties may _____________ further confusion.

A very frequent source of misunderstanding in a discussion is, in fact, the teacher’s uncertainty
___________________ his student has, indeed, asked a question ______________. What often happens
is_______________. The student, puzzled about a particular point, decides to ask a question. Unfortunately
he concentrates all his attention on the subject matter and ___________________ the language. Consequently,
he fails to employ the correct grammatical form. The result is ____________________ . The teacher
interprets the intended question as a comment. He either agrees or disagrees with it, or he continues
__________________ he was saying before.

However, __________________ the student does employ an appropriate question form, difficulties may still
_____________________. The teacher may not know, for example, ____________________ of the student’s
difficulty. The student may not have clearly heard what ______________________; or he may not have
understood the English that his teacher employed; or he may not __________________ the meaning of a point
in relation to his special subject. Each of ______________________ difficulties ___________________ a
different kind of question.

Next, a student _____________________ that his teacher is clear about exactly which point he is referring to.
In order to be absolutely ____________________, it’s a good idea for students to _____________________
their questions with an introductory statement, for example, ‘I don’t understand the point you made at the
beginning of the discussion about cost inflation. Could you explain it again please?’ The teacher is then
____________________ to give a satisfactory answer without any waste of time. Furthermore, when a
student asks questions on a text he must be very careful to locate the ____________________.

Finally, it should be mentioned that it’s often necessary to employ a question form because not to do so would
be rude.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Listening
Author: James, Jordan, Matthews & O’Brien, (1991) Listening Comprehension & Note-Taking Course: Collins ELT
48
 Listening: The Importance of Questions

Exercise 3 Reading Comprehension

Read the following sentences and as you read the text above (see Exercise 2) decide if they are true
or false according to the passage. You must (i) write T or F in the brackets and (ii) justify your
answer in the space provided, by giving evidence (i.e. by quoting) from the talk.

1. It is advisable for a student to focus all his attention on the subject matter when he is ( )
involved in a discussion.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

2. A breakdown in communication is likely to occur when a student fails to use the ( )

correct grammatical form of a question.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

3. A student who has learned to use question forms correctly has no further problems ( )
with asking questions.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

4. The use of an appropriate background statement before a question helps to make an ( )

enquiry more specific.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

5. A teacher is not normally in a position to give suitable answers to questions unless ( )

they are precise.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Listening
Author: James, Jordan, Matthews & O’Brien, (1991) Listening Comprehension & Note-Taking Course: Collins ELT
49
 Guided Note-taking: The Importance of Questions

Complete the following as you listen to the Stage 3 talk.

Title: …………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Group discussions = …………………………………………………………………………………..

BUT must be …………………………………………………………………………………

1. In early stages

Explans: (i) ……………………………………………………………………………..

(ii) ……………………………………………………………………………
(iii) v. frequent cause = ………………………………………………………
- fails to …………………………………………………………………..
e.g. ………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………….

2. Even when st. employs approp. Q.form

e.g. source …………………………………………………………………………………….

Differ. types: (a) ……………………………………………………………………..
(b) ……………………………………………………………………..
(c)………………………………………………………………………
Each type reqs …………………………………………………………………………

3. Q.must be

To be precise = ………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………
Teacher in position ……………………………………………………
……………………………………………………
Q.on text- ……………………………………………………………………………………………...

4. Correct Q form imp. – nec not to be ………………………………………………………….

S’times ………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………

Imp…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Abbreviations used above:

Explans = explanations reqs = requires
freq = frequent nec = necessary
approp = appropriate

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Listening
Author: James, Jordan, Matthews & O’Brien, (1991) Listening Comprehension & Note-Taking Course: Collins ELT
50
 Summary: The Importance of Questions

Group discussions __________________ valuable but to benefit fully, students must ___________
proficient in asking questions.

At first, there will be frequent breakdowns in communication ___________ to students not being in
command ______________ English grammar and vocabulary, students having ____________
pronunciation and teachers misunderstanding that a student ________________ asked a question
because the student fails ___________ use a correct question form. ___________ example, a
student uses a statement and so _______________ teacher interprets the question __________ a
comment.

However, even _____ students use appropriate question forms, difficulties ___________. For
example, the teacher does _________ understand the source of the problem.

The basic difficulty may, in fact, be ______ of several types – aural perception i.e. ________
student does not _________ clearly; linguistic knowledge i.e. the student __________ not know the
English; and subject matter i.e. the student does not know the topic.

Each _________ of difficulty needs a different type of question. The first ___________ requires
the student to simply _______________ for repetition. The second difficulty requires the student
________ be specific. To do this the student should _____________ questions with a statement
___________ locate the exact point __________ difficulty; for example, page 3 paragraph 2.

Finally, when a student _____________ concentrating on understanding the subject matter, he

________ not use _________ correct question form e.g. he may use the imperative form instead
________ the interrogative and this may be interpreted _________ his teacher _________ rudeness.

Therefore, _________ is important that students practise __________ forms.

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51
 Research Report - Planner

Here are some ideas to help you complete your Research Report…

* Try to write each section of the report the evening following the day you studied that section.
* Each section is predominantly of one genre (type of writing). Check which genre you are
required to write for each section.
* Do not put off writing your report until the last minute. You need to work consistently and
regularly at the task.
* Treat each part like a separate piece of homework, so you only have a short essay to write each
evening.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

Part Studied Methodology Results Introduction Discussion / Abstract Reference List Collation
Conclusion
Type of Cover
Writing Recount Description Report Discussion / Summary Internal Refs Page
(Genre) Argument Alphabetisation Content
Check Style Page
Proof
Reading
Approximate 1200
Number of 200 – 250 200 –250 250 – 350 250 - 350 100 / words?
Words Order
sections
Staple
sections

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52
 Research Report: Methodology

(How you conducted your research)

This includes:
Who you examined / interviewed
How many people there were
Males / Females
Age
Other characteristics of the sample
What instruments you used
(questionnaire, interviews, psychological testing, etc…)
The steps followed (Procedure)

Exercise 1

Some key vocabulary. (Match them up)

1. Sample The design of the questionnaire, etc..

2. Sample size Information or facts collected

3. Survey The population which was tested

4. Questionnaire A set of questions

5. Subjects A general view or study

6. Response rate A tool used to measure the sample

7. Format Major differences

8. Instrument The individuals in the study

9. Data The number of people in the study

10. Variables The percentage who answer the questions

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53
 Research Report: Methodology

Word Choice

When describing the materials and methods of research, certain “sub technical” words tend to be
used frequently. These are not the highly technical words of your specialised field which obviously
occur very often, but more general words which can occur across many different research fields.
These words often occur in certain associations, and certain nouns and verbs are typically
associated together. For example, data are collected or analysed, but never observed. You should
familiarise yourself with the most commonly used ones in your field and notice the way that they
usually occur together.

Some Useful Verbs and Nouns

identify cross section

perform design
survey variables
yield criteria
observe model
conduct accuracy
administer responses
obtain data
carry out variations
represent analysis
determine

Exercise 2

This exercise is designed to give you practice in focussing on the way that certain nouns and verbs
occur together. The following sentences are excerpts from Methodology sections of published
articles. Fill in the blank spaces with appropriate nouns or verbs. There are some to choose from
above.

a. The EPESE surveys were _____________________ at four locations.

1. Two rural counties in east central Iowa.
2. East Boston, Massachusetts.
3. New Haven, Connecticut.
4. A five-county area including Durham, North Carolina. (Colsher et al, 1990:62)

b. Samples of 651 Helsinki students in school grades 4 through 10 were _______________

questionnaires in their classrooms. (Burton et al., 1990:75)

c. Smoking status was ________________________ by two questions: “Do you smoke

cigarettes (regularly) now” and “Did you ever smoke cigarettes (regularly)?” (Colsher et al,
1990:62)

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Methodology 54
Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C, (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre Uni of Sydney
 Research Report: Methodology

d. Separate sets of analyses were ___________________ for each of the study sites, and rates
were age adjusted directly to the overall sex specific age structure of each site. (Colsher et
al, 1990:62)

e. A large number of students from a number of facilities take these classes and are generally
considered to comprise a representative _____________________ of first year university
students attending the University of Alberta. (Svenson et al, 1990:70)

f. All uptake experiments were carried out in triplicate, and the mean values of the data are
___________________________ with standard errors as bars. (Verma and Singh, 1990:34)

Time Order

The Methodology section is usually developed along the same time sequence that the researcher
followed in setting up the experiment. Because this time sequence is often the main organising
principle of the section, the logical relation of time is not usually expressed overtly, but rather just
assumed from the sequence of the steps described. This means that you would rarely write “first”,
“second”, “then”, and so on, although sometimes it is necessary to explain overtly the relationship
in time between certain events.

Exercise 3

Read the text, from social sciences. Underline any examples you can find where the time sequence
is overtly expressed. Then re-read the texts and underline where the time sequence is implicitly
understood.

