INTRODUCTION RECALL

Select the happy face (🙂) if

you agree with the statement.
If you disagree, select the sad
face (😞).

Start
WRONG

RETRY
 AGREE OR DISAGREE

The introduction is started using

broad statements about the topic.

🙂 😞
CORRECT

NEXT QUESTION
 AGREE OR DISAGREE

The author's prominent style 1 is

used when you are approaching
the specifics of the gap in your study.

🙂 😞
CORRECT

NEXT QUESTION
 AGREE OR DISAGREE

No citation is needed for the statement

“The formula of water is H2O.”

🙂 😞
CORRECT

NEXT QUESTION
 AGREE OR DISAGREE

Stages 1-3 of the introduction

use citations.

🙂 😞
CORRECT

NEXT QUESTION
 AGREE OR DISAGREE

The statement “the symbiotic algae live

in the mantle of the giant clam” expresses
information in the present perfect tense.

🙂 😞
 CORRECT
Good Job! Congratulations.

NEXT SLIDE
METHODS

 Describe the methods

section.
 Identify the parts of a
methods section, the
verb tenses, and
grammatical voices
used in writing it.
 Explain how information
is ordered in a method.
GRAMMATICAL
VOICE

 Write a sentence
describing the picture in
the active voice.
 Write a sentence
describing the picture in
the passive voice.
 METHOD
• The second major section of a scientific report which
describes the steps that are followed in conducting the
study and the materials used at each step.

• Is useful to readers who want to know how the

methodology of the study may have influenced the
results, or to those who are interested in replicating or
extending the study
Figure 1. Method
• Establishes credibility for the results and should
therefore provide enough information about how the
work was done for readers to evaluate the result
Methods

also known as Materials and provides information so that

tells the reader what you did or
Methods, Methodology, and the research can be repeated
used in the research
Experimental Procedures by others

should contain enough detail when writing this section,

about a new procedure, a new procedures that have been
also lends credibility to the method, or a new approach so previously published do not
work you have done that it could be understood and need to be mentioned in detail,
accepted, and the results can but those that are novel should
be replicated be fully described.
Part What to Write/Include
1 Provide a general introduction and
overview of the materials/methods.
Restate the purpose of the work.
Give the source of the materials/
equipment used.
Supply essential background information

2 Provide specific and precise details

about materials and methods (i.e. sizes, Parts of the Methods
quantities, duration, temperatures,
sequence, conditions, locations)
Section
Justify choices made.
Indicate that appropriate care was taken.

3 Relate materials/methods to other

studies.

4 Indicate where problems occurred

(optional).
Use of Passive and Active
Verbs in the Methods
• Information about the materials and methods used in
research is generally written in the passive voice.
• However, if you worked as a member of a research
team, the active voice can be used.
• If you have problems determining what voice to use,
consider whether it is important or not to find out who
carried out the procedure or action.
Use the passive voice when:

• the use of a personal pronoun is monotonous

• Ex: Instead of- We measured the diameter of the zone of inhibition to compare means.
• Use- The diameter of the zone of inhibition was measured to compare means.
• describing processes, since the most important aspect is the subject of the sentence
• Ex: The stain was removed by the addition of oxalic acid.
• Use it also to make references to the literature or the world in general.
• Ex: Several tests have been made to measure coral growth [4,6,10].
• Much progress is being made in the field of economics.
• it is unnecessary, difficult, or impossible to determine who made the action.
• Ex. The surface of the carapace was broken.
Use the passive voice when:

• reporting something commonly believed to be true.

