Advanced Academic Writing

13:00-14:45, Wednesday, Oct 17, 2018 SECTION 2

Eng. 2nd bldg. Room 244

Instructors: Kumiko Morimura, Ph.D.Yolanda Alberto, Ph.D.

Teaching Assistant: Dea Luma

Global Ware ProjectGlobal Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, IIIEE

The University of Tokyoees.seut@gmail.com

Autumn Semester, 2018

3799-027

Our website

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All the required readings will be in our websitehttps://ericseut.wordpress.com/advanced-academic-writing/

Assignments for Section 2You will choose a topic of your preference to start writing a paper. The length will be a minimum of 3 pages and at least 5 references. The assignments will be sent to ees.seut@gmail.com

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Assignment Content Deadline Grade (%)1A Provide the topic of your paper and tentative title October 5, 11:59 pm 5

1B Draft of the structure of your paper October 19, 11:59 pm 10

2A Write methodology, results, discussion in draft October 26, 11:59 pm 5

2B Submit first draft of the paper with methodology, results, discussion

November 2, 11:59 pm 15

3A Write title, abstract, introduction and conclusion November 9, 11:59 pm 5

3B Submit the final version of your paper November 18, 11:59 pm 35

How to send your assignment

• Send your assignment in PDF format only• The subject of the email should be in this format:

Section2 - AssignmentXXFor example, when submitting assignment 1B:Section2 - Assignment1B

• Check your number in the list and write it down• The PDF name should be in this format:

S2_AXX_ListNumberFor example, for the next assignment and person #9, the document should be named:S2_A1B_09

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Structure of a research paper

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Part Order ContentTitle 7 Simplified, yetconcisedescriptionofyourpaperAbstract 6 Summary ofwhatproblemyoutriedtosolve,whatyou

did and whatwereyourresults(most importantpart)

Introduction 4 Whatistheproblemyouaretryingtosolve,whathasbeendonebefore,whatis yourcontributionandroadmapofyourwork

Methodology 3 Details ofthe procedurethatyoucarriedoutResults 1 Whatdidyouobtain(data, graphs,tables)Discussion 2 Whydidyouobtain thoseresultsandwhatisthe

relevanceinyourfieldConclusion 5 Summaryofwhatyouachieved, implicationsandfuture

work

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3. Technical and scientific

support

2. Procedures and essential information

1. Results and discussion

In general

4.Paper

description

Let’s start with the template

• Open the template you got by email• Write the tentative title of your paper

and your name, and make yourself familiar with the styles

• This structure will change according to your field and the template will vary depending on the journal/conference you’re writing for. In this class, follow this template unless you have a designated one for your paper.

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Making an effective outline

• Known/Background• General• Specific reported data

• Unknown/Problem• Research purpose/Question• Method approach

• Main: Write now on your abstract the purpose or question of your research

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Literature review for the introduction

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Literature review – How to start

• Review papers provide a solid background for a research paper´s investigation, as comprehensive knowledge of the literature of the field is essential to most research papers

• Two main approaches:• Choose a point that you want to make and then select your primary

studies based on this area of interest• Read all the relevant studies and organize them in a meaningful way.

Research the topic starting at general sources and work your way to specific sources

• Choose primary sources (general papers), secondary sources (reviewarticles) and tertirary sources (textbooks or internet sourcesvettedthrough per review or refereed references backing up statements)

• Keep constant notes of where the information is coming from

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A good literature review

• Focus on trends, solutions or unsolved issues• Provides new insights into the field and propose

potential research opportunities• Questions:

• What is known about the topic• Why the topic is important• What gaps exist• How they can be filled

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Key elements• Introduction

• Background• Unknown problem• Purpose/topic of review• Overview of content

• Body• Organize sections and subsections chronologically, thematically or

methodologically• Group information in papers by similarities, contrasts and gaps in

knowledge• Write and keep updating and finding references as needed

• Conclusion• Summarize your topic, generalize any interpretations, and provide

some significance10/17/18

Plagiarism and references

• Keep track of all the references used (even in Internet), getpermits to use figures/tables

• Don/t just change some words or the order of what you read. Make notes with your own words summarizing the key pointsand rewrite providing the citation

• Always look for the original references

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Check list

• Make sure you include your own analysis and comments• Always state the unknown problems (why the review is of

interest)• Make a logical organizarion of topics and subtopics. Remember

you’re telling a story• Show the conflicts in the research• Don’t overlook citations• Make sure the abstract states the purpose and topic precisely• The body should contain a clear significance of the analysis10/17/18

Methodology

• The main questions this section should answer are How? and How much?• Write the procedures in enough detail so that anybody can reproduce the

result• Don’t include any results in this section• Name all the materials (chemicals and devices) used in the experiment.

