A Comparative Analysis Between Two Academic Papers from Different Fields

            

            The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of the introduction and methods sections of two research papers belonging to two completely different areas, namely the fields of education and medicine. The text on education follows the organization pattern which research papers should contain to present their introduction.
The three moves of the Create a Research Model (C.A.R.S.) stated by Swales and Feak (1994), creating a research page, establishing a niche and occupying it, are neatly organized and clearly depicted. On the other hand, the text on medicine does not follow those requirements so clearly.

            In Sun and Chang`s (2012) educational paper, both authors make reference to all the previous research that has been carried out in the field using the present perfect tense and the present simple tense to describe the characteristics of blogs. The key term blog is is defined by means of a purpose statement or generalisation which introduces the main idea of the text from a general point of view.  The authors also establish a contrastive definition, which makes the rader realize that the word blog differs from the terms listservs, discussion boards and wikis. As it was mentioned before, the three moves of the the C.A.R.S are clearly expressed in the text referring to blogs. The first move, whose aim is to create a research paper, clearly refers back to previous studies which have been made in this field of using blogs to facilitate the development of a second language writing community. The authors make reference to different past studies, as Sun`s (2009) study on examining speaking practice on blogs and Noytim`s (2010) study showing that meaning served as the prominent focus rather than form in the blogging environment. Through these examples, it is clearly seen  that  the literature review is embedded in move one of the introduction  making reference to previous research in this area. Making use of a negative opening and raising a question, Sun and Chang (2012)  state the gap they found in the literature review:

Though, past literature has shed the light on the ways blogs can be used to encorage language learning and learners´participation in writing practices, little, if any, empirical research has been done to examine how interactions in blogs help EFL graduate students develop academic knowledge and writer identities. That is, if blogs are powerful tools in language learning, how do EFL students´ blog interactions demonstrate and facilitate how they process the knowledge they receive and make sense ogf who they are as emerging  academic writers? (p. 44)

This last question will be the motivator for the authors to run the research and write about the present study.

            In contrast, not even a simple definition is mentioned in the introduction of Roth et al. ´s (2010) article which directly provide an outline of past research “in the implementation of vaccines to avoid mortality in low income in low income countries”. (p. 1). The text on vaccines show the beginning of the second move by raising the doubt about BCG vaccines having non-specific benefitial effects on overall mortality.In this way, the authors provide different examples which suggest that much of the previous research has been accomplished on assumption rather than on randomized studies, shedding a light of doubt on the effectiveness of the revaccination of BCG to avoid infant mortality. In this way they create the need to run their research because this lack of information leads to more investigation on that field.

            In relation to the methods section, it can also be stated that Roth et al.´s medicine article does not follow the patterns most researchers and writers coincide with, such as its division in three subsections: participants, materials and procedure. However, they do make use of process paragraphs, including passive voice clauses in order to describe a process. In contrast, Sun and Chang´s article does organize the methods section into participants and procedures, and these two subsections are described in detail. The materials subsection is missing, probably because not much information could have been included due to the nature of this research. It is also possible to find examples of passive voice in this article as well.

            After contrasting these two articles, it can be concluded that Roth et. al´s article seems to follow the requirements for this kind of writing, presenting the information in a clear and neat way in both its introduction and methods section, whereas Sun and Chang´s article does not. The information in this article turns out to be confusing for the reader because its organization is not very clear and it is loaded with too many details and description which, as Reid (1994) stated, should be avoided by good academic writers.

                                                    References

Noytim, U. (2010). Weblogs enhancing EFL students' English language learning. Procedia Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2(1),127-1,132.

Reid, J. (1994). The process of paragraph writing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall

Roth, A., E., Stabell Benn, C., Ravn, H., Rodrigues A., Lisse, I., M., Yazdanbakhsh, M., Whittle, H., & Aaby, P. (2010). Effect of revaccination with BCG in early childhood on mortality: randomised trial in Guinea-Bissau. British Medical Journal, 340, pp. c671-c671. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c671

Sun, Y. C., & Chang, Y. (2012). Blogging to learn: Becoming EFL academic writers through collaborative dialogues. Language and Learning & Technology, 16(1), 43-61.

Sun, Y. C. (2009). Voice blog: An exploratory study of language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 13(2), 88-103. Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/vol13num2/sun.pdf.

