6.

Specific Types of Writing

1. The academic proposal

An academic proposal is the first step in producing a thesis or major project. Its intent is to convince a
supervisor or academic committee that your topic and approach are sound, so that you gain approval to
proceed with the actual research. As well as indicating your plan of action, an academic proposal
should show your theoretical positioning and your relationship to past work in the area.
An academic proposal is expected to contain these elements:

 a rationale for the choice of topic, showing why it is important or useful within the concerns
of the discipline or course. It is sensible also to indicate the limitations of your aims – do not
promise what you cannot deliver.
 a review of existing published work (“the literature”) that relates to the topic. Here you need
to explain how your proposed work will build on existing studies and yet explore new
territory.
 an outline of your intended approach or methodology (with comparisons to the existing
published work), perhaps including costs, resources needed, and a timeline of when you hope
to get things done.

2. The abstract

Abstracts are important because they give a first impression of the document that follows, letting
readers decide whether to continue reading and showing them what to look for if they do. Though
some abstracts only list the contents of the document, the most useful abstracts tell the reader more.
An abstract should represent as much as possible of the quantitative and qualitative information in the
document, and also reflect its reasoning.
Typically, an informative abstract answers these questions in about 100-200 words:
 Why did you do this study or project?
 What did you do, and how?
 What did you find?
 What do your findings mean?

If the paper is about a new method or apparatus the last two questions might be changed to
 What are the advantages (of the method or apparatus)?
 How well does it work?

Here are some other points to keep in mind about abstracts1:

1
More practical advice on Abstract Writing on page 132.
1
  Do not repeat or rephrase the title, but make it complete enough to stand on its own.

 Emphasize the different points in proportion to the emphasis they receive in the body of the
document.

 Do not refer in the abstract to information that is not in the document.

 Avoid using I or we.

 Choose active verbs instead of passive when possible (e.g. the study tested rather than x was
tested by the study).

 Use key words from the document.

 Assume that the reader has some knowledge of the subject but has not read the paper. The
abstract should be intelligible and complete in itself; particularly it should not cite figures,
tables, or sections of the paper, or use too many unfamiliar abbreviations.

 The opening sentence or two should indicate the subjects dealt with in the paper and should
state the objectives of the investigation. You should also describe the treatment by one or
more such terms as brief, exhaustive, theoretical, experimental, and so forth.

 The body of the abstract should indicate newly observed facts and the conclusions of the
experiment or argument discussed in the paper.

 In the case of experimental results, the abstract should indicate the methods used in obtaining
them; for new methods the basic principle, range of operation, and degree of accuracy should
be given.

 The abstract should be typed as one paragraph. Its optimum length will vary somewhat with
the nature and extent of the paper, but it should not exceed 200 words.

a. The abstract worksheet

The abstract worksheet that follows may be used to help you prepare the first draft of your abstract.
The sequence of sentences is ordered in a logical fashion, beginning with an introduction and
proceeding to your hypothesis or objective, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion.

Think of the most important items that crystallize each part of your project. Leave out unimportant
details. As a first draft, write one or two sentences that summarize each section. For your final draft,
make sure the abstract "flows" logically, using linking words and keywords to guide that flow.

Here is an example of a completed abstract worksheet:

Abstract Worksheet

Project Title (the same as the title of your scientific paper)

A Test of the Competitive Exclusion Theory in Two Related Species of Butterflies

Introduction (What is this project about? Why is this project interesting or important?)

2
 The food habits of larval butterflies of two related species from a zone of overlap near Oil
City, PA were examined.

Hypothesis (What did you think you would find? Why?)

The theory of competitive exclusion predicts that food habits of closely related species should
not overlap significantly where species occur together.

Methods (Briefly explain your procedure.)

Transects in five different habitats were used to determine food and habitat preferences in wild
populations. Two species of captive caterpillars were offered various food in the laboratory;
weight changes of foods and caterpillars were determined daily.

Results (What did you find when you performed your experiment?)

Food habits in overlapping habitats were significantly different between the two species
(ANOVA p= 0.001). Food habits in non-overlapping habitats were not significantly different
(ANOVA p= 0.52). There were no differences in food preferences (ANOVA p= 0.76) or
growth rates (ANOVA p= 0.88) on different foods in laboratory maintained populations.

Discussion (Are your results consistent with your initial hypothesis? Why or why not?)

These species are able to coexist because they are not competing for the same, and limiting,
food resources in the same area.

Conclusion (What is your interpretation of what these results mean? Why should anyone
become excited about or interested in your findings?)

