PAVOL JOZEF ŠAFÁRIK UNIVERSITY IN KOŠICE

Faculty of Arts
Department of British and American Studies

DEVELOPING ACADEMIC ENGLISH IN

SPEAKING AND WRITING
Academic textbook

Július Rozenfeld & Slávka Tomaščíková

Košice 2021
This research was supported by the VEGA project 1/0447/20 The Global and the Local in
Postmillennial Anglophone Literatures, Cultures and Media, granted by the Ministry of
Education, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.

Developing Academic English in Speaking and Writing

Academic textbook

Authors:
Mgr. Július Rozenfeld, PhD.
Department of British and American Studies, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University
in Košice

Dr. h. c. doc. Mgr. Slávka Tomaščíková, PhD.

Department of British and American Studies, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University
in Košice

Scientific editor:
prof. PhDr. Pavel Stekauer, DrSc.
Department of British and American Studies, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University
in Košice

Reviewers:
prof. PaedDr. Lívia Körtvélyessy, PhD.
Department of British and American Studies, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University
in Košice

doc. PhDr. Edita Kominarecová, PhD.

Institute of Language Competences, University of Prešov, Prešov

Proofreading:
Gavin W. Cowper, B.A.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 - Atribution CC BY NC ND Creative

Commons Attribution –NonCommercial - No-derivates 4.0

The authors are responsible for the professional and linguistic aspects of this academic
textbook.

Available at: www.unibook.upjs.sk

Publication date: 25.01.2021

https://doi.org/10.33542/DAE2021-960-3
ISBN 978-80-8152-960-3 (e-publication)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction …………………………………………………………….. 4

CHAPTER 1 ACADEMIC INQUIRY ………………………….…...… 6

1.1 Academic speaking: Facts or opinions? ……….………………........... 6
1.2 Academic writing: What is research? ……...…………………..……. 15

CHAPTER 2 COMPLEXITY OF INVESTIGATION ……………… 22

2.1 Academic speaking: From the general to the specific ……………..... 22
2.2 Academic writing: From objectives to hypothesis ………………..…. 31

CHAPTER 3 PROCESS OF EXPLORATION ………………..…..… 40

3.1 Academic speaking: Logic of speech ….…………………………..... 40
3.2 Academic writing: Approaches, methods and techniques .………..… 48

CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH LITERACY …………………………...… 55

4.1 Academic speaking: The language of research …………………….... 55
4.2 Academic writing: Primary and secondary sources …………….....… 63

CHAPTER 5 IDENTIFICATION AND SOLUTION ……………..… 73

5.1 Academic speaking: Presentation problems ……………………...…. 73
5.2 Academic writing: Presenting results …………………………......… 81

CHAPTER 6 COMPOSITION OF THE TEXT…………………...… 89

6.1 Academic speaking: Making speech stronger …………………....…. 89
6.2 Academic writing: Citing and paraphrasing ………………..……..… 98

CHAPTER 7 DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION ……….....… 106

7.1 Academic speaking: Why does style matter? ..…………………...... 106
7.2 Academic writing: Why does academic style matter?……………… 114

CHAPTER 8 RESEARCH NARRATIVES…………………...….… 120

8.1 Academic speaking: ‘Victory loves preparation’ ……………….…. 120
8.2 Academic writing: ‘Practice makes perfect’………………….….… 131

CHAPTER 9 ACADEMIC RHETORIC ………………………....… 139

9.1 Academic speaking: Finalizing and fine-tuning ………………….... 139
9.2 Academic writing: Presenting and defending ………………..…..… 145
INTRODUCTION

The project of this academic textbook is based on the call to combine the
teaching methodologies of academic speaking and writing into one complex
approach, a need which has been identified by both authors during more
than a decade of experience with teaching courses of academic speaking and
writing separately as two unrelated phenomena. For the composition of the
textbook the authors have accepted and used the concept of Academic
English specified by Wilson as being

often considered relatively formal complex English that conveys ideas in

a precise and objective manner. It is generally acknowledged to include
the essential skills of literary analysis, the observance of reference
systems, the synthesis of associated scholars and the ability of critical
evaluation. Essential academic vocabulary, phrases and grammatical
complexity are often used traditionally in academic dialogue and text.
Specifically, Academic English refers to words and practice that are not
necessarily common or frequently encountered in informal conversation
and circumstances.
(https://www.academic-englishuk.com/definition-of-academic-english)

This academic textbook is intended for university students of English

philology, students of literary and cultural studies focusing on Anglophone
areas, students of English translation and interpretation study programmes,
but also for students who study in English and who are required to engage
in scientific inquiry and document their research in Bachelor or Master
theses, or in doctoral dissertations written in English.
Every chapter contains two sub-chapters: the first one is devoted to
‘Academic Speaking’ and the second one deals with aspects of ‘Academic
Writing.’ Each sub-chapter contains a glossary of concepts necessary for an
understanding of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the

4
individual themes, a theoretical background that serves as an essential
reading section with an overview of the theme, a language study section
with study questions and speaking or writing mechanics which allow
students to develop the theme further through discussion, analysis or
additional reading, and a bibliography divided into the works cited in the
sub-chapter and a segment with recommendations for further reading.
The authors believe that this textbook can help university students and
junior researchers on their path to achieving academic proficiency in
English by providing them with relevant sources, guiding them to overcome
difficulties successfully, asking them thought-provoking questions and
motivating them to expand their knowledge and improve their academic
skills.

The research used in this academic textbook has been partially

supported by VEGA Project 1/0447/20 The Global and the Local in
Postmillennial Anglophone Literatures, Cultures and Media, granted by the
Ministry of Education, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.

5
CHAPTER 1 ACADEMIC INQUIRY

1.1 Academic speaking: Facts or opinions?

Student researchers are often required to present their thoughts in spoken

form in a formal, academic setting, either in a presentation at a seminar, a
talk about a project, an analysis of the results of a scientific experiment, or
in defence of their theses. They must be prepared to communicate complex
ideas in a clear, coherent, and scientific manner.
One important element of scientific speeches is their adherence to
facts. When preparing a speech for a scientific community, it is extremely
important to support our arguments with facts from reliable sources. We can
find definitions and explanations of concepts in, for example,
encyclopaedias, obtain statistical data from different publications or in the
journals of respected agencies such as Eurostat or The Federal Statistical
System of the United States, and consult serious analyses of different think
tanks including the RAND Corporation or the Heritage Foundation in the
USA or the Institute for Public Affairs in Slovakia. Scientific publications
– sometimes in the form of open access journals – are further sources of
reliable information in which leading scientists can publish their findings in
all branches of sciences.

Glossary of concepts
FACT
An abstract concept or a piece of information that is based on truth and
is verifiable.

6
 OPINION
A set of beliefs and impressions that is not based on verifiable
information but which may be rooted in prejudice.
INTERPRETATION
The action of explaining the meaning of something.
VARIABLE
An element, feature, or factor that is liable to vary or change.
LOGIC
The study of correct reasoning, especially as it involves the drawing of
inferences (cf. Hintikka, 2020).
INFERENCE
A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.

Theoretical background
Every student researcher must bear in mind that the scientific community is
not primarily interested in their opinions but will expect them to present
arguments that are based on facts. Differentiating facts from opinions is by
no means an easy task.
According to the online version of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
(2020) a fact is “something that has actual existence or is an actual
occurrence or a piece of information presented as having objective reality”
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/). The online Oxford English
Dictionary offers three definitions of fact: “1) A thing that is known or
proved to be true; 2) Information used as evidence or as part of a report or
news article; 3) The truth about events as opposed to interpretation”
(https://www.oed.com/). The definition of a fact is can also be described by
its synonyms such as reality, actuality, certainty or truth. In summary, a fact

7
is a statement that can be proven to be true or false, whereas an opinion is a
statement that cannot be proven true or false, but which is based on the
speaker’s beliefs. We should be careful here, however, since opinions can
be backed up by facts and such statements may also create the impression
that in an argument we are dealing with facts. This is called informed
opinion, but, nevertheless, it is still only an opinion, not a fact! When words
such as ‘best, worst, always, never, all, none’ or their synonyms appear in a
statement, this should be a warning for the readers or listeners that they are
hearing an opinion. A fact is thus an objective statement based on verifiable
information and data, whereas an opinion is subjective and is as such based
on a person’s attitudes, hopes, beliefs, or wishes. One example of this may
be the price of an item. One may say “Vanilla ice cream costs €2 in this
shop”, and it would be a verifiable fact. Another person can say “Vanilla ice
cream is very cheap”, a statement which is based on his or her perception of
an acceptable price.
An important task of the academic speaker is to interpret facts correctly
and to draw accurate conclusions from the analyses. We should not forget
that facts can be interpreted in different ways, mainly when no objective
measurement methods are available. One example of this could be the
interpretation of statistical findings when comparing the test results of two
groups of students, data which is factual and objective: one group achieving
an average of 78 points and the other only 57. We could say that the
professor who prepared the first group ‘has done a better job’, since the
students in that group achieved better results, but this would still be a
subjective interpretation of facts. A ‘good pedagogical job’ is a concept
which is determined by countless variables and there is no real consensus
or objective scale to determine it in all its complexity.

8
 When speaking about statistical data, scientific speakers often use
graphs to illustrate trends or summarize research results. The language used
to interpret charts is highly specific and every college student should be
familiar with the key expressions in this area. Before discussing them, let us
have a look at the similarities and differences between a graph, a chart, and
a diagram.
Graphs are pictorial representations of statistical data that show
specific relationships between different variables. A graph usually – but not
always – uses two axes. The horizontal axis is used to represent a group of
independent variables and the vertical axis represents dependent variables.
Independent variables cannot be changed by other variables and can stand
alone. Examples of independent variables may include the age of
participants in an experiment, their sex, or the time they spend performing
a certain activity. Dependent variables, on the other hand, change in relation
to other variables. Examples of dependent variables may be test scores
(which depend, for example, on the time spent with preparation for the test)
or the growth rate of a plant which is dependent on the quality of soil, the
amount of water it receives and the number of hours of sunshine it enjoys.
The most common graph is a broken-line graph, where the independent
variable is usually the factor of time. Another type, the bar-graph, can be
used to illustrate numerical quantities and the relative differences between
different groups – for instance, population numbers in different areas. A pie-
chart is another graph that is used to express part-to-whole relationships and,
in addition to depicting relative differences, it is also suitable for illustrating
proportional distribution. A chart is usually a sheet which provides
information in tabular form. A diagram is a graphic design that explains
processes or relationships among different concepts. A diagram explains

9
rather than represents, whereas a graph represents data which can be used
for making inferences.

Language study
Interpreting graphs is not an easy task for beginners in scientific speaking.
A set of specific expressions is used to precisely describe trends and
relationships between dependent and independent variables within different
graphs. For the following task, draw a simple graph in which the horizontal
axis represents the months between January and December in the year 2020
(independent variables) and the vertical axis represents the number of books
sold in units of 5,000 (dependent variables).

1. Try to draw the original chart based on the description below.

In the year 2020, sales rocketed between January and March starting at
5,000 volumes per month and reaching almost 15,000 volumes per month
by the end of March. Sales peaked in March for the first time and reached
the same level by the end of November once more. On the other hand,
book sales plummeted between March and May and only stabilized at the
end of May at the level of a little over 6,000 volumes. During the summer
months – June, July, and August – book sales fluctuated between 5,800
in June, 4,600 in July, and 5,100 volumes sold in August. Sales levelled
out between August and October around 5,000 volumes. Sales started to
fall at the end of October and reached the level of 4,400 volumes per
month. Fortunately, by the end of October the trend changed, and the
sales started to soar reaching their second maximum 15,100 in
November. The trend remained positive during the following month with
a slight change in book sales, which steadily decreased during the month,
but did not drop under 14,300 volumes by the end of the year.

2. Study the following words and group them according to their

meanings.

10
 plummet, peak, rocket, level out, decrease, rise, increase, soar,
fluctuate, drop, decline, fall.

Five verbs mean GO UP:

Three verbs mean GO UP SUDDENLY or A LOT:
Five verbs mean GO DOWN:
One verb means REACH ITS HIGHEST LEVEL:
Which verb means STAY THE SAME:
Which verb means GO UP AND DOWN:

3. Changes can be described in a more detailed way when adverbs are

used to modify the meaning of verbs. Study the following adverbs and create
sentences with the verbs from Exercise 2: slightly, rapidly, moderately,
slowly, steadily, dramatically, sharply, gradually.
e.g., Sales increased sharply between January and March. There was a
dramatic increase in sales between January and March.

4. Arrange the following expressions from the largest amount/volume

to the smallest: well over, just under, almost, nearly, well under, exactly,
just over 10,000.

5. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech, and therefore
your speech should be between 390 and 650 words. Your speech should
follow a simple structure:

11
 - Use an introductory sentence in which you specify the main topic and
the purpose (inform, persuade, recommend, request, or entertain) of your
speech.
- Do not forget to state your name and the reason why you have chosen
your topic.
- Finally tell your audience the order in which you are going to discuss
your main points.
- In the body of your speech, make your first main statement about the
topic.
- Provide supporting data and descriptive or explanatory sentences to
explain your statement and argument.
- Continue with your second main statement and support it with
explanatory sentences in which you provide verified data.
- Add your last statement and support it with explanatory sentences and
data.
- At the end of your speech, do not forget to provide a conclusion.

Sample speech:

THE ROLE OF LOGIC IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Serious scientific research must always be established on logic which
underpins and supports the arguments that are based on objective data
and findings collected through observation or experiments to find out the
reasons behind a phenomenon. Logic, according to the Merriam-Webster
dictionary, is a scientific discipline that deals with the principles and
criteria of validity of inference and demonstration. Thus, it is the science
of the formal principles of reasoning. In my speech I would like to explain
why logic is crucial for conducting rigorous scientific research.
Primarily, logic deals with the rules of right reasoning and as such
can help people to make right conclusions from premises – assumptions
that something is true. The discipline of logic was first formulated several
centuries ago as a branch of philosophy and its principles have found use
in a wide range of sciences. Its origins go back to the first studies of the
grammar of languages when the correct way of argumentation and

12
 discussion was sought for effective reasoning in law, religion,
philosophy, or science. As early as the 4th century BC, Aristotle had
described two types of reasoning: deductive and inductive.
Inductive reasoning is the kind of logic which is normally used in
scientific studies. In inductive reasoning, conclusions are drawn from
established facts – scientific laws and relationships which have been
tested and proven. Scientists try to gather all available facts about a
phenomenon through observation or experiment and by analysing and
synthesising these facts – based on the established rules of the given
scientific branch – draw an inductive conclusion that something is true
(for instance a certain microbe causes disease).
An inductive argument, however, is always open to the possibility
of being falsified when new data suggest that the conclusion is not fully
valid. Thus, the system of science is flexible and subject to revision. New
discoveries can reform, rearrange, and even completely rewrite
established paradigms. The strength of scientific research lies exactly in
this process of induction and falsification.
Deductive reasoning is a type of argument which reaches a
conclusion from one or more statements. A deductive argument is usually
expressed in the form of syllogism, which generally consists of three
parts: a major premise, a minor premise, and the conclusion. This type of
syllogism is called categorical syllogism. An example of categorical
syllogism is the following statement: All insects frighten me and there is
an insect on the wall, therefore I am frightened.
To conclude, it must be reemphasized that serious research, in any
branch of science, cannot be realized without logical argumentation and
the application of laws of logical reasoning. Logic offers two major types
of reasoning, deductive and inductive, of which inductive reasoning is
the established method of drawing inferences in scientific research.

Works cited
Fact. In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online]. [cit. 2020.12.02]. Available
from: <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fact>.
Fact. In Oxford English Dictionary. [online]. [cit. 2020.12.02]. Available
from: <https://www.lexico.com/definition/fact>.
HINTIKKA, Jaakko J. Logic. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. [online].
Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago, 2015. [cit. 2020.10.08]. Available from:
<https://www.britannica.com/topic/logic>.

13
Further reading
ALLEY, Michael. The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to
Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid. New York: Springer, 2011.
DOLOWITZ, David, BUCKLER, Steve and Fionnghuala SWEENEY.
Researching Online. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
GENSLER, Harry J. Introduction to Logic. 2nd edition. London and New
GIBA, John and Ramón RIBES. Preparing and Delivering Scientific
Presentations: A Complete Guide for International Medical Scientists.
Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media, 2011.
Writing@CSU. 1993-2020. Writing at Colorado State University. [online].
Available from:<https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/co300man/
pop12d.cfm>.

14
1.2 Academic writing: What is research?

“Writing a thesis requires a student to organize ideas and data,

to work methodically, and to build an ‘object’
that in principle will serve others.
In reality, the research experience
matters more than the topic.”
Umberto Eco

Research is defined by most dictionaries as systematic work undertaken to

consider a particular problem using scientific methods with the goal of
increasing the level of knowledge. Its most frequently used synonyms are
examination, exploration, enquiry, inquiry, investigation, and study. The
origins of the word lie in the French word ‘recherche’.
Oxford Languages (the world’s leading dictionary publisher) in its
online Google Dictionary characterises research (noun) as “the systematic
investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish
facts and reach new conclusions,” and the verb form of research as “to
investigate systematically” (https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-
en/). Academic research, the quest for knowledge, is essential for progress
in the academic world across all academic disciplines.

Glossary of concepts
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE
Academic discipline is a branch of knowledge defined by its particular
object of research, terminology and research methods. Various
classifications of academic disciplines exist, but in the most general sense,
academic fields are divided into the humanities and arts, social sciences,
natural sciences, formal sciences and applied sciences (also called
professions).

15
 APPLIED SCIENCES
Applied sciences (also called professions) include business,
engineering and technology, architecture and design, medicine and health
sciences, education, agriculture and forestry and military science.
FORMAL SCIENCES
Formal sciences include mathematics and computer science.
THE HUMANITIES AND ARTS
The academic field of the humanities and arts incorporates philosophy,
history, theology, semiotics, linguistics, literary studies, law, performing
arts, visual arts, area studies and ethnic studies (also called cultural studies).
NATURAL SCIENCES
Natural sciences include astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics,
planetary or space sciences and earth science.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
The field of social sciences embraces anthropology, archaeology,
communications, economics, ethnology, ethnomusicology, folklore,
geography, political science, psychology, sociology and social work.