Some weeks after the interview each Lecturer was sent a letter inviting her or him to
participate in a scheme whereby the Centre for Teaching and Learning of the University
would process data gathered in the form of student evaluations, and provide a report. The
Lecturers were asked to choose from among the courses which they taught, the course that
gave them the best opportunity to teach as they would like or, if there were no differences in
that respect among the courses, the course with the highest enrolment. They were asked then
to invite the students in that course to assign a score between 1 and 7 for the quality of their
teaching and to write any suggestions they could for the improvement of their teaching. No
criteria of teaching quality were supplied. Students were to do this anonymously and to use
the code number of the Lecturer, not the name. Lecturers were asked to mail the students’
responses to the author with details of the number.… (Dunkin, 1990:54)

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Methodology
Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C, (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre Uni of Sydney 55
 Research Report: Methodology

Passive Voice Practice

Rewrite these sentences in the passive voice.

1. They determined the fastest route into the city.

________________________________________________________________________

2. They heated the liquid to 97oC.

________________________________________________________________________

3. They made a record of each person’s birth date.

________________________________________________________________________

4. They had to administer painkillers to four animals.

________________________________________________________________________

5. Go to town and select a suitable location.

________________________________________________________________________

6. Construct an apparatus for measuring temperature fluctuations.

________________________________________________________________________

7. Position the electrodes at the source of the stream.

________________________________________________________________________

8. Analyse the data to determine significant variations at the four locations.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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56
 Research Report: Methodology
Exercise 4

Look at the following set of instructions for setting up research. Write the methodology section for
the research report, taking care to convert instruction (‘do this’) to report (‘this was done”).

Select a regional blood bank in Southern Ireland, which services a population of

approximately 380,000. Assume that a sample size of 2500 is sufficient to detect a 3%
increase in prevalence of group A.

Devise a short questionnaire. This questionnaire must record date of birth, place of own birth
and that of both parents. It must also record current occupation in detail in accordance with
the Registrar General’s criteria.

If the person is unemployed, make a record of the longest held occupation.

If the person is financially dependent, find out the occupation of the financial supporter.

Have two interviewers, and make sure that the donor organiser supervises them.

Consider all potential donors who present at a session. Ask each one to complete the
questionnaire, without reference to blood group record. Then later add the blood group.

Treat the information as completely confidential.

Make sure that a single observer codes the completed forms.

Then carry out the data processing.

(adapted from Kelleher, C. et al., 1990: 59)

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Methodology
Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C, (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre Uni of Sydney
57
 Methodology: Sample Structure

Steps in presenting a Methodology section

INTRODUCTION…

i. Who did you study? … 50 international students from UWSCollege

ii. Location of study

DETAILS OF….

iii. Date of survey

iv. How were subjects selected? …randomly?
v. Demographics of the subjects
vi. Location/time/situation of survey

THE INSTRUMENT

vii. Questionnaire / number of items

viii. Groups/categories of items included in questionnaire (e.g. demographic

questions, personal questions, attitude questions) …keep similar items
together

[NOTE: Do not list each question in the methodology.]

ix. How was this questionnaire distributed / administered? ... “self report?”

COLLECTION / COLLATION

x. Who/how collected?

xi. How collated?

xii. How was data analysed ? …graphs? charts/ tables?

xiii. What (statistical) analyses were performed on the data? (% etc)

xiv. What comparison within/between data was made?

(male/females, older/younger, nationalities/groups)

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

58
 Research Report: Methodology Model

Auditory Comprehension Of English By Monolingual And Bilingual Preschool Children

Method

A bilingual group and a monolingual group, each comprised of 30 children, were compared. In
each group there were six subjects at each of five different age levels. The subjects were selected
from seven day care centres in Houston. These centres accept only children from below poverty
threshold; thus, comparable socio-economic status among the test subjects was insured.

The bilingual subjects were selected from the 99 Mexican American children in a previous study
(Carrow 1971) on the basis of performance at age mean or above in both languages on a test of
auditory comprehension. This criterion was employed to assure basic understanding of both
languages.

The test instrument employed in this study was a Revised Version of the Auditory Test for
Language Comprehension (Carrow 1968), which permits the assessment of oral language
comprehension of English and Spanish without requiring language expression. It consists of a set
of 114 plates, each of which contains three black and white line drawings representing 15
grammatical categories.

Both groups were tested by the same examiner, a Mexican-American fluent in both languages. The
children were brought individually to a test area where they engaged in spontaneous conversation.
For the bilingual children, conversations were conducted in English and Spanish to determine the
language in which each child appeared more fluent. Each bilingual subject was tested first in the
language in which he demonstrated less fluency so that learning would not be a significant factor in
subsequent performance when the test was administered again in the second language.

The test required the child to indicate his response by pointing to the picture which corresponded to
the examiner’s utterance. A score of one was given for each item passed. Test administration
required 30 to 45 minutes in each language for each child.

A 2 x 5 analysis of variance was used to test for age and language group differences.

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59
Methodology
Research Reports: Methodology – A Checklist
Author: Weissberg, R. & Buker, S. (1990) Writing up Research: Prentice Hall Regents

The methodology describes how you conducted your research. It should be written using a variety
of past tenses, including passive voice where appropriate.

The following is a checklist of the kind of information you should include in your methodology
section. You should use this as you complete your methodology.

Sample:
who, where, when, how many,

(if necessary – M/F, age, nationality groupings, or other special characteristics, e.g. if only
academic students, or general English students, or only employees from within one company).

Instruments used:
Your questionnaire – how many questions, type of questions, type of responses required, e.g.
ranking on a scale of………….

The steps followed:

Creating/Piloting questionnaire
Administering questionnaire
Collating data

Data analysis:
A final sentence, highlighting the analysis you used on your data, e.g. all numbers are represented
as percentages of the total number of respondents.

Things NOT to include or repeat:

You do NOT need to list every question from your questionnaire in your methodology.
You do NOT need to refer to yourselves or to anything personal, e.g. NOT “Diploma B students
made a questionnaire”.

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60
 Graphs Review
Pie Charts

Look at this pie chart, which shows how a young woman called Tomoko spends her money.
Look at the sentences below that have been written about the pie chart. See if you can correct
them.
different equal
1. Tomoko spends an equal amount of money on rent, food study materials and entertainment.
2. Tomoko spends 45 percent of her money on rent and food, but she only spends 15 per cent
of her money on study materials. 25
less
3. Tomoko spends more on clothes than she spends on study materials.
4. Tomoko spends as much money on rent and food as she does on everything else put together.
less than
T omoko's Finance

Study
Materials
Rent and 25%
Food
45% Entertain
ment
Clothes 15%
15%

TABLES

A popular magazine conducted a survey about their readers’ smoking habits. Here are the results:

Cigarette Smoking Habits by Gender - %

all men women

20 + a day 11 13 9
10 – 19 a day 11 11 10
less than 10 a day 8 7 10
given up 27 30 24
never smoked 43 39 47

Complete the following sentences which describe some of the facts in the table.

5. Most of
_________________________________ the readers have never smoked.
6. Almost a third of the readers __________________________
used to smoke but have now given up.
7. small percentage
A ________________________________ of readers smoke less than ten cigarettes a day.
8. smoking more
Generally speaking men are _______________________ than women.
9. the proportion
__________________________ of readers who smoke more than twenty a day is quite
small at 11 per cent overall.
10. are quite similar
The figures for the 20 plus group and 10 – 19 group ___________________________

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Graphs Review
Author: Jakeman, V & McDowell, C. (1999) Insight into IELTS, Cambridge UP
61
 Graphs Review

Selecting Important Information

Carefully examine the graph below

Mobile Phone Owner Growth 1995 2000

16

14

12
Millions

10

0
UK Ge rma ny It a ly Sweden F ra nc e F inla nd N o rw a y D e nma rk S p a in N e t he rla nd s

1. The graph demonstrates the increase in the

numbers phone of ownership in 10 countries
between 1995 and 2000. 2.

1. Write one sentence which says what the graph shows.

2. Write two sentences which give overall information about the graph.

3. Write a fourth sentence about France. 3. The percentage of mobile phone owners
expanded in France from one million in 1995
4. Write a fifth sentence about UK. to seven million in 2000.

5. Write a final sentence about Germany.

Exchange your answers with a partner and discuss the features you chose to describe.
Do your six sentences appear to be a paragraph? What else could you include?

4. From 1995 to 2000, there was a sharp

increase in mopbile phone owners by
ppropximately 9 millions in UK.

5. In 2000, the number of people who used mobile phone

in Germany extremely increase more than 1995

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Graphs Review
Author: Jakeman, V & McDowell, C. (1999) Insight into IELTS, Cambridge UP
62
 Graphs Review

Follow-up

Discuss the important features of the following graph.

Average book prices in pounds sterling – statistics published by the Policy Studies Unit.

50
1990 1991 1992
45 1993 1994 1995
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
School Text Books Children's Books Scientific/technical/Medical Academic and Professional
Books Books

Comparing Data
When you interpret graphs, tables and charts, you will find that you have to compare and contrast
some of the details. You will need to structure your answer well and connect your ideas
appropriately. The following table may help you do this.

to contrast to compare
while / whilst likewise to reflect
whereas similarity to mirror
however as…as to have in common
on the other hand just as
even so in the same way
nevertheless like
less… than alike

Look at the following diagram.