These results support the theory of competitive exclusion because the two species did not use
the same food resources from similar habitats.

Write an abstract related to you current research (or invent some research). Choose one of the two
possible structures below:
Structure one Structure two
Give a basic introduction to your research area, Begin by saying what you did plus introduce
which can be understood by researchers in any one key result, i.e. begin with information that
discipline. (1-2 sentences) the reader does NOT already know. (1-2
sentences)
Provide more detailed background for Introduce the background by connecting in
researchers in your field. (1-2 sentences) some way to what you said in your introductory
sentence(s). (1 sentence)
Clearly state your main result. (1 sentence) Use your background information (which the
reader may or may not already know) to justify
what you did, and outline your methodology
(and materials where appropriate). (1-2
sentences)
Explain what your main result reveals and/or Provide some more information concerning
3
 adds when compared to the current literature. your results. (1-2 sentences)
(1-2 sentences)
Put your results into a more general context and Tell the reader the implications of your results.
explain the implications. (1-2 sentences) (1-2 sentences)

3. The short report

Business and industry, as well as universities, often demand short technical reports. They may be
proposals, progress reports, trip reports, completion reports, investigation reports, feasibility studies,
or evaluation reports. As the names indicate, these reports are diverse in focus and aim, and differ in
structure. However, one goal of all reports is the same: to communicate to an audience.

Your audience for an academic report is already very well informed. Your professor and teaching
assistants will not usually read your report in order to extract knowledge; instead, they will look for
evidence that you understand the material and ideas your report presents. Your document, then, should
not only convey information clearly and coherently (such as numbers, facts or equations), but should
also, where appropriate, detail the logical processes you relied upon (such as interpretation, analysis,
or evaluation).

Here is a general format for a short report, which you can adapt to the needs of specific assignments.
Bear in mind that a format, however helpful, cannot replace clear thinking and strategic writing. You
still need to organize your ideas carefully and express them coherently. Be precise and concise.

Typical Components:
1. Title Page
2. Abstract or Summary
3. Introduction
4. Background
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion
7. Recommendations
8. Attachments

4
 Style and Editing

1. Revising and editing

Revising gives you the chance to preview your work on behalf of the end reader. Revision is much
more than proofreading, though in the final editing stage it involves some checking of details. Good
revision and editing can transform a mediocre first draft into an excellent final paper. It is more work,
but leads to real satisfaction when you find you have said what you wanted to say.

Start large, end small

Revision may mean changing the shape and reasoning in your paper. It often means adding or deleting
sentences and paragraphs, shifting them around, and reshaping them as you go. Before dealing with
details of style and language (editing), be sure you have presented ideas that are clear and forceful.
Make notes as you go through these questions, and stop after each section to make the desired
revisions.

 First check whether you have fulfilled the intention of the assignment. Look again at the
instruction sheet, and revise your work to be sure you can say yes to these questions:

1. Have you performed the kind of thinking the assignment sheet asked for (e.g., analyse,
argue, compare, explore)?

2. Have you written the genre of document called for (e.g., book review, critique, personal
response, field notes, research report, lab report, essay)?

3. Have you used concepts and methods of reasoning discussed in the course?

4. Have you given adequate evidence for your argument or interpretation? Be sure that the
reader knows why and how your ideas are important. A quick way of checking is to note
where your paragraphs go after their topic sentences. Watch out for repetitions of general
ideas - look for progression into detailed reasoning, including source referencing.

 Then look at overall organization. It is worth printing out everything so that you can view the
entire document. Then consider these questions, and revise to get the answers you want:

1. Does your introduction make clear where the rest of the paper is headed? If the paper is
argument-based, you will likely use a thesis statement. Research papers often start with a
statement of the research question.

2. Is each section in the right place to fulfil your purpose? (It might help to make a reverse
outline, as explained in Unit V. Revise to fill in gaps and take out irrelevant material.)

3. Have you drawn connections between the sections? (Look again at your topic sentences to
see if they link back to what has just been said as well as looking forward to the next
point. Find ways to draw ideas together explicitly. Use logical statements, not just a
sprinkling of connecting words.)

4. Would a person reading your conclusion know what question you had asked and how you
had arrived at your answer? (Again, ask for a real paraphrase.)

5
  Now polish and edit your style by moving to smaller matters such as word choice, sentence
structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. You may already have passages that you know
need further work. This is where you can use computer programs (with care) and reference
material such as handbooks and handouts. Here are some tips:

1. Read passages aloud to see if you have achieved the emphasis you want.

2. Make sure that your computer’s dictionary (spell check) is set to English (UK or US),
and USE IT! It will help you spot most typing errors and many wrongly spelled words.
Do not use the automatic replace function, however, as you will end up with nonsense
words. You will still have to read through your piece and use a print dictionary or writer's
handbook to look up words that you suspect are not right.