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

           

The Importance of Well Written Abstracts in Research Papers (RPs): A Deep Analysis

The aim of this paper is to make a comparative analysis of the abstracts of four research papers belonging to the fields of education and medicine. Abstracts are the first contact readers have with papers;  however, they are the last part researchers write. As they summarize the major points made by the author, they tend to be short, concise and neat. They are generally written in no more than 250 words. Swales and Feak (1994) state that research papers abstracts consist of a single paragraph containing from about four to ten full sentences. The main purpose is to attract readers to go on reading the rest of the paper. According to APA (2008), an effective abstract uses one or more well developed paragraph which may be able to stand alone, strictly follows the chronology of the report and is intelligible to a wide audience, containing no abbreviations or specialized words. The present analysis will be based on distinguishing the main linguistic characteristics of abstracts, their structure, and their classification as well as their approach.

Considering their classification, abstracts can be either descriptive or informative in nature (Swales &  Feak, 1994). Informative abstracts are extracts from articles, chapters or as in this case, from research papers (RPs). The texts belonging to the medicine field, by Jorgensen´ s ( 2009 ) and Wijeysundera´s et. al (2009), follow this informative characteristic, as they provide a considerable amount of data on what the researchers did. As regards their structure, it can be asserted that they both belong to the structured type of abstracts since they are divided into sections with italicized headings which identify the main sections in the RP. The headings for both articles are: Objective, Design, ,Setting, Participants, Main Outcome Measure, and Results. Therefore, it can be assumed  that both  abstracts on medicine field follow the Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussions (IMRAD). Most researchers agree on this formula which is generally followed when writing this part of the texts. Other relevant characteristics these two abstracts share are connected to their linguistic features. In both abstracts the objectives are expressed with infinitives, as for the next sections they are written in full sentences in the past tense, negatives are avoided together with the use of abbreviations.   The vocabulary used is formal.   One main difference between these two pieces  of writing is that the  conclusion of Jorgensen´ s ( 2009 ) abstract on breast cancer is written in the past tense whereas the conclusion of Wijeysundera´s et. al ( 2009) abstract on cardiac stress is in the present tense, probably because of the kind of conclusion reached, which proved the hypothesis that guided this research.  Following Swales and Freak  (1994) again, the approaches of  these two abstracts can be characterized as  results-driven since they concentrate on the research findings and what might be concluded from them.

With reference to the abstracts of the educational field, by Rammal (2005) and King (2002), it can be pointed out that they are similar in the sense that they can be classified as indicative since they do not describe what the researches did in detail. Instead, they summarize the main information in the RP, and they do not provide extensive information about the results. Regarding their structure, they are unstructured since they are not divided into different sections under subheadings. In fact, both of them consist of only one paragraph. King´s (2002) abstract on DVDs seems to have the appropriate length whereas Rammal´s (2005) abstract  on video does not, it is quite short.  The first one contains seven sentences in all and the latter only five. Analyzing the linguistic features of abstracts, it can be seen that both of them are written in the present tense. In both abstracts it is possible to notice the use of the impersonal passive voice, full sentences and no negatives; abbreviations and jargon are not included.   As for their approach, they follow the lines of the summary approach of abstracts as defined by Swales and Feak (1994) because in just a few sentences they outline the different sections of the RP.

On the whole,  Jorgensen´ s ( 2009 ) and  Wijeysundera´s  et. al    (2009)  abstracts on the field of medicine are very structured, mainly following the IMRAD formula.   This characteristic can be thought as a consequence of another relevant aspect they share: They are results-driven, which means that they concentrate on results findings.     On the contrary, the article by King (2002) on the use of DVDs and Rammal (2005) on videos are not structured, but seem to have the function of attracting the readers’ attention, of generating the need of reading the rest of the article, which is one of the main functions abstract have.    As for the linguistics features of the abstracts, it can be seen that the fourth of them respect the tenses generally used for this kind of writings, all of them are written in full sentences and no examples of negatives, abbreviations and jargon can be found in either of them.  

References

American Psychological Association (2008). Concise rules of APA style. Washington,     DC: British

            Library Cataloguing-in –Publication Data.

Jorgensen, K., Zahi, P.,& Gotzsche, P., (2009).   Breast cancer mortality in organized mammography

screening in Denmark: comparative study.   British Medical Journal, 2010; 340:

  c1241.doi:101136/bmj.c1241

King, J. (2002).   Using DVD features films in the EFL classroom.    The Weekly column, 88.