Running Events
Sprints

2 hrs 178 640

6 mins miles miles
9.95 2 mins
50 sec
sec 27.37 sec
+ 15.6%

+ 16.8%
+ 10%
+ 6.1%

+ 10%

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Graphs Review
Author: Jakeman, V & McDowell, C. (1999) Insight into IELTS, Cambridge UP
63
 Graphs Review

Complete the gaps in the following paragraph that describes the diagram on the previous page.

Generally speaking men are (1) ______________ women in running events. The gap is greatest
in the long-distance events and (2) ____________________ in the sprints. In the six-day
running event, the best male runners can cover 640 miles, (3) _________________ the fastest
women cover only 548 miles. This represents a difference of 16.8 per cent. This difference
becomes (4) _________________ significant in the shorter events. In the 100m, for example,
there is only 6.1 per cent (5) _________________ in performance between men and women.

Compare some of the other details in the diagram.

GROUPING INFORMATION

When organising your answer it may also help to ‘group’ some of the information. This is
particularly the case when there is a lot of data, as in the graph below.
Here there are too many age groups for each to be described independently, so it helps to group
some of them.

Weekly Earnings

Male Female
$700
$600 Graduates
$500 Non-graduates (with 2 or more A-levels)

$400
$300
$200
$100
$0
16-19 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-59
16-19 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-59

How to approach the task

Consider what the graph shows and think about the vocabulary and tenses you will use in
describing it.
Select two significant features of the graph (overall) to write about.
Note some points about the earning power of female graduates by grouping the ages as you feel
is appropriate.
Note some points about the male graduates by grouping the ages as you feel is appropriate.
Consider the comparisons you will make.
Think about a final point.

Now write a paragraph describing the information shown in the graph.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Graphs Review 64
Author: Jakeman, V & McDowell, C. (1999) Insight into IELTS, Cambridge UP
 Referencing

Plagiarism

If you use the exact words of another author, you must acknowledge this by the appropriate use
of quotation marks.
If you use the ideas of another author, you must clearly acknowledge that you have done so.
If you use unpublished works, other students’ papers or research, you must acknowledge the
source.
Any tables, statistics and diagrams which are not your own must be clearly documented.
If you paraphrase the words or thoughts of another person, document your paraphrase.

Citing references in texts

To cite is to point to evidence, authority or proof. There are different accepted ways or styles of
presenting references. Each style is a system with consistent rules about how to display a citation
(including punctuation, font and capitalization) within your text and the reference list. The style
used in this course is the Harvard style of referencing.

Purpose: To identify sources for the reader.

One work by a single author

Use the author-date method of citation. Insert the surname of the author and the year of publication
in your text, e.g.:

Smith (2002) compared reaction times and found that in most cases there was little
difference….

or

In a recent study of reaction times, Smith (2002) found that in most cases there was little
difference…

The year need only be quoted once in a paragraph.

One work by two or more authors

a) When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the
text, e.g.:

Freeman and Hill (2004) demonstrated the need for greater simplicity.

b) When a work has more than two authors, the surname of the first author only should be
given, followed by et al.:

eg. William et al. (2006) later agreed that it was all in a good cause…..

(A full listing of names should appear in the reference list)

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 Referencing
Using References in Academic Essays
Authors referred to in another work
Refer to both works in your text, but include only the work you have read in your reference list,
e.g.:
Smith (2002 cited in Jones 2005) stated that there were few differences between the early
results …

Quotation

Include the following with any quotation:

author
year
page number

A short quotation may be directly inserted into your text, using single quotation marks, e.g.:

He states,‘The placebo effect disappeared when behaviours were studied in this manner’
(Smith 2002, p.276), but he did not clarify which behaviours were studied.

Smith (2002, p.276) found that ‘the placebo effect, which had been verified in previous
studies, disappeared when behaviours were studied in this manner.’

If the quotation is long (i.e. more that 40 words), write it as a separated indented paragraph without
quotation marks e.g.:

your text- your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text. Smith
found the following:

The placebo effect, which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when
behaviours were studied in this manner. Furthermore, the behaviours were never exhibited,
even when real drugs were administered (2002, p.276).

your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text your-text
your-text…

Changes from the source

The punctuation at the start or end of a short quotation may be changed to fit the syntax of
your sentence.

Words may be omitted if you use three full stops … to indicate the omission, e.g.:

Smith (2006, p.11) believes that ‘it was possible…to direct attention to the…answer.’

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 Referencing

Using References in Academic Essays

Words may be added so that the quotation fits the syntax of your sentence.
Use square brackets around your additions, e.g.:

Smith (2005, p.34) stated he felt [that it was necessary] to close the school.

The reference list

Purpose: To enable readers to find and use your source materials.

The reference list is a list of all the works referred to in your essay. Make sure that all works cited
in your writing are included in your reference list (and vice-versa).

Each entry should contain the following information:

author
year of publication
title
place of publication
publisher
any additional information which may be needed in order to locate it.

Ordering references in reference lists.

Entries should be arranged in alphabetical order by author’s surname. The title of the book or
journal should be in italics, e.g.:

Kaufman, JR, 2001, The sleeping giant: an economic history of China in the 1980s,
Penguin, London.

Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are commonly used in reference lists:

edn edition
2nd edn second edition
ed. (eds.) editor (editors)
p.(pp.) page (pages)
vol volume
vols volumes
no. number

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67
 Referencing
Using References in Academic Essays
The following is a guide for compiling a Reference List according to the Harvard style. See vUWS
for current UWS Referencing Style Guide.

The title is References

Books:

One author…

Williams, M, 2006, The koala kingdom, Worm Books, Sydney.

Two or more authors…

Williams, M, Ziade, M and Miller, M, 2006, The koala kingdom keeps on growing, Worm Books,
Sydney.

Newspapers:

If you just have the name of the article…

See special note in Reference Guide. No reference list entry required.

If you have the author’s name too…

Williams, M, 2005, ‘Koalas in the Pacific’, Sydney Morning Herald 28 October, p.14.

Journals:

Williams, M, 2005, ‘The development of the koala’, Australian Journal of Koalas, vol. 12, no. 4,
pp.23-44.

Edited Books

Williams, M (ed.) 2007, For and against: koala questions answered, 2nd edn, Worms Waterloo,
Singapore.

If it’s an article in an edited book of articles…

Gollan, A, 2006, ‘Does it make more sense to chip the koalas or save them?’, in M Williams (ed.)
Questions for the koalas, Worm Book Club, Canberra pp.30-40.

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 Research Report: Introduction
Staging
The Introduction is one of the most important sections of a scientific article and yet it is often the
most difficult to write. Part of the difficulty may be related to the time when it is written. Rather
than writing it first, a better strategy might be to write it last when you’ve finished writing up the
experimental results and the discussion of them. Another difficulty may be not knowing what
information goes into the Introduction and how this information is ordered.

The Content

The Introduction typically answers the following questions:

a. What is the subject of the paper?
b. What is the area of interest and what have other researchers found?
c. How does the current research relate to previous research?
d. What is the research objective and what hypothesis is being tested?

The answers to these questions can help provide guidelines as to what information should be
included in the Introduction.

Table 1 Stages of the Introduction of a research paper

MOVE FUNCTIONAL NAME OF MOVE BRIEF EXPLANATION

1 ESTABLISHING THE FIELD Introducing the topic by showing that
the field is significant, and/or the
A. ASSERTING CENTRALITY research is relevant by stating what is
known, or by summarising what is
B. STATING CURRENT KNOWLEDGE known.

2 SUMMARISING PREVIOUS RESEARCH Summarising from the perspective of

this research and showing the
relationship between this research and
the whole field.

3 PREPARING FOR PRESENT RESEARCH Justifying the need for this research by
showing there hasn’t been enough
A. INDICATING A GAP research in this field yet or there have
been problems or errors in previous
B. RAISING A QUESTION research.

4 INTRODUCING PRESENT RESEARCH OR THIS Clarifying the research project itself or

RESEARCH PAPER just the research paper by stating its/their
purpose and/or by stating its/their
A. STATING PURPOSE hypothesis.
B. STATING HYPOTHESIS

Notice that the development from move 1 to move 4 can be depicted as a movement from general to specific, beginning
with introducing the reader to the whole field, then explaining how this research fits into the whole field, and then
stating the specific aims and outline of the research. This development can also be described as an argument designed
to convince the reader of the importance of your research. The usual place where this type of justification is made is
move 3 where you show that your research is necessary either to fill the gaps in accepted knowledge in your field, or to
solve previous problems or correct errors.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Introduction
Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C. (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre, Uni of Sydney 69
 Research Report: Introduction
Exercise 1

Now read the following Introduction. Decide where the different moves begin and end. Underline those
words that you think indicate a change of move.

Using Microcomputers In Teaching

During the past 40 years, the United States has experienced the integration of the computer into
society. Progress has been made to the point that small, inexpensive computers with expanded
capabilities are available for innumerable uses. Many schools have purchased and are
purchasing microcomputers for infusion into their directed learning programs.

Most individuals seem to agree that the microcomputer will continue to hold an important role
in education. Gubser (1980) and Hinton (1980) suggested phenomenal increases in the
numbers of computers both in the school and the home in the near future. Schmidt (1982)
identified three types of microcomputer use in classrooms; the object of a course, a support
tool, and a means of providing instruction. Foster and Kleene (1982) cite four uses of
microcomputers in vocational agriculture; drill and practice, tutorial, simulation and problem
solving.