3. Use a thesaurus, but use it sensibly. It will supply you with lists of words in the same
general category as the one you have tried - but most of them will notmake sense. Use
plain clear words instead. Always look at the samples of usage.

4. Use a grammar checker, but use it sensibly. The best ones still miss many errors, and
they can sometimes give you bad advice. If you know that you overuse slang or the
passive voice, you may find some of the "hits" useful, but be sure to make your own
choice of replacement phrases.

2. Unbiased Language

Recent changes in social awareness have made people think about the ways language tends to
downgrade certain groups. Common sense and some specific strategies can help you avoid suggesting
putdowns where they are not intended.

1. The "man" trap: Many standard wordings seem to assume that every individual is male.
Repeating he and she, him and her, his and hers at every reference is clumsy. Finding alternatives can
be as simple as using plural rather than singular, or avoiding a pronoun altogether.

seems to exclude women Man is a tool-building animal.

inclusive Humans are tool-building animals.

seems to exclude women Every artist has learned from those who came before him.

inclusive but awkward Every artist has learned from those who came before him or her.

inclusive Every artist has learned from previous artists.

2. Confusing the group and the individual: Many academic disciplines focus on group behaviour
and can describe it precisely. Do not get stuck in the habit, though, of referring to people only as
representatives of categories. That is especially important if you are writing about (and perhaps to)
individual clients or patients or students.

6
  Avoid using adjectives as collective nouns: females, natives, gays, Orientals, the blind, etc.
Nouns like women or blind people are easy substitutes in most cases.

 Terminology can reflect important distinctions. That's the justification for terms like hearing-
impaired or partially sighted. (A hearing-impaired person has partial hearing, while a
profoundly deaf person has none or almost none.)

 On the same principle, consider whether you can give more specific information. How much
sight, and what kind, does the person have? Was Gandhi just Asian, or would be it be more
useful to specify what part of India he came from, and even from what caste? In a marketing
analysis, too, data about people's behaviour tells you more than stereotypes.

 Some terms have outlived their usefulness. Again, it is more precise as well as more
considerate to note that a person has XXX syndrome rather than saying he is a dwarf or an
idiot. ("Vertically challenged" is only a joke.) Racial terms notoriously change fashion: black
has gone in and out of favour, for instance, and native or aboriginal are preferred to Indian.
As in the case of gay, the criterion should be what people in a specific group want to be called.
Again, any adjective used as a noun (a black, a diabetic) seems to reduce people to one
characteristic.

3. Gendered labels: Terms that label people simply on the basis of their sex have often gathered
negative overtones:

 Feminine forms of words such as poetess or woman doctor are certainly outdated, since they
suggest that a woman in the role of poet or doctor is not the real thing. That's the trouble with
policewoman and chairwoman too. You can nearly always replace such terms with a non-
gendered form: poet, doctor, police officer, chair.

 Titles like Mr., Mrs., and even the recently invented Ms. are less and less used orally in most
parts of North America, and their function in writing is small. They are still expected in the
salutations of formal letters such as applications (Dear Ms. Lee), but are seldom necessary in
internal memos. If you are on first-name terms with your reader, address the memo TO:
Sandra Lee and sign it FROM: John Pereira. It is also acceptable to say Dear Chris Singh and
bypass the question of gender.

 In academic writing, such titles and the honorifics Professor and Doctor are almost never used
when referring to a source. Use only last names when you refer to your sources, even if they
are eminent authorities. When your writing concentrates on a specific figure, you may want to
give the full name on first mention, then revert to last name only.

Example:
Emily Dickinson was thoroughly familiar with popular musical forms of her day. In using the
ballad stanza, however, Dickinson varies the meter for her own artistic purposes.

3. Punctuation

Careful! In English, there is no space before the following punctuation marks: the colon (:), the
semicolon (;), the exclamation mark (!) and the question mark (?). Similarly, there is no space
between quotation marks and the text they enclose.