Theoretical background
In the academic world, knowledge is generated through research and is
acquired further through learning. The process of learning in academia
integrates all essential language skills (but not only language skills) at an
advanced level – reading, listening, writing and speaking, and these skills
also involve practice that is firmly founded on research. One could call this
process a circle ‘of wisdom’ (a circle which is, fortunately, simultaneously
a vicious one). In its most positive sense, this circle of wisdom distinguishes
academics – both researchers and lecturers, and their students – from the

16
rest of general population, granting them the status of an elite in society and
ensuring that the quest for knowledge becomes their shared lifetime goal.
Many recent authors have agreed that the principle of research is to
develop and design, verify and refine theories in a systematic search for new
information that can be used by humanity in its everyday existence. The
results of research are important in both academic and non-academic areas
of human existence and they contribute to the progress of humankind in
most general terms – by providing reasons, explanations and applications
for individuals and groups.
There are two elementary types of research – basic or fundamental or
theoretical research and applied research – and each of them can be
performed as either routine or revolutionary research. According to Bentley
et al. (2015), basic research, also called fundamental or theoretical research,
is the study of the basic principles, rules and reasons of a particular
phenomenon, event or process. It is original, usually systematic in nature
and deep in its insight into a problem, and does not usually lead to
immediate applications or practical solutions. On the other hand, applied
research uses and applies the findings of basic research in order to solve
specific problems in, for instance, experimental research or interdisciplinary
case studies. While theoretical research mostly generates theoretical
knowledge, applied research uses this theoretical knowledge for more
practical purposes, and therefore one could characterise the former as theory
building and the latter as theory testing. Other classifications of research are
outlined below in Subchapter 2.2.
In order to reach other members of academia, the results of research
have to be published. Academic publications – whether a book, an article in
an academic journal, or a thesis – are all results of academic writing and

17
their main aim is to document research procedures and research outcomes;
essentially, to share knowledge.
Academic writing has its own particular forms, principles and rules,
and it also follows specific processes. These structures respect the forms,
principles, rules and processes of research, and all share the fundamental
notion of objectivity. If research goes beyond a subjective, individual,
opinion-based frame, then academic writing follows the same route and
avoids the use of opinions, preferences and unsystematic steps.

Academic writing mechanics

The main aim of academic writing is to document how research was
performed and to present the results which the research provided. In the case
of a thesis, whether this is a Bachelor thesis, a Master thesis, or a doctoral
dissertation, there are several specific reasons for it to be written. In his
famous book How to Write a Thesis (2015) the first edition of which was
published in 1977 in Italian and then translated to 17 languages worldwide
(Eco, 2015, p. ix), Umberto Eco offers a well-founded justification for the
need of writing a thesis and its defence focusing on humanities.
For Eco, the process of writing is more important than the thesis itself,
because he sees academic writing as an intellectual exercise which is worth
performing. He considers the thesis and its defence as a defining event that
concludes the study (or one level of study) and in which students should
prove that they are capable of making something out of their studies. . Eco
also claims that the thesis writing process is a demonstration of a student’s
independence and personality development, as well as their training in
accuracy and responsibility. Eco stresses the significance of the aspects of
academic humility, respect, openness and judgement. He insists that

18
students should experience intellectual pleasure and apply their own
originality, invention and imagination in the process of writing. For him, the
process of finding an intriguing topic, identifying a subject, being able to
locate information about the field and turn it into an interesting text in a
thesis is one of the most rewarding activities in higher education and one in
which all student authors should take pride in. All of the editors and
translators of Eco’s book agree that these principles remain valid despite the
technological changes that have influenced the process of writing, such as
computers or text editors.
All of the authors quoted, paraphrased and referenced in this textbook
would agree that, regardless of the field of study and the advancements in
information technologies, research resulting in a written thesis should prove
that student authors of a thesis have the ability:
1. to choose a relevant topic within the scope of their studied discipline
and to study its elements within a broader perspective of the research field
2. to formulate research goals, research aims and research questions
3. to define a research problem and a research hypothesis
4. to find secondary sources
5. to justify their choice of primary sources
6. to select a theoretical basis, research methods and research
techniques
7. to work with the ideas of other authors and assess them in a critical
way – to analyse, compare and synthesise ideas, quote and paraphrase them
8. to apply the principles of academic writing style in the text of their
thesis
9. to suggest the spheres of use of the thesis
10. to defend the thesis.

19
Study questions
1. In relevant academic sources find the characteristics of normal
research and revolutionary research. Design four research topics, one in the
field of normal theoretical research, one in that of normal applied research,
one in that of revolutionary theoretical research and one in that of
revolutionary applied research within your field of study. Which of them do
you consider most attractive? Which of them can you characterise as most
relevant for the real-life practice?
2. Read one of the editions of Umberto Eco’s book How to Write a
Thesis. In his Introduction to the Original 1977 Edition Eco writes:

The advice in this book is especially useful for these students, as well as
for high school graduates who are about to embark on their college
studies and who wish to understand the alchemy of the university thesis.
With this book, I would like to convince these students of two points:
1. One can write a decent thesis despite being in a difficult situation
resulting from inequity past and present.
2. Regardless of the disappointment and frustration that these students
may experience at the university, their thesis provides an opportunity to
regain a positive and progressive notion of study. According to this
notion, studying is not simply gathering information, but is the critical
elaboration of an experience. Through study, students acquire the
capacity to identify problems, confront them methodically, and articulate
them systematically in expository detail. These skills will serve students
for a lifetime.
(Eco, 2015, p. xx)

Explain the meaning of a university education and the academic writing of

a thesis which is encoded in this quotation.

20
Works cited
BENTLEY, Peter J., GULBRANDSEN, Magnus and Svein KYVIK. The
Relationship between Basic and Applied Research in Universities. In
Higher Education, 2015, 70(4): pp. 689-709.
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.

Further reading
HACKER, Diana. Rules for Writers. Bedford: St. Martin's, 2009.
KEMMIS, Stephen. Participatory Action Research and the Public Sphere.
In Education Action Research, 2006, 14(4): pp. 459-476.
KOLAŘÍKOVÁ, Zuzana, PETRUŇOVÁ, Helena and Renáta TIMKOVÁ.
Angličtina v akademickom prostredí: cvičebnica. Košice: Univerzita Pavla
Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach, 2015.
KOLAŘÍKOVÁ, Zuzana, PETRUŇOVÁ, Helena and Renáta TIMKOVÁ.
Angličtina v akademickom prostredí: slovník. Košice: Univerzita Pavla
Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach, 2015.
LEEDY, Paul D. and Jeanne E. ORMROD (eds.). Practical Research:
Planning and Design. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2010.
SPECTOR, Michael J., MERRILL, David M., ELEN, J. and M. J. BISHOP
(eds.). Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and
Technology. New York: Springer, 2014.

21
CHAPTER 2 COMPLEXITY OF INVESTIGATION

2.1 Academic speaking: From the general to the specific

One challenge for student researchers is to learn how to systematize

information and build a coherent and logical system of argumentation for
presenting their findings to a scientific community. In order to do so, student
researchers should understand the elements of the scientific method.
Scientific thinking differs from the way we think in everyday
circumstances. People are confronted with certain situations, facts,
statements, and claims in everyday situations and we make decisions
according to our own experiences and expectations. Our decision-making,
however, is influenced by conscious and unconscious biases, positive or
negative experiences, our own expectations, or the expectations of the
people with whom we interact and their prejudices or hopes. Therefore, we
are not fully rational in our decisions and often decide and act in a way
which contradicts pure logic. Other factors, such as traditions, beliefs,
culture, religious convictions, identity, social status, or nationality to name
just a few, all influence our decision-making and our subjective perception
of reality.
Scientists try to avoid – or at least to minimize – the influence of these
personal, social, or political biases and have built up a system of thinking
which allows for the formulation of valid generalizations with the most
precise definition of reality that is currently possible. Scientific method is
basically a way of thinking which serves the goal of obtaining an objective,
unbiased picture of reality through the application of the most sophisticated
available methods of enquiry. Student researchers must learn how to apply

22
this way of thinking in their work and differentiate facts that objectively
describe a certain situation or phenomenon from non-facts which distort
reality.

Glossary of concepts
CANONICAL
Literature, ideas or publications that are considered core knowledge
and which constitute a fixed and widely accepted set of information.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The process of studying, searching, analysing and selecting the most
authoritative sources of publications for a scientific publication.
HYPOTHESIS
An assumption which is formulated to answer a concrete question
about an observable phenomenon. A hypothesis must be falsifiable which
means there must exist an opposite, negative answer to it.
STATE OF THE ART
This term primarily describes the most recent level of development in
a branch of science – a currently valid and widely accepted set of theories.
EXPERIMENT
A rigorous procedure that is performed under controlled and precisely
measured circumstances in order to test the validity of a hypothesis.
THEORY
A system of suppositions which is developed by scientists to explain
the behaviour, the origin, and causes of some phenomenon.

23
 LAW OF NATURE
The stable and predictable behaviour of certain phenomena which
always occurs in the same way under given circumstances and which are
universally valid.
REPLICABILITY
Theories rest on the assumption that experiments that prove their
validity always produce the same exact result when repeated under the same
circumstances.

Theoretical background
Scientific method applies rigorous steps to understand observable
phenomena. Scientists typically apply inductive logic in research which in
practice means that they try to gather all available and accessible
information about a phenomenon as the first step. The gathering of
information can be a long process and must include the study of all available
publications about the question or topic under investigation. More often
than not, the body of knowledge is so extensive that it is beyond the capacity
of one single researcher to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the entire
question under investigation in its full complexity. Scientific work therefore
has gradually become a manifold cooperation between a number of
individuals or even teams. Scientists share their scientific results in
publications – scientific articles in journals or monographs – and this body
of accumulated knowledge, often huge in scope, must be carefully studied
by student scientists. This is called literature review.
When conducting literature review, the selection of the most relevant
sources is an extremely important task for every researcher. One orientation
point that can be helpful for young researchers in this selection process is

24
the number of citations. The most frequently cited works are generally those
which contain key information about the topic under investigation. A
publication that is frequently cited and referred to is sometimes termed
canonical which means that the information presented in the publication by
the author is widely accepted as being accurate and authoritative (cf. Oxford
English Dictionary, 2021). Through literature review, scientists are also able
to develop the state of the art in the field in which the investigation is
conducted by collecting and comparing the latest available publications as
well as synthesising information from various sources.
Subsequently, researchers try to find explanations for why the
observable phenomena behave in a certain way; what causes them to behave
in that particular way and what the effects of this behaviour are. Causality
– the belief that everything has a cause and that there is a relationship
between cause and effect – is one important principle in scientific enquiry.
In this way, scientists make an effort to find satisfactory answers to their
questions. Scientists think of possible answers to their questions. Suggested
explanations which have not yet been proven are called hypotheses in
scientific jargon.
A hypothesis is a “supposition or proposed explanation made on the
basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation”
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2021, p.n.a.). In a less formal way, it can be
said that a hypothesis is an idea that can be tested because we have data –
often statistical data – that can be used for comparison. There are two basic
types of hypothesis that researchers often work with. One type is called the
null hypothesis which is a statement that can be disproved by an alternative
hypothesis. A second type is sometimes referred to as if, then hypothesis
(Helmenstine, 2020).

25
 In order to test a hypothesis, scientists design experiments to provide
results which can then be compared with the expected outcomes. An
experiment is used to assign cause to an effect. When the results fulfil the
expectations, the hypothesis can be considered to be accurate. If the results
contradict the expectations of the hypothesis, researchers must carefully
revise the suggested hypothesis or apply more precise methods of
measurement and collect more data.
Scientific experiments must fulfil very strict requirements. One such
requirement is that of replicability. This means that an experiment which is
conducted in exactly the same way as it had been performed earlier must
produce exactly the same results, even if the experiment is repeated any
number of times. In another words, it is “The ability of a scientific
experiment or trial to be repeated to obtain a consistent result” (Oxford
English Dictionary, 2020, p.n.a.).
Once the hypothesis has been carefully tested and is considered valid,
the scientists report their results to the wider scientific community. The
scientific community – experts in the same or adjacent fields – closely
examines the presented results, the suggested hypothesis and the
circumstances of the experiments, and then proceed to discuss and debate
the results. Conflicts can arise and scientists are often required to face
merciless criticism from colleagues. It can take a long time for a hypothesis
to be accepted as a valid and fully accepted explanation of specific
phenomenon. Once the hypothesis has become widely accepted by the
scientific community and its application produces consistent results, it
becomes part of the scientific system and is often referred to as a theory – a
system of ideas that is used to explain a particular phenomenon. Theories
are different from laws of nature. The name ‘law’ suggests that the given

26
natural phenomenon always occurs the same way if certain particular
conditions are present and the generalizations based on it are recurrent
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2021).

Language study
In scientific presentations, speakers need to get from the general to the
specific when observing natural phenomena. The following exercise
provides a few expressions that can help us to express this narrowing down
by giving concrete examples and exceptions to these examples.

1. In the following activity, try to select which words can be used for
making general statements and those which are used for giving examples.
mostly, particularly, be a case point, mainly, by way of illustration,
take/consider the following, largely, predominantly, all, the majority, for
the most part, by and large, in the main, on the whole

2. Study the following example sentences that speak generally about

an idea and try to formulate similar sentences by yourself.
Europeans, in general, have stronger sense of national affiliation than
a common European identity. In general, teenagers tend to have a more
radical view than their parents. In certain areas of the Erath people are
generally living longer. Einstein is generally regarded as the father of
modern physics. It is now generally accepted that DDT had caused a lot of
damage to the natural environment. On the whole, the system is reliable.
The computers are, in the main, products of the Dell company.

27
 3. Which of the following expressions are synonyms of the word
except?
including, typical, an obvious example of, saving, apart from,
including, omitting, it is true of, besides, other than, but, by way of
illustration, bar, aside from

4. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech, and therefore
your speech should be between 390 and 650 words.

Sample speech:

FREE SPEECH IS THE CORNERSTONE OF SCIENCE

In my talk, I would like to argue for freedom of speech and prove that
free speech is a cardinal condition for serious scientific research. I would
like to define what freedom of speech is in general terms and its
legitimate boundaries. Furthermore, I will try to compare and contrast the
concept of unlimited speech with the notion of limited speech and their
implications for scientific research and publication.
Let me start with the definition of free speech for which I am going
to take inspiration from David van Mill, an associate professor at The
University of Western Australia who wrote extensively about this topic
at the website of the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Mill, in the
first section of his essay 1. Introduction: Boundaries of the Debate,
underlines that speech and liberty of expression has always been limited
in every society because “it always takes place within a context of
competing values”. Mill, referring to Alexander and Horton (1984), also
points out that “the main reasons for justifying free speech (political
speech) is important, not for its own sake but because it allows us to
exercise another important value (democracy)” (Mill, 2017).
If we follow Mill’s logic, it is possible to argue that freedom of
speech is inevitable in scientific research for the very same reason – i.e.,
to exercise the right of the researchers to investigate any natural or social
phenomenon without restrictions and to ensure their right to inform the
public about their findings.
Certainly, there can be limitations to the liberty of expression
primarily when it clashes with other human rights. In these cases,

28
however, any society must take decisions what is the acceptable
compromise when restricting freedom of speech.
There may be legitimate reasons for limiting free speech and one
such reason can be the concept of ‘clear and present danger’ presented
by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. – justice of the United States Supreme
Court, US legal historian and philosopher – who stated in the case of
Schenk v. U. S. (1919) that “a restriction is legitimate only if the speech
in question poses … a risk or threat to safety or to other public interest
that is serious and imminent” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015, p.n.a.).
Examples of such risk can be cases of defamation – that is attacking
someone’s reputation by a false publication in the press for instance –
obscenity or prior restraint for security reasons. Cutting edge research,
for instance, in sensitive fields of national security may fall in this area
too.
Mill (2017), on the other hand, points out the ‘slippery slope’
argument in his essay which basically means that limiting freedom of
speech may be a slide into censorship and tyranny. It is true that
restrictive political systems exercise close control over the liberty of
expression, therefore it is the responsibility of any society to work
towards a ‘social contract’ that ensures the balance between the two
requirements: freedom of speech and the degree of legitimate censorship.
One experiment to achieve balance between the two arguments is
the attempt of western societies which is manifested by the term ‘political
correctness’. Political correctness describes the deliberate use of
language that causes the least amount of offense when speaking about
groups which are identified by external markers such as race, gender,
culture, sexual orientation, etc. Though PC has been widely criticized and
ridiculed and its controversial origin that goes back to the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia makes it unacceptable for many people, it has been
widely used and applied by politicians in an effort to avoid exclusion of
various identity groups. PC remains a controversial topic and fuels fierce
exchange of arguments even nowadays and contributes to the
polarization of societies.
To conclude, it is evident that freedom of speech is a crucial liberty
that must be guaranteed by legal regulations at the highest possible level,
but it is also inevitable to maintain discussion about its characteristics and
impact on research.

29
Works cited
Canonical. In Oxford Dictionary. [online]. [cit. 2021.0105]. Available from:
<https://www.lexico.com/definition/canonical>.
Freedom of speech. In Encyclopædia Britannica. [online]. Ultimate
Reference Suite. Chicago, 2015. [cit. 2020.12.22]. Available from:
<https://www.britannica.com/>.
HELMENSTINE, Anne Marie. What Are Examples of a Hypothesis?
[online]. [cit. 2020.08.28]. Available from:
<https://www.thoughtco.com/examples-of-a-hypothesis-609090>.
MILL, van David. Freedom of Speech. In Stanford Encyclopaedia of
Philosophy. [online]. [cit. 2017.05.01]. Available from:
<https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freedom-speech>.
Replicability. In Oxford Dictionary. [online]. [cit. 2021.0105]. Available
from: <https://www.lexico.com/definition/replicability>.

Further reading
BREURER, Iris and Melanie NAPTHINE. Persuasive Language in Media
Texts. Elsternwick: Insight Publications, 2008.
MACLEOD, Alan. Propaganda in the Information Age: Still
Manufacturing Consent. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2019.
MARSHALL, Soules. Media, Persuasion and Propaganda. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press, 2015.
STEFFENS, Bradley and JoAnne BUGGEY. Free Speech: Identifying
Propaganda Techniques. New York: Greenhaven Press, 1992.
VAN DEN BULCK, Hilde, et al. The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for
Media Policy Research. Cham: Springer, 2019.