Rammal, S.M. (2005). Using video in the EFL classrooms.   CDELT 25^th Annual Symposium, April

            12-13, 2005. Ein-Shams Univertity, Cairo, Egypt.

Swales, J.M., & Feak, C.B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. 

 Ann Harbor, MI: The Universty of Michigan Press.

Wijeysundera, D., Scott B., Fraser E., Austin, P., Hux J., & Laupacis A., (2009).   Non- invasive

cardiac stress testing before elective major non-cardiac surgery: population based cohort study.

British Medical Journal, 2010;340: b5526.doi:101136/bmj.b5526

Collaborative writing

Writing with my mates Adriana Decunto and Romina Cortes has been a fruitful experience throughout this term.   We have worked with three different tasks connected to Research Articles (RA) and we have analysed different aspects or this kind of papers.   It has been a fantastic experience and we have complemented each other, which made the task not only easy but also very rewarding.
I want to thank my collegues and the tutors' support through this process.

Critical Incident

My Critical Incident Report

     This incident occurred three  or four  years ago, I do not remember exactly.   There were about 36 students in the classroom and it was by the end of the year, September or October, perhaps.   The group was a really nice one, we had a nice relationship; they were very respectful and hardworking and there had no been any serious incidents before.  

     It was the first period of class and I do not remember the reason (maybe I had to examine some students) but I was not in the classroom so I gave the Preceptora some activities to do while I was out of the classroom and I told her the students had to hand in an assignment.   I asked her to collect them as soon as she entered the classroom since students were used to doing their homework in class and I did not accept that.  Before  I went into the classroom, she told me she had had some  problems with a boy who had refused to give her the assignment because he had not finished it.   The moment I entered the classroom, this boy approached me and wanted to hand in his task,  which I rejected.   Although I tried to explain the reason, he started to get furious little by little.   Soon he was out of control so I explained I was not going to speak to him until he calmed down and I ordered him to leave the classroom, to which he refused, of course.   In that moment, I thought he was going to hit me but fortunately, he  hit the table.  He kept on shouting and I kept on telling him to leave the classroom.   Eventually he did and I had to face the remaining group.   I apologized to them and they told me it was always the same with him and that they were tired of his attitude.   After that, I wrote an act and asked for a meeting with his parents since he could not change his point of view and understand he was wrong.

     After that incident I had some meetings with the headmaster, the director of studies and some other teachers since the problem with this student did not end.   I felt I needed extra support to cope with the situation. I suppose the reason for this could be understood by following Hoffman- Kipp (2003) who states that: “teachers function as resources for one another, providing each other with guidance and assistance on which to build new ideas” (p. 5). 

What I learnt from that experience is that you have to stay as cool as possible in that kind of situations; no matter how difficult they are for you.  I really believe we teach with our acts and I felt if I changed my viewpoint it would be easier but I would teach him that if you shout and become violent you may get what you want, which is totally incorrect.

References

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher learning as praxis.

            Theory into Practice.

Journal Entry

Critical Incidents: a tool for reflexive teachers

     Being able to reflect on their own practice has become a relevant tool for teachers.   Yet some questions arise, such as can they really benefit from critical incidents (CI)?   Does sharing with peers let them improve their own practice? To what extend do CI allow change in private practice?

     CI are being used at the Teacher Training for Secondary School Natural Science Teachers in  Zaragoza  as part of the learning process for the future educators.   This implementation is explained by Gonzales (2003)

     Conseguir un perfil de profesor que pueda sumir responsabilidades, hace necesario pensar en una formación continua del profesor, en una doble vertiente: como aprendiz, seleccionando, elaborando y organizando la información que ha de aprender, y como enseñante, planificando su acción docente, de manera que ofrezca a sus futuros alumnos, una guía de cómo utilizar los procedimientos de aprendizaje acorde con lo que ha asumido como aprendiz. 

     What is being pursued by this practice is to give teachers tools to have at hand when inserting in the educational system.    They are thought to help face difficult situations and it is significant that this is aimed at through reflection, together with bringing some real world into the classroom.

     CI are just one of the types or personal narratives which can promote professional development.   Therefore, the earlier future educators are trained in this technique, the more benefits they will have in their way to become professionals.

