Research Articles: A Comparative Analysis

Research papers article analysis                                                   

                                          Furlano, Patricia-Godoy, Barbara-Goyeneche, Ximena.

Research Articles (RAs) are papers written by investigators to illustrate an outcome of scientific research with supporting data. RAs are generally divided into different sections, namely Title, Abstracts, Acknowledgements, Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussions, Recommendations, References and Appendixes (Swales & Feak, 1994). The purpose of the current study is to analyze and compare the Introduction and Methods sections as well as the Literature Review of two research papers of different disciplines; one in the education field and the other in the medicine arena.

            Swales and Feak (1994) has created the Create a Research Space Model (C.A.R.S.) which describes the general organizational patterns as regards how writers should present their introductions. They suggest three Moves in RAs’ Introductions; in Move 1 the writer establishes a research territory by reviewing previous research and outlining the importance of the study; in Move 2 the author establishes a niche by indicating the gap that has been found in the area; and in Move 3 the writer occupies the niche by outlining the purposes of the current study and how the investigation will accomplish for the field. 

            Both analyzed articles attempt to show that the research studies are worth considering. Valk,  Rashid, and Elder,  (2010) remark the increasing exploration of the potential of mobile phones to facilitate learning nowadays; and Besierre, Pressman, Kiesler, and Kraut,  (2010) affirm that as the number of Internet users is growing rapidly, it is important to assess how it affects people’s well-being. As regards the revision of previous research, in the education research article the author makes more generalizations about the subject and reviews more in depth items of previous research. This is not as clear in the medicine article as there is little evidence of previous research in Move 1.

          As regards verb tenses and their mastering when writing different sections of research papers, both articles make good use of  them as expected for introductions. The present simple is used to establish current state of knowledge and the writers’ research, the present perfect is used to say what has been found and the past simple, though it is not included in the introduction of the education paper, is used in the medicine one to show results of previous research.

The articles’ motivations for the study lack the exploitation of the proposed topic in question. They start Move 2 with a negative opening stating that more evidence is needed. On the one hand the authors of the educational paper state that: “however, there remains a lack of analysis that brings together the findings of the rising number of m-Learning projects in the developing world” ( Valk et al. 2010, p. 2).  On the other hand the medicine research points out that: “although prior research has shown…little reliable information exists about the impact of using the Internet to obtain health resources, especially in non-clinical populations” (Bessiere et al., 2010 ). Move 2 is very short as it is the link that joins Move 1 and 3.

Concerning Move 3, even though both articles outline the purpose of the study, they differ in some features included. The education paper announces principal findings and indicates the structure of the Research Paper. On the contrary, in the medicine article these features are placed in a different section namely Current Study.  The medicine article contains both a descriptive and a purposive statement as it not only states the purpose of the research but also describes the present study.  Besierre et al. (2010) announce that “the purpose of the current research was to determine whether using the internet for health purpose is beneficial or harmful to physical and psychological well-being.” (p.2). Furthermore, the author explains how the study was conducted. On the contrary the educational paper only contains a descriptive statement initiating Move 3. 

With reference to literature review, in the medicine article, as exposed previously, there is little on formation about the topic of the research paper. A more complete review is presented in two extra headings, Health Resources Online and Non-Medical Internet Use. Regarding education research paper the author makes a general revision of the literature, analyzing the topic in a broad way, placing specific information in three subsequent headings, Theories of Mobile Learning, The role of Mobiles in Improving Access to Education, and The Role of Mobiles in Promoting new Learning. 

            Both articles use a wide variety of sources. While the medicine article bases their searches on online medical journals and online libraries, the educational paper utilizes books as well as articles in its digital version, a newspaper article and a paper from a conference.  Regarding the way of acknowledging the sources chosen, the articles differ from the method employed. While the medicine paper acknowledges sources with a number system, the educational article uses in text citations following The American Psychological Association (APA) (2008) manual’s requirements. 