• Ex: This medicine is known to cause teratogenic effects.
• old information is written at the beginning of sentences and new information is written at the end

NOTE: The use of passive sentences, however, may cause problems to your reader if your sentences
have very long subjects and a short passive verb right at the end.
• Ex : Lagundi, pancit-pancitan, collected from the Lopez farm, as well as luyang dilaw and sambong,
collected in Angat, were used.
• This can be improved by placing the subject and the verb within the first nine words of the
sentence and a list of items placed at the end of the sentence.
• Ex: Four medicinal plants were used: lagundi and pancit-pancitan, collected from the Lopez farm; and
luyang dilaw and sambong, collected in Angat.
 • The present simple tense is used to describe standard
Use of present procedures and equipment used in the research.
• The past simple tense is used to describe what you did
simple passive and personally.
• It can also be used to describe the procedure you are
past simple passive citing.
• To make your contribution to the research clear and easy to
identify, mark it with words or use phrases like:
• Ex: In this study, the samples were analyzed using a
spectroscope.
• In our experiments, the samples were analyzed
using a spectroscope.
• and by using references placed appropriately in the
sentence to identify work used by other researchers
• Ex: (In Garcia (2016) the samples were analyzed using a
spectroscope).
 Strategy 1 Use identical or similar subheadings
in the Methods and the Results sections.

Strategy 2 Use introductory phrases or sentences in

Organizing the Methods that relate to the aims,

e.g. To generate an antibody to GmDmt1;1, a 236-bp

Methods sections DNA fragment coding for 70 N-terminal amino acids

was amplified using the PCR, . . .

Strategy 3 Use the first sentence of a new

paragraph to introduce what you will be talking
about and relate it to what has gone before.
e.g., The disturbance treatment had two levels:
control and disturbed. Control plots were…
 INFORMATION CONVENTIONS

The main part of the method section is a description of the procedural steps
used in the study and the materials employed at each step. However, other
elements are commonly described in this section as well.

AUDITORY COMPREHENSION OF ENGLISH BY MONOLINGUAL

AND BILUNGUAL PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Method
1A bilingual group and a monolingual group, each
overview comprised of 30 children, were compared. 2In each group there
sample were six subjects at each of five different age levels. 3The subject
were selected from seven day care centers in Houston. 4These
restrictions centers accept only children from below poverty threshold; thus,
comparable socioeconomic status among the test subjects was
insured.
 5The bilingual subjects were selected from the 99 Mexican-
American children in a previous study (Carrow, 1971) on the basis
sampling
of performance at age mean or above in both languages on a test
technique
of auditory comprehension. 6This criterion was employed to assure
basic understanding of both languages.
7The test instrument employed in this study was a revised

version of the Auditory Test for Language comprehension (Carrow,

materials 1968), which permits the assessment of oral language
comprehension of English and Spanish without requiring language
expression. 8It consists of a set of 114 plates, each of which
contains three black and white line drawings representing 15
grammatical categories.
9Both groups were tested by the same examiner, a Mexican-

American fluent in both languages. 10The children were brought

procedure individually to a test area where they engaged in spontaneous
conversation. 11For the bilingual children, conversations were
 conducted in English and Spanish to determine the language in
which each child appeared more fluent. 12Each bilingual subject
procedure 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.
13The test required the child to indicate his response by

pointing to the picture which corresponded to the examiner’s

utterance. 14A score of one was given for each item passed. 15Test
statistical
administration required 30 to 45 minutes in each language for each
treatment
child.
16A 2 x 5 analysis of variance was used to test for age ang

language group differences.

 Ordering the Information

The elements included in the method section and the order in which they are
presented are not fixed. However, the list in the following box is conventional
and provides a good model.

INFORMATON ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN METHOD

Overview of the experiment (Design)

Population/ Sample
Location * always included
Restrictions/ Limiting Conditions
Sampling technique
*Procedure
*Materials
Variables
Statistical Treatment
List of vocabulary words • Provide a general introduction and overview of the
used in the different parts
materials/methods and give the source of materials/
of the methods section.
The list is not exhaustive. equipment used.
 was adapted was divided was operated
was added was eliminated was optimized
was adopted was employed was plotted
Provide specific was adjusted was estimated was positioned
was applied was exposed was prepared
and precise was arranged was extracted was quantified
was assembled was filtered was recorded
details about was assumed was formulated was regulated
was attached was generated was removed
materials and was calculated was immersed was repeated
was calibrated was inhibited was restricted
methods. was carried out was included was retained
was characterized was inserted was sampled
was collected was installed was scored
was combined was isolated was selected
was computed was located was separated
was converted was maximized was substituted
was created was measured was transferred
was designed was minimized was treated
was derived was modified was varied
was distributed was obtained was utilized
 LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS
These concern choosing the correct verb tense and verb
voice.