30
2.2 Academic writing: From objective to hypothesis

“Research is a mysterious adventure

that inspires passion and holds many surprises.
Not just an individual but also an entire culture participates,
as ideas sometimes travel freely, migrate, disappear, and reappear.
In this sense, ideas are similar to jokes
that become better as each person tells them.”
Umberto Eco

Research performed for the purpose of thesis writing not only demonstrates
a student’s existing knowledge within the scope of their study but is also
expected to enlarge it. Earlier experiences with smaller-scale research
projects and the preference for specific areas of the studied field are usually
the best guides for the choice of the thesis topic.
In the course of the thesis research, students explore ideas, solve
problems, make arguments and probe an issue, and their findings, however
limited or partial they may be, when presented as conclusions form a
contribution to the development of the research area.
The choice of the research topic is directly connected to the type of the
research that enables the particular inquiry.

Glossary of concepts
QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITATIVE VS. MIXED RESEARCH
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Quantitative research is based on the collection and analysis of data. It
is numerical and applies statistics or mathematics. It focuses on data that
provide direct evidence, uncovers patterns and enables predictions of trends.
Its results are usually presented in the form of graphs or tables (cf. Creswell,
1994).

31
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative research is descriptive and exploratory and deals with non-
numerical information. It aims at identifying meaning, context,
relationships between elements and connections between the studied
features (cf. Bogdan and Biklen, 1992).
MIXED RESEARCH
Mixed research incorporates both quantitative and qualitative research
methods. It works with collected numerical data as well as with meanings
in context (cf. Kumar, 1996).
OTHER TYPES OF RESEARCH
These types are classified according to their purpose (cf.
https://innspub.net/types-of-scientific-research/).
CLASSIFICATION RESEARCH
Classification research deals with the explanation of relationships in
order to uncover similarities and differences and to categorise items into
various groups on the basis of identified similarities and differences. It has
several sub-types, namely comparative research, causal research, theory-
testing research and theory building research.
CROSS-SECTIONAL RESEARCH
Cross-sectional research is usually performed as exploratory research
and its main goal is to collect quantities of data to provide information about
the immediate state of the topic and which does not take into account any
history, development, or changes.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
Descriptive research focuses on the depiction of studied items and it
tries to provide complex answers to the elementary questions of What?,
Who?, When?, Where? And How?

32
 EXPLANATORY RESEARCH
Explanatory research, or analytical research, aims to clarify relations
between and among individual elements of studies. As such, it tries to
contribute to answering the question Why? and it usually follows up on the
findings of descriptive research.
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
Exploratory research may be characterised as preliminary research or
reference research. It usually involves a literature search and/or surveys of
various kinds in an effort to detect the appropriate methods, feasibility and
complexity of the investigated issues. This type of research is extensive and
does not aim at a specific focus; its goal is to identify essential elements,
and it usually preliminary to actual research.
LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH
Longitudinal research focuses on the collection of data over an
extended period of time or at multiple points in time, and their analysis. It
usually involves the collection of information over periods of weeks,
months or years and the analysis may uncover trends, changes and patterns
in the feature over the course of the studied period.

Theoretical background
As has already been stated above, the purpose of research is to contribute to
the generation of knowledge and subsequently to the progress of humanity,
as well as to provide guidelines for the solution of problems in various
spheres of human existence. However limited the scope of the student thesis
research may be, it still performs the functions listed above, and as such it
must be planned according to the same principles.

33
 Thesis research is usually a combination of primary (original) and
secondary research. While primary research is focused on the study of
primary documents through direct investigation and first-hand observation
and analysis of, for instance, texts in a newspaper corpus, literary texts,
films, blogs, laboratory experiments, surveys or interviews, secondary
research is based on the analysis of secondary sources, such as academic
books, journal articles or other academic publications which have already
been written on the topic of study.
All types of research from the very small scale (for example, an
academic essay), through the medium scale (for example, a thesis) to the
extensive scale (for example, a research group) begin with the choice of
relevant topic and they all follow the same procedure (cf. Monipally and
Pawar, 2010).
1. The specification of the research object, i.e., the element of reality
to be investigated = the choice of the thesis topic.
2. The identification of thus-far un-researched aspects of the element
of reality, i.e., a gap in knowledge = the formulation of research goal(s),
research aim(s) and research question(s).
3. An explanation of predictions for the research outcomes and the
formation of a hypothesis = the definition of research issues and research
hypothesis.
The first three steps in the research procedure are based on the review
of secondary literature, an extensive search for and reading of academic
books and academic journal articles related to the selected research topic.
But the subsequent stages of the research procedure also require further
acquisition, selection and thorough study of secondary sources.

34
 4. Theory and methodology building = the choice of relevant
theoretical foundations and the creation of a specific methodology,
identification of specific approaches and methods of analysis.
5. The conditions for data selection and the procedure of their analysis
= the justification of the choice of primary sources.
6. The analysis, critical assessment and synthesis of secondary sources
= writing the theoretical and methodological sections of the thesis.
7. The application of the selected methodology to the obtained data =
the analysis of primary materials.
8. Drawing conclusions = the synthesis of the secondary and primary
research.
9. The implications of the conclusions for either theory or for
knowledge in reality = the relevance of the findings for the broader field of
research and relevance for practice.
10. Publication of research = thesis defence and the subsequent
publication of the whole text or partial publication.

Academic writing mechanics

1. Relevance of the research:
The research topic which students choose must be within the scope of
their research field and as such should reflect students’ previous experience
in the area of their study. The object of investigation is clearly defined so
that others can identify it. The outcome of the research should be valuable
and useful for other researchers.

35
 2. Feasibility of the topic:
The topic should be selected with respect to the availability of
secondary sources and the scope of research. The search for existing
secondary sources and their quantity thus precedes the finalisation of the
topic. The scope of the investigation should respect the set requirements of
the thesis.
3. Possession of academic skills:
The choice of the topic has to be also guided by students’ academic
skills, such as their language skills, and their personal academic interests.
Having the relevant skills is essential. Researching a topic that is attractive
and interesting for students is a strong motivation and potentially brings
better research results.
4. Specificity of the topic:
The topic should be narrowed on the basis of the studied secondary
sources. The refinement of the topic is one of the most complicated research
procedures. The research topic or its main features should be new so that
the author can contribute new ideas which have not yet been expressed or
revised aspects studied from a different perspective.
5. Research aims and intentions:
The definition of the research aims should answer the questions of why
the researcher wants to investigate the topic (the motivation for writing the
thesis), what the purpose of the research is (the reasons for writing the
thesis), what one wants to achieve (the expected results to be presented in
the thesis), the audience for whom the research outcomes will interest (the
contribution to the investigated field),

36
 6. Research questions:
Research questions are an enquiry to which the research tries to find a
response. Research questions should correspond to the research aims, and
each research aim should be represented by at least one research question.
The formation of the research questions is based on the specific research
aims and is dependent on the choice of primary materials. Research
questions make the theoretical expectations more explicit and the research
goals clearer.
7. Research hypothesis:
A hypothesis, thesis or a thesis statement is a frame for the research. It
is a single sentence statement that formulates the topic and the goal of the
research. It is the foundational claim which the research should attempt to
prove and, as such, it affirms, controls and structures the argument followed
by the research. Regardless of whether the hypothesis is verified or
disproved by the research, the research provides a basis for the future
research of the author or of other researchers.

Study questions
1. Define your field of study, describe your academic preferences and
previous research experiences leading to the writing of shorter or longer
research papers. Choose a topic for your thesis and examine whether your
choice respects all of the requirements described in the Academic writing
mechanics section of this subchapter above (points 1-4). Which types of
research defined above do you expect to use in your thesis investigation?
2. Specify the main and partial research intentions and aims and
formulate your research questions on their basis. Which of the secondary
sources you already acquired were helpful in this task? Provide at least five

37
of examples of secondary literature. Try to choose at least one primary
source which you plan to include into your analysis and justify its inclusion.
3. Karen Gocsik teaches students how to formulate a good hypothesis.
After formulating your first working hypothesis, try to test it using the
questions she outlines below. Did your hypothesis pass the test?

Does my thesis sentence attempt to answer (or at least to explore) a

challenging intellectual question?
Is the point I'm making one that would generate discussion and argument,
or is it one that would leave people asking, "So what?"
Is my thesis too vague? Too general?
Should I focus on some more specific aspect of my topic?
Does my thesis deal directly with the topic at hand, or is it a declaration
of my personal feelings?
Does my thesis indicate the direction of my argument?
Does it suggest a structure for my paper?
Does my introductory paragraph define terms important to my thesis?
If I am writing a research paper, does my introduction "place" my thesis
within the larger, ongoing scholarly discussion about my topic?
Is the language in my thesis vivid and clear?
Have I structured my sentence so that the important information is in the
main clause?
Have I used subordinate clauses to house less important information?
Have I used parallelism to show the relationship between parts of my
thesis?
In short, is this thesis the very best sentence that it can be?
(Gocsik, 2004, p.n.a.)

Works cited
BOGDAN, Robert C. and Sari K. BIKLEN. Qualitative Research. London
and Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1992.
CRESWELL, John W. Research Design: Qualitative & Quantitative
Approaches, London: SAGE Publications, 1994.
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.

38
GOCSIK, Karen. Developing Your Thesis. [online]. 2004. [cit. 2020.12.18].
Available from: <http://www.depts.washington.edu/owrc>.
KUMAR, Ranjit. Research Methodology. London: SAGE Publications,
1996.
MONIPPALLY, Mathukutty M. and Badrinarayan Shankar PAWAR.
Academic Writing: A Guide for Management Students and Researchers.
Thousand Oaks and London: SAGE Publications, 2010.

Further reading
BARONOV, David. Conceptual Foundations of Social Research Methods.
London: Paradigm, 2004.
DAVIES, Alan and Catherine ELDER (eds.). The Handbook of Applied
Linguistics. Malden, Oxford and Carlton: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2004.
GOLDEN-BIDDLE, Karen and Karen D. LOCKE. Composing Qualitative
Research. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 1997.
MOJE, Elizabeth B., AFFLERBACH, Peter P., ENCISO, Patricia and
Nonie K. LESAUX (eds.). Handbook of Reading Research. London and
New York: Routledge, 2020
RITCHIE, Jane and Jane LEWIS. Qualitative Research Practice: Guide for
Social Science Students and Researchers. London: SAGE Publications,
2004.
VAN GEYTE, Els. Writing: Learn to Write Better Academic Essays.
London: Harper Collins Publishers, 2013.
WISKER, Gina. The Postgraduate Research Handbook. London:
Macmillan International Education, 2008.

39
CHAPTER 3 PROCESS OF EXPLORATION

3.1 Academic speaking: Logic of speech

The previous chapter provided a simple overview of the scientific method

which is the generally accepted and acknowledged way of thinking and a
required ‘code of conduct’ among researchers and scientists. The word
‘method’, however, may be a little bit misleading for student researchers, as
expressions such as approach, method or methodology, technique or tool
appear in various contexts and their usage can appear chaotic and confusing
to beginner researchers.
The situation becomes even more complicated when student
researchers are required to speak about their work, present their way of
thinking and their attitudes towards the examined phenomenon or to
persuade their audience that their steps comply with the requirements of the
scientific community. When presenting the results of scientific research,
young researchers must be absolutely clear about these concepts and they
must be able to use them confidently.

Glossary of concepts
APPROACH
A general attitude and set of beliefs towards a problem or question
which determines the steps of scientific investigation, the choice of
methodology and the scientific tools used.
METHODOLOGY
A set of methods used in scientific investigation according to an overall
plan, a framework of research.

40
 METHOD
A data collection tool used to obtain quantitative or qualitative data.
RESEARCH TOOL
Equivalent to method.
TRIANGULATION
A combined or hybrid method of research in which quantitative and
qualitative methods are combined to increase the validity of research data.
PARADIGM
A generally accepted belief about the correctness and validity of a
concrete theoretical framework of a scientific school which serves as a basis
for the formulation of theories and the definition of laws and determines the
correct procedure of conducting experiments.
CREDIBILITY
The ability of some theory or person to be trustful and reliable.
VALIDITY
The reliability, soundness and logical clearance of some data or process
of data collection.

Theoretical background
Science is about facts and the ways in which we deal with them. Although
the expressions approach and method are often used interchangeably, there
is a distinct difference between them. The word approach is a broad concept
and describes the general way in which scientists deal with facts and
investigated phenomena; in its original meaning, it is a way of getting closer
to the answer to a particular question. When researchers work, they
approach the observable phenomenon critically, i.e. “In a way that involves
the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a

41
judgement” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2021, p.n.a.). In science,
judgements are formulated based on observation when data and information
is collected via classifying, measuring, predicting, explaining, concluding,
etc. All branches of science approach problems scientifically, but,
depending on the nature of the given branch of science (natural, social,
applied or formal), different methods can be used for data collection and
processing.
Student researchers must also be able to differentiate between
methodology and method. A broader strategy for a research approach is
called methodology. Researchers can apply many different methods within
a single methodology – i.e., the ways in which data are collected. In an
academic context, researchers talk about framing methodologies of research
and within the chosen methodology they list different methods which would
be implemented to obtain data. Thus, methodology depicts how research is
conducted, the way in which research is undertaken and describes the
strategies which are to be implemented during the whole process. More
simply, a research methodology is intended to provide answers to the
question of ‘how’ research is conducted. Some examples of different
scientific methodologies include ethnography (the scientific description of
peoples and cultures), phenomenology (the science of phenomena) and
ethnomethodology (a sociological analysis used to examine how individuals
use conversation to construct a worldview).
Research aims and objectives determine the methodology which a
researcher will choose. Researchers can design a methodological
framework either to confirm or to explore some facts.

42
 When research is exploratory in nature, it is likely that qualitative
methods will be implemented for data collection. When researchers try to
measure or test some phenomenon, quantitative methods will likely be
incorporated.
Some basic research methods, also known as research tools or the
ways in which data is collected for further analysis, include surveys,
questionnaires, interviews, case studies, observation or experiments. In
quantitative research, data are collected in numerical form and statistical
methods are used to process the obtained information. Computer programs
are frequently used to process large amounts of data and relationships
between the variables are often represented by graphs and charts.
Quantitative research is usually associated with the positivist paradigm,
which presupposes that objective reality exists and “(1) that all knowledge
regarding matters of fact is based on the “positive” data of experience, and
(2) that beyond the realm of fact is that of pure logic and pure
mathematics…” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015, p.n.a.).
In contrast, scientists in qualitative research often utilise observations,
textual or visual analysis or interviews. A qualitative approach is usually
associated with the social constructivist paradigm which underlines that
knowledge is constructed through interactions among people and that social
phenomena come to existence as ‘compromises’ between members of a
society. Thus, social constructs do not exist in objective reality but are
instead the result of human interaction.
Research methods are not applied in isolation but are often combined
with one another during the research process in order to obtain a more
reliable and precise set of data. The use of multiple methods in conducting
research is called triangulation. “Triangulation is a method used to increase

43
the credibility and validity of research findings. Credibility refers to
trustworthiness and how believable a study is; validity is concerned with the
extent to which a study accurately reflects or evaluates the concept or ideas
being investigated” (Noble and Heale, 2019, p.n.a.).

Language study
1. Some of the following words are used to express that something is
caused by another thing. Select the correct words and write examples
sentences using them.
lead to, bring about, is caused by, create, is the result of, results from,
is responsible for, arise from, make, stem from, generate

2. Which of the following expressions are synonyms of the word

‘effect’?
impact, influence, repercussions, implications, source, root, occasion

3. The words ‘affect’, ‘impact’, ‘influence’ can be used to create

sentences which describe how something, or someone has an effect on
something. Search for examples of such sentences.

4. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech, and therefore
your speech should be between 390 and 650 words.

44
Sample speech:

THE PHYSICAL WORLD AND HOW WE LEARN ABOUT IT

In this speech, I would like to shortly summarize what we know about
the physical world in general and how this knowledge has been gained. I
will point out how different branches of science examine the world and
how this knowledge depicts a complex picture of physical reality. Let my
talk start with a citation: “The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms
that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together”. These were the
words of Carl Sagan, an astronomer who became famous due to his
thirteen-part television series titled Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980).
Scientists discovered that our world is composed of matter – a
substance of which every object is made in the universe. A fundamental
characteristic of objects composed of matter is that they have mass and
occupy space. A further component of the physical world is energy. It is
the property of matter which is manifested in its capacity to do work or
cause change in systems. Albert Einstein’s most famous equation E=mc2
states that matter and energy are the two manifestations of the same
fundamental entity.
The characteristics of matter are studied primarily by inorganic
chemistry which studies the elements and their interactions at the scale
of atoms. Atoms are particles of elements which cannot be broken down
further. Atoms of elements can combine with one another and form
compounds. The physical objects that exist around us are all composed
of these elements and their compounds.
Physics is the basic physical science – a systematic study of the
inorganic world from the smallest subatomic particles to the largest
objects of the universe. Depending on the particular field of study, we
can speak about branches of physics such as nuclear physics, mechanics,
optics or cosmology. Physics is the science of systems. All other natural
sciences depend on physics because it deals with the fundamental aspects
of matter and energy, how they interact and make the universe work.
Chemistry, for instance, utilises the knowledge from physics how atoms
are made up from smaller particles. Biologists use the knowledge
generated by physics and chemistry when studying living tissues.
Life is another phenomenon that we would like to understand by
studying the different characteristics and behaviour of the living matter.
What the word ‘life’ depicts is such a complex phenomenon that even
scientists have problems to define it. We can say that (biological) life is
a state of matter which manifest certain attributes such as growth,
metabolism, reproduction, responsiveness to stimuli, etc. Every living
being is composed of one or more minimal units, cells, which can be a
complete organism themselves. We know that life is present only on
planet Earth where all living organisms are composed of carbon-based

45
 molecules studied by organic chemistry. Life sciences, such as molecular
biology, botany and zoology, try to collect knowledge about life and
living organisms.
Knowledge about the physical world, energy or life does not come
only from observation. Human ability of abstraction – considering
something mentally exclusively by utilising human imagination –
enables us to formulate theories and discover laws through formal
sciences such as: mathematics and logic. These formal sciences are also
utilized in all branches of natural sciences to develop and test theories,
express natural laws in abstractions for example mathematical equations,
and describe relations between causes and their effects.
Mankind does not research the physical world only for the sake of
research but tries to utilize the accumulated knowledge to transform the
physical world into a safer, more comfortable, and better controllable
place and ensure the survival of the human species. Therefore, applied
sciences such as engineering, medicine or computer science are
constantly searching for better ways to implement the accumulated
knowledge and build better machines, design more effective cures for
diseases, or organize our lives in a better and more enjoyable way.
In summary, sciences can be defined as an effort of the mankind to
understand the physical world in its true complexity and utilize this
knowledge to improve the quality of life, guarantee our safety, and ensure
the survival of the human species in the future not only on planet Earth
but in the whole universe.