7
Example:
What an amazing discovery!
How are these findings related?
The following are examples of famous mathematicians: Pythagoras, Fibonacci, Pascal,
Laplace, and Babbage.
The results of the study were inconclusive; however, further studies are expected to shed light
on the influence of covariates.
The so-called “rule of three” suggests that accidents and deaths appear in a pattern of three.
(Note the use of “English” quotation marks in the final example.)

a. The sentence and the full stop

The full stop is the most important punctuation mark. It shows the end of the sentence. The English
language also uses capital letters at the beginning of sentences and generally two spaces after a full
stop (BE)/period (AE).

b. The comma

The comma is the most important punctuation mark after the full stop. Its main use is for separating
parts of sentences. Commas function in five main ways:

1. Before or after adverbial clauses and phrases.

2. Before various connectives to join two independent clauses.
3. To separate some non-defining phrases from the rest of the sentence.
4. To separate words, phrases and clauses in a series.
5. To separate adjectives that modify the same noun separately.

Examples for point (3):

Malaria, once a widespread disease, is under control.

The Conservatives, who had gained more votes than Labour in the 1929 general election,
were only the second largest party.
The opposition parties, however, were unwilling to accept any programme of economies that
did not involve a cut in the standard rate of benefit.

Examples for point (5):

Critics praise the novel's unaffected, unadorned style.

He walked with long, slow, steady, deliberate strides.

!!! Common mistakes !!!

a) A comma cannot separate subject from predicate. The following sentences are not possible:
8
 *A man of his great abilities, would always be successful.
Correct – A man of his great abilities would always be successful.
*Experience indicates that, these rhythms do not result wholly from our life-style.
Correct – Experience indicates that these rhythms do not result wholly from our life-
style.
*What I really want, is some justice.
Correct – What I really want is some justice.

b) Comma splices: a comma splice is the joining of two independent clauses with only a comma.

Incorrect Examples:

*Much of the literature advocates stretching preparatory to exercise, however the

mechanisms are not yet well understood.
*The article is exhaustive, it discusses each aspect in detail.
Here are the rules for avoiding them:

 Use a period (.) or semicolon (;) to separate two independent clauses, placing a conjunctive
adverb after the punctuation, or join them with a coordinating conjunction.

Correct Examples:
Much of the literature advocates stretching preparatory to exercise; however, the mechanisms
are not yet well understood.
Much of the literature advocates stretching preparatory to exercise. However, the
mechanisms are not yet well understood.
Much of the literature advocates stretching preparatory to exercise, but the mechanisms are
not yet well understood.
The article is exhaustive, as it discusses each aspect in detail.
The article is exhaustive; accordingly, it discusses each aspect in detail.
These are the most common conjunctive adverbs:

accordingly even so for example however

as a result rather nevertheless Moreover
therefore indeed then furthermore

9
Add commas wherever necessary:

Advertising

1. Advertising is the collective term for public announcements designed to promote the sale of
specific commodities or services.
2. From its unsophisticated beginnings in ancient times advertising has burgeoned into a
worldwide industry.
3. American advertising leads the world not only in volume of business but also in the
complexity of its organization and of its procedures.
4. Modern advertising is an integral segment of urban industrial civilization mirroring
contemporary life in its best and worst aspects.
5. Having proven its force in the movement of economic goods and services advertising since
the early 1960s has been directed in increasing quantity toward matters of social concern.
6. Advertising falls into two main categories: consumer advertising directed to the ultimate
purchaser and trade advertising in which the appeal is made to dealers through trade journals
and other media.
7. A relatively minor but important form of advertising is institutional advertising which is
designed solely to build prestige and public respect for particular business concerns as
important American institutions.
8. For example makers of pancake flour of syrup and of sausages sometimes jointly advertise
this combination as an ideal cold-weather breakfast.
9. Advertising may be local national or international in scope and so the rates charged for the
three different levels of advertising vary sharply particularly in newspapers.
10. Varying rates are set also by newspapers for amusement legal political financial religious
and charitable advertisements.

c. The apostrophe

The apostrophe has two main functions in English, but only one in academic writing. It is used mainly
to show possession or relationship. It is also used in informal writing to show contraction or letters left
out.

Possession or relationship: the apostrophe precedes the 's' in singular words and plurals that do not
end in 's'. It follows the 's' in plurals that end in 's'. The apostrophe is not used with the possessive
pronouns 'hers', 'yours', 'theirs' and 'its'.

Examples:

The province’s 75 school districts are administered by locally elected boards.

In contrast to the all-inclusiveness of other countries' socialized medical services, 40m
Americans have no coverage at all.

!!! Common mistake !!! An apostrophe cannot be used to make plurals.