The findings of studies examining the use of various forms of computer-assisted instruction
(CAI) have been mixed. Studies by Hickey (1968) and Honeycutt (1974) indicated superior
results with CAI while studies by Ellis (1978), Caldwell (1980) and Belzer (1976) indicated
little or no significant effect. Although much work has been done to date, more studies need to
be conducted to ascertain the effects of microcomputer-assisted instruction in teaching various
subjects in a variety of learning situations.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effect of using microcomputer-assisted instruction
as compared to a lecture-discussion technique in teaching principles and methods of cost
recovery and investment credit on agricultural assets to graduate students in agricultural
education.
(from: Writing Up Research (1990), R. Weissberg & S. Buker: Prentice Hall Regents)

Exercise 2

Now there is a problem for you to solve. Your friend has just written the following Introduction to a
research paper and has asked you to proofread it. What would you tell your friend is wrong with the staging
of this Introduction?

The problem of an aging population is currently causing much concern in many countries.
Shanghai is the first Chinese City to experience this problem. We conducted an investigation
during June and July 1986, for the purpose of probing into the effects of Tai Chi and diet
nutrition on health and senility. The results of that investigation are reported here.
(Wang, Zen and Gu, draft)
Appropriacy

While these general rules about content and structure can be used as guidelines to help you when you are
writing your Introduction, it is important to be aware of the way that different audiences and purposes
influence the way you present your paper. For example, the report written for a superior who is not very
familiar with your research will be quite different in its approach from a post-graduate thesis written to be
examined by an expert in your specialised field.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

(from: Writing a Research Paper (1991), E. Murrison & C. Webb, Learning Assistance Centre, Uni of Sydney 70
 Research Report: Results

Results

Although the content of the Results section is dictated by the results of the research and therefore
should present you with fewer problems in writing, there are still a number of choices that you must
make about which results to present and how to present them.

Content

In order to outline what goes in the Results section, we need to clarify the relationship between
different parts of the research paper:

Introduction poses a question WHY?

Materials and Methods tells what you did to answer the HOW?
question

Results tells what you found that can be WHAT?

used to answer the question

Discussion tells what is significant from SO WHAT?

the results for answering the
question?

The Results section should only present results which relate back to the question posed in the
Introduction (the hypothesis or thesis). It functions as a stepping stone to the Discussion section, by
presenting the framework on which the discussion can be built.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Results
Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C. (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre, Uni of Sydney
71
 Research Report: Results
The way that you present the results is also an important decision which will be influenced by the
field and the type of research. It is assumed in this course that you have considerable expertise in
scientific method and therefore, you know how to set out graphs and tables. However, one brief
exercise is given to check your familiarity with the techniques of setting out tables.

Exercise 1
Look at the following table. What criticisms could you make of it?

Table 1: gives the soluble solids, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid content of orange juice
given various treatments.

Treatment Titratable Acidity Ascorbic Acid Soluble Solids

A1 119, 1214 17.3, 16.2 17.2, 18.0
A2 1114, 1200 18.6, 17.6 17.3, 17.9
B 1101, 1000 14.2, 20.0 16.8, 18.1
A3 672, 1000 6.2, 10.2 10.3, 12.2
Fresh

(Scriven, 2006)
Criticisms: _______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Staging

When you have made the decision as to which results are significant in terms of being able to
answer the question posed in the Introduction, and you have recorded the results you need in graphs
and tables, the next step is to write the text that will accompany your data. The text can consist of
one or more of the following stages:

BACKGROUND INFORMATION (optional)

DESCRIPTION OF TABLE OR GRAPH (not optional)

STATEMENT OF MOST SIGNIFICANT RESULTS

STATEMENT OF RESULT BY COMPARISON BETWEEN RESULTS

STATEMENT OF RESULT BY COMPARISON WITH PUBLISHED RESULTS

Of the last three stages only one need be present and these stages may be repeated several times. In
some fields, the last of these stages is not included in the Result section at all. Instead it becomes
one possible stage in the Discussion section, and indeed sometimes represents the major function of
the Discussion.

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72
 Research Report: Results
The following example of a Results section from a journal article (Wills et al, 2005:66) illustrates
the different stages:

Description of the seven brands of Australian rice available on the retail market is given in Table 1.

MOVE: DESCRIPTION OF TABLE

The samples of rice marketed by Ricegrowers Co-operative Mill were grown in New South
Wales, and those marketed by Riviana were grown in Queensland: Sunwhite – long grain
rice available in Western Australia is produced from the IR661 cultivar grown in the Ord
River region.

MOVE: STATEMENT OF MOST SIGNIFICANT RESULTS

Data on the nutrient composition of the three types of rice were not markedly different
(Table 2); the main differences being a small decrease in starch and increases in fat,
sucrose and ash from white to parboiled to brown rice.

The changes are consistent with the known differences in composition of the bran and
endosperm of rice. (Araullo, dePadua & Graham, 2000).

STATEMENT OF RESULT – Comparison Between Results

The overall composition is in the order of that reported for white rice (Item C310) and
brown rice (Item C300) in the Australian food tables (Thomas & Corden, 1977); no data are
given for parboiled rice.

STATEMENT OF RESULT – Comparison with Published Results

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Results - Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C. (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre, Uni of Sydney 73
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 Research Report: Results
Exercise 2
Look at the following excerpt from the Results section of a journal article (Burton et al., 2006:76).
Identify the stages as described and illustrated above.

Finnish and American samples are comparable in proportion of subjects with a television in
their household, with 97% of the Helsinki subjects and 99% of the Los Angeles subjects
reporting that there is a television in their home.

MOVE: comparision between results

Table 1 gives the number of days per week that the subjects report that they usually spend
some time watching television, listening to the radio, reading newspapers, and reading
magazines.

MOVE: description of table

Statistically significant differences exist between the Helsinki and Los Angeles subjects in
time spent using each of the four media (television chi-square = 26.4, P<.001;radio chi-
square = 53.2, P<.001; newspaper chi-square = 517.0, P<.001, and magazine chi-square =
28.4, P<.001).

MOVE: comparision between results

Subjects from the two countries are most comparable in time spent viewing television and
reading magazines, while larger differences exist in use of radio and newspapers.
comparision between results nhưng thiên về discussion results hơn
MOVE:

Half of Helsinki subjects but only 5% of the Los Angeles subjects reported that they read the
newspaper 7 days a week.

MOVE: Results

Similarly 42% of the Los Angeles subjects but only 9% of Helsinki subjects reported that they
never read the newspaper.

MOVE: Comparision between results/ discussion of results

Radio, on the other hand, is used much more frequently by the American youth, as seen in
Table 1.
description of table
MOVE:

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Results - Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C. (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre, Uni of Sydney 74
All references used in this book are for skills practice only and may not be authentic sources
 Research Report: Results

Language Description of Tables and Graphs

Exercise 3
Read the following alternative ways of describing a figure. Underline the language used to signal
this description.

a. Figure 2 compares the weekly seedling height for Tall+Ga with that for Tall control
(Blue).
b. Figure 2 shows the weekly seedling height for Tall+Ga compared with that for Tall
control (Blue).
c. Weekly seedling height for Tall+GA compared with Tall control (blue) is shown in
Figure 2.
d. Weekly seedling height for Tall+Ga is compared with that for Tall control (Blue)
(Figure 2).
e. It can be seen from Figure 2 that … (STATEMENT OF RESULT)

Exercise 4
Look at the following table and then write a brief description of it.

Table 1: Places Where Robberies Occurred, NSW and Queensland, 2000 (%)

NSW QLD
(%) (%)
Street 16.3 29.2
Chemist 42.0 12.9
Retail Shop 27.0 14.2
Bank 8.4 25.1
Private Residence 6.3 18.6

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

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75
 Research Report: Results
Statement of Result – Comparison Between Results

Exercise 5
Read the examples below and underline the words indicating that a comparison is being made.

a. The data obtained in this study (Table 3) show the expected trend in that levels of vitamins
and minerals were substantially higher in brown rice than white rice and the levels in
parboiled rice were intermediate. (Wills et al., 2005: 67)

b. There were no differences in level of depression, smoking or parental compatibility.