Works cited
Approach. In Oxford Dictionary. [online]. [cit. 2021.01.05]. Available
from: <https://www.lexico.com/definition/approach>.
Cosmos a Personal Voyage. MALONE, Adrian (dir.). SAGAN, Carl,
DRUYAN, Ann and Steven SOTER (perfs). Film, 1980.
NOBLE, Helen and Roberta HEALE. Research made simple -
Triangulation in research, with examples. In BMJ Journals. [online]. [cit.
2019.01.08]. Available from: <https://ebn.bmj.com/content/22/3/67>.
Positivist paradigm. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. [online]. Ultimate
Reference Suite. Chicago, 2015. [cit. 2020.10.08]. Available from:
<https://www.britannica.com/>.

46
Further reading
EDDINGTON, Arthur Sir. The Philosophy of Physical Science. In
SEDLACEK, Klaus-Dieter (ed.). TARNER LECTURES 1938 -
CAMBRIDGE. Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand, 2019.
ENGLISH, Lars Q. There Is No Theory of Everything: A Physics
Perspective on Emergence. Cham: Springer, 2017.
SMOLIN, Lee. The Life of the Cosmos. Oxford and New York: Oxford
University Press, 1999.
RICKLES, Dean. The Philosophy of Physics. Cambridge and Malden: John
Wiley & Sons, 2016.
RUSSELL, Bertrand. The Analysis of Matter. Nottingham: Spokesman
Books, 2007.

47
3.2 Academic writing: Approaches, methods and techniques

“The beauty of a scientific approach is

that it does not waste the time of future researchers.”
Umberto Eco

Literature review represents a fundamental element of every research

project. The choice of relevant secondary sources and their critical appraisal
are the result of extensive search for academic books, academic journal
articles, encyclopaedias, dictionaries and other sources. The literature
review contextualises every investigation and structures the analytical part
of a thesis, providing its theoretical framework by incorporating relevant
theories, methodologies and approaches.
According to Perez Canado and Pennock-Speck (2015), literature
review also serves specific purposes:
1. It situates the research objective within the field of study
2. It proves the author’s critical assessment of previous studies
3. It summarises the main development and methods
4. It identifies the author’s spaces by defining possible gaps and
missing aspects, the author may address in the investigation (Perez Canado
and Pennock-Speck, 2015, pp. 23-24).
The literature review also demonstrates the author’s critical thinking
skills.

48
Glossary of concepts
CONCEPT
Concepts are abstract ideas and notions. A concept is a term or a label
which represents, in a generalized manner, an aspect of the reality. Concepts
are essential elements of thoughts and beliefs, and they are usually defined
with the usage of other terms (Monipally and Pawar, 2010).
MEASURE
Measures in research are the elements to which participants of research
respond; for example, interview questions, questionnaire situations or
survey tasks.
PARADIGM
A paradigm is a complex of assumptions shared by members of a
research field or a research community. Paradigms direct the choice of
research phenomena, methods and approaches.
PROPOSITION
Propositions in research are claims that specify relationships between
concepts. They are also called hypotheses.
THEORY
A theory is an established principle or a set of principles developed to
explain a phenomenon or an aspect of a human existence. It is a result of a
long-term observation, testing and analysis. It usually encompasses facts,
rules and predictions (cf. Wacker, 1998).
VARIABLE
Variables are measurable indicators associated with concepts. They are
items, things, phenomena or persons which researchers intend to measure.

49
 BRUTE FACTS vs. INSTITUTIONAL FACTS
Brute facts are facts that do not need any explanation. Institutional
facts, on the other hand, acquire their status on the basis of agreement; for
example, good and bad manners.

Theoretical background
The composition of theoretical framework of a thesis through the literature
review represents a complex process that begins with the compilation of
relevant texts, their critical assessment, analysis, comparison and other
evaluations, and it ends with the composition of a coherent written text that
includes theoretical foundations and approaches, as well as a
methodological basis for the analytical part.
The theoretical part of the thesis shows the author’s understanding of
concepts, definitions and theories used in the field and the selection of those
which the author considers as relevant for the purposes of the investigation.
The choice and critical evaluation of these theories is driven by the defined
and specified research topic, the research aims, the research questions and
by the formulated hypothesis. At the same time, it places the partial
investigation limited by the scope of the thesis into the broader perspective
of the research field.
The complexity of reading and writing mechanisms in the theoretical
part of thesis requires not only advanced reading and writing skills, but also
the skill of critical thinking. The website https://www.criticalthinking.org/
characterises critical thinking as “a rich concept that has been developing
throughout the past 2,500 years,” and also offers a more complex definition
from Michael Scriven and Richard Paul:

50
 Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and
skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or
evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation,
experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief
and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual
values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy,
precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth,
breadth, and fairness.
(https://www.criticalthinking.org)

According to Jesson, Matheson and Lacey (2011) critical thinking

“involves analysis of positive as well as negative features. It means
recognising the strengths and weaknesses of research others have
undertaken and being able to articulate why and how you think their ideas
or theories might be improved” (Jesson, Matheson and Lacey, 2011, p. 16).
The theoretical framework connects the author to previously published
works in which he/she can find relevant theories, approaches and methods
the selection of which depends on their relevance, suitability and
explanatory abilities. The theories are expected to address the elementary
questions of why and how, the approaches create the space for less
descriptive and more analytical procedures, and the methods identify the
aspects relevant for examination. In combination, they explain and allow for
the analysis of the meaning, features, characteristics and specificity of the
studied material.
In the theoretical framework the author engages in an academic
argument with the authors of previously published works. Academic
argumentation is not about the negation of other authors but about
expressing the author’s own idea, backed up with arguments, data, or
analysis, and comparing it to the opinions of other authors.

51
Academic writing mechanics
Theories:
The theoretical basis in philological research draws on theories applied
in anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, political science, gender
studies, media studies, literary studies, post-colonial studies, pragmatics,
semiotics, linguistics, translation studies and other fields.
Methodologies:
Research methodology includes ways in which research is organised
and methods and techniques employed in conducting the investigation.
Methods of research:
Research methods are techniques used for data collection or the
collection of evidence for analysis. The most frequently used research
methods are listed in two categories – qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative research tools include interviews, focus groups,
observations, document analysis, oral histories or life stories.
Quantitative research tools are represented by surveys or
questionnaires, observations, document screenings and experiments (cf.
https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/researchmethods).
Different types of assessment methods include analysis, synthesis,
comparison, generalisation and statistical evaluation. While analysis is a
detailed examination of the parts, features, elements of something, synthesis
is the opposite – the collection and combination of various individual
aspects or features into one whole on the basis of the connections between
them. Comparison evaluates the similarities and differences between two
elements, while generalisation is a form of abstraction focusing on the
shared properties of items. The statistical evaluation of data helps to analyse
the results obtained in the process of collection.

52
 Research approach:
The ways in which research is organised is also called an approach. It
is a plan or a procedure of investigation divided into individual steps.

Study questions
1. Study the individual concepts in the Glossary of Concepts section
above and find three examples for each of them which are connected to the
area of your thesis research. Try to look for examples that you will use in
your thesis.
2. Find appropriate theories that you will apply in the theoretical
framework of your thesis. Justify your choice on the basis of your research
topic, research aims, questions and the formulated hypothesis. Furthermore,
try to outline the methodology of your research by finding research methods
and drafting your research approach. Describe the possible application of
selected methods on your primary sources.
3. Study the history of the concept of critical thinking. Find out about
those thinkers (philosophers and other academics) who have contributed to
the development of the concept by supporting it and also those who
neglected it or fought against it.
4. Develop a short, one-page text with an academic argument about the
following quotation.

Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student

achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same
school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is
actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a
great school.
Bill Gates
(https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/research-quotes)

53
Works cited
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.
JESSON, Jill, MATHESON, Lydia and Fiona LACEY. Doing your
Literature Review. Traditional and Systematic Techniques. London: SAGE
Publications, 2011.
PEREZ CANADO, Maria Luisa and Barry PENNOCK-SPECK (eds.).
Writing and Presenting a Dissertation on Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
and Culture Studies for Undergraduates and Graduates in Spain. Valencia:
Universitat de Valencia, 2015.
WACKER, John G. A Definition of Theory: Research Guidelines for
Different Theory-building Research Methods in operations management. In
Journal of Operations Management, 1998, 16(4): pp. 361-385.

Further reading
BARNET, Sylvan and William E. CAIN. A Short Guide to Writing about
Literature. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2014.
LETHBRIDGE, Stefanie and Jarmila MILDORF. Basics of English
Studies: An Introductory Course for Students of Literary Studies in English
[online]. [cit. 2020.12.10]. Available from: <http://www2.anglistik.uni-
freiburg.de/intranet/ englishbasics/PDF/Basic Concepts.pdf>
MCGEE, Sharon J. Analyzing Literature: A Guide for Students. Kansas
State University-Salina: Longman, 2001.
PICKERING, Michael (ed.). Research Methods for Cultural Studies.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008.
ZELAZNY, Gene. The Say it with Charts Complete Toolkit. New Delhi:
Tata McGraw-Hill, 2007.

54
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH LITERACY

4.1 Academic speaking: The language of research

Conducting research and producing scholarly papers about research is only

one aspect of a student researcher’s task. Another and no less important skill
is the ability of the researcher to speak about the topic, processes and results
in a clear and coherent way. There are many different genres of scholarly
papers and publications, including original research studies, review articles,
case studies or book reviews.
When researchers are required to speak about their results, they
typically follow a simple pattern. One widely known method of presenting
a study is known under the acronym IMRaD. The acronym stands for
‘Introduction – (Materials and) Method – Results and Discussion’ and
provides a more or less universal scheme that can be used in almost any
research setting.
Most frequently, scientists speak about their research in a conference
setting or at a symposium. During a conference, researchers are usually
grouped into sections where different speakers present their results.
Presentations are mostly followed by a Q&A sections (questions and
answers) which provides the audience with the opportunity to comment on
the speech and put questions to the speaker; in some cases, the Q&A session
serves as a platform for the fierce exchange of conflicting views.
Researchers must be able to stand up and explain their approach, defend
their chosen methodology and provide satisfactory answers to the questions
of their colleagues who are, in many cases, recognized experts in the same
field. Student researchers should take these opportunities as an excellent

55
learning opportunity and should not be afraid of speaking up in front of their
colleagues.

Glossary of concepts
RESEARCH QUESTON
The main questions that direct the research activity. This is the primary
question that sets the direction of the research project. It is also used to
generate secondary questions which search only partial, less important facts.
THESIS STATEMENT
The main statement of your speech which is closely related to the
research question. This can also be interpreted as an answer to the research
question.
DATA COLLECTION
A process in which scientists apply different research methods and
tools to obtain information that describe specific aspects of the observed
phenomena. Data are usually transformed into numerical form.
STATISTICAL METHOD
A mathematical method performed through systematic and rigorous
operations with the aim of obtaining mathematical evidence about an
analysed phenomenon.
EXTRAPOLATION
An action in which scientists assume that the trends identified during
smaller-scale research (for example, by conducting experiments) will be
replicable on a larger scale with the trends remaining unchanged.

56
Theoretical background
The IMRaD format provides an excellent guideline for student researchers
not only for structuring their scientific papers but also for developing a
speech in which they will be able to discuss and debate their findings with
fellow researchers. Naturally, IMRaD is not the only format that is used for
writing scholarly papers, but, nonetheless, it provides a clear and
comprehensive structure for student researchers and can serve as a basic
outline. “Unlike theses in the social sciences, the IMRaD format does not
include a separate theory chapter” (Search and Write, 2020, p.n.a.).
The first letter of the acronym – I – stands for ‘introduction’. Always
remember that you will never have a second chance to make a first
impression. This is also true for scientific presentations. The beginning is
always the most sensitive part of any presentation since the speakers –
especially when they are young or inexperienced scholars – can be nervous
and tense; similarly, the circumstances in the conference room may not be
ideal or the audience can be tired or unresponsive. Quite simply, there are
many factors that can influence the overall performance of the speaker. It
is, however, good to bear in mind that the introduction is the part of your
speech in which you set the scene and catch the attention of your listeners.
It is not only a general requirement but in fact an opportunity to show and
persuade your audience that you are informed and knowledgeable about the
field of study. Therefore, your introduction should contain a concise, but
not too extensive summary of the given subject. Do not forget that your
colleagues are also experts in your field or in adjacent fields and therefore
there is no need to teach them the basics. The only – but very important –
requirement is to show your audience that you are well informed about the
actual state of the art. In order to do so, you should refer to some of the most

57
relevant (by which we mean most often cited) studies that you have used to
build the theoretical framework for your work. The main emphasis should
be on two aspects: a) what we already know about the subject and b) what
are the questions to which we are seeking answers. The key orientation point
in this section of the speech is your research question. The introduction
should serve as an explanation of why you have chosen the given question,
how the question was formed, what inspired your work, and how the answer
could contribute to the development of the given field of study.
The second part of your speech should focus on the methodology (M)
used during the actual research. Always remember that there is difference
between the concepts of method and methodology. While methods mostly
refer to the ways of data collection, methodologies are complex procedures
based on scientific paradigms that describe your assumptions, way of
thinking, steps and conduct during the realization of the research task. A
methodology is essentially a system of methods. Methods can be grouped
differently, but a basic distinction between them is that there are methods
which are concerned with data collection, a further group of methods which
consist of statistical methods which are used for establishing relationships
(cause and effect) between the different data, and a third group of methods
which consist of methods which are used to evaluate the accuracy of the
results (Kumar, 2008).

Research methodology has many dimensions and research methods do

constitute a part of research methodology. The scope of research
methodology is wider than that of research methods. Thus, when we talk
of research methodology, we not only talk of research methods, but also
consider the logic behind the methods we use in the context of our
research study and explain why we are using a particular method or
technique, and why we are not using others so that research results are
capable of being evaluated either by the researcher himself or by others.
(Kumar, 2008, p. 5)

58
 Thus, when we speak about methods, we answer the question of what
has been done; when we speak about methodology, we concentrate on the
questions of how we have proceeded in our research and why have we
chosen that given path. An accurate and clear description of the applied
methodology is crucial when speaking in front of an audience of
researchers.
The letter ‘R’ in the acronym IMRaD stands for the results. While the
previous two parts of your presentation should show your audience how you
arrived at your results, this part should be used to present the essence of
your work. Therefore, in this part of your speech, you may rely heavily on
visual aids – graphs, charts, diagrams, etc. – to clarify fully the relationship
between the data and your assumptions. Cause and effect relationships must
be clearly described here with clearly organized data. The presenter can
classify and categorise the data, explain and interpret the results and assess
or evaluate their meaning. It is also important here to underline why the
results have been interpreted in a certain way and what the implications of
that interpretation may be.
The final part of a scientific presentation is the discussion, as
represented by the letter ‘D’ in the IMRaD acronym. Discussion is the arena
in which conclusions are made. If you were working with one or more
hypotheses, you should be able to tell whether your hypothesis had been
strengthened or disproven. It is also crucial that you provide clear answers
to your research questions here and also compare and contrast your results
with the results of similar projects. By comparing your results with other
research, it is possible to map out the alternative explanations to your
results, to identify the possible advantages of your approach or the potential
weaknesses of your work. In this part of your presentation, you should also

59
try to determine the extent to which it is possible to extrapolate your
findings and whether there is any room for generalization. Last but not least,
you should also mention the practical implications of your research. Do not
forget to provide your audience with a summary and a conclusion.

Language study
Researchers and scientists search for the truth. We use many words to
express that something is true.

1. Select the expressions which mean that something is true.

show, prove, contradict, demonstrate, can be seen, is evidence of,
reveal, refute, confirm, invalidate, demolish, support, back up, corroborate,
validate, substantiate

2. Researchers are often unable to make a statement which is absolutely

true. Use the words or phrases below and write example sentences:
suggest, indicate, imply, there is some evidence, it gives the impression
that, it leads to the conclusion that.

3. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech, and therefore
your speech should be between 390 to 650 words.

Sample speech:

THE METAPHYSICAL WORLD AND THE MEANING OF WORDS

Although human life takes place in a physical world, we are able to ‘look’
beyond the boundaries of it using our intellect. Today, I would like to
speak about this ability and about the problems and questions that arise
from this situation.

60
 We use language to describe the world in which we live and when
we say for instance that ‘There is a red pencil under the table’ our
statement contains words which have referents that are real physical
objects. Our language, however, is capable of much more. We can make
statements in which the words do not refer to real physical objects. In
fact, if we spoke only about the physical world, our language would be
very limited. When we speak about objects, persons or their acts or
qualities that do not exist in the physical world we shift in the
metaphysical domain. The Greek word ‘metaphysics’ refers to the (part
of the) reality which exists behind or beyond the natural world. The
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word metaphysics as something
that is more comprehensive or transcending (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary, 2021).
The concept of the metaphysical world is as old as humanity itself,
since human intellect has always been able to develop whole universes
using imagination and fantasy. The great number of folk tales, legends,
and stories are just one proof of that. Some ancient philosophers, Plato
for example, even described a world by applying a hierarchy in which
non-material (meaning metaphysical) concepts such as beauty, justice,
heroism, etc. are at a higher level of existence than material objects.
Metaphysical concepts are perfect in themselves but every (human) being
who is able to recognize them will recognize them differently. This is
because everybody is capable of recognizing a different aspect of that
given perfect form.
Alexius Meinong – a 19th century philosopher – went one step
further and developed an ontology (a system of being) which put the
concepts into three categories. Besides objects that are existent in the
physical world, he names two categories of concepts that exist beyond
the physical world. For example, numbers and theorems do not exist as
physical objects, but everybody recognizes them and, according to
Meinong, they subsist – i.e., they exist at a minimum level of existence
because they do not manifest in the physical world but also do not contain
any sort of impossibility. The last category of concepts is the group of
everything that one can possibly think of. In this category, the objects are
being given. This type of non-existence is termed absistence by Meinong
(Chisholm, 1989). Basically, this is the category into which belongs
everything that we can actually think of, even nonsense objects such as
‘wooden-iron’ or ‘square-circle’. So, what is the situation with fictional
objects or persons; are they non-sense too? No, if we accept that they
appear and exist in a specific domain, in a universe of discourse within
which the assertions made can be either true or false (PBS, 2016). Thus,
the existence or non-existence of an object depends on the discourse in
which it appears.
The fact that we recognize non-existent objects is great because we
are able to expand the boundaries of our finite and limited world into an
unlimited cosmos where we can imagine everything and can experiment

61
 with anything. This opens for us the possibility to talk about philosophy,
truth, beauty, religion, and other domains which are beyond our everyday
physical reality but have a very powerful culture-forming influence.