Choosing the Correct Verb Tense

in Procedural Descriptions

The procedures used in carrying out the study

should usually be described in the simple past
tense. Sentences included under methods that are
not written in the past tense usually do not refer to
the procedures used in the study being reported.
Instead, they may describe standard procedures
that are commonly used by others.
 PROCEDURAL DESCRIPTIONS
Past Tense

Surveys were sent to student health services at 180 colleges.

The study was carried out on a marine laboratory research vessel.

The generators supplied about 14,000 amps when fully operational.

NOTE: In a few fields of study, procedural descriptions can sometimes be

written in the simple present tense.
 Use either the active or the
Choosing the passive voice when you describe
the procedure used in your
Appropriate project.

Verb Voice-
Active or The formation of the passive
voice requires the be auxiliary +
Passive the past participle of a verb.
 PROCEDURAL STATEMENTS
ACTIVE VOICE

Agent Main verb Object Complement

(active)
We applied stress to the rubber segments
in gradually increasing
increments

PASSIVE VOICE

Subject Main verb Agent Complement

(passive)

Stress was applied (by the investigators) to the rubber segments…

Your decision whether to use the active or passive voice in
procedural statements should be made with the following
considerations:

1. The passive voice is conventionally used to describe procedure

in order to depersonalize the information. The passive
construction allows you to omit the agent (usually “I” or “we”),
placing the emphasis on the procedure and how it was done.

EXAMPLE A: For reasons related to personal safety, the test

facility was constructed (by us) in a remote
area 4 miles from the main road.
 EXAMPLE B: Tests were conducted (by me) with four
different types of reactors.

However, your teacher may specifically ask you not to use the passive voice
because he/she prefers a more personal style with frequent use of the pronouns
“I” or “we.”

1. In addition to questions of style, the choice of active or passive voice should

place old information near the beginning of the sentence and new
information at the end. The old information is italicized in each sentence in
example C.
EXAMPLE C: The four reactors we tested in the work reported here all
contained a platinum catalyst (ACTIVE). Each reactor-catalyst
configuration will be described separately (PASSIVE). The
quartz reactors were manufactured by the Wm. A. Sales
Company of Wheeling, Illinois (PASSIVE).
 In technical and scientific English, there is
a tendency to shorten certain kinds of
passive constructions.

Three such kinds of sentences are

commonly used in procedural
Using Short Passive descriptions.
Forms to Describe
The first type is a compound sentence
Procedure with two identical subjects and two or
more verbs in the passive.

To shorten this kind of sentence, omit the

subject and the be auxiliary in the
second part of the sentence.
 SHORTENING COMPOUND SENTENCES IN THE PASSIVE VOICE:
Same Subjects
FULL FORM:

Subject1 be Past CONJUNCTION Subject1 be Past

Participle1 Participle1

The data were collected and they were analyzed.

SHORT FORM:

The data were collected and analyzed.

The second type of sentence is also compound, but in this case there are two different
subjects, each with different verbs in the passive voice. To shorten this kind of sentence,
omit the be auxiliary before the second verb.

SHORTENING COMPOUND SENTENCES IN THE PASSIVE VOICE:

Different Subjects

FULL FORM:

Subject1 be Past CONJUNCTION Subject1 be Past

Participle1 Participle1

The data were collected and correlations were calculated.

SHORT FORM:

The data were collected and correlations calculated.

The third type of sentence has a which clause containing a passive verb form. In this case,
you can shorten the clause by dropping the conjunction which and the be auxiliary.

SHORTENING “WHICH” CLAUSE SENTENCES

IN THE PASSIVE VOICE

FULL FORM:

Subject1 CONJUNCTION be Past Verb Past

Participle1 Participle1

The data which were obtained were subjected to

analysis of variance.