10
Add apostrophes to the following texts where needed:
a. Astronomers theorize that the 55 Cancri planets formed from a disk of dust around their star, the
same way planets formed in the earths solar system.
b. When a planet pulls 55 Cancri away from the earth, the stars light appears to redden slightly. The
stars light becomes slightly bluer when a planet pulls the star toward the earth.
c. 3Ms founders originally planned to mine and sell corundum, a high-quality abrasive mineral used to
manufacture grinding wheels.
d. 3M sales representatives began bypassing their clients purchasing agents and dealing directly with
plant workers. The companys first major breakthroughs in product development grew out of this
strategy.
e. During the 1960s and 1970s Castros government made significant strides in improving Cubas
educational and health care facilities, and offered the Cuban revolution as an example to other
developing nations.
f. The museums collections include large numbers of impressionist, postimpressionist, cubist, and
abstract artworks. Since its beginning, the museums collection has broadened and it now includes
sculpture, paintings, and artworks from the entire modern period.
g. Godards first feature-length film, À bout de souffle, established him as the leading figure of
nouvelle vague.
h. One of the citys major museums is the Des Moines Art Center (1948), designed by the Finnish-born
architect Eliel Saarinen.
i. The citys Sherman Hill Historic District contains many turn-of-the-century buildings, including
Salisbury House, a reproduction (1923-1928) of the Kings House in Salisbury, England, and Terrace
Hill, a Victorian mansion (1867-1869), now the Iowa governors residence.

d. Quotation marks

In academic writing, quotation marks are used to show that you are quoting directly from another
author's work. The quotation marks should enclose the actual words of the author and all
bibliographical information must be given. Again, note the use of “English” quotation marks – these
will be used automatically if you activate the English dictionary in Word.

Example:
Hillocks (1986) similarly reviews dozens of research findings. He writes, "The available
research suggests that teaching by written comment on compositions is generally ineffective"
(p. 167).

Note the punctuation before the quotation marks:

 When a reporting verb is used to introduce the quotation, a comma is inserted after the verb.

Example:
He stated, " The ‘placebo effect’ [...] disappeared when behaviours were studied in this
manner" (Smith, 1982, p. 276), but he did not clarify which behaviours were studied.

11
  When the quotation is integrated into the structure of your sentence, no punctuation is used to
separate the two.

Example:
Richterich and Chancerel (1980, p. 5) maintain that "assessment should be an integral part of
the learning material."

 When the quotation is independent of the structure of the main sentence, a colon is used.

Example:
Miele (1993, p. 276) found the following: "The placebo effect ... disappeared when behaviors
were studied in this manner".

e. The colon

Colons are used to add extra information after a clause. This can be divided into three main categories.

1. To introduce lists

Examples:
We need three kinds of support: economic, moral and political.

2. Before explanations

Examples:
We decided not to go on holiday: we had too little money.
It was something very rarely seen in Britain, or in other democracies: an emergency
government.

3. Before independent quotations

Example:
Miele (1993, p. 276) found the following: "The placebo effect [...] disappeared when
behaviors were studied in this manner."

Note: Do not use a colon directly after a verb or a preposition that introduces the list, explanation or
quotation. The following sentences are not possible:

*We need: bread, fish, butter, and potatoes.

Correct: We need bread, fish, butter, and potatoes.
*Economic recession hit such countries as: Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy.
Correct: Economic recession hit such countries as Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy
f. Capital letters

Capital letters have two main uses in English: they are used at the beginning of sentences and for
proper names.

1. At the beginning of a sentence

12
 If football was a business, it was a very peculiar one. Clubs did not compete with one another
to attract larger crowds by reducing their prices. Nor did they make any serious efforts to
derive income from a huge fixed asset, which was used for only a few hours a week.

2. Proper names

Personal names: John, Ms Smith, Dr Brown, Mr Gates, Elizabeth

Titles: Mr, Ms, Dr, Colonel, Professor, President, Prime Minister, Judge

Geographical names: Argentina, Europe, China, Mount Everest, Lake Michigan, Borneo,
London, Bangkok, the River Thames, the Pacific Ocean, the Panama Canal, Baker Street,
Cambridge Road, Broadway Avenue, Raffles Hotel, St George's Hall

Company/Organisation names: Shell, Woolworths, Microsoft, Boots, World Trade

Organisation, World Health Organisation, Federal Trade Commission, British Broadcasting
Corporation

University/School names: Oxford University, University of Hertfordshire, Royal College of

Music

Religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam

Days, months, festivals - but not seasons: Monday, July, Christmas, but summer, spring

Magazines: Newsweek, The Times, New Scientist, Scientific American, Nature

Languages: English, Hindi, French, Walloon, Flemish, German, Spanish, Urdu, Swahili

Nationalities: English, French, Japanese, American, Canadian, Scottish, Indian, Mexican

13