Works cited
CHISHOLM, Roderick M. Brentano and Meinong Studies. Amsterdam:
Rodopi, 1989.
KUMAR, Rajendra. Research Methodology. New Delhi: APH Publishing
Corporation, 2008.
Metaphysics. In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online]. [cit. 2021.01.12].
Available from: <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meta>.
PBS DIGITAL STUDIOS. Nonexistent Objects amd Imaginary Worlds:
Crash Course Philosophy #29. Dir. Digital Studios PBS, 2016.
SARCH & WRITE. The IMRaD format. [online]. Om Søk & Skriv. [cit.
2020.11.06]. Available from: <https://sokogskriv.no/en/writing/the-imrad-
format.html#discussion>.

Further reading
GOLDSHMIDT, Tyron (ed.). The Puzzle of Existence: Why Is There
Something Rather Than Nothing? New York and London: Routledge, 2014.
HEIDEGGER, Martin. Introduction to Metaphysics: Second Edition. New
Heaven and London: Yale University Press, 2014.
LECLERC, Ivor. The Nature of Physical Existence. London and New York:
George Allen & Unwin Ltd. and Humanities Press Inc., 1972.
MICHAEL, L. A. The Principles of Existence & Beyond. [electronic book].
Lulu.com, Kindle edition, 2007.
WOEHLER, Kai. The Search for the Meaning of Space, Time, and Matter:
Images of Many Travels. New York: Xlibris Corporation, 2009.

62
4.2 Academic writing: Primary and secondary sources

“Periodically I receive letters from students who write,

‘I must write a thesis on such-and-such a topic.’
(The list of topics is immense.
Some of them, I must admit, bewilder me.)
They ask, ‘Would you be so kind as to send me
a complete bibliography so that I can proceed with my work?’”
Umberto Eco

The compilation of a working bibliography for the literature review

conducted in the theoretical part of a thesis, the selection of primary sources
for its analytical sections and the assembly of a final bibliography of the
thesis is a continuous and systematic process. It begins when authors
identify possible topics for their research, and it continues throughout the
course of writing the thesis.
Authors of academic publications usually find their own individual
approaches to the selection and recording of individual sources. These
procedures may vary depending on the genre of publication and the type of
investigation. Different fields of inquiry have their own requirements for the
types of sources and their variants.
Various genres of academic writing also have specific conditions for
the selection of sources and the amount of sources that the author should
use.

Glossary of concepts
GENRES OF ACADEMIC WRITING
(https://libguides.roanoke.edu/c.php?g=540427&p=3701131)
(http://www.uefap.com/writing/genre/genrefram.htm)

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 ACADEMIC ESSAY:
A genre in which an author writes about a selected topic using ideas
and arguments based on the author’s own reading. In the text the authors
integrate information acquired from the sources with their own knowledge
and opinions.
BOOK AND ARTICLE REVIEW:
Book or article reviews are often written for academic journals that
carry a review section, but they can also be used for publication purposes as
academic journals publish articles only after they have passed through an
evaluative peer-review procedure which determines the suitability of the
article for its publication (usually performed by one or more anonymous
experts in the research field).
A review is not only a summary of the discussion in the article or the
book; it should be evaluative as to the purpose, targeted readership and
relevance of the presented research. The review may also include a
commentary on the general organisation and writing quality.
CASE STUDY:
A text resulting from an investigation into one specific problem,
aspect, or element. The author usually combines various research methods
and approaches (for example, library and archival research, field-work and
data collection) strictly focusing on the selected issue. Different types of
case studies include exploratory, descriptive and explanatory forms.
CONFERENCE PAPER:
An academic report on a researcher’s partial research. It is usually
prepared in a written form before the conference and presented orally at the
academic event.

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 CONFERENCE POSTER:
A conference poster is a relatively recent genre of academic writing.
Its purpose is to provide a report of one’s partial research in a form of short
texts, tables, charts, graphs or images. At a conference (or seminar,
workshop, etc.) it serves as a basis for the discussion between the author and
other participants at the academic event.
REFLECTIVE WRITING:
Reflective writing can help authors to respond to academic
assignments which that they are required to fulfil; for example, to consult
the required reading assigned by lecturers or to perform smaller-scale
research for a course. They also help those who assign the task to check that
the authors have performed the tasks and gained knowledge from them.
They may take the form of a journal, a learning diary, a logbook,
a reflective note, an essay diary, a peer review or a self-assessment task.
RESEARCH ABSTRACT:
An abstract is usually part of more extensive research genre, such as a
thesis, project or report. It is a concise summary or overview of the research
topic and its aims, research questions, hypothesis, theoretical framework
and primary sources.
RESEARCH PROPOSAL:
A genre which usually precedes more complex types of research. It is
usually written in the form of a research project. The purpose of a research
proposal is to prove that the author has selected the research topic,
theoretical framework with methods and approaches and relevant primary
sources.

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 RESEARCH REPORT:
A research report is a text outlining the research processes, the data
used, and the findings revealed by the investigation. It often includes
information about the possible applications of the research. It is descriptive
and summarises essential characteristics without dealing with details.
THESIS AND DISSERTATION:
Bachelor and Master theses and doctoral dissertations are part of the
higher education tradition in many countries. They are a longer-form
academic writing genre that records and publicises the results of students’
investigations.

Theoretical background
Not all publications are relevant secondary sources for researchers to use in
their investigation and subsequent writing. Among those that are relevant
for academia we can list academic monographs, collections of academic
articles, academic handbooks, conference proceedings, collections of
abstracts, academic textbooks, academic journals, encyclopaedias,
dictionaries, bibliographies, theses and dissertations, biographical sources,
yearbooks, atlases and statistical data sources. More recently many
academic sources are published not only in print but also in electronic
formats or are available simultaneously in both print and electronic
versions.
Academic publishers and university and research libraries have also
adapted to the new trends enabled by new and still rapidly developing
computer-based technologies. Most academic publications appear not only
in bookshops and on the shelves of libraries but are also available in
international electronic databases and on the Internet websites of publishers.

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 In response to the above discussed changes in publishing and storage
of sources university and academic libraries now provide much more
complex services than they did in the past. Access to print sources is
complemented by access to online catalogues, journal databases, electronic
archives of documents or large corpora of works. Inter-library book loans
have been enhanced by the exchange of electronic resources. Information
systems of libraries are integrated into universities’ online platforms and
academic information systems. Many sources, for instance, periodical
publications, are available online and the internet websites of newspapers
have their own archives equipped with advanced search tools.
Many sources which were originally printed or which were available
in photo archives, film archives, on microfilms and microfiche are being
gradually digitalised and are becoming more accessible to researchers via
the Internet.

Academic writing mechanics

As it has been suggested several times above, the collection and assessment
of relevant secondary sources for a literature review in the theoretical part
of the thesis and the identification of primary sources based on carefully
selected criteria are challenging tasks for researchers.
The process starts by drawing up a reading list, i.e., a compilation of a
working bibliography with an extensive number of sources related to the
research topic. The working bibliography includes all sources that
researchers find during the initial stages of their investigation. Many of the
sources might not become part of the final bibliography of the academic
publication, but instead serve to orient the author in the chosen field of

67
research and to place the chosen topic into its broader context (cf. Perez
Canado and Pennock-Speck, 2015).
With the formulation of research aims, research questions and a
hypothesis and preliminary readings, the selection of secondary sources
becomes easier and more focused. At this stage authors are able to put aside
sources that do not appear specific enough or which are entirely irrelevant,
and they can replace them and add more texts corresponding with the
individual research aims. Hence, the working bibliography is constantly
being modified during the research process and only turns into the final
bibliography at the end, prior to the publication of the research text.
Depending on the genre of academic writing, the sources used in the
research are either compiled into a bibliography or into a list of works cited
(or a list of references). A bibliography includes all relevant sources; both
those cited and paraphrased in the text and also those that serve as
background reading only and are not actually mentioned in the text. The list
of works cited or the list of references contains only those sources that are
used, i.e., quoted or paraphrased in the text, although some academic genres
or publishers may require both the list of works cited and a bibliography.
From a practical point of view, an author needs to record the
bibliographic information about all relevant sources in order to be able to
compile the bibliography with all of the necessary data. Different
publishers, including universities, have their own requirements for the
formatting of entries in a bibliography, and it is therefore necessary to record
as much information about the source as possible.
The aim of a literature review is to critically assess existing research
related to the chosen research topic. The main tasks of the author in this
section of the theoretical part of the thesis is to place his/her research topic

68
into the field of investigation, to summarise previously published research
relevant for the research aims, and on the basis of the critical evaluation
choose relevant research approach and methods, i.e., to build a research
methodology.
In the critical evaluation of existing research, the author identifies
problems, controversies, missing elements, shortcomings, mistakes or the
lack of clarity, thereby proving the relevance of his/her special topic and
justifying his/her aims and research questions – usually proceeding from
more general to more specific aspects. The author builds the text as a
summary of existing research outcomes, a comparison of various
approaches, methods and techniques, an interpretation of statements by
other researchers and a synthesis of prior research in the most specific
context of his/her own planned investigation with the goal of establishing a
relationship between the ideas of different authors and his/her own
expectations.
The selection of primary sources – materials that a researcher analyses
following the chosen approach and applying the designated methods –
observes a set of defined criteria. The criteria of relevance applied in the
process of the selection of primary sources should be described in the text
and must respect the requirements of the academic genre and the field of
investigation. In the case of students’ theses, the criteria define, among
other, the following:
1. the quantity (materials should respect the type of thesis and their
suitability, manageability, availability and variety): for example, the size of
a corpus of texts, the number of units of language, the number of films or
the number of novels.

69
 2. the period (materials should be limited by the author’s life
experience, the periods studied or the comparison of several chosen eras):
for example, the era covered by the research task, the years of publication
of newspapers, or the period of the author’s literary production.
3. the geographical, cultural, language and other limitation (materials
should reflect the geographical, cultural, and linguistic background of a
researcher): for example, Slovak and Russian versions of translations of
English originals for populations in non-Anglophone countries.

Study questions
1. Analyse the text by Eco quoted at the beginning of this subchapter
and the text below. What does Eco think about the degradation of the level
and outcomes of university education? What does he think about the
broadening of research fields? Do you agree with him? How does he define
the purpose of literature review? What is your own opinion about the
accessibility of sources in your field of study?

In a literature review, the student simply demonstrates that he has

critically read the majority of the existing ‘critical literature,’ or the
published writings on a particular topic. The student explains the
literature clearly, connects the various points of view of its authors, and
thus offers an intelligent review, perhaps useful even to a specialist in the
field who had never conducted an in-depth study on that specific topic.
(Eco, 2015, p. 3)

2. Identify which academic writing genres are incorporated in the genre

of the thesis.
3. Compile a working bibliography for your own thesis research.
Include at least one relevant for your research topic item in each of the
following categories, in either print or electronic format: a monograph, a

70
collection of academic articles, an academic handbook, conference
proceedings, an academic textbook, an academic journal article, an
encyclopaedia, a dictionary, a thesis.
4. Identify relevant primary sources for your investigation and make a
list of the criteria you have applied in their selection according to the three
categories listed in the text of academic writing mechanics above.

Works cited
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.
PEREZ CANADO, Maria Luisa and Barry PENNOCK-SPECK (eds.).
Writing and Presenting a Dissertation on Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
and Culture Studies for Undergraduates and Graduates in Spain. Valencia:
Universitat de Valencia, 2015.

Further reading
ANDREWS, Richard. The Place of Systematic Reviews in Educational
Research. In British Journal of Educational Studies, 2015, 53(4): pp. 399-
416.
DINHAM, Stephen and Catherine SCOTT. The Experience of
Disseminating the Results of Doctoral Research. In Journal of Further and
Higher Education, 2001, 25(1): pp. 45-55.
FINK, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From Internet to
Paper. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2005.
GRAVES, Norman and Ved P. VARMA. (eds.). Working for a Doctorate:
A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences. London: Routledge, 1997.

71
GREENE, Stuart and April LIDINSKY. From Inquiry to Academic
Writing: A Text and Reader. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2012.
HART, Chris. Doing a Literature Review. Buckingham: Open University
Press, 1998.
KAMLER, Barbara and Pat THOMPSON. Helping Doctoral Students
Write: Pedagogies for Supervision. Abingdon: Routledge, 2006.
MACDONALD-ROSS, Michael. How Numbers Are Shown: A Review of
the Research on the Presentation of Quantitative Information. In Audio-
Visual Communication Review, 1977, 25(4): pp. 359–409.
MURRAY, Rowena. Writing for Academic Journals. Maidenhead: Open
University Press, 2009.
PALTRIDGE, Brian. Thesis and Dissertation Writing: An Examination of
Published Advice and Actual Practice. In English for Specific Purposes,
2002, 21(2): pp. 125-43.
PARRY, Sharron. Disciplinary Differences in Doctoral Theses. In Higher
Education, 1998, 36: pp. 273-299.
SAUKKO, Paula. Doing Research in Cultural Studies. An introduction to
classical and new methodological approaches. London, Thousand Oaks,
New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2003.
TORGERSON, C. J. Publication Bias: The Achilles Heel of Systematic
Reviews? In British Journal of Educational Studies, 2006, 54(1): pp. 89-
102.
VENTOLA, Eija. Functional and Systemic Linguistics: Approaches and
Uses. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011.

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CHAPTER 5 IDENTIFICATION AND SOLUTION

5.1 Academic speaking: Presentation problems

An argument is always a conflict situation and many of us struggle to handle

conflicts of opinions in a mature and professional way. Arguing
professionally, however, is an elementary requirement among scientists and
researchers.
The final stage of scientific presentations is usually a questions-and-
answers section in which the speakers are required to explain and clarify
certain aspects of their research and, more often than not, must face criticism
from their fellow researchers, mainly when their colleagues are ardent
supporters of a rival methodology or look at the given problem from a
different perspective based on an alternative approach.
Arguments in science are inevitable and can be highly productive
because they contribute to the general discussion about issues and can
motivate researchers to examine the question under investigation from a
different point of view. There are, however, certain unwritten rules to this
type of discourse and a generally accepted code of conduct that student
researchers are also expected to follow.

Glossary of concepts
ETHICS
A set of moral principles that provide orientation points for a person to
determine correct ways of behaviour.

73
 RESPECT
A feeling or demonstration of admiration for someone because of
his/her qualities, achievements or status.
DIGNITY
A state of being worthy of honour and respect. The quality of a person
regarded as a valuable member of a community.
EVIDENCE
Facts, data, and information which indicate that something is true.
FALLACY
A logical error in arguments or a mistake that makes an argument
invalid.
CORRELATION
A logical relationship between one or more facts, processes, or
arguments which point in the same direction or suggest a similar outcome.
CAUSATION
The process or act of causing something. The evident relationship
between a cause and its effect.

Theoretical background
A scientific discussion follows the same patterns as everyday arguments.
The only difference is (or rather should be) the rigorous use of facts and data
in constructing arguments. Scientists and researchers, however, are also
humans and are also influenced by their feelings. They can be angry, jealous
or can even hate their colleagues and see them as rivals or even as enemies.
Professional conduct, however, dictates specific rules for anybody who
wishes to become an accepted member of a scientific community. In the
following section, a series of suggestions are discussed which should be

74
considered by student researchers when they prepare for their question-and-
answer sessions.
Honesty and fairness are also important elements in scientific research.
A complex set of ethical norms ensure that researchers behave fairly and do
not, for instance, abuse the information and data to which they have access.
Fairness also applies to the scientific discussion. In simple terms,
researchers should not deliberately lie, nor should they modify data in order
to achieve a specific desired result. During an argument, therefore, scientists
should behave fairly and should not abuse any potential weaknesses of their
fellow researchers. A scientific discussion is always a learning opportunity
and this is particularly true for student researchers.
An argument is a dialogue between two participants who should
respect each other. In practice, this means that the participants in an
argument should listen to each other and remain in the framework of the
discussed topic during the discussion. It is absolutely forbidden to make
comments about the physical appearance, traditions, beliefs or any other
personal feature that might be offensive to the other participant. We can
attack ideas, but never the individual. Indeed, the opposite is true – we are
required to show respect to our partners, acknowledge that they are highly
valued professionals and that the suggested ideas or alternatives really do
contribute to a better result. When you preserve the dignity of your partner
in an argument, you will not only win the argument but can even win the
heart of your audience.
Always use evidence and proof in a scientific argument. Even everyday
situations require us to support our position with reliable evidence, but in a
scientific discussion, it is mandatory. Proof and the verification of data
constitute the essence of any scientific investigation and student researchers

75
cannot do without them either. After all, evidence is all that counts in any
scientific investigation and the best argument is the data itself. It is also
advisable to know your audience and be informed about their possible
expectations, what they consider acceptable and how would they react to a
different point of view.
In addition to facts, every student researcher must ensure that their
system of argument is free from logical fallacies. Errors, inaccuracies, or
logical gaps in any argumentation will lead inevitably to defeat. There are
three main types of logical fallacies which should be avoided, and these can
be easily identified even by beginner researchers: a) the assumption that
correlation is equivalent to causation. Just because something has appeared
before does not necessarily mean that it could also be the cause of something
that later follows it. While there is evidence that smoking increases the
chance for lung cancer, for example, there is no scientific evidence that
increased use of mobile phones contribute to brain tumours. b) another type
of fallacy is when an argument is supported by the statement that because
there is no evidence for something, the given thing, phenomenon or concept,
etc., does not exist. For example, the argument that life on other planets does
not exist because we have not yet discovered it belongs within this category.
c) finally, when there is no evident relationship between an argument and
its conclusion, we again face a type of logical fallacy. For example, the
conclusion that we should not help the homeless because studies show that
there are already many underpaid jobs in the city belongs into this category.
It can easily happen during a discussion that we are forced to admit
that our stance was not correct or that we have made a mistake during data
collection or during the setting up of the methodology of research. Even
experienced researchers can make mistakes or misinterpret some data. It is

76
better to admit your mistake and subsequently make corrections than to
stubbornly fight on in an attempt to preserve our prestige. Accepting that
we can be vulnerable is better than shaming another person. Even saying
that you are sorry does not mean that your career is going to end on the spot.
Naturally, there is a whole list of psychological tricks that can help you
win an argument, but if we take our initial ethical considerations seriously,
we should not apply them in a scientific argument. Psychological
manipulation of your colleagues is not in compliance with the written and
unwritten codes of conduct of the scientific community.

