English in Today's Research World

by Swales, John

• ISBN13: 9780472087136
• ISBN10: 0472087134
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-02-01
• Publisher: Univ of Michigan Pr

Summary

The authors ofAcademic Writing for Graduate Studentshave written a book for the next level of second language writing.English in Today's Research Worldoffers students a very high level of writing instruction, with a specific focus on the projects students undertake--such as dissertations and conference abstracts--at the end of their university work or as they begin careers in research or academia. In addition to instruction on writing for publication,English in Today's Research Worldprovides needed advice on applications, recommendations, and requests--types of communications that are particularly vulnerable to influences from national cultural expectations and conventions and that, therefore, place the NNS writer at increased disadvantage. The text is both a reference manual and a course book, so that researchers can continue to use the book after they have completed their formal education. New ESL/EFL teachers can useEnglish in Today's Research Worldas a reference book for themselves or as a teaching aid in the classroom.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(2)
Unit One: The Positioning of the Research Writer	3	(27)
Part A
Writing Processes: How Effective Are Your Writing Strategies?	4	(3)
Written Products: Genres, Genre Networks, and Genre Plans	7	(3)
``Research Writer Positioning'': Different Approaches to the Same Data	10	(5)
Part B
Where Do You Stand? Cross-cultural Differences in Research Languages	15	(1)
Investigating Style: Informal Elements in Academic Writing	16	(4)
Academic Names, Autobiography, and Bio-data	20	(5)
Notes and Comments for Unit One	25	(5)
Unit Two: Stepping onto a Wider Stage---the Conference Abstract	30	(50)
A Close Look at the Structure of a Conference Abstract	32	(4)
Conference Abstracts across Disciplines	36	(3)
The Rating of Conference Abstracts	39	(1)
The Role of a Senior Author: An Example	40	(2)
The Problem of Promissory Abstracts	42	(10)
Reformulations	52	(3)
Conference Abstract Titles	55	(3)
Reviewing Conference Abstracts	58	(4)
The Ordering of Author Names and Short Versions of Conference Abstracts	62	(3)
Notes and Comments for Unit Two	65	(15)
Unit Three: Research on Display---the Conference Poster	80	(34)
Introductory Activities	81	(5)
Poster Layouts	86	(4)
Types of Compressed Language	90	(6)
Captions	96	(2)
Further Notes on the Technical Noun Phrase	98	(8)
Etiquette on ``the Day''	106	(2)
Notes and Comments for Unit Three	108	(6)
Unit Four: The Literature Review	114	(34)
Types and Characteristics of Literature Reviews	115	(3)
Organizing the Literature: Creating an Architecture	118	(10)
Citations	128	(7)
Paraphrase and Evaluation	135	(4)
A Postscript and a Warning	139	(2)
Notes and Comments for Unit Four	141	(7)
Unit Five: More Complex Literature Reviews	148	(39)
Weaknesses in Literature Reviews	149	(1)
A First Case: Reviewing the Concept of Discourse Community	150	(9)
English in the Research World: A Further Perspective	159	(3)
A Second Literature Review Case	162	(7)
Using Metadiscourse	169	(7)
What about Interdisciplinarity?	176	(3)
Notes and Comments for Unit Five	179	(8)
Unit Six: Further Steps and Stops on the Dissertation Road	187	(41)
The Dissertation Abstract	188	(10)
Thesis and Dissertation Acknowledgments	198	(8)
Principled Narratives and Extensive Methods Sections	206	(10)
Dealing with Unexpected Results	216	(2)
The Problematic Final Chapter	218	(3)
Notes and Comments for Unit Six	221	(7)
Unit Seven: Academic Communications in Support of the Research Process	228	(29)
Requests	230	(8)
Reminders and Responses	238	(3)
Disclaimers and Apologies	241	(2)
Submission Letters	243	(4)
Further Correspondence with Editors	247	(3)
Notes and Comments for Unit Seven	250	(7)
Unit Eight: Academic Communications in Support of a Research Career	257	(34)
The Curriculum Vitae	258	(7)
Fellowship Applications	265	(3)
Job and Position Applications	268	(5)
Letters of Recommendation	273	(10)
Notes and Comments for Unit Eight	283	(8)
Index	291