Differences in numbers of drugs used were marginally significant, with the inconsistent
group reporting the highest mean number.
= slightly (Wilson, 2001: 178)

c. At all the sites, the largest percentages of men were former smokers, whereas the largest
percentages of women were never smokers. Contrasting the four study sites, Iowa men and
women were most likely to be never smokers and least likely to be current smokers.
(Colsher, 2001:63)

d. Doctorates were more common in the physical and biological sciences, were positively
associated with a more impressive publication record, but were negatively related to
Perceived Competence.
(Dunkin, 2003:55)
Exercise 6
Now look back at the table about robberies and write sentences comparing the results specified below. Try
to vary your approach each time.

a. street NSW

bank NSW
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
b. private residence Qld

bank Qld
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
c. private residence NSW

bank Qld
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
d. private and public places NSW

private and public places Qld

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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Results - Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C. (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre, Uni of Sydney 76
All references used in this book are for skills practice only and may not be authentic sources
 Research Report: Results
Statement Of Result – Comparison With Published Results
Exercise 7
Read the following examples of comparisons of results with previously published results, and
underline the words that show the comparison is being made.

a. The present observations showing light-independent Cu uptake are similar to those of

Ni uptake in A. cylindrica (Campbell and Smith, 2004), and in contrast to those of Al
uptake in A. cylindrica (Petterson et al, 2005); in the latter case, metal uptake was
independent of light conditions, thus questioning the energy–and metabolism–
dependent cellular transport of ions.
(Verma and Singh, 2006:35)

b. The changes are consistent with the known differences in composition of the bran and
endosperm of rice (Araullo, de Padua & Graham, 1976).
(Wills et al., 2005:66)

c. Seven persons (15 percent) with both diseases had only extrapulmonary tuberculous
disease, and 21 (46 percent) had only pulmonary tuberculosis. Thus 25 persons or 54
percent of cases with both TB and AIDS had extra-pulmonary involvement compared
to 16 percent in TB patients nationwide (US Department of Health and Human
Services, 2004).
(Cote et al, 2007:950)

Practice Exercise In Writing A Results Section

Write a Results section based on the following results. Assume that the first set of results is from
your own research, and that the results given in Table 4 are from another researcher in this area,
Thompson, in 2002. Don’t forget to describe the tables first and compare between your own results
before going on to compare with previously published results.

Table 3: Caries-free experience in the deciduous teeth of kindergarten children in Launceston, Tasmania, 2000, 2004, 2006.

Year Number of children Caries-free % Decrease from

examined No. % 2000
2000 125 49 39.0 ___
2004 131 26 19.8 49
2006 103 19 18.4 53

( ______________________ )
Put your name here
Table 4: Caries-free experience in the deciduous teeth of kindergarten children in Launceston, Tasmania, 1999, 2000, 2001

Year Number of children Caries-free % Decrease from

examined No. % 1999
1999 143 103 71.0 ___
2000 109 42 38.5 46
2001 94 22 23.4 67
(Thompson, 2002:83)

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All references used in this book are for skills practice only and may not be authentic sources
 Referencing

Reference List Recognition

In the reference list below, find the following:

1. A journal article written by two authors

2. A book by one author

3. A paper presented at a conference

4. An edited book of articles

5. A book by two authors

6. A publication with no author

7. An article in an edited book of articles

Reference List
Audiometry Year Book 2004, Academic Press, Cleveland.

Culatta, R & Seltzer, H 2006, ‘Content and sequence analysis of the supervisory session: A report
of clinical use’, Asha, vol.19, pp. 523-526.

Darley, F (ed.) 1999, Graduate education in speech pathology and audiology: Report of a national
conference, American Speech and Hearing Association, Washington, DC.

Engnoth, G & Lingwall, J 2000, A comparison of three approaches to supervision of speech

clinicians in training, paper presented at the Annual Convention of American Speech and Hearing
Association, Las Vegas.

Goldhammer, R 2004, Clinical supervision, Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, New York.

Tillman, T & Olsen, W 2005, ‘Speech Audiometry’, in J Jerger (ed.), Modern developments in
audiology, 2nd edn, Academic Press, New York, pp. 242-274.

Unruh, A & Turner, H 2004, Supervision of change and innovation, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

All references used in this book are for skills practice only and may not be authentic sources 78
 Research Report: Discussion

Sometimes this section is called ‘conclusions’ instead of ‘discussion’. In either case, the writing conventions
reflect some common features.

Look at the following discussion section from a research report in the field of applied psychology. In this
study the productivity of older and younger factory workers was compared. Notice the kinds of information
that is included in this example.

AGE, EXPERIENCE AND PERFORMANCE ON SPEED AND SKILL JOBS IN AN APPLIED SETTING

Discussion
original The decremental theory of aging led us to infer that older workers in speed jobs would have poorer
hypothesis performance, greater absenteeism, and more accidents compared with other workers.
The findings, however, go against the theory. The older workers generally earned more, were
findings absent less, had fewer accidents, and had less turnover that younger workers.
One possible conclusion is that the requirements of the speed jobs in the light manufacturing
explanation industry under study do not make physical demands on the older workers to the limits of their
for reserve capacity. The competence and experience of the older workers in these specific jobs may
findings have compensated for their reduced stamina…
This study has taken a step in the direction of defining the relationship between age, experience and
productivity in one particular industry. It is possible of course that other industries with a different
limitations complex of speed jobs and skill jobs may produce entirely different results. In addition, it is
important to emphasise that methodological problems in the research design limit our
interpretations.
need for The approach outlined in this study should be replicated in other manufacturing plants, as well as in
further other occupational areas in light, medium, and heavy industries in order to construct a typology of
research older worker performance in a variety of jobs.

Ordering your information

The information that you include in this section depends greatly on the findings of your study: however, the specific-to-
general movement is a convention that most writers follow. The kinds of information that you can include in your
discussion section are not fixed. However, the first elements are typically those that refer most directly to the study and
its findings. They include:

FIRST INFORMATION ELEMENTS IN DISCUSSION

Specific Reference to the Study

1. A reference to the main purpose or hypothesis of the study.

2. A review of the most important findings, whether or not they support the original hypothesis,
and whether they agree with the findings of other researchers.
3. Possible explanations for or speculations about the findings.
4. Limitations of the study that restrict the extent to which the findings can be generalised.

As the discussion section continues, the writer moves the reader’s attention away from the specific results of the study
and begins to focus more generally on the importance that the study may have for other workers in the field.

LATER INFORMATION ELEMENTS IN DISCUSSION

General Statements about the study

5. Implications of the study (generalisations from the results):

6. Recommendations for future research and practical applications.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Discussion
Author: Weissber, R. & Buker, S. (1990) Writing Up Research: Prentice Hall
79
 Research Report: Discussion
Exercise 1 Analysis

Read the following discussion section from a report in the field of management. The study was carried out to determine
if management by objectives (MBO) practices would improve the quality and quantity of work and level of satisfaction
of employees in a human services agency.

THE EFFECTS OF MBO ON PERFORMANCE AND SATISFACTION IN A PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION

Discussion
1
The results of the satisfaction questionnaire were mixed. 2Satisfaction with supervision significantly
increased after implementation of the MBO program, and there was directional (but not significant)
support that work satisfaction improved. 3These results are consistent with previous research (Steers,
1996; Tosi et al, 1996). 4Our findings thus lend support for the hypothesis that MBO leads to a
satisfaction improvement, at least over the short term (Ivancevich, 1996). 5Reliance on these measures
must be tempered, however, because a control group was not available and only two measures were taken
(before and after) in assessing changes in satisfaction.
6
Because a high degree of variability was found in the data, it would be beneficial to replicate this study
on larger and different populations. 7It would also be interesting to measure satisfaction over several
periods of time instead of for one pre- and one post-intervention.8The limitations in field experiments not
withstanding, this study suggests that MBO may have a favourable impact on performance and
satisfaction in public sector agencies. 9Reinforcement of the MBO process and continuous reinforcement
while using the system should aid in its acceptance and use.

Now identify the elements of information in the example that correspond to those listed in the boxes on the previous
page.

Sentences 1, 2, 3, and 4 Information element _____________________________________

Sentence 5. Information element _____________________________________

Sentence 6 and 7. Information element _____________________________________

Sentence 8. Information element _____________________________________

Sentence 9. Information element _____________________________________

Researcher’s Position towards the Findings

In the discussion section more than any other place in the report, researchers make explicit their own views on the study
and its findings. The researchers may take a position with respect to the explanations, implications, limitations, or
applications of the findings (Element 3, 4, 5 and 6).

RESEARCHER’S POSITION ON INFORMATION IN THE DISCUSSION

Position Information element

One possible explanation is that speed jobs do not tax older workers to their limits. (explanation)

We can no longer assume that it is satisfactory to seek explanations only in economic factors. (implications)

We acknowledge that other industries may produce different results. (restriction)

Clearly, this technique has promise as a tool in evaluation of forages. (application)

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

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 Research Report: Discussion

Exercise 2

Each of the following statements comes from a different research report. Determine the
information element each sentence represents (see the first two boxes earlier in this section) and
indicate the element in the blank space before each statement. Also underline the part of each
sentence that indicates the author’s position towards the information.

1. ________________________________ The present study offers clear evidence

that ‘hands-on-experience’ is not sufficient for the productive learning of computer
programming by novices.

2. ________________________________ These findings lead us to believe that

more difficult materials should be used in order to give ESL students additional
practice in discerning implicit relationships in English texts.

3. ________________________________ What explains this larger than expected

gap between the two groups? It may be that dictating to a machine is faster than
writing – at least for letters of this type.

4. ________________________________ We readily acknowledge that our research

is exploratory and that there are problems with the statistical model.

5. ________________________________ From our results, we suggest that the

optimal level of indentation for a computer program is 2 – 4 spaces.

6. ________________________________ This finding is of considerable importance

since it suggests that the ‘resetting’ of the metabolic machinery (25) is not confined
to a single homeostatic compartment.

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Discussion 81
Author: Weissber, R. & Buker, S. (1990) Writing Up Research: Prentice Hall
 Research Report: Discussion
Exercise 3 Arrangement

The discussion section from a research report in the field of sociology is given here, with the
sentences in scrambled order. Rearrange and number the sentences in the order that you think the
authors originally wrote them. Refer to the boxes on the previous pages, which show the typical
sequence of information elements.

SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY AMONG COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES

A. _________________ We therefore recommend that colleges that wish to prevent

cheating should not emphasise the social environment to the detriment of the
intellectual environment.

B. _________________ It seems clear that both theories are able to explain

statistically significant amounts of variance in college cheating.

C. _________________ The two perspectives examined were (1) culture conflict

theory, and (2) internal social control theory.

D. _________________ In the first case, we can expect that to the extent that a student
has a high level of culture conflict orientation, he or she will have an increased
probability of cheating.

E. _________________ This research has attempted to assess two theories of deviant

behaviour in terms of their ability to account for cheating among a sample of
college students (N = 650).

F. _________________ Finally, since there was a surprising lack of consensus among

the students in our sample on precisely which activities their faculty members were
likely to see as forbidden, we further recommend that faculty members would do
well to take time occasionally to clarify precisely what will be defined as
‘scholastic dishonesty’ in their classes.

G. _________________ On the other hand, to the extent that he has a high level of internal
social control, his tendency to engage in cheating should be correspondingly reduced.

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Discussion 82
Author: Weissber, R. & Buker, S. (1990) Writing Up Research: Prentice Hall
 Research Report: Discussion
The numbers in brackets in the text are of the references listed at the end of the article in the
journal. This is no longer an acceptable way to reference.

Exercise 4

The Discussion section is presented here in a jumbled order. First decide what move each segment
represents. Then reconstruct the Discussion section and be ready to justify why you have put the
segments in that sequence.

a. Considerable controversy remains as to whether smokers have an increased risk for

MVC that is independent of alcohol use.

b. Our results show that there is an association between cigarette smoking and auto
accidents that is likely to be independent of the risk associated with alcohol use.

c. Waller (15) found that the increased risk for MVC in smokers could be explained by an
increased use of alcohol by heavy smokers, although his methods may have masked any
true risk smokers may have for MVCs.

d. Our results have also confirmed two other previously documented risk factors for MVC:
an increasing number of miles driven per year (18) and a driver of younger age (16).

e. Another reason why a relationship between smoking and MVC might exist is the risk of
mild carbon monoxide poisoning which may influence driving performance.

f. Previous work has also suggested that cigarette smokers may have an increased risk for
MVC (12-14).

g. Use of seat belts and driving speed have both been previously found to be risk factors for
injury due to MVC, though they were not found to be important risk factors here.

h. An association between cigarette smoking and both accidents and injuries has been noted
in other studies. Two decades ago, mortality studies suggested that smoking was a risk
factor for accidental death. A recent case-control found a two-fold increase in risk for
injury in smokers over non-smokers (8). Smokers have also been found to have an
increased risk of injury in the workplace (9 – 11).

i. It is likely that the association between cigarette smoking and MVC can be explained by
the distraction of smoking while driving. Such distractions include reaching for lighting,
inhaling and extinguishing a cigarette, eye irritation from smoke or associated coughing
spells, and smoke being deposited on the inner surface of the windshield resulting in
impaired visibility.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Discussion
Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C. (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre, Uni of Sydnay 83
 Research Report: Summary

SECTION MOVE FEATURES

Title Concise indication of current
research
Abstract Explain: - dense writing.
- why experiment was done - no details or extended
- how experiment was done comments
- the main results
- the principal conclusions
Introduction 1. Establish field: language should reflect the shift
- assert centrality from general to specific
- state current knowledge information and ideas.
2. Summarise previous research
3. Prepare for present research
- indicate a gap
- raise a question
4. Introduce present research
- state purpose/hypothesis
Methodology Organise according to the sequence of - clear sequencing
events in the research: - past passive tense
who? (sample), when?, where?,
how (procedure)?
Results Background information (optional) - all relevant results should be
Describe table and/or graph mentioned.
State results significant to hypothesis - large records of results should
be put in Appendix(ices)
- generally simple past tense
Discussion Refer to main purpose or hypothesis language should reflect the shift
from specific to general
Review the most important findings information and ideas.

/ Compare to previous research [Note: In some reports, usually

large ones, this section is
Explain or speculate on the findings separated into ‘Discussion’ and
‘Conclusion’].
Conclusion Identify limitations of the report’s findings

Identify implications/generalisations of the

study

Recommend directions for future research

and/or practical applications of the present
research.
Reference List ALL sources used in the report must be
recorded in full using the specified style.
Appendix(ces) Copies of any research instruments Order may be reversed
Any large records of results

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84
 Research Report: Summary
Structure of the Research Report
The following is a summary of the structure of the research report for Diploma English For Academic Purposes.

Abstract - A summary of the whole report!

Introduction General
1
Definition of the topic
‘In recent years…’, As more overseas
students are choosing to study in Australia…’ 2

Previous Research
‘Much of the literature on…’ 3

Indicate a gap
‘However, little research is available…’ 4

State hypothesis
‘The current hypothesis is that…’ Specific

Methodology
factual, step by step description

Results
factual analysis of the data,
state significant findings/results.

Conclusion/Discussion
Restate hypothesis
‘…led us to infer that…’
1
Review of major findings with relevance
to hypothesis/bring in previous research Specific
‘Generally,…’ ‘ …agree with the findings of…’ 2

Speculate about findings

‘One possible conclusion is that…’ 3

Limitations of the study

‘…may have…problems…’ ‘It would also be 4
interesting to …’

Implications of the study/Generalisations 5

‘…should…’
General
Recommendations 6
‘It is recommended that…’

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85
 Research Report: Which Section?

The following eight excerpts have been taken

from a research report. Which section do you (e) Unfortunately, perhaps, the present study
think they come from? does not provide unequivocal evidence as
to the preferability of one age question
There are two of each from the following format over another. The decision to use
sections: a particular age question format must take
into account and “balance” its response
Introduction accuracy and potential refusal rate.
Methodology
Results (f) In a classic book on question
Discussion/Conclusion construction, Payne (1950:125-6) implied
that asking the age question two different
(a) As can be seen from the table, 1260 ways – “How old are you?” or “What is
individuals answered an age question (an the date of your birth?” – would result in
average of 315 per question format), different and possibly inconsistent
while 64(4.8% of the sample) refused to answers.
do so. To facilitate comparisons among
the question formats, the response (g) One of the most frequently asked
distributions for the three open-ended questions in public opinion polls and
questions were converted to that of the consumer surveys is the age question.
closed ended (categorical format) However, despite its wide usage, there is
question. a dearth of methodological research on
how to best ask this question.
(b) Table 1 also contains the number of study
participants who were asked but refused (h) The interviewer then introduced
to answer each of the four age questions. himself/herself and stated who was
conducting the study and asked for the
(c) In early 1982 telephone interviews were potential participant’s cooperation. The
conducted with a statewide probability questionnaire consisted of 20 questions,
sample of 2083 registered voters in a of which the age question was number 15.
major southwestern state. The interviews
were conducted for a state agency and
addressed various voting-related attitudes
and opinions.

(d) While the results obtained in this

investigation must be evaluated relative
to the population sampled, the mode of
data collection employed, and sponsoring
agency, comparisons between reported
and actual ages for each of the question
formats studied revealed uniformly high
levels of reporting accuracy.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Research Report
Author: adapted from Hoarman, L., Leech, P. & Murray, J. (1998) Reading Skills for the Social Sciences: Oxford UP
86
 Research Report: Abstract
The Abstract summarises the contents, conclusions, new information and relevance of the paper. When the
Abstract accompanies the paper, it functions as preview; when it is separated from the paper, the same text
serves as a summary.

Exercise 1

Discuss in a group how Abstracts are used in your own field. What is their purpose?

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

The Abstract should answer the following questions:

a. Why was the experiment done? the objective and topics covered.

b. How was the experiment done? the methods used, especially noting new or unusual
methods.

the basic principle, range of operation and degree of

accuracy of the new method.

c. What were the main results? new data summarised.

d. What were the principal conclusions

from the results?

Usually these questions are answered in this order, paralleling the order of the whole paper’s sections:

INTRODUCTION WHY?
MATERIALS AND METHODS HOW?
RESULTS WHAT?
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION SO WHAT?

Exercise 2

Read the following Abstract and mark in the text where each new section begins. Notice also what verb tense the
Abstract is written in.