Language study
During scientific arguments we are often required to speak about problems
and their solutions, the advantages and disadvantages of something, or are
simply required to give our reasons for believing something.

1. Try to clearly define the difference between these synonyms:

problem, issue, and difficulty. Are these words interchangeable?

2. Which of the following expressions mean problem?

trouble, complication, remedy, setback, panacea, obstacle, fix, pitfall,
dilemma, vicious circle, magic bullet

3. Study the words below and create two groups by putting every word
which is a synonym of the word advantage in one group and the words
which mean disadvantage in the other.
drawback, benefit, merit, downside, bad point, the beauty of
something,

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 4. Study the use of the following synonyms for the word reason. Try
to write examples of sentences with them to practice their usage:
explanation, motive, grounds, argument, rationale, justification, basis,
pretext, excuse

5. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech and therefore
your speech should be from between 390 to 650 words.

Sample speech:

TRUTH AND BEAUTY

The main objective of this talk is to explain how cultural relativism has
contributed to the cultural evolution of the western world during the
second half of the twentieth century and how it enabled and also caused
a departure from the classical definitions of truth and beauty.
People have always tried to find out as much as possible about
themselves and about the world they live in. Searching for truth, however,
has inevitably led to the division and polarization of society for at least
one reason: individually, we are able to grasp reality (truth) only partially
and our view is influenced and distorted by many factors such as
language, education, knowledge, and judgement about the world,
experience, expectations of our community in which we live, and by our
prejudices, just to name a few. Because of this distortion, many scientists
believe that objective truth cannot exist and that whatever we investigate
our language will determine the quantity and the quality of knowledge
that we can accumulate. This worldview is primarily applicable to social
sciences and the arts and is the construct of postmodernism. In the
postmodern world, the concept of truth is replaced by alternatives:
opinions, viewpoints, beliefs, perspectives, etc. What is more, people
often select only those facts that support their view and deliberately or
unconsciously ignore evidence that does not fit in their world view.
Unfortunately, science is no exception.
It is possible to grasp a manifestation of the relativist world in our
attitude to the concept of beauty. Until the end of the 19th century, our
understanding of art was based on the premise that it exists to bring and
celebrate beauty in our world. This concept of beauty was not primarily
understood as a physical quality, but rather as a manifestation of the

78
Platonic concept. Beauty belonged in the same realm as truth, justice, or
good. This concept was also adopted by the theologians of the medieval
times and did not cease to exist until the end of the first World War.
Beauty, manifested in different artifacts, architecture, music, poetry, or
drama served as remedy from the pains and sorrows of everyday life and
was used to celebrate something higher and nobler. In Scruton’s words
“through the pursuit of beauty we shape the world as our home and we
also come to understand our own nature as spiritual beings” (Scruton,
2009, p.n.a.). R. G. Collingwood (1958) also recognized that beauty was
able to provide us with amusement and distraction, but he also underlined
that this aspect of art is secondary and that the best art, the art that matters,
is the stuff that changes the way we interact with the world in a better
way.
The great technological and social changes at the beginning of the
twentieth century and the unprecedented, industrial-scale destruction
wrought during the First World War affected the fabric of western society
so deeply that scepticism in classical values and the questioning of their
validity started to dominate the cultural realm. The post-World War II
world witnessed an escalation of postmodern scepticism. Artists turned
away from classical artisanship and craft and instead of depicting the
ideal in the real showed the brutality of reality. Usefulness in architecture
and the ugly in art became dominant and the gentle mist of beauty
evaporated in the heat of consumerism that reduced beauty to pure means
for enhanced advertising and income generator.
The relativist world view about truth and beauty resulted in nihilism
and suggested that the foundations of aesthetics are subjective and
depend only on the attitudes and expectations of the observer. It is
undeniable, however, that what humans predominantly find beautiful and
pleasing has very objective foundations and it is possible to describe this
even in the abstract language of mathematics. The golden ratio seems to
be (one of) the universal and objective factors which determines whether
we find something pleasing or not.
In summary, though it is evident that postmodern thinkers have
contributed greatly to the development of culture in the second half of the
twentieth century, their final conclusions have become obsolete and have
lost validity by having navigated mankind into a cultural dead-end. A
dialectic model is required to make the next step and allow a more open
dialogue between the classical and the postmodern – the thesis and its
antithesis. A new explanation of truth and beauty may give way to new
theories that will have the strength and potential to revitalise culture.

79
Works cited
COLLINGWOOD, George Robin. The Principles of Art. London, Oxford
and New York: Oxford University Press, 1958.
Why beauty matters? LOCKWOOD, Louise (dir.). SCRUTTON, Roger
(prf.). Film. BBC, 2009.

Further reading
MOSTELLER, Timothy M. Theories of Truth: An Introduction. London,
New Delhi, New York and Sydney: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
PRITZL, Kurt (ed.). Truth: Studies of a Robust Presence. Washington DC:
CUA Press, 2010.
RAPAPORT, Herman. Is There Truth in Art? Ithaca and London: Cornell
University Press, 1997.
SHEPPARD, Anne D. R. Aesthetics: An Introduction to the Philosophy of
Art. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
SMITH, Paul and Carolyn WILDE. A Companion to Art Theory. Oxford:
John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
WARBURTON, Nigel. Freedom: An Introduction with Readings. London:
Psychology Press, 2001.

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5.2 Academic writing: Presenting results

“PhD candidates in the humanities make

more modest scholarly discoveries:
a new way to interpret and understand a
classic text, the attribution of a manuscript
that illuminates an author’s biography,
a reassessment of secondary studies
that ripens ideas once wandering lost in various other texts.
In any case, the scholar must produce a work that, in theory,
other scholars in the field should not ignore, because it says something new.”
Umberto Eco

The process of writing is intrinsically linked to the research process.

Although the sequencing of individual sections of an academic text that
documents a specific investigation, for instance, a thesis, may differ from
the order of items in a working research outline, the investigation follows
common principles of research organisation.
All research is divided into stages and it is important to plan the process
of exploration, taking into account the time frame, scope of study, the
expected length of the completed text, the specificity of selected research
problem, the chosen theoretical framework and the expected research
outcomes.
Particular attention should be paid to the presentation of the research
findings and the synthesis of existing research outcomes with the results of
the analysis performed.

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Glossary of concepts
OPINION IN RESEARCH
The SAGE Encyclopaedia of Survey Research Methods states that
“[o]pinions in survey research can be defined as subjective attitudes, beliefs,
or judgments that reflect matters of personal (subjective) preference. Some
opinions may not be confirmable or deniable by factual evidence (e.g., a
person's attitude toward the use of capital punishment), whereas others may
be (e.g., the belief that a particular presidential candidate will be elected)”
… “The term opinion is often used interchangeably with attitude and belief,
but opinions are a broader category that includes both attitudes and beliefs”
(https://methods.sagepub.com/reference/encyclopedia-of-survey-research-
methods/n353.xml)
RESEARCH BIAS
Bias is defined by the online Oxford Dictionary as “an inclination or
prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered
to be unfair” … “a concentration on an interest in one particular area or
subject” … “a systematic distortion of statistical results due to a factor not
allowed for in their derivation” (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com).
RESEARCH OBJECTIVITY
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “[s]cientific
objectivity is a property of various aspects of science. It expresses the idea
that scientific claims, methods, results—and scientists themselves—are not,
or should not be, influenced by particular perspectives, value judgments,
community bias or personal interests, to name a few relevant factors.
Objectivity is often considered to be an ideal for scientific inquiry, a good
reason for valuing scientific knowledge, and the basis of the authority of
science in society” (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-objectivity/)

82
 SCIENTIFIC VERIFIABILITY
Verifiability of research is one of the elementary scientific principles.
Encyclopaedia Britannica defines the verifiability principle as “a
philosophical doctrine fundamental to the school of Logical Positivism
holding that a statement is meaningful only if it is either empirically
verifiable” … “the principle discards as meaningless the metaphysical
statements of traditional philosophy as well as other kinds of statements—
such as ethical, aesthetic, or religious principles—asserted as true but
neither tautological nor known from experience”
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/verifiability-principle).

Theoretical background
The content of an academic writing genre such as a thesis documents the
performed process of academic inquiry. As has already been stated above,
the requirements of academic writing are based on the features of
investigation. In the most general terms, while the literature review
documents the conceptual, theoretical part of research, the existing
knowledge methodological section deals with the approaches, methods and
techniques selected for the examination of the primary materials; it contains
a description of the processes to be used in order to acquire the research
data. The analysis proper carries out the defined research aims, answers the
formulated research questions and verifies the hypothesis. The final
conclusions describe the implications of the research findings and outcomes
for academic theory and outlines potential future research aims in the study
area and future practices.
Numerous sources define principles of scientific inquiry with greater
or lesser degrees of specificity (cf. Wilson, 1952; Medawar, 1979; Hawking

83
1988; Chang 2014). Among the most general principles that apply to all
research fields (and which are usually called fundamental or
epistemological) one can list the following:
1. The quest for conceptual (theoretical) understanding; linking the
research topic to a relevant theory
2. Definition of a research claim (hypothesis) and research questions
that can be investigated empirically
3. The selection of methods that allow for the complexity as well as
specificity of investigation
4. The application of logical reasoning, argumentation, analysis,
synthesis and generalisation
5. The coherent documentation of research findings which can be made
available to the research community
6. Ethical conduct in the investigation and documentation of research.
All of these principles emphasise creativity, objectivity and open-
mindedness at all stages of the scientific investigation and its
documentation.
Scientific inquiry is usually divided into several stages and they can be
grouped into four basic phases of research. If applied in the thesis
investigation, they can be framed as follows:
1. Research planning:
Time-line and strategy of research, choice of topic, preliminary thesis
outline
2. Preliminary research:
Bibliographic research, the compilation of a working bibliography,
extensive reading

84
 3. Research proper:
A critical assessment of secondary sources, the selection of a
methodological framework of theories, methods and techniques, the
selection of primary sources, the analysis of primary sources, obtaining
findings
4. Documentation of the research outcomes; i.e., writing the thesis.
The academic writing process follows these phases and the projected
research plan.

The first two phases of research and their reproduction in academic

writing procedures have already been discussed in the chapters above. The
documentation of the actual research, i.e., the analytical sections of the
thesis, includes a complex description of the collected data, an analysis of
the data and other procedures which are intended to respect the research
aims, attempt to answer the research questions and test the hypothesis.
The empirically supported findings which have been obtained are then
placed into the context of the relevant theoretical knowledge within the field
of study as mapped in the theoretical framework; this is then synthesised
with the existing knowledge in the field and generalised into conclusions.
The scope of the research limits the level of the generalisation of findings
and their applicability. The implications of the findings can be combined
with the theory used in the investigation; i.e., with the existing knowledge
in the studied field (the enrichment of secondary sources), with the
knowledge about the analysed phenomenon, i.e., with primary material (the
criticism of primary sources), and with practice of humanity (guidelines for
practical applications).

85
Academic writing mechanics
Researchers not only design their research projects, but they also follow
standard academic writing strategies in planning their own written
documentation of the investigation.
The writing process is divided into four elementary stages (cf. Harmer,
2004):
1. Planning – taking into consideration the purpose of writing, potential
readership and the content structure
2. Drafting – using existing notes and texts and creating the first
version of the academic text
3. Editing – modifying, rewriting, revising the first draft
4. Final version – finalising the text for publication.
The writing procedure is usually combined with the research
procedure and typically follows the path listed below (cf. Bailey, 2003):
1. Understanding the field, choosing a topic, learning about
specific academic writing genre requirements
2. Assessment of secondary sources – selection of most
appropriate sources
3. Selection of relevant texts – keep records of sources for
references
4. Taking notes on relevant areas, using citations, paraphrasing
and summarising
5. Selecting an appropriate structure for the thesis – final thesis
outline
6. Organising and writing the main body of the text
7. Organising and writing the introduction
8. Organising and writing the conclusion

86
 9. Finalising the bibliography
10. Critically reading and re-writing the text where necessary;
final proof-reading.

Study questions
1. Discuss the type of research performed within the area of your study
field, identify its specifics and its contribution to the research in humanities,
arts and social sciences. Place your own thesis investigation into the broader
perspective and outline its potential contribution and applications. How do
they correspond with what Eco says about the research in humanities in the
quote at the beginning of this subchapter?
2. Identify your own potential research biases and formulate the
measure you can take in order to avoid them influencing your thesis research
and writing in order to keep your research and academic writing as objective
as possible.
3. At which stage of your thesis research and thesis writing are you
currently? Describe the previous stages and collect and share positive
experiences and problematic issues. Discuss the subsequent stages and
identify any possible problems you may need to tackle.

Works cited
BAILEY, Stephen. Academic Writing: A Practical Guide for Students. New
York: Routledge, 2003.
CHANG, Mark. Principles of Scientific Methods. London: Chapman and
Hall/CRC Press, 2014.
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.

87
HARMER, Jeremy. How to Teach Writing. Harlow: Pearson Education
Ltd., 2004.
HAWKING, Stephen W. A Brief History of Time. New York: Bantam
Books, 1988.
MEDAWAR, Peter B. Advice to a Young Scientist. New York: Harper and
Row, 1979.
WILSON, E. Bright. An Introduction to Scientific Research. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1952.

Further reading
HAYNES, Anthony. Writing Successful Academic Books. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2010.
KAMLER, Barbara and Pat THOMSON, P. Helping Doctoral Students
Write: Pedagogies for Supervision. Abingdon: Routledge, 2006.
KATUŠČÁK, Dušan. Ako písať vysokoškolské a kvalifikačné práce.
Bratislava: Stimul, 1998.
LUNENBURG, Fred C. and Beverly J. IRBY. Writing a Successful Thesis
or Dissertation. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2008.
MURRAY, Rowena. How to Write a Thesis. Maidenhead: Open University
Press, 2006.
RUDESTAM, Erik K. and Rae R. NEWTON. Surviving Your Dissertation.
Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2001.
SILVIA, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive
Academic Writing. Washington: APA Life Tools, 2007.
VAN LEUNEN, M.-C. A Handbook for Scholars. New York: Alfred A.
Knoph, 1978.

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CHAPTER 6 COMPOSITION OF THE TEXT

6.1 Academic speaking: Making speech stronger

Student researchers must remember that a scientific community requires

them to be well-informed about the current state of the art in the branch of
science in which they are conducting their research activities. Personal
opinions are insignificant in scientific arguments. Facts and reliable data
only count if they have been obtained from verifiable experiments and
through acceptable methodologies and if they can stand the test of the
scientific community in every aspect. References to reliable sources are key
to the success of a research project and student researchers are expected to
know how to cite different sources correctly in their speeches.
Plagiarism is a serious issue and student researchers are obliged to
avoid infringement of copyright laws. Therefore, the use of clear references
for sources is a strict requirement for them. There are, however, some
differences when we use citations in a text or when we are referring to a
source in speech. Regardless of these differences, researchers must follow
laws, regulations and codes of ethical conduct in order to avoid plagiarism.
Of course, it is important to underline the fact that copyright laws – the
protection of intellectual property – also provide protection for everybody
who creates original works including publications in scientific journals and
this is a clear benefit for every researcher. If your work is frequently cited,
this can bring not only certain financial benefits, but also puts the authors in
a prestigious position when colleagues and fellow researchers express their
appreciation and respect for their achievements and make frequent
references to their publications in their own work.

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Glossary of concepts
PLAGIARISM
The act of taking someone else’s work and using it as if it was your
own product; also, the failure to acknowledge the authorship of a physical
or legal person in any form of intellectual product.
SELF-PLAGIARISM
The repeated use of certain passages of one’s own text without clearly
marking the original source.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The non-physical property of a legal or physical person which has
come into existence through creative work and which falls under copyright
protection.
CITATION
The word-by-word quotation of a passage of a text from a source.
PARAPHRASING
A shortened version of a thought developed by an external source that
is used as a reference.
QUOTE
The act of using the exact same thoughts of an external source in one’s
own work.

Theoretical background
Citations and references can make your speech stronger and add credibility
to your arguments. The sequence of the works cited in your academic
writing can also provide your audience with information about your
approach to the investigated problem and your steps in developing and
applying the methodology of research. Moreover, in a scientific community,

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researchers must make clear to their colleagues that they are an educated
and informed member of the team by using references from the most reliable
sources and from reputable authors who have made significant contributions
to the actual state of art in the given branch of science. In addition to
demonstrating that they are well-informed, student researchers can also use
citations to give credit to fellow researchers whose work they respect and
highlight their contribution to their own research by citing them in their
speech. Thus, citations and references constitute an extremely important
part of any scientific presentation and must be formulated correctly and,
above all, be in accordance with the legal requirements in force to protect
the intellectual property of the original authors.
Speeches have oral citations which denote a verbal reference made to
a source, a piece of research, or to any other material that is protected by
copyright and which falls within the category of the intellectual property of
a physical or legal person. Citations and references made in speeches differ
from citations made in academic papers. While it is customary in the written
form to provide the reader with the name – typically only the surname – of
the author, the date of publication, and the page number, oral citations
usually provide a wider scale of information about the author cited.
When citing an author in a speech, the speaker is required to include
the full title of the work, with the full name of the author and the date when
the piece of work was published. If the author is widely known, and the
piece of work is a frequently cited book, monograph, or journal article the
reference can be shorter – the surname and the title is often sufficient. On
the other hand, when the author is less well known in the scientific
community, the reference should be more exhaustive including: the full
name of the author, his/her affiliation, their membership in scientific

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research groups, or possible awards and notable achievement, which can
add to the credibility of the cited person. If this is not possible because these
credentials are not accessible, the minimum requirement is to cite the full
name of the author and the full title of the article.
Plagiarism is a problem that not only discredits the work of any
scientist, but which can even ruin entire careers. As the growing number of
plagiarism scandals show, the problem is a permanently concern. A failure
to acknowledge that the ideas and phrases used in a publication were
obtained from the work of another physical or legal person are not
uncommon even in science and research. This is a serious breach of
copyright laws which violates the rights of the owners to protect their
intellectual property. On the other hand, “If only thoughts are duplicated,
expressed in different words, there is no breach of contract. Also, there is
no breach if it can be proved that the duplicated wordage was arrived at
independently” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015, p.n.a.).
There is however another – possibly less well-known – form of
plagiarism: self-plagiarism. Student researchers should be prudent when
using their own texts as references and must avoid ‘recycling’ texts in order
to save time, for instance. This type of plagiarism can be equally damaging.
Paraphrasing a text is not a citation but it can nonetheless constitute a
breach of copyright laws and can be considered as plagiarism when applied
incorrectly. Scientists usually paraphrase other sources to shorten and
clarify information gained from the given sources. Paraphrasing must also
be highlighted in oral presentations in a similar manner to that of citations
and the reference to the external sources must be clear and straightforward.