SHORT FORM:

The data obtained were subjected to

analysis of variance.
 SUMMARY : Describing Experimental Procedure
INFORMATION LANGUAGE

• Include all information necessary for • Use the past tense to

someone to replicate your describe procedure.
procedure. • Use the passive voice to
• Describe the procedure depersonalize procedural
chronologically. descriptions and to keep old
information at the beginning
of sentences.
• Use short forms of the
passive voice to reduce
compound sentences and
which clauses.
 MATERIALS
• Although the second major section of a scientific report
is often called “method,” it is sometimes titled
materials and method.
• This combined title indicates that researchers generally
describe these two aspects when they write up their
research. That is, they simultaneously describe any
equipment or other materials they used with each step
in their procedure.
Figure 2. Experimental Materials
 INFORMATION CONVENTIONS

By materials we mean any items used to carry out a research project. They
may fall into any of the following categories:

MATERIALS

laboratory equipment
field equipment
human or animal subjects
natural substances
fabricated materials
surveys, questionnaires and tests
computer models
mathematical models
 A SEE-SAW DRYER

1The see-saw dryer was developed for the drying of coffee and
cocoa beans. 2It was intended for small-scale drying operations and could
be easily operated. 3It was designed for use in tropical regions.
overview 4The dryer was operated in two positions along a central axis of

rotation running north-south. 5This see-saw operation permitted the drying

material to face the sun more directly during both morning and afternoon.
6The dryer consisted of a rectangular wood frame divided

lengthwise into parallel channels of equal width, and crosswise by means

principal retaining bars. 7The bottom of the dryer was made of bamboo matting
parts painted black. 8The cover of the frame was made of a film of transparent
Polyvinyl Chloride (P.V.C.) which provided a screening effect against ultra
violet light, thus reducing photodegradation of the drying product. 9All of
the internal parts of the dryer were coated with a flat black paint. 10The
function drying frame was tilted during operation so that it faced east during the
morning and west during the afternoon.
 If the materials used are well-known
to researchers in the field, it is
conventional to identify them only.

However, if you used specially

Ordering the designed or unconventional materials

in the experiment, it is common to
write a detailed description of them in
Information the report.

In this case, include the following

information, in the order given:
 Overview: This step consists of one or
two sentences that give a general idea
of the material and the purpose for
which it is intended.

DESCRIBING SPECIALLY Description of principal parts: Here,

each major part or characteristic of the
DESIGNED MATERIALS: material is described in logical
Three Steps sequence.

Functional description: This last step

shows how the various features
described in Step B function together.
 Ordering the Description of Principal Parts- Step B

In Step B you describe the principal features of the material used in the study.
There are two main organizing plans that you can use in this step, depending
on your material.

ARRANGEMENT PLANS FOR DESCRIBING PRINCIPAL PARTS OF MATERIALS

(STEP B)

1. Spatial arrangement: Describe the features from top to bottom, front to

back, left to right, from the center to the outside, or in some other spatial
way. This arrangement is especially useful for describing equipment
consisting of various connected parts.
2. Functional arrangement: Describe the principal features in the order in
which they function, from beginning to end. This arrangement is best for
describing parts that operate in a fixed sequence.
 Integrating Materials with Procedure

The materials used in the study are sometimes described separately from
the procedures. This arrangement may be used when several different
pieces of conventional laboratory equipment are used to carry out a routine
procedure. This can be seen in the following example from the field of
chemistry.

All the aromatic compounds used were commercially available

materials without further purification. 2-propanol was distilled from sodium
metal. The instrumentation used included an HFT-80 and NT-300
spectrometer, a Hewlett Packard 5980-A mass spectrometer, a Waters
Associates HPLC Instrument, Model 600A, and a Varian Aerograph 1400 GC
instrument with a 10-ft column containing 15%Carbowaxon Chromosorb W.
More commonly, however, materials and methods are described in integrated
form, often with both elements mentioned in each sentence. Notice this
arrangement in the following section from the same chemistry experiment. (The
material mentioned in each sentence is underlined, and the procedure is circled.)