This study explored the hypothesis that non-use of seat belts may be related to other indices of problem
behaviour such as substance use, personality characteristics, irresponsible attitudes and a greater driving risk.
Based on self-reported seat belt use over the last 10 trips by car, three levels of belt use were defined: non-use,
inconsistent use, and regular (always) use. Three distinct samples of drivers were studied: convicted impaired
drivers, high accident or demerit point drivers and a control sample, all randomly selected from Ontario driver
license files and matched by age and sex. Individuals were personally interviewed in their homes using a
standard questionnaire. Within samples, the three levels of seat belt users were compared on a wide range of
self-reported measures and driver record variables. Results obtained were generally consistent across samples,
although some differences were noted. On average, seat belt non-users were younger, less educated, more likely
male and unmarried. Controlling for these demographic differences, non-users were higher sensation seekers,
more impulsive, consumed more alcohol and other drugs and accumulated more traffic violations. Non-users in
the control sample also had higher accident frequencies. Inconsistent users more closely resembled non-users
than always users. The results suggest that targeted intervention strategies may be necessary for committed non-
users of seat belts. These include modified enforcement practices and attempts to change attitudes through
education. Driver improvement programs are the most obvious delivery mechanism for the latter.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Abstract
Author: Murison, E. & Webb, C. (1991) Writing a Research Paper: Learning Assistance Centre, Uni of Sydney 87
 Research Report: Abstract Models
DETECTING CROSS-LINGUISTIC DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH:
USING A TEXT RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

Regina Lo
City University of Hong Kong

This article examines cross-linguistic difficulties in learning English in a group of Cantonese-

speaking students in Hong Kong. It also discusses the usefulness of a text reconstruction program
in detecting linguistic difficulties in second language students learning English. A cross-national
study involving the comparison of performance between first language English speaking (L.1)
secondary students in England and second language English speaking (L.2) secondary students in
Hong Kong on a text reconstruction task is described. Results showed that the performance of the
12 students was adversely affected by cross-linguistic differences between English and Cantonese.
The potentials of using the text reconstruction task in teaching English as a second language are
also explored.

HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS AND COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS

A COMPARISON OF READING PASSAGE DIFFICULTY

Shinji Kimura
Kwansei Gakuin University
Brad Visgatis
Osaka International College for Women

This paper examines the difficulty level of 48 entrance examination reading passages, taken from
tests at 33 junior colleges, and compares them with the difficulty level of 66 passages taken from 4
approved high school English textbooks using readability indices. Though wide variation in
readability scores was recorded, overall results indicate test reading passage difficulty to be
significantly higher than the difficulty of textbook reading passages. A serious mismatch between
official test candidate requirements and what is truly required of the applicants may exist. Schools
are encouraged to review their literature for prospective students and/or adapt their tests to help
ensure fairness and validity.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Abstract
Author: Jalt Journal 88
 Oral Presentation Skills

What Is A Seminar?

Definition

A seminar is a small class of advanced or graduate students who meet under the direction of a tutor
or lecturer to discuss, explore and analyse a specific topic that is linked to a common theme.

Probably the most important characteristics is that the lecturer is not an authority figure as is usually
the case in a formal lecture or tutorial. The lecturer can be seen as a guide whose main role is to
promote positive small-group interactions and to focus discussion on the seminar topics. Although
the person presenting the paper is expected to act as the main content resource person, any seminar
member who has knowledge of the topic is expected to contribute without dominating discussion.
A seminar should be a place of excitement where you can enjoy exploring new areas.

Preparation

1. Decide on your topic. Choose a subject you are interested in. It can be related to your field of
university study or more general. The topic should be suitable for group discussion, of interest
to participants, worth discussing, controversial and understandable.

2. Research your topic in the library. You should use at least two books or articles. You can also
use the reference section in the library and the Internet.

3. Write complete notes for your seminar talk.

Important

Organise what you will say.

Order your ideas logically into main points.
Use your own words.
Do not write full sentences (use notes).
Be neat and clear – highlight key words and space well.
Write your main ideas onto prompt cards (no more than 10 – 12)
Write down anything you will use to support the main ideas of each prompt card e.g.
anecdotes, statistics, examples, quotes.
Mark on your prompt cards when you intend to refer to an overhead, use a video,
show a photograph etc.

4. Prepare overhead transparencies (OHTs) – photos, graphs, tables, outline etc.

5. Prepare handouts for class with topic and any new vocabulary (glossary).

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

89
 Oral Presentation Skills
6. Practise giving your talk. Practise until you can speak freely from your OHTs, looking at
your notes (prompt cards) as rarely as possible. DO NOT READ YOUR SEMINAR.

Important
speak loudly
speak fairly slowly
stress important words in sentences
stay within the time limit

7. If your talk is too long (more than 15 minutes) cut it down.

8. Be ready to answer questions and receive feedback.

9. Have some questions prepared to encourage discussion.

Presentation of the Seminar

1. Do not read your assignment paper. Look at your audience and talk about the content on the
paper.

2. Refer to the points on your prompt cards and speak about them naturally. Do not deliver a
memorised, word-perfect address.

3. Start your talk calmly.

4. Introduce the topic clearly and tell the audience what they can expect to hear.

5. Use cohesion devices to keep your audience informed as to where the talk is heading and how
ideas relate to each other.

6. Display knowledge of your subject by quoting two or four times from authorities. Do not quote
what your lecturers said in lecture notes – they do not want to hear their own words repeated.
Paraphrase and refer to references where it is appropriate.

7. Speak clearly and a little more slowly than normal.

8. Get your intonation right when emphasising major points, making asides, asking questions and
making statements.

9. Control your hands. Do not fiddle with your clothing, hair, pencil or papers.

10. Look at your audience. Establish eye contact with most people at some stage of your talk.
Make sure that you do not turn your face or body away from a quarter of the audience when you
are using audio visual aids.

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90
 Oral Presentation Skills

11. Look pleasant. Stand or sit in a relaxed way.

12. Do not hand out materials while you are actually talking. Wait for the materials to be
distributed around the room and then resume your talk. Otherwise you will lose your
audience’s attention.

Discussion

Discussion should be focussed to fit into the available time.

All students have responsibility for contributing to the discussion and should direct their
comments to the presenter or other classmates.

Questions which elicit ideas and opinions are more useful than those which can be answered by
a yes or no.

Different opinions should be heard and recognised as possibly valid if logical supporting
reasons and data can be presented.

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91
 The Language of Seminars
**Some language suggestions to help with your presentations. Not all may be relevant to your
talk. Check with your teacher.

A. INTRODUCTION

Greeting and Welcome Hello and welcome to …

Introducing yourself I’m………… …………………, a student at … and I’m studying

on the … Program.

Introduce the topic Today, I’d like to give a brief seminar about …

Timing My talk will last about … minutes

Questions I’d be grateful if you could hold any questions until the end of my
seminar.

Outline the main points As you can see, I’ve divided my talk into three main parts.
Firstly, we’ll run through the… Secondly, I’ll tell you about …
And finally, I’ll come to the …

Begin the presentation OK, let’s start with the …

B. BODY

Sequencing:

Firstly, I’d like to talk about

Secondly / Then …
I’ll discuss
Thirdly / After that …

Finally/ Lastly, I’ll comment on…

Recapping:

talked about
Now that I’ve ……..…

discussed

talked about
So far I’ve the two main types of …
covered

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92
 The Language of Seminars
Signaling a new point

Now I’d like to move on to (talk about) informal groups.

Moving on now, I’d like to outline the two main types of …

point

The next -- aspect -- I’d like to focus on is size …

feature

Another
A further
aspect of formal groups is membership …
A second
A third

Controlling interruptions

Perhaps we could come back to that question at the end.

That’s an interesting idea; we’ll discuss that in a minute.

C. CONCLUSION

Signal to end Before we move on to discuss these matters, let me just summarise the
main points as I see them.
That brings me to the end of my seminar, so let me sum up by restating the
main issues.

Summary Let me just run over the key points again.

I’ll briefly summarise the main issues.

Conclusion In conclusion …
Close Thank you for listening.
Thank you for your attention.

Questions Are there any questions you’d like to ask?

Let’s throw it open to questions?

Answering If I understand you correctly, you are saying …

Questions I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.
Perhaps we could deal with that later.
I’m afraid that’s not my field.
Does that answer your question?

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93
 Grammar: It And There

In technical subjects it and there are often used at the beginning of sentences and clauses.

It and there are sometimes used as ‘empty’ words to occupy the subject slot because something has
to be in the subject position.

There was stressed the need for silence about the breakthrough.
There could be many benefits gained from this discovery.
Formerly, it was believed that carbon compounds could only be made by living processes.
It was the San Andreas fault which was affected by the San Francisco earthquake.

It and there are often used in scientific writing. Complete these sentences with scientific
information. Which statements are definite? Which are tentative?

definite It is well known that insects _____________________________________________

_________ It is acknowledged by ___________________ that ___________________________

_________ There is agreement that chlorofluorocarbons ________________________________

_________ It is considered that the funnelweb spider ___________________________________

_________ It is admitted that some insecticides _______________________________________

_________ There is expected to be ________________________ from the spacecraft ‘Voyager’.

_________ It has been found that a mixture of water and ________________________________

_________ It was clearly stated by Einstein that _______________________________________

_________ It is understood that heart transplant recipients_______________________________

_________ It has been established that dolphins _______________________________________

_________ It has been shown that smoking ________________________________

_________
It has been demonstrated that hot air_______________________________________

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Grammar
Author: McEvedy, M. (1994) Learning Grammar in Context: Thomas Nelson
94
 Critical Thinking

Read the following texts carefully. Think about the arguments presented in each text. Does the
argument convince you that the writer’s conclusion is justified? If not, try to identify the problem.

Text 1
Women are more likely to strike than men because they take a more emotional attitude to problems
at work. The majority of workers in the clothing industry are female. Hence, labour disputes are a
common feature in factories which produce garments.