92
 In oral presentations, it is also possible to explicitly mark the beginning
and the end of a cited sentence. Some speakers do it by adding the word
quote before the cited sentence and the word unquote or close quote at the
end of the citation. However, this type of citation does not sound natural and
is not preferred by many speakers. The webpage of Worcester Polytechnic
Institute suggests “Do not say, “quote, unquote” when you offer a direct
quotation. Use brief pauses instead” (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2020,
p.n.a.).
Scientists sometimes use copyrighted material such as videos,
recordings or other multimedia products in their analyses or presentations.
When doing so, presenters must provide a full citation. The presenter should
also ask for the permission of the copyright owner.
The bottom line is that the basic requirement for any presenter is to
provide sufficient information about the source of the citation for the
audience so that they will be able to find it easily and reliably. A second
requirement is that the audience must be provided with background
information about a source which may be unknown to them. In a scientific
presentation we generally start with qualifications of the source and
continue with his/her surname.
One can conclude that citing and paraphrasing are a sensitive and
highly important part of scientific presentations. When correctly applied,
citations can add credibility to your work and provide your audience with
the necessary information to understand your work, approach, and
methodology. Paraphrasing can also contribute to the clarity and logical
coherence of your speech.

93
Language study
Quoting and referencing require specialized vocabulary. Study the
following examples carefully.

1. Translate and write example sentences with the following

expressions: as … points out, as … notes, as … states, as … remarks, …
observes that, … argues that, … claims that, according to …, in the words
of…

2. Study the following examples and select the words that are
synonyms of the expression conclude
deduce, reduce, infer, comment, judge, believe, assume, intend,
presume, suppose.

3. We can also make references using a series of expressions. Analyse

the following expressions and try to create examples of sentences with them.
We use the following expressions to refer to an earlier part of the speech:
the above…, the previous …, the preceding part, as was mentioned
earlier, as has been seen/demonstrated.
We use the following expressions to refer to a later part of the speech:
the following example, as follows, there follows, as we shall see

4. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech, and therefore
your speech should be between 390 and 650 words.

94
Sample speech:

GOD AND EVOLUTION

God – the word has been used for centuries to describe a conscious entity
that exists simultaneously beyond and within the physical world. God has
an endless number of attributes; he is omnipresent, omnipotent, and
eternally good in the western cultural realm. The goodness of God is
manifested in the creation – bringing the entire visible and invisible world
into existence. The objective of this presentation is to offer a possible
explanation of how creation and evolution – two seemingly mutually
exclusive concepts – can coexist and complement our understanding of
reality.
Contemporary cosmology accepts that our universe came into
existence 13.8 billion years ago during a physical process which – in a
greatly simplified way – is named the Big Bang. This model suggests that
the whole universe expanded from a single extremely dense and hot
concentration of all matter and energy at a huge speed (Gamow, 1952).
A second powerful scientific theory in biology – the theory of evolution
– postulates that all living organisms on Earth today “have their origin in
other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to
modifications in successive generations” (Encyclopædia Britannica,
2015, p.n.a.). These models offer scientifically well-grounded
explanations for a wide range of phenomena which are observable in the
universe and on Earth but cannot provide any answer to the question of
why it happened.
Let us assume and allow for a second that God exists. The
fundamental characteristic of God would be perfectness. This means that
God alone contains and represents everything – i.e., every possible aspect
of existence. The Biblical phrase ‘I am that I am’ expresses this essential
state. The controversial consequence of such an existence is that God
must necessarily be alone because an eternal and perfect entity contains
and represents everything possible. Thus, God does not experience his
own existence as an objective reality because for that he would need to
see himself from outside his own boundaries – which, once again, do not
exist. God’s desire to experience himself is manifested in creation.
God is eternal, limitless, and endless. This, however, is not possible
to claim about the physical world with absolute certainty. In a recent
study, Planck evidence for a closed Universe and a possible crisis for
cosmology published in 2019 in the Nature Astronomy magazine by
Eleonora Di Valentino, Alessandro Melichiorri, and Joseph Silk, the
scientists suggest that the universe might be finite (Di Valentino,
Melchiorri and Silk, 2019). In such a cosmos, evolution is not
contradictory to creation but is instead a necessity. The infinite God, who
contains every possibility of existence is infinitely greater than a universe

95
 which is vast but finite. The interaction between the infinite God and the
finite universe – in which God continuously manifests himself –
necessarily leads to evolution because matter must continuously
transform from one organization into another one to reflect the different
attributes of its creator. In order to transform from one type of
organization to the next one, matter needs time. If we accept this
argument, we can also admit that evolution is not only an adaptation to
changing physical circumstances, but also a targeted process towards a
goal – to achieve a new, different organization of matter that is capable
of reflecting different attributes of the creator.
In summary, scientific theories are powerful tools in understanding
the natural processes that have led to the existence of the present state of
reality. They are unable, however, to provide satisfactory answers to the
question why our world came into existence. If we assume the existence
of a creator who created the universe to reflect to himself and to
experience all possible manifestations of his perfectness, we can obtain a
more comprehensible explanation of existence and reality.

Works cited
Citing Sources. [online]. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. [cit. 2020.10.26].
Available from: <https://libguides.wpi.edu/citingsources/speeches>.
DI VALENTINO, Eleonora, MELCHIORRI, Alessandro and Joseph SILK.
Planck Evidence for a Closed Universe and a Possible Crisis for
Cosmology. In Nature Astronomy. 2019, pp. 196-203.
Evolution. In Encyclopædia Britannica. [online]. Ultimate Reference Suite.
Chicago, 2015. [cit. 2020.12.22]. Available from:
<https://www.britannica.com/>.
GAMOW, George. The Creation of the Universe. New York: Viking Press,
1952.
Plagiarism. In Encyclopædia Britannica. [online]. Ultimate Reference
Suite. Chicago, 2015. [cit. 2020.12.22]. Available from:
<https://www.britannica.com/>.

96
Further reading
ACZEL, Amir D. Why Science Does Not Disprove God. New York: Harper
Collins, 2014.
CLAYTON, Philip. God and Contemporary Science. Edinburgh: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing, 1997.
CLAYTON, Philip. Religion and Science: The Basics. Abingdon and New
York: Routledge, 2013.
DOWD, Michael. Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science
and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World. Ottawa: Penguin,
2008.
PHILIPSE, Herman. God in the Age of Science?: A Critique of Religious
Reason. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

97
6.2 Academic writing: Citing and paraphrasing

“Therefore, practically speaking, there are two kinds of quotes:

(a) quotes from a text that you will interpret;
(b) quotes from a text that you will use
to support your interpretation.
It is difficult to say abstractly whether
you should quote abundantly or sparingly.
It depends on the type of thesis you are writing.
A critical analysis of a writer obviously requires that
large passages of his works be quoted and analyzed.
In other cases, a quote can be a manifestation of laziness,
for example if the candidate is unwilling or unable
to summarize a collection of data and
prefers to let someone else do it for him.”
Umberto Eco

Research and academic writing that documents the investigation relies to a

great extent on the study, critical assessment, use and acknowledgement of
already existing ideas, theories, methods, techniques, data, results or
outcomes that have already been discovered and published.
The use of whole texts or their parts of texts produced by other authors
must follow rules that respect the principles of academic integrity and
academic honesty. Ignorance of these rules, whether intentional or caused
by an irresponsible approach, can result in accusations of plagiarism.
Every author documenting his/her research in any genre of academic
writing has to acknowledge the use of other authors’ work and include
complete information about the works used in their lists of works cited (or
referenced) or in their bibliographies.

98
Glossary of concepts
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The authors of the academic writing rules produced for the Writing
Centre of the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill define academic
integrity as “the commitment to and demonstration of honest and moral
behavior in an academic setting. This is most relevant at the university level
as it relates to providing credit to other people when using their ideas. In
simplest terms, it requires acknowledging the contributions of other people.
Failure to provide such acknowledgement is considered plagiarism
(https://writingcenter.unc. edu/esl/resources/academic-integrity/).
ACADEMIC MODESTY
There are two essential elements of academic modesty: 1. An author’s
academic work should be praised (described as useful, interesting, valuable)
by readers not by the author themselves; 2. The author of an academic text
should understand and acknowledge the limitations of their work.

Theoretical background
Quoting and paraphrasing other sources is a common and indispensable
practice in academia in both spoken forms of research reporting and in
academic writing genres. In both modes it is necessary to acknowledge these
‘intellectual borrowings’ and for the author to be academically honest.
Respecting elementary ethical principles in academic work is one of
the signs of personal and intellectual maturity. Any failure to respect
research ethics is a serious offence. In many countries this is considered an
act of unethical and even unlawful behaviour and may result in serious
consequences, not only at academic level through, for example, fail grades
in coursework, disqualification or expulsion, but it can also become a legal

99
issue when identified as a copyright infringement.
Quoting and paraphrasing other authors’ ideas and their
acknowledgement increase an author’s credibility and the trustworthiness
of their claims. Supporting one’s own statements with similar research
outcomes or probing these outcomes serves as a proof of the author’s
familiarity with the research field, their existing knowledge and ability to
assess and evaluate existing theories, data or results. Ignorance of other
scholars’ existing works may cause damage to an author’s credibility.
The practice of quoting and paraphrasing other sources is also
beneficial for potential readers of academic works. Researchers are
constantly searching for new relevant sources and finding them assessed
and placed into the context of new research makes the research and its
documentation very useful for readers.
There are three basic ways of using other authors’ ideas, and they have
already been mentioned several times in the text above. Citation or
quotation is the word-by-word copying of an original text with the purpose
of documenting the information, idea or data before it is scrutinised. Any,
modification of the original text, however minor, for example, added
emphasis, changes in capitalisation or corrected mistakes, must be properly
marked in the quotation in order to make the changes apparent to the reader.
The modifications are usually made through the use of symbols, e.g. [],
italics, phrase ‘emphasis by the author’, etc.
Paraphrasing is the technique of expressing the meaning of the original
text using different words; i.e., the words of the author of academic writing
genre. The purpose of a paraphrase is to simplify the idea, to make it clearer,
or to adopt it for a different purpose than that for which it was originally
intended.

100
 There are two main types of paraphrasing. The first is the paraphrasing
of a relatively short section of an original text. An author takes an original
idea of a couple of lines of the original text and transfers it into their own
words. The second type of paraphrasing is paraphrasing by summarisation.
In this process the author summarises a larger portion, often of several
pages, of the original text and provides a short account of the ideas
contained in the text.
The rules for the limits of quotations in a text vary widely depending
on the genre of an academic writing as well as the specific rules of the
publisher. In general terms, it is more acceptable to include more
paraphrases than to flood the text with extensive citations. Moreover, the
ability to paraphrase not only proves that the author has an understanding
of the original text, but also demonstrates the author’s academic skills in
analysis and synthesis.
All three types of intellectual borrowings contribute to a composition
of an academic text and in English-speaking academia, the use of a wide
range of primary and secondary sources is an essential requirement.
Citations and paraphrases are typically more frequently used in the literature
survey and methodological sections of a thesis than in the analytical part.
As was stated above, any failure to acknowledge the use of the work
or ideas of other authors’ qualifies as plagiarism. The origin of the word
‘plagiarism’ goes back to the Latin word ‘plagiarius’ which means
‘kidnapper’ (Gibaldi, 2004, p. 26).
Plagiarism is easily detected by either reviewers, proof-readers,
editors, or by computer software designed and used for this very purpose.
Authors of theses often do not realise that academic writing in a foreign
language makes plagiarism much more easily detectable.

101
 There are several degrees or types of plagiarism (cf. Perez Canado and
Pennock-Speck, 2015, p. 48):
1. Word for word plagiarism – the reproduction of an original text or a
quotation without acknowledgement of the source.
2. Mosaic plagiarism – the modified reproduction of an original text in
which some parts of the text are kept in the original form and some parts are
replaced with different words.
3. Plagiarism by paraphrase – the paraphrase of an original text without
acknowledgement of the original.
4. Substantial paraphrasing with some of the sources unacknowledged.
5. Use of an author’s previously published text without
acknowledgement of the previous publication, also termed self-plagiarism.

Academic writing mechanics

Intellectual borrowings – citations or quotations and paraphrases should
become an integral part of the body of the text and their location in the text
is thus guided by the function which they perform in the text, for instance,
proving an author’s statement or providing an opposite opinion. The
justification for their inclusion in the text is usually provided as an
introduction and their purpose or functions are discussed subsequently.
Consequently, the text of a quotation or a paraphrase does not stand on its
own separated from the rest of the text. Moreover, their presence has to be
marked in the text and the source has to be included in the list of works
cited, i.e., a list of references and/or in the bibliography.
A short citation, also called an in-text citation, is usually shorter than
three lines and is placed in the body of the text, marked by double inverted

102
commas and followed by a reference in round brackets containing the
author’s surname, year of publication and the relevant page number.
Longer quotations, so called indented quotations, are separated from
the rest of the text by one line at the top and at the bottom, indented, in a
smaller font; this type of quotation is not typically marked by double
quotation marks, but they are followed by the same referencing format used
for short citations.
Paraphrases are always placed into the text; they are never indented
and their beginning has to be marked by an introductory text. Their end is
marked by a reference in round brackets with the surname of the author,
year of publication and, in relevant cases, a page number.
A complete reference, or full bibliographical information, has to be
provided in the list of works cited (list of references, references) or
bibliography or both. It is also possible to include complete references into
footnotes and more often into endnotes although this is not a common
practice for theses.
Several standard referencing systems are used, the most common of
which are the Harvard System (author-date system), Modern Language
Association of America (MLA System), American Psychological
Association (APA System), Modern Humanities Research Association
(MHRA System) and the Chicago System. Many publishing houses and
universities have their own referencing systems, while others have adopted
one of the above listed standard systems. Referencing systems not only
contain rules about references but also about technical issues of text editing,
such as typographical specifications and other aspects of text formatting.
The bibliography in a thesis is usually divided into two sections, the
primary sources and the secondary sources. Some academic writing genres

103
may require an annotated bibliography that contains of all standard
bibliographic information but also provides short descriptions, summaries
or evaluations.

Study questions
1. In the text quoted from Eco at the beginning of this sub-chapter
identify the types of quotations he describes and match them with the
characteristics of quotations provided in the Theoretical Background section
above. Which of the quotations do you expect to use most in your own thesis
writing? Discuss Eco’s criticism of the purposes of quoting.
2. Find documents issued by the university where you study that are
related to academic integrity. Compare them with similar documents found
on websites of American or British universities.
3. Identify the referencing style which your own university requires for
theses. Do they require one of the standard referencing styles or it is a
specific university publishing house style? Are any requirements set for the
formatting of the thesis? Find a template for the formatting of the thesis.

Works cited
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.
GIBALDI, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New
Delhi: Affiliated East-West Press, 2004.
PEREZ CANADO, Maria Luisa and Barry PENNOCK-SPECK (eds.).
Writing and Presenting a Dissertation on Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
and Culture Studies for Undergraduates and Graduates in Spain. Valencia:
Universitat de Valencia, 2015.

104
Further reading
BLOCH, Joel. Plagiarism, Intellectual Property and the Teaching of L2
Writing. Buffalo: Multilingual Matters, 2012.
CARROLL, Jude. A Handbook for Deterring Plagiarism in Higher
Education. Oxford: Centre for Staff and Learning Development, 2007.
HARVEY, Gordon. Writing with Sources: A Guide for Harvard Students.
Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 2008.
LIPSON, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College. Chicago and London:
University of Chicago Press, 2008.
MLA Formatting and Style Guide [online]. Purdue University Online
Writing Lab (OWL), Purdue University, USA. 2009. [cit. 2020.11.15].
Available from: <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01>.
PECORARI, Diane. Academic Writing and Plagiarism: A Linguistic
Analysis. London and New York: Continuum, 2008.
ROBERTS, Tim S. (ed.). Student Plagiarism in an Online World. Hersey
and New York: Information Sciences Reference, 2008.
SHAPIRO, Fred R. and Joseph EPSTEIN. The Yale Book of Quotations.
Yale: Yale University Press, 2006.
SUTHERLAND-SMITH, Wendy. Plagiarism, the Internet, and Student
Learning. London and New York: Routledge, 2008.
TRIMMER, Joseph F. A Guide to MLA Documentation. Boston and
Toronto: Houghton Miffin Company, 1996.

105
CHAPTER 7 DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION

7.1 Academic speaking: Why does style matter?

Academic speaking is very similar to academic writing in style, and

academic style therefore has specific recognizable features that should also
be followed in spoken formats. Student researchers should recognize these
features and be able to use them when developing their own speeches.
Academic speaking differs from everyday communication through its
emphasis on the precise use of technical terms. Academic discussions take
place in a formal setting and speakers are required to adjust their style,
primarily the choice of vocabulary, to the situation. As with academic
papers, academic presentations also concentrate on one central topic and
usually discuss one precisely defined problem. Scientists work with data
and use rigorous methods for argumentation in their presentations which
means that they are fully responsible for what they say and how they say it.
It is always the speaker’s responsibility to present information
coherently, to provide satisfactory arguments for the audience to support his
or her claims and to provide evidence and justification. Academic style is
one of the most rigorous styles used for presentations and as such provides
little room for creativity. Its main objective is the effective and reliable
communication of information to the scientific community.