1Aqueous sodium hydroxide (30 g, 185 ml) was cooled in ice in a 500-ml
beaker, stirred magnetically while 5 g of nickel-aluminum alloy was added in
several small portions, and gradually warmed to 100oC as required to maintain
the hydrogen evolution. 2The nickel was then allowed to settle, and the liquid
was decanted. 3After being washed with 5% fresh sodium hydroxide and distilled
water until neutral, the nickel suspension was filtered with a glass funnel and
then finally washed with 100 ml of 2-propanol. 4The catalyst was transferred
with small amounts of dry 2-propanol to a glass-stoppered bottle.
Language Conventions

Choosing Verb Tense and Voice in Describing Materials

There are some grammatical conventions used to describe materials

clearly in the report. These conventions mainly involve choosing the
correct verb tense and voice.

Choosing Verb Tenses- Samples and Populations

Sentences describing the subjects or materials used in a study require

either the past or the present tense. When describing a sample used in a
study, use the past tense.
 DESCRIBING SAMPLES: Past Tense Verbs

Sample Main verb Description

(past)

The boys were between the ages of 7 and 13.

The men interviewed were primarily from St. Louis, Mo.
The subjects were 18 Arabic-speaking students
attending classes at the
American university in Cairo.

However, when describing the general population from which the sample
subjects were selected, the present tense is normally used.
 DESCRIBING POPULATIONS: Present Tense Verbs

Sample Main verb Description

(present)

All students who apply take the Michigan Test of

for admission to the English Language
American University of Proficiency
Cairo
They enter the English Language
Institute where they
follow an intensive
program of English
language training.
Use of Tenses with Conventional and Specially Designed Materials

If you use equipment in your study which is standard or conventional in your

field and probably familiar to most other researchers, you should describe it
using the present tense.

DESCRIBING CONVENTIONAL MATERIAL: Present Tense Verbs

Conventional Main verb Description
material (present)
The Auditory Test for permits the assessment of oral
Language Comprehen- language comprehension
sion (Carrow, 1968) of English and Spanish.

A typical chemical includes a helical tube-in-tube heat

reactor exchanger.
 On the other hand, descriptions of specially designed materials with which
other workers in your field may not be familiar are usually written in the
past tense. Common devices that you modified in some special way for use
in your study are also sometimes described in the past.

DESCRIBING SPECIALLY DESIGNED OR MODIFIED MATERIALS:

Past Tense Verbs

Modified Main verb Description

material (past)
protected from weather by an
For the testing program outer window of 0.10 mm
was
this collector tedlar.
Using Active and Passive Voice in Describing Materials

• Both active and passive voice verb constructions are used in

describing experimental materials.

• Your decision to use active or passive voice depends partly on

what verb is transitive or intransitive.

• Only transitive verbs can be used in the passive voice.

• If the verb is intransitive, follow these rules to determine which

voice to use:
1. The passive voice is usually used when a human agent (the experimenter)
is manipulating the materials.

HUMAN AGENT INVOLVED: Passive Voice

EXAMPLE A: The temperature inside the chamber was increased from 0o

to 20oC. (The researcher increased the temperature.)

EXAMPLE B: Four thermocouples were monitored hourly. (A researcher

monitored them.)
2. The active voice is usually used when no human is directly responsible for
manipulating the materials- that is, when the materials operate “by
themselves.”

NO HUMAN AGENT INVOLVED: Active Voice

EXAMPLE C: A 200 hp generator provided power to the piezometers.

EXAMPLE D: Control gauges monitored air pressure inside the chamber.

In examples C and D, the use of the active voice indicates that the experimenters
were not directly involved in the functioning of the experiment.
3. The passive voice may be used to describe an action involving a nonhuman
agent, but a phrase must be included to indicate the agent.

NO HUMAN AGENT INVOLVED: Passive Voice

EXAMPLE E: Power was supplied by 14 generators with capacities

ranging from 90 to 300 KW.
 SUMMARY : Describing Materials

INFORMATION

• Integrate the materials description with the procedural

description.
• Briefly identify conventional materials.
• Use three-step order for describing specially designed materials.
• Choose spatial or functional arrangement when describing
principal parts.
 SUMMARY : Describing Materials

LANGUAGE

• Use past tense when describing the sample.

• Use present tense when describing the larger population.
• Use past tense when describing specially designed materials.
• Use present tense when describing conventional materials.
• Use active voice if the verb is intransitive and the action
happens “by itself.”
• Use passive voice if the verb is transitive and a human agent
is involved in the action.