Text 2
The 1920s in Western Europe was a period of high unemployment. In the late 20s and early 30s
extreme right-wing political parties developed in Germany, Spain, Portugal and Italy. It seems
obvious, therefore, that unemployment leads to the rise of fascism.

Text 3
Much of the success of Japanese industry is due to the way in which management and workers are
treated as equal partners. There is no gap between white collar and blue-collar workers. Both share
the same canteens and there is only one entrance for all employees. If these measures were adopted
in our country there would be much less industrial friction.

Text 4
Japan and Switzerland are both countries with few natural resources. Like Japan, Switzerland
imports much of its fuel and almost all of its raw materials. Both countries base their economies on
the production of high-quality, high-value goods like watches and machine tools. Like Japan,
therefore, Switzerland should have few labour problems.

Text 5
As Marx states, labour creates wealth and this wealth is divided between capitalist and worker. If
wages rise, profits fall and if wages fall, profits will rise. Hence capitalists everywhere seek to keep
wages at as low a level as possible so that they can maximise their share of the wealth.

Text 6
During the strike of power workers in the UK in 1975, factories were only able to operate for three
days per week instead of the usual five. Nevertheless, productivity showed little change. This
evidence shows that manufacturers have nothing to fear from reducing the working week by 40%.

Text 7
Workers who do boring, repetitive tasks, like assembly line workers, are more likely to strike than
those who have varied and interesting work, like craftsmen. Requiring workers to do the same
thing, day in, day out, is likely, therefore, to lead to strikes.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Critical Thinking
Author: Glendenning, E & Holmstrom, (1992) Study Reading: Cambridge UP 95
 Reading: Sperm you can count on
Man Trouble – Jill Margo

This is a story about a distance so small that For many couples, this method worked and,
the human eye cannot see it, but so crucial that after a short time, the Monash team was
it can determine whether a man will be able to reporting a 30 per cent success rate. (44)
father a child or whether he will remain They called the technique “micro-injection”
infertile. and by 1990 it was being used worldwide. It
About 15 per cent of Australian couples face revolutionised the treatment of male infertility.
the disappointment of discovering they can’t But for many men, it didn’t work. Their sperm
have children. In a third of these couples, the could not travel the extra 40 microns or so into
problem lies with the men. Female infertility the egg. 50
10 accounts for another third and the remainder About 70 per cent of infertile Australian men
results from their combined problems. have major problems with their sperm. Their
The male problem usually is that their sperm sperm are frequently misshapen and sluggish,
fail to get to the woman’s egg to fertilise it. or have poor directional movement. In some
Even if put in a test tube with the egg, the men, they don’t move at all. (55)
sperm fail to fertilise it. About two years ago, a team in Belgium
Until 1985, very little could be done. If the decided to try to assist the sperm even more by
limited surgery or few drugs that were injecting them deeper, right into the egg cell.
available failed, the only remaining options for The Australians had never gone deeper
couples who wanted children were adoption or themselves, for fear of destroying it, or causing 60
20 donor insemination. abnormalities in the foetus.
In the mid-80s, scientists at Monash The Belgians, however, developed glass
University, Melbourne, thought of a novel way needles fine enough to travel that minute extra
of overcoming some male infertility. What distance and went ahead. The 40 microns
was needed, they thought, was to assist the made a huge difference and their success rate
sperm by injecting it right under the egg’s jumped to 54 per cent. Twenty healthy babies
shell. To appreciate what they were attempting, have already been born in Brussels through this
one has to understand the incredibly small size method, known as “intra-cytoplasmic
involved. They were working in microns, injection” or ICI.
thousandths of millimetres. A thin human hair, Professor Alan Trounson, of Monash’s original 70
30 for example, is about 300 microns in diameter team, had been experimenting with ICI
and is visible to the human eye. independently of the Belgians, but never had
Neither a woman’s egg, which is about 120 the same success. Last year he went to
microns in diameter, nor the head of a sperm, Brussels where he saw their finer technology at
which is about 5 microns, can be seen. Using work. Now back at Monash, he is attempting
extremely fine needles and a sophisticated to extend ICI even further.
system of micro-manipulators, the Monash Professor Trounson says that ICI may become
team managed to inject some tiny sperm under “a complete solution” to male infertility
the 20-micron-thick shell of an egg. except, that is, for the 5 per cent of infertile
The sperm then had to move themselves the men who produce no sperm cells at all. 80
40 rest of the way, into the actual egg cell. “Theoretically, you only need one sperm, and
it doesn’t have to be moving to achieve
fertility”.

EAP 5 WKS 1-5

Reading 96
Author: SMH
 Reading: Sperm You Can Count On

A. Match up the vocabulary with its meaning from the passage.

1. insemination E a. complicated

2. microns G b. a straight line connecting the centre of

a circle with two outsides

3. sluggish H c. deformed

4. abnormality F d. unable to produce, barren

5. sophisticated A e. to put sperm into a female

6. misshapen C f. different to the normal

7. diameter B g. one millionth of a metre

8. infertile D h. slow-moving

B. The following ideas all appear in the article. Put them in the order in which they are first
mentioned. (1 – 5)

a. Microscopic dimensions of human eggs and sperm. 3

b. Causes of infertility in couples. 1

c. Australian experiments with ICI. 5

d. Injection of sperm into the egg cell. 4

e. Micro-injection of sperm under the shell of the egg. 2

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97
 Reading: Sperm You Can Count On

C. Say whether the following statements are supported (S), rejected (R) or whether there is no
evidence given (N) in the article. You must quote the line numbers that gave you your
answer.

EXAMPLE: In about 5% of cases, infertility in Australian couples is the fault of the male
alone. S, 13-15

S, R, Line
or N Number

N 15-18
Since 1985, donor insemination has been widely used in Australia. _______ _______

In the mid-1980s, Australian scientists developed a method of fertilising eggs

in a test-tube. _______
R 21-45
_______

Micro-injection involves injecting the sperm directly into the egg cell. R
_______ 37-40
_______

The Belgian version of ICI has been more successful than the Australian. S
_______ 70-74
_______

New advances may make it possible for all infertile men to have children. R
_______ _______

D. CLOZE SUMMARY. Fill in the blanks with words that make sense and are grammatical.
Use only one word.

Recent research on infertility has focussed on men who have sperm that are problematic in some
may/could
way. Their sperm _____________________ be misshapen or they may move slowly, or not at all.
needles
Using fine ___________________ able
, researchers have been ________________________ to inject
into
the sperm ____________________ was/were
the egg. At first, the sperm ______________________ injected
possible
under the egg shell, but recently, it has become ______________________ to inject right into the
has being
egg itself. This ______________________ already resulted in twenty babies __________________
believe/suggest
born in Belgium. Researchers _________________________ that the method, known as ICI, may
of
solve the problem for all but a handful _________________ men.

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98
 Seminar Checklist

A. PREPARING THE SEMINAR

1. Content - cover the right amount of information

- answer the question directly
2. Organisation
- clear
- logical

B. PRESENTING THE SEMINAR

1. Introduction
- state the topic clearly
- preview the content
2. Signposting
- signal new points clearly
- recap organisation when necessary
3. Visual Aids
- simple
- essential information only
- do not let them dominate
4. Delivery
a. General
- speak freely, do not read
- explain meaning of key terms
- write key terms
- repeat / paraphrase difficult ideas
- give examples when necessary
b. Voice
- speak loudly
- do not speak too fast
- stress important words in sentences
- stress correct syllables in words
- pronounce individual sounds clearly

5. Conclusion
- recap content
- invite questions / comments

6. Timing - allow enough time for discussion

C. DISCUSSION
- check the meaning of questions
- answer questions directly
- answer questions politely

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 APPENDIX

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Academic English for Tertiary Studies: EAP 5

Vocabulary List 1
Word Class Translation Noun Verb Adjective Adverb
acquisition
alternative
assume
circumstances
concept
consent
core
demonstrate
derived
document
emphasis
ensure
initial
interaction
legislation
link
participation
perceived
philosophy
sought

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Academic English for Tertiary Studies: EAP 5

Vocabulary List 2
Word Class Translation Noun Verb Adjective Adverb
adjustment
annual
civil
contrast
despite
dominant
implications
internal
obvious
option
overall
parallel
parameters
promote
reliant
retain
sequence
stability
undertaken
validity

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Academic English for Tertiary Studies: EAP 5

Vocabulary List 3
Word Class Translation Noun Verb Adjective Adverb
challenge
compound
discretion
generated
marginal
medical
modified
notion
objective
perspective
precise
pursue
revenue
substitution
sustainable
symbolic
transition
trend
welfare
whereas

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Academic English for Tertiary Studies: EAP 5

Vocabulary List 4
Word Class Translation Noun Verb Adjective Adverb
crucial
deficiency
derived
display
diversity
dominate
eliminate
enforce
enhanced
gap
impaired
impulsive
incentive
incorporate
integrate
neutral
preceding
proportion
strategy
underlying

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Academic English for Tertiary Studies: EAP 5

Vocabulary List 5
Word Class Translation Noun Verb Adjective Adverb
acknowledge
affluent
alleviate
apply
artificial
conclusive
conditioned
correlation
corresponding
distribution
expire
expose
extend
longitudinal
pattern
profoundly
promote
properties
strike
withdrawal

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