When analyzing social scientific research papers it is indispensable to remember what type of research it is.  According to Sampieri, Collado and Lucio (1998), scientific research is a type of research which is systematic, controlled, empiric and critical. Systematic and controlled because as any discipline it is based on a system; empiric because it is based on observable issues and critical because it is under permanent objective observation and reflection. Thus, it is of utmost importance to remember research’s characteristics when delving  into this type of study.

To be able to analyze research reports it is crucial to know about research types. Dankhe  (1986, cited in Sampieri et al., 1998) states that there are four types of research studies: exploratory, descriptive, correlational, and explanatory. Thus, each type of research study implements a different research method or strategy; components such as the design, data and sample will vary depending on the chosen research type and each of them is use different research tool to carry out the study.

In light of the typology to take into account when examining research reports, it can be identified that the paper in the educational field belongs to the descriptive type.  Sampieri et al. (1998)  state that descriptive studies measure concepts and focus on measuring the characteristics of a particular phenomenon. This type of research answers the questions who, what, where, when and how and deals with everything that can be counted or studied.

Valk  et al.   (2010) delved into case studies for the purpose of examining the existing evidence of m-Learning as a tool to exert a positive impact on educational outcome. The authors identified relevant m-Learning pilot projects by searching academic publications, as well as conducting a general internet search. The selected projects document results and have evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, thus, definitive conclusions can be drawn regarding the impact of mobile phone on education.

             As regards the method of study employed in the medicine field it can be assumed that it is a correlational study. According to Waters (n.d.) correlational research is a type of quantitative study in which two or more variables from the same group are analyzed and correlated (brought into reciprocal relation), to determine if there is a relationship or covariation between the variables.  Bessiere et al. (2010) used a non-experimental method in their research. Thus, they did not manipulate variables deliberately; they just observed the phenomenon and then analyzed it. The researchers conducted a national survey of US households, using random digit dialing,   to determine whether using the Internet for health purposes is beneficial or harmful to physical and psychological well-being.

In relation to the Method section, the medicine article includes the traditional subsections Procedure and Participants, it also adds Measures and Statistical Analysis subsections, omitting the Material one. On the contrary the educational article does not make the division among participants, method and procedure. And the information is placed in a subsection called Methodology.  Both articles contain a great amount of information. While the medical paper utilized technical vocabulary the explanations in the educational article are clearly exposed with simple language and straightforward explanations. The simple past tense is used to describe methods and data of the experiment.

            Although both papers do not follow strictly the requirements for writing research papers, they contain the information specified for each section. On the whole they provide the necessary information concerning introductions, literature reviews and method section and they are written in an academic style. In the hope of gaining understanding of the construction of research articles in different disciplines, an analysis of two research papers, a medicine and an educational one, was carried out. An awareness of the rules and conventions of research papers can help learners to become better writers and professionals and thus showing the path to develop themselves as members of a discourse community.

References

American Psychological Association (2008). Publication Manual (5th ed.). Washington, DC: British Library Cataloguing-In-Publication Data.

Bessiere, K., Pressman, S., Kiesler, S., & Kraut, R. (2010). Effects of Internet Use on Health and Depression: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research,  12, (1).  Retrieved April, 2013 from: http://www.jmir.org/2010/1/e6/

Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., & Baptista Lucio, P. (1998). Metodología de la investigación. (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill: Mexico

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: A course for non-native speakers of English. Ann Harbour, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Valk, J., Rashid, A., & Elder, L.  (2010). Using Mobile Phones to Improve Educational Outcomes: An analysis of evidence from Asia. International  Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 11(1). Retrieved April 2013 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ881581.pdf

Waters, J. (n.d.). Correlational resarch. Retrieved April , 2013 from http://www.capilanou.ca/programs/psycology/students/research/correlation/html 

An Analysis of an Educational Research Article

Academic research articles (RAs) generally contain the following elements: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Conclusions, References, and Appendixes (Hernandez Sampieri, Fernandez Collado and Lucio, 2008). For academic and professional success it is important to be acquainted with the conventions of the field.  The purpose of this paper is to analyze a research article written by Bennett, Braund, Lubben and Mason (2011).