References

Fernández González J., Elortegui Escartin N., & Medina Pérez M.,  (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la

formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista Universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, año/vol. 17, número 001 Universidad de Zaragoza. Zaragoza, España.   Retrived October 2011 from http://graduateseminar1.wikispaces.com/file/view/Griffin,+Using+Critical+Incidents.pdf

Kennedy, R. L. & Wyrick, A.M., (1995). Teaching as reflective practice. Tennesse: The University of

Tennessee

Book Critique

A book critique on Task Based Learning.  A fruitful  procedure

A Framework for Task- Based Learning by Jane Willis (1998) is a non- fictional book. It is  designed not only for teachers who want to go deeper in the world of task-based learning, but also for those who are just beginning to work with this approach.

 It is organized in three parts: the first one is called Starting points.   In it Willis (1998) provides a rationale for task- based learning (TBL)  through a deep analysis of teachers’ beliefs and assumptions about language learning.   The second part is  Task based Learning, which deals with the different aspects that should be taken into account when designing or working with tasks.  It is arranged into general view, pre- task phrase, managing learning task and summary.  The last part is Implementing task- based learning. It is divided into TBL for beginners and young learners and Adopting TBL: some practical issues, which cover different aspects connected to TBL.  

An outstanding aspect of the book under analysis is that of its theoretical background stated in the first part.  It clearly defines the teachers role when dealing with second language learning, including  how to handle error correction, teaching grammar versus being communicative and analyzing differences among the various kinds of students.  It also proposes four conditions for language learning, that is to say, exposure, use of language, motivation and instruction which seem to be of great help in the development of task learning.

This book also provides an extensive characterization of  tasks: “activities where a target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve and outcome” (Willis, p. 27).  It also focuses on  the teachers role when developing tasks and planning lessons.   This  process consists of:  a pre- task phrase (involving preparation, topic identification, task instruction and time) together with  managing learner talk, running from turn-talking, mixed level classes and controlling large classes to balancing target  and first language.  Finally, Willis includes a wide range of task examples especially designed for beginners and young learners that could surely enrich any teacher practice in the classroom.

This book is a complete piece of work, which  provides easy- to- carry examples together with theoretical background.   In addition, it is organized in a coherent and consistent way, which makes it simple to follow.   Therefore, it is recommended  not only for educators  beginning to work with tasks but also for  those who want to go deeper into this field.

References

Willis, J. (1998). A framework for Task- Based learning. England: Longman.

Discourse Communities

A view on Discourse community

     A discourse community (DC) can be defined as “a knowledge community, a social mechanism that holds people together, and which emerges from them with certain values, aims, expectations and language-using practices” (Pintos and Crimi, 2010, p13).   Following Swales (1990) there are six basic criteria which characterize a DC. They are as follows: common goals, participatory mechanisms, information exchange, community-specific genres, highly specialized terminology and high general level of expertise.   Our aim is to support this idea from different points of view.   

     One of the most relevant aspects Swales (1990) proposes is that of participatory mechanisms understood as a way to provide information and feedback.   This idea could be  supported by that presented by Hoffman (2003) of teacher reflection.   It is understood as “ a process that is embedded in every day activities situated in school cultures that are social in nature , where interactions with others are an important medium in which reflection occurs”(p 3).    Hoffman also highlights the concept that following this practice “teachers function as resources for one another, providing each other with guidance and assistance on which to build new ideas” (p 5), which clearly reinforces the belief of teachers working as a cohort group.   Perhaps, the most relevant aspect is that “we are using the notion of reflection as a metacognitive mechanism that teachers can use to regulate their own practice before, during and after teaching” (p 5),  Since teaching involves working with so many people in many different situations, teachers must reflect on their practice as a group so as to obtain the best achievements.    In order to do so, Wenzlaff’s (2004) contribution might be very helpful.   He declares that “a collaborative culture comprised of teachers from different levels of schooling and content areas, as well as different district contexts, can help teachers to broaden their perspectives about teaching and learning an educational system” (p 9).   This idea clearly supplements the concept of participatory mechanism together with information exchange introduced at the very beginning.   Wenzlaff concludes that “a discourse community cannot exist in the absence of a collaborative culture and an environment that supports risk-taking” (p 9).

     In conclusion, discourse community is a concept that enriches the teaching process by turning this practice into a reflexive and collaborative one, where the members benefic not only by reflection but also by  social interaction.

References

Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y., (2010). Unit 1: Building up a community of teachers and prospective researchers. Retrieved September 2011, from http: //caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=11392

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher learning as praxis. Theory into Practice.

Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C., (2004). Teachers Need Teachers To Grow. Teacher Education Quarterly.

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