List standard tests (e.g., ASTM, JGS) if you used them.• If a method is new, describe it in detail, if it is well known just cite the

reference. If it was done before but the method is not very common or access to the journal source is complicated, list the main characteristics

• Include schematic diagrams and summarize the tests conditions in tables• “This is exactly what I did, I did it carefully and I had good reasons for

doing it this way” (Glasman-Deal, 2010)

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MethodologyWhat to write• Describe the experimental

approached used• Give enough details for your

experiments to be repeated• Background and purpose of

each procedure explained

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Grammar• Use past tense• Use passive voice• Avoid jargon and

redundancies

How to write it• Arrange procedures in

chronological order• Organize the methods in

sections and subsections

Are there answers to these questions?• How you did it?• Why you did it like that?• What materials, equipment you

used?• What time, quantities, etc.?

Results

• This is the core part of your paper and you should report all the main and important findings

• You must summarize the data in good arranged graphs and tables and state your main findings based on them

• You don’t need to include all your results, but you should include all the information to have the big picture (never omit contradictory results)

• Never provide results without an interpretation. To interpret you should be able to present your results talking about:

• Sequence• Frequency• Quantity• Causality

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Charts and graphs

• Your graphs must show good quality, different data should be easily distinguished

• Write all the information necessary to understand the graph by itself (axes labels, data label, conditions)

• Even if your paper is printed in black and white, all lines and points should be easy to read

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Examples

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AAA1BRWKCQQPDTYIFP5A

Parameter Y

Parameter X

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AAA1BRWKCQQPDTYIFP5A

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Data from site ANewly developed machine

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Describe Compare Evaluate Criticize Conclude

Describe In the motorcycle industry, it is an important process used to join parts.

Compare In comparison with ….Evaluate In our study , … was observed… Criticize …. remains questionable ……Conclude It was concluded that ……

ResultsWhat to write• Report all main and important

findings • Include well organized tables

and clear figures• Give an interpretation to every

result

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Grammar• Use past tense for what was

done and present for statements of general validity

• Use precise vocabulary• Avoid wordiness

How to write it• Write paragraphs from most to least

important • Include purpose of experiment,

experimental approach, results and interpretation

• Describe figures in the text and point the reader to figures and tables

Are there answers to thesequestions?• What are the main findings?• What is the interpretation to

the results?

Results/Discussion

• Keeping hard facts and personal interpretations separated is very important in academia.

• Depending on the structure of your paper you may want to have different sections for these two parts.

• In the results section avoid general conclusions, speculations or comparison with other studies. Leave that for the discussion part

• Results: (What you did and) what were the results

• Discussion: What the results mean

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Discussion

• Develop your view from the results in an accurate logic. You should interpret the data

• Give the answer to your research question• State and interpret your key findings• Assess your result in relation to the other’s results. If your results are

inconsistent with previous research, highlight the differences and explain the reason

• Explain the significance of this new invention and how it contributes to the existing knowledge

• Be critical on your study• Has to have a logical assertion (Interpretation of key findings,

comparison, limitations, models and significance)

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Analysis and DiscussionWhat to write• Interpretation based on key

supporting evidence• Comparison to other studies• Limitation of your study and

unexpected findings• Significance/Implication

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Grammar• Use past tense for your findings and

completed actions and present tense for talking about general validity

• Use topic sentences, transitions and key terms

• Use short sentences

How to write it?• Focus on the potential reader• Divide your paragraphs logically• Add a concluding paragraph with

implications

Are there answers to these questions?• What is the answer to your research

question?• What is the supported evidence?• What are the discrepancies, unexpected

findings and limitations?• How does these result compare to other

published results?

When writing

• Writing order doesn’t really matter. Just start writing with what makes you feel more comfortable and don’t pay attention to grammar or style

• Tips for keeping the momentum while writing• Write down all of your ideas• Make notes to yourself to continue• Don’t forget to keep good track of your references

• Focus on the reader, make everything clear and simple so everyone can focus on your research

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Style

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Style

• Coherence and cohesion• Transitions• Wordiness• Length of sentences• Preciseness• Level of sophistication• Watch out for misused words• Word location• Adverbs and adjectives10/17/18

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Coherence and cohesion• Coherence: developing and supporting

your argument, connection of ideas• Cohesion: grammatically connecting ideas

Read this examples and identify coherence and cohesion• Climate change is a critical issue these days. Precipitation and temperature are

measured in many cities. There are methods that use data of precipitation and temperature to calculate indexes of climate change. Indexes of climate change are helpful to propose mitigation policies.

• Nowadays, climate change is one of the major issues of our society. In a similar way, overpopulation is also one of the biggest issues of the modern world. It is caused by a number of reasons such as reduced mortality rate and better medical facilities. In this regard, the medical field has shown significant progress.

Make a draft of your paper

For example:• Introduction. This section will provide a background on XX and

YY.• Methodology. This section will explain the use of XX

experiments and YY simulations• Results. This section will show the results of the relation of

parameter XX and parameter YY• Discussion. This section will analyze the advantages of XX over

YY• Conclusion. This section will summarize XX, YY and ZZ

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Assignment 1B – Structure of your paper

•Send your assignment by email to ees.seut@gmail.com by 11:59, Friday 19

•Follow the rules for email subject and document name

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