In the educational research article (RA) Bennett et al. (2011) study factors influencing classroom impact of continuing professional development (CPD) interventions. The authors state that “the current study (…) focuses on factors influencing classroom impact of relatively short PD interventions” (Bennett et al., 2011, p. 9).The authors introduce previous research related to the topic, established the gap and focus their attention on the impact of short modes of CPD.

Considering academic requirements for RAs, stated by the American Psychological Association (2008), Bennett et al.’s (2011) article seems to have many fallacies as regards content and structure. The educational article just mentions the title and the introduction. Besides, data appear to be not presented in logical order. Bennett et al. (2011) include concepts and terms with no clear evidence as to what they mean or refer, for instance, “thus courses on science for non-specialists (Mode H and Theme 6)” (Bennett et al., 2011, p.6). In this case there is no reference for modes definition or classification, making the reading hard and confusing for the reader.

In the introduction the authors might not respect the Create a Research Space Model (C.A.R. S.) proposed by Swales and Feak (1994) in which a guideline to structure introductions is presented. For instance, in relation to move 2, Bennett et al. (2011) indicate the gap that has been found in the area: “The current study fills some gaps in research in that it focuses (…)” (Bennett et al., 2011, p. 9), but they fail to do it in the appropriate place as it is stated in the final paragraph of the paper. In addition, the authors do not raise questions about the situation.

Authors must consider an audience, a purpose, an organization pattern, a style, and a presentation (Swales & Feak, 1994). The awareness of the conventions of research articles is vital to become proficient academic readers and writers. If specific academic requirements for research papers are not present in the article, it does not fulfill the purpose of informing, sharing or gaining support. 

References

American Psychological Association (2008). Publication Manual (5^th ed.). Washington, DC: British Library Cataloguing-In-Publication Data.

Bennett, J., Braund, M., Lubben, F. & Mason, Y. (2011). Modes of Professional Development: An evaluation of the impact of different course modes operated across the National Network of Science Learning Centres.

Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández-Collado, C., & Lucio, B.P. (1998).Metodología de la Investigación (4th ed.). México: McGraw-Hill.

Swales, J.M. & C. Feak (1994). Academic Writing for Graduate Students: A Course for Nonnative Speakers of English. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

Comparative Analysis of Abstracts from the Education and Medicine Field

Research Papers Abstracts Analysis-Integrative Assignment   

                                                                        Godoy,B., Goyeneche,X. ,Furlano,P.

Comparative Analysis of Abstracts from the Education and Medicine Field

This paper compares and analyses two abstracts from the education field (King, 2002; Rammal, 2006) and two from the medicine field (Martinez, Assimes, Mines, Dell’ Aniello, & Suissa, 2008; Wijeysundera, Beattie, Elliot, Austin, Hux, & Laupacis, 2010).  Hubbuch (1996) defines Research Papers’ (RP) Abstracts “as brief summaries of the major points made by an author in a book or article” (p. 126). They are the first section that appears in an RA, however, they are written as the final stage of the research. Swales and Feak (1994) agree with Hubbuch (1996) in the fact that RP abstracts “consists of a single paragraph containing from about four to ten full sentences” (Swales & Feak, 1994, p.210).

The comparison will be based in terms of structures, types, linguistic characteristics and writing methods applied. The American Psychological Association (APA) manual offers useful guidelines as regards  abstracts’ composition, since “it allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly” (APA, 2008, p.12). Depending on the kind of abstract there are some conventions writers have to meet, that is, the organization, the linguistic specifications including the use of full sentences, past tense, impersonal passive, the absence of negatives, abbreviation and jargon, and tense variation (Swales & Feak, 1994; Swales, 1990). Swales and Feak (1994) distinguish two approaches to write abstracts: the result-driven approach, related to the findings and the reached conclusion and the RP summary approach which follows Introduction- Methods-Results-And-Discussions (IMRAD) formula summarized in two sentences.

Concerning one of the articles from the medicine field written by Wijeysundera et al.(2010), it could be stated that it is a structured abstract as it contains bolded headings which identify the main sections in the RA (Swales & Feak, 1994); this is probably because it follows certain requirements of specialized journals. It seems to be a RP abstract as the article has been already written and the audience could be any reader in the arena.  Wijeysundera et al.’s (2010) abstract is informative since it is heavy on data; it looks to the past and describes what the researchers did. Moreover, it follows the IMRAD formula (Swales &  Feak, 1994; Swales, 1990).

As regards linguistics specifications, it includes some use of full sentences and the use of impersonal passive (Graetz, 1985), for instance: “…testing was associated with improved one year survival…” (Wijeysundera et al., 2010,  Abstract, p.1). Some sentences are not fully complete, probably because subheadings provide the information about the content of each section. There is an absence of abbreviations, jargon and negatives and the Conclusion is written in the present tense (Swales &  Feak, 1994; Swales, 1990). As regards APA conventions it does not follow some rules as it does not begin on a new page, the word “Abstract” is not centered and it should not be bolded.

The second abstract from the medicine field was written by Martínez et al. (2010); it presents similarities with Wijeysundera et al's (2010) abstract. This abstract is also structured as it is divided into sections, and it contains bolding headings with the aim of identifying each main section in the RA. It is informative providing the readers with the main findings (Swales & Feak, 1994; Swales, 1990).  It seems to be an RP abstract and it follows the IMRAD formula, allowing the reader to preview the content of the Research Article. The conciseness and the amount of specific information presented may attract readers to go on reading the rest of the paper.

Regarding its linguistic features it is mostly written in full sentences and there is use of past tense as well as passive structures. Martinez et al.'s (2010) abstract does not present abbreviations and negatives. The choice of verb tenses in the Conclusions section differs from Wijeysundera et al.'s (2010) article as it is written in the past passive. Concerning APA conventions, the abstract does not comply with certain requirements as the word “Abstract” is not centered, it is bolded and capitalized. Martinez et al. (2010) seem to be acquainted with current changes in APA style as they use personal passive: “We did a nested case-control analysis (…)” (Martinez et al., 2010, Abstract, p.1). APA (2008) states that in co-authored papers it can be used the second person plural pronoun. Both medicine abstracts have been written following the result-driven approach as the findings are deeply described and the conclusion would serve as a stride for future works.

As regards the educational area, King’s (2002) abstract is an indicative abstract as it summarizes the information presented in the article and it has been written following the RP summary approach. It does not include specific results but describes the use of the DVD as an educational resource, as the author points out that “DVD has vastly replaced traditional VHS (…)" (King, 2002, p.1). As for its structure, it is an unstructured type of abstract, which consists of a single, unbroken paragraph of 10 lines (Swales & Feak, 1994). Full sentences are used to show the content to the audience and it is positioned at the beginning of the RA. Conversely, the author does not follow the IMRAD formula and the word "Abstract" is not written in a single page and it is bolded and italized.

Considering abstracts' linguistics specifications proposed by Graetz (1985) the whole abstract is written in the present tense as for instance, “this paper starts off by discussing film-viewing approaches, and then assessing (…)" (King, 2002, Abstract, p.1). Moreover, it is characterized by the absence of negatives and the avoidance of jargon, and symbols, and the last sentences of the abstract is written in the passive voice, since it focuses on the receiver rather on the writer. APA manual (2008) calls of for “continuity in words, concepts, and thematic development” (p.32),  and this issue in not respected by the author  as he fails to clarify the terms DVD and VHS that might distract the reader.

The fourth abstract analyzed is also from the education field and it belongs to Rammal (2006). As King’s abstract (2002), the author introduces his project by means of an indicative and unstructured abstract, as it describes what the researcher intends to do (Swales and Feak, 1994). Similar to the previous educational abstract, Rammal (2006) does not follow APA (2008) format layout as the word Abstract is wrongly placed; it is not centered, it is bold-typed, and it is followed by a semi colon. Moreover, neither Rammal (2008) nor King (2002) follows IMRAD formula for writing abstracts, use a new page for their abstracts and no keywords are listed. Rammal’s (2006) educational paper does not pursue any of the stated approaches for writing abstracts. It is just a two-sentence paragraph that refers only to the Introduction section.

With reference to the linguistic aspects, Rammal’s (2006) abstract is the shortest of the four as it encloses five lines with less than a hundred words. As opposed to King (2002) the word limited is not respected and the analysis show that the abstract is not written as a description of the RA.  Two long sentences constitute this paragraph; the first sentence is written in the present tense whilst future tense is used for the second one. As King’s (2002) abstract, there is also use of full sentences and an absence abbreviations and negatives. But, unlike King’s abstract (2002), there is no use of impersonal passive and the acronym English as a Foreign Language (EFL)  is clarified next to the contraction.

Abstracts should be brief, self contained and accurate (APA, 2008). They should contain specific data and be coherent and readable as it is the reader’s first contact with the RA. After analyzing the four abstracts, it might be concluded that depending on the field of research, abstracts may present different formats and ways of structuring information, and also vary in their linguistic aspects and methods of writing. Whilst the medicine  RAs mostly comply with standard requirements and rules when publishing papers, the educational RAs fail to follow these conventions. None of the four follow APA (2008) manual for writing abstracts, as this section of the RA is not separated from the rest of the article. This might be due to publishers’ requirements concerning space and cost reduction.

References

            Hubbuch, S. M. (1996). Writing research paper across the curriculum. (4th ed.). Harcourt Brace: Fort Worth, TX. 

American Psychological Association (2008). Publication Manual (5th ed.). Washington, DC: British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. 

King, J. (2002). Using DVD feature films in the EFL classroom. [Abstract]. The weekly column, 88, 1-10.

Martínez, C., Assimes, T.L., Mines, D., Dell’Aniello, S., & Suissa, S. (2010). Use of venlafaxine compared with other antidepressants and the risk of sudden cardiac death or near death: A nested case-control study. [Abstract]. British Medical Journal, 340: c249, 1-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c249.

Rammal, S. M. (2006). Video in EFL Classrooms. [Abstract]. Retrieved from: http://www.usingenglish.com/articles/video-in-efl-classrooms.html

Swales,  J. M.  (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings.(Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Swales, J. M., &  Feak, C. B. (1994).  Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. Ann Harbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Wijeysundera, D.N., Beattie, W. S., Elliot, R.F., Austin, P. C., Hux, J.E., & Laupacis, A. (2010). Non-invasive cardiac stress testing before elective major non-cardiac surgery: Population based cohort study. [Abstract]. British Medical Journal, 340: b5526, 1-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b5526

Results, Discussions, and Conclusions Sections: A Comparative Analysis

ESP - Unit 3 - Integrative Assignment                     Godoy, B., Goyeneche, X., Furlano, P.

Results, Discussions, and Conclusions Sections: A Comparative Analysis

A research article (RA) is the medium through which people make public the results of their research. They can vary in structure across academic disciplines, but in general, most articles contain the following components: a Title, an Abstract, an Introduction, the Study Methodology, the Study's Results backed up with graphs and tables to report the data, Discussion of the Results, Strengths and Limitations, and a References Section that lists all sources consulted for the article (Swales and Feak, 1994). The aim of this paper is to make a comparative analysis of the Results, Discussions and Conclusions sections of two research articles that belong to two completely different areas, namely educational and medicine field.

Extremely noteworthy is the difference as regards the structure choice, since both articles differ in the way they organize the sections of the papers. While Di Angelantonio, Chowdhury, Sarwar, Aspelund, Danesh and Gudnason’s (2010) medical article exposes the three sections found in RAs separately, Barrs’s (2012) educational paper presents results and discussions jointly, leaving the conclusions in a single section. Nevertheless, both authors include all the information that these sections need to have.

Concerning Discussions section, both of them are descriptive in nature. They summarize their findings relating them to prior studies. The medicine article devotes the section to restate the key findings with reference to the original question as well as reminds the reader of the overall study. On the other hand, in the educational article, there is not a separation between Discussions and Results sections. The author reiterates the hypothesis proposed, points out the most important results and interprets the data making use of tables, formatted according to APA (2007) standards, to present the main findings of the study, delving into interpretation of outcomes in the same section.

Regarding the presentation of data, although both research articles use texts with the past simple tense, as well as tables and figures to state results (Swales and Feak , 1994), they differ from in the way they account for results. While Di Angelantonio et al. (2010) seems to have a more direct way, Barrs (2012) divides this sections into two parts and makes use of persuasive arguments as a useful writing technique to discuss the proposed topic.  This disparity seems to be connected with the purpose of each article. Whilst the medicine article focuses on interpreting statistical data, the educational paper centers its attention in analyzing and interpreting results.

According to Swales (1990), the Results section should summarize the data with text, tables, and/or figures. Both Results sections begin first with text and then refer the reader to tables and figures in order to highlight the evidence needed to answer the questions/hypotheses being investigated. The education research paper interprets and compares results, gives examples and explanations of the information stated in graphics. On the contrary the medicine article author uses a more concise and objective style which may be more complex to understand, particularly if you are not familiarized with the field.         

The American Psychological Association (APA) (2007) establishes some basic rules as regards the formatting of tables. The education research article respects certain requirements; all tables are correctly numbered, and each one has an individual title, which is italicized and correctly capitalized. Contrary to this, the medicine article does not comply with certain rules as tittles are neither italicized nor presented with each word capitalized. Whereas Di Angelantonio et al. (2010) uses notes below tables to clarify the information presented, Barrs (2012) omits them; this may be because the information seems easier to (be understood) understand and also because the author explains, interprets and evaluates results in the same section.

Most typically, persuasive- argumentative texts are used in the Conclusion section to convince the readers that the writer’s findings are of utmost importance. In the educational paper the author analyzes a particular situation, gives his point of view, determines the causes of the obtained results and makes recommendations under the light of certain circumstances. In the medicine article, on the other hand, De Angelantonio et al. (2010) shows his conclusions making use of words that signal his readers to understand and follow his way of thinking.

In the Conclusions sections, both RAs answer the questions or hypotheses previously stated. Furthermore they summarize what they have found and also suggest directions for future research. Particularly remarkable is the difference as regards the length of the conclusion sections; while De Angelantonio et al. (2010) devote just a nine-line paragraph to this section in his medical paper; Barrs (2010) organizes his conclusions in five paragraphs.

In the medicine article the authors limit themselves to state objectively and concisely the main findings whereas in the education paper the author not only points out main findings but also analyzes and reflects upon them. Di Angelantonio et al. (2010) use the present simple tense to show certainty about the statements; conversely, Barrs (2012) utilizes tentative language and modal verbs since in the education field it is not appropriate to show sureness about results and outcomes.

Overall both research articles from the two different fields, education and medicine, comply with certain norms required for the design of discussions, results and conclusions sections. The authors describe the situation in a clear and direct way, considering what is relevant to the topic, focusing on the objectives of the research. They provide the necessary explanations, considering the readers’ knowledge and give clear explanations of the literature reviewed as well as the illustrations presented; in this way, they account for the clarity and the reality principles applying for the conventions of proficient academic writing.

References

American Psychological Association (2007). Concise rules of APA style. Washington, DC: British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

Barrs, K. (2012). Fostering computer- mediated L2 interaction beyond the classroom. Language Learning & Technology, 16 (1), 10-25. Retrieved April 2013 from:http://llt.msu.edu/issues/february2012/actionresearch.pdf

Di Angelantonio, E. ,Chowdhury, R., Sarwar, N., Aspelund, T., Danesh, J., & Gudnason, V. (2010). Chronic kidney disease and risk of major cardiovascular disease and non-vascular mortality: prospective population based cohort study. British Medical Journal, 341: c4986. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c4986.

          

          Swales, J. M.  (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings.(Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

 Swales, J. M., & Feak, C.B.  (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. Ann Harbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Welcome again!

Dear all,

I invite you to continue co-constructing knowledge and to keep on sharing experiences so as to reinforce and go on building up our discourse community. From now on I will share with you the analysis of research articles. I expect us to grow professionally together by sharing thoughts, suggestions and knowledge.

I am not alone in this path as I am accompanied by two awe-inspiring peer writers who give me constant support and encouragement. Patricia Furlano and Barbara Godoy are my closest discourse community members and I hope that all may be able to find people like them who provide invaluable help and company.  

Let’s continue growing as professionals, TO BELIEVE IS TO CREATE!

Warmly,

Ximena.

Bailey’s (2006) Book: Academic Writing. A Book Critique

Bailey (2006) defines his book Academic Writing: A handbook for International Students as a “practical and easy-to-use-guide to writing in English” (p.III). This notable work is intended for non-native students studying at colleges and universities, who need to write essays and reports for exams and coursework. To ensure that students’ writing skills meet the necessary academic standards is the purpose of the book.

The innovative book is divided mainly into four parts, namely The Writing Process, Elements of Writing, Accuracy in Writing and Writing Models, planned to cater for the variety of needs of “students of all subjects and levels” (Bailey, 2006, p. III). Information and practice on how to write and organize texts, how to develop writing skills such as the use of comparisons, articles; and models of types of writings needed, among other topics, are provided.

Bailey (2006) states that the book is “clearly organized into four parts…containing explanations, diagrams and practice exercises, for use in the classroom or self-study” (p.I). However, mainly the first part appears to be teacher-dependant, and then more explanations would have been more helpful for students at English-medium colleges and universities to be able to use the book by themselves. Had the author offered more explanations, examples and models at initial stages, the book would have been more appealing for the intended audience it was claimed to be for.

The original book is complemented by a system of cross-references designed to make easier for students to relate units together. Although it is argued that some topics are “organized alphabetically for easy access” (p.III), perhaps it is not practical as students need to jump from one part of the book to another constantly. Had Bailey (2006) organized topics in order of appearance, the work would have been more practical and easy-going as it was stated.

Academic writing also contains a writing tests section, exercises answers and sources. Especially noteworthy is the inclusion of exercises and tests with their respective answers for students to self-check their learning progress. Regarding sources, Bailey (2006) points out that no in-text citations are made throughout the book; yet, in the book students are taught to use references appropriately, either in the texts or at the end of them, to avoid plagiarism. Had the author cited adequately, he would have given more authority to his research.

On the whole, Bailey’s (2006) book allows international students to learn and to practice those academic writing skills which are most important for their studies, specifically conventions of style, referencing and layout.   With teacher guidance and organization of topics throughout different lessons, it seems to be a very interesting resource. However, Bailey’s (2006) book would have been more convincing for students studying by their own, if the author had included more explanations and models for further guidance as well as a clearer organization of cross-references. Had this been successfully accomplished, the book would have been a much more practical and easy-to-use-guide for international students. 

References

Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A handbook for international students. (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis e-library. Retrieved from http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/ii_kgpm_27.pdf

Annotated Bibliography: Stockwell’s (2012) Response to Ballance (2012).

Source: Stockwell, G. (2012). Working with constraints in mobile learning: A response to Ballance.  Language Learning & Technolog. 16 (3), 24-31. Retrieved from  http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/stockwell.pdf

In his article Stockwell (2012) response to Ballance’s (2012) commentary by explaining the vocabulary learning system described in Stockwell’s article in 2010 and the purpose of his research as regards the use of Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) in the classroom as well as the design of the activities proposed.

Ballance’s (2012) claims that the nature of the activities were not appropriate to a functional exploitation of MALL, and that technology used has become obsolete by the time Stockwell’s research was finished. Considering these points Stockwell (2012) expresses that activities were carefully selected to suit the particular environment in which they would be used and that he focused on the technology available in that particular setting. 

Stockwell (2012) reports that to give students a wider exposure to the target language was the purpose of his research. He declares that “pedagogy must take a primary role” (Stockwell, 2012,p.30). He adds that students’ needs and preferences were of primary concern, so technology, vocabulary items and activities were selected to to suit the particular learning environment.

References

Ballance, O.J. (2012). Mobile language learning: More than just “the platform”. Language Learning & Technolog. 16 (3), 21-23. Retrieved from  http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/ballance.pdf

Stockwell, G. (2012). Working with constraints in mobile learning: A response to Ballance.  Language Learning & Technolog. 16 (3), 24-31. Retrieved from  http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/stockwell.pdf