Glossary of concepts
STYLE
The distinctive manner in which a specific speech is performed. In our
case it is not the method of delivery, but rather the quality of the speech act.

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 FORMALITY
The choice of grammar patterns and vocabulary determines the level
of formality of any speech act.
WORDINESS
A stylistic error when too many words are used to express something,
often resulting in repetition.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
A special set of vocabulary specifically used in academic papers and
academic speeches that contains a lot of very formal and technical terms.
CORPUS
A large collection or database of texts which can be analysed by special
software to discover or validate linguistic rules.
HEDGE
A technique of using words that protect the speaker from the need to
acknowledge or commit to a certain assumption or inference.

Theoretical background
In this chapter, certain features of academic spoken English are discussed
in detail. Student researchers are required to recognize these stylistic
features and incorporate them into their speeches in order to meet academic
style requirements.
Spoken academic language is characterized by a high level of
formality. Even though the style of spoken language is not as rigid as that
of written language, speakers are required to avoid colloquial expressions
and phrasal verbs. Formal speeches are characterized by more carefully
chosen grammatical structures and a conservative selection of vocabulary.
As far as grammar is concerned one distinctive feature of formal speeches

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is the use of the passive voice. The passive voice is primarily used to avoid
speaking about the actor in the sentence when the actor is either irrelevant
or unknown. When a speaker makes a statement which is considered as
generally true, the passive voice also can be used. The passive voice is very
commonly used in the section of a scientific speech termed as lab reports,
primarily in the Materials and Methods section (remember IMRaD), to
describe processes. It is, however, always the responsibility of the presenter
to choose the appropriate grammar and it is advisable to avoid the use of the
passive voice if it might result in ambiguities.
When information about who is responsible for something is required,
the passive voice should be avoided. Wordiness can also be a problem when
a speaker uses the passive voice too frequently during the presentation.
Sometimes less is more and student researchers should remember that,
however much the passive voice might be preferred in academic style, the
use of the active voice is not forbidden.
In addition to grammar, the choice of vocabulary is the second factor
that determines style. As has already been emphasized above, academic
style requires the use of formal words and within this domain a special
subgroup also exists: academic vocabulary. Corpus analysis and large-scale
data processing technology allowed researchers to build databases of
expressions which are excessively used in scientific communication. These
word lists can be extremely useful in developing academic papers as well
as for improving academic speeches because they offer the overwhelming
majority of expressions that regularly appear in academic papers.
Academic presentations – such as academic discussions – are often
hedged. This means that the speakers use caution when selecting
expressions. A hedge – used as a noun – is a cautious, vague, or evasive

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statement, while the verb, ‘to hedge’, means that the speaker is unwilling or
unable to give a clear and open answer to a specific question. When speakers
are hedging, they are trying to avoid committing themselves to a concrete
decision, action or confirmation. They can do this for various reasons; for
example, to avoid unpleasant conclusions, to downplay some negative
statement, or to signal that they disagree with certain suggestions. It is also
applied when the speaker is hesitant or uncertain about something.
A further difference between written and spoken language is their level
of complexity. Academic articles are often long, complicated texts packed
with professional terms used in formal constructions. Although academic
speech also requires a certain degree of formality, it is not comparable with
academic writing in terms of the complexity of its sentences. One reason for
this is that whereas a written text is always available for re-reading, a speech
is transitory. The audience should be able to grasp the message immediately.
Spoken language also provides the listener with extra information in the
case of a scientific presentation because the gestures, the body language, the
pitch of the voice of the speaker, or such elements as intonation stress and
rhythm can reveal a lot about the intentions or stance of the presenter.
Academic speeches are not improvised performances. Speakers
prepare the speech beforehand and a text that is prepared for an academic
article is often not too different from a text which is used for presenting the
same article before an audience. Because these speeches are distinct from
everyday speaking style, they should be rehearsed several times before the
presentation itself; some speakers even choose to memorize their speeches.
If time allows, learning the speech by heart is also a good idea for student
researchers as it has certain advantages: it makes the speaker more confident
and can help to manage stress before the actual performance; it also helps

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student scientists to acquire scientific terminology and academic words
more quickly. It is true that the memorization of a text has some drawbacks
too. It is almost certain that the actual delivery of the speech will cause stress
and in certain situations it can block the speaker’s memory. A blackout can
only be overcome when the speaker is creative and flexible and is able to
overcome the tension which arises from the stressful situation.
Academic speeches are organized performances, and if the speaker is
aware of the stylistic requirements of the different academic papers, the
logic of the presentation is easily acquired. Fortanet suggests a classification
of spoken academic discourses: classroom genres, institutional genres, and
research genres. Research genres can also be divided into two subgroups:
conference genres and other research genres (Fortanet, 2005). Classroom
genres can be further classified according to their purpose as: lectures,
seminars, tutorial interviews, students’ presentations and oral exams.
Institutional genres include speeches which are performed at celebrations
and formal events during the academic year: academic year opening
lectures, commencement addresses, Honoris Causa speeches, prize
acceptance speeches, President’s or Rector’s addresses to the faculty or
memorial services for recently departed professors. Finally, conference
genres include plenary lectures, paper presentations, poster presentations,
workshops and research meetings. Research genres also include PhD.
defences, Master thesis presentations and research projects.

Language study
1. In the following list, mark the expressions that mean agreeing:
share somebody’s concern, take issue with, subscribe to a view,
dispute, is of the same opinion, concur.

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 2. Collect synonyms for the word disagree.

3. The following list is a collection of words and expressions that are

used to give opinions. Use the expressions and create examples of sentences
using them: in my view, it seems to me that, I believe that, I am of the opinion
that, I take the view that, we hold the same opinion, for me…, as far as I am
concerned, from my point of view.

4. When speakers are certain of something, they can use one of the
following expressions: I am certain/ sure/ convinced/ confident/ satisfied…,
I have no doubt, I am in no doubt that…, without a doubt, there is no doubt
that, certainly/undoubtedly, most certainly

5. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech, and therefore
your speech should be between 390 to 650 words.

Example speech:

MORALS, LAW, FREEDOM AND JUSTICE

Let us talk about freedom and morals for a while. One might claim that
these two concepts are contradictory and, in some cases, even mutually
exclusive. In my talk, I would like to demonstrate that they are rather
complementary and can only exist together.
Firstly, we need to clarify our definition of freedom. Freedom or
individual liberty can be described as the condition of a person in which
he or she can act without the control of another person, group of people,
or any other real or imaginary authority. This is an idealized state and
complete, unlimited freedom of the individual would only be possible if
one could exist outside society – completely isolated from the world.
I will argue that personal freedom is always the result of a
negotiation between a person and the society in which the person lives.
Control mechanisms – either external, in the form of laws and
regulations, or internal, in the form of moral codes of conduct – are not

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only always present but are necessary for the peaceful coexistence of
members of any group.
Let us perform a simple thought experiment by imagining a society
in which there are absolutely no control mechanisms; neither external
legal regulations or laws nor internal ethical norms. A similar society
would likely end up in anarchy. Because of the complete lack of external
control, anarchy might look tempting, but in a world of limited resources
competition among the members will result in certain members of the
group being unable to access and accumulate resources by applying brute
force or power alliances. Thus, anarchy will inevitably lead to tyranny
and the oppression of those who are weaker or who are left out from
alliances. The non-violent coexistence of individuals in such a society
would only be possible if the individuals were able to make unselfish
decisions and if resources were unlimited.
Now, let us imagine a society in which external control of the
individuals is almost complete and is exercised over every aspect of a
person’s life. This type of society is termed totalitarian. Control is
exercised by a (minority) group – political, religious, ethnic, social,
financial, etc. – which develops institutions to maintain their control. The
members of this society are required to obey the rules dictated by the
ruling minority in exchange for the means they need for survival.
From the two examples, we see that personal freedom can be
exercised only to a certain degree and is limited by two factors: 1)
external control manifested in law, and 2) internal control manifested in
moral and ethical codes. The actual level of external and internal control
in a society is the result of a continuous negotiation between the
individual and the members of that given society and is always an
‘unfinished project’. Law is a codified set of rules which is rooted in
constitutions. Democratic constitutions acknowledge human rights and
dignity and apply ethical norms developed on the basis of historical
experiences. Throughout law, societies define those areas in which the
individuals subordinate themselves to external control in order to achieve
peaceful coexistence among the members of the society.
Ethical and moral norms are manifold and many of them are
unwritten codes of conduct which are, nonetheless, equally important in
managing coexistence. Norms change over time and the norms accepted
in one culture often greatly differ from those accepted in a different
culture. They are manifested in etiquette, religious traditions and rituals
just to name a few.
In conclusion, we can see that codified law and ethical norms are
equally important for the coexistence of individuals in a society. In their
absence, freedom cannot be maintained because the lack of external
control and moral rules inevitably leads to anarchy in which the powerful
few oppress the weaker. Too much external control leads to the tyranny
of a minority over the majority which is also unacceptable.

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Works cited
FORTANET, Immaculada. Honoris Causa Speeches: An Approach to
Structure. Discourse Studies. In SAGE Journal, 2005: pp. 31-51.

Further reading
BLOKLAND, Hans. Freedom and Culture in Western Society. Abingdon
and New York: Routledge, 2019.
KUKATHAS, Chandran. The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity
and Freedom: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom. Oxford and New York:
Oxford University Press, 2003.
OKSALA, Johanna. Foucault on Freedom. Cambridge, New York,
Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore and Sao Paolo: Cambridge
University Press, 2005.
STANLEY, Benn I. A Theory of Freedom. Cambridge, New York, Port
Chester, Melbourne and Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

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7.2 Academic writing: Why does academic style matter?

“But the language of the thesis is a metalanguage,

that is, a language that speaks of other languages.”
Umberto Eco

The language of academic writing is a constituent element of academic

discourse. The research procedures and outcomes are conveyed and
documented through an academic style that may differ across various
genres. However, all genres of academic writing follow the same
elementary rules and they share the same basic characteristics.
Academic writing genres communicate scientific knowledge and, as
such, they use the language of this knowledge. Both authors and their
readers share the same communication framework including the content of
the academic field and the language used within it.
Theses, and doctoral dissertations in particular, together with scientific
journal articles represent the most rigorous genres of academic writing
through which researchers publish their investigation results. The rules of
academic writing applied in them are thus much stricter than those of other
academic writing genres.

Glossary of concepts
ACADEMIC DISCOURSE
According to Patterson and Weideman “[a]cademic discourse, which
is historically grounded, includes all lingual activities associated with
academia, the output of research being perhaps the most important. The
typicality of academic discourse is derived from the (unique) distinction-
making activity which is associated with the analytical or logical mode of
experience” (Patterson and Weideman, 2013, p. 107).

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 ARGUMENT
An exchange of opposite opinions that usually contains a series of
statements. One of the four elementary rhetorical modes.
DESCRIPTION
A spoken or written explanation of event, object, phenomenon. It is a
pattern of narrative development the aim of which is to make the
phenomenon ‘colourful.’ One of the four elementary rhetorical modes.
EXPOSITION
A comprehensive description and explanation of an object, process,
event, idea or theory. It provides not only elementary but also background
information about the context. One of the four elementary rhetorical modes.
NARRATION
The process of telling or writing a story to an audience with the purpose
to convey information in a story to recipients. One of the four elementary
rhetorical modes.
REGISTER
Register is defined as a utilisation of language in a particular
communicative situation. It is a variety of language used to serve a specific
purpose. The level of formality is an aspect of discourse that plays an
important role in written communication in particular.

Theoretical background
The discourse of academic writing reflects the ways of thinking shared by
its participants, for example, researchers and students; it represents their
experience in the field of study and stipulates the use of a particular register.
The institutional character of academia, and the research identity of its
participants are incorporated in this discourse and its formality.

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 Research discourse conventions are reflected in the register of
academic writing genres that serve not only as a means of documenting an
investigation and its outcomes and their publication, but also as granting
recognition to the researchers within academia.
According to Weideman, the discourse of academic writing and its
register represent complex phenomena that serve various functions. The
main tasks of academic discourse are to expose, clarify and conclude and
for these functions the register is required to define, explain, classify,
compare, contrast, agree, disagree, illustrate, elaborate, claim, infer, imply,
exemplify and anticipate. (Weideman, 2018).
There are four elementary modes of the academic discourse, those of
narration, description, exposition and argument. The common element of
these modes is the position of the author who is located in the background,
with the dominant position in the discourse being occupied by ‘ideas’ such
as data, information, evidence, processes and results. The author is an
invisible actor who reads, selects, collects, proposes, claims, supports and
presents the information, but his/her identity remains hidden.
Academic writing mirrors this hidden background position of the
author in an elitist, authoritative, impersonal, strictly formal, technical,
objective, tentative and unemotional register.
1
Academic writing mechanics
The elementary characteristics of an academic writing style as being elitist,
authoritative, impersonal, strictly formal, technical, objective, tentative and
unemotional are manifested in the usage (or rather non-usage) of certain
aspects of language.

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 The identity of the author remains uncovered because characteristics
and elements of his/her personal identity, such as age, gender, class,
ethnicity, religious identity, ideological affiliation, and many other are not
presented in either the content or the form (for example, the use of
politically correct language or gender-neutral expression).
The requirement for an objective and impersonal style forbids the use
of personal pronouns, such as I, me, my, we, us, our, expressions like ‘I
think’, ‘we live’, and forces authors to employ the third person and the
passive voice in their sentences. This style is also typically marked by the
use of formal vocabulary with a large proportion of technical and
specialised terminology and words of Greek and Latin origin.
A high level of formality is also achieved through the usage of complex
instead of simple sentences, formal grammar, a reduction in the use of
auxiliary verbs and phrasal verbs, and the transformation of direct questions
to indirect ones (with the exception of research questions that are usually
formulated as direct questions).
Colloquial and idiomatic expressions, metaphors, slang and informal,
emotionally-loaded vocabulary such as superlatives, value judgements,
rhetorical questions, and also contracted forms (can’t, aren’t, etc.) are
strictly forbidden.
The tentativeness of the academic writing style is indicated by the use
of specific phrases such as ‘it is suggested’, ‘it is believed’, ‘one expects’,
‘the data show’, ‘this seems to be the case’, ‘it appears to be’, or ‘this is
likely to lead to conclusions’, all of which convey a certain degree of
objectivity. Adverbs such as ‘possibly’ or ‘probably’ and modal verbs such
as ‘may’ or ‘might’ also serve the same function.

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 Torrance and Galbraith (2006) summarise the functions which every
author of a thesis performs during the academic writing process.
1. Monitoring the thematic coherence of the text
2. Searching for and retrieving relevant content
3. Identifying lexical items associated with this content
4. Formulating syntactic structures
5. Inflecting words to give them the necessary morphology
6. Monitoring for appropriate register
7. Ensuring that the intended new text is tied into the immediately
preceding text in a way that maintains cohesion
8. Formulating and executing motor plans for keystrokes that will form
the text on screen
9. Establishing the extent to which the newly-generated clause or
sentence moves the text as a whole nearer the intended goal
10. Revising goals in the light of new ideas cued by the newly-
produced text.

Study questions
1. In the text below, Eco criticises the lack of knowledge of academic
writing style rules. Discuss his arguments. Is your own knowledge of
academic writing register sufficient for writing your thesis?
You are not e. e. cummings. Cummings was an American avant-garde
poet who is known for having signed his name with lower-case initials.
Naturally he used commas and periods with great thriftiness, he broke his
lines into small pieces, and in short he did all the things that an avant-
garde poet can and should do. But you are not an avant-garde poet. Not
even if your thesis is on avant-garde poetry. If you write a thesis on
Caravaggio, are you then a painter? And if you write a thesis on the style
of the futurists, please do not write as a futurist writes. This is important
advice because nowadays many tend to write ‘alternative’ theses, in
which the rules of critical discourse are not respected.
(Eco, 2015, p. 150)

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 2. Prepare a short, one standard A4 page-long text in which you apply
all four elementary rhetorical modes – argument, description, exposition
and narration. Use one of the elements of your thesis research topic as the
subject of your text. Try to apply the proper register.

Works cited
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.
PATTERSON, Rebecca and Albert WEIDEMAN. The Typicality of
Academic Discourse and its Relevance for Constructs of Academic
Literacy. In Journal for Language Teaching, 2013, 47(1): pp. 107-123.
TORRANCE, Mark and David GALBRAITH, D. The Processing Demands
of Writing. In MACARTHUR, C. A, GRAHAM, S. and J. FITZGERALD
(eds.). Handbook of Writing Research. New York: The Guilford Press,
2006, pp. 67-80.
WEIDEMAN, Albert. Academic Literacy: Why is it Important? In
Introduction to Academic Literacy: Five New Tests. Bloemfontein:
Geronimo, 2018, pp. iii-x.

Further reading
CHO, Kwangsu, SCHUNN, Christian D. and Davida CHARNEY.
Commenting on Writing: Typology and Perceived Helpfulness of
Comments from Novice Peer Reviewers and Subject Matter Experts. In
Written Communication, 2006, 23(3): pp. 260-294.
OSHIMA, Alice and Ann HOGUE. Introduction to Academic Writing. New
York: Pearson Education Inc., 2007.

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CHAPTER 8 RESEARCH NARRATIVES

8.1 Academic speaking: ‘Victory loves preparation’

By now, a series of requirements placed on academic speakers we have

discussed. Fundamentally, there are three main stages that speakers must go
through when preparing for their public performance: preparation,
organization and development.
The main objective of this chapter can be summarised by the Latin
proverb “Amat Victoria Curam” (“victory loves preparation”); it is crucial
for every student researcher to invest sufficient time and effort in
preparation. In this chapter, we will summarise some significant ideas that
can boost the preparation process and help inexperienced speakers develop
their first speech more effectively. Ideas related to planning, topic selection,
and research are discussed in detail. Since scientific speeches and
discussions take place in a scientific community and their expectations have
already been discussed in the previous chapter, there is no special effort
invested in audience analysis, a process which many authors (Sprague and
Stuart, 2008) argue is an essential part of preparation.
The main focus is placed on genres which are part of everyday
academic discourse: student researchers’ presentations in seminars, oral
exams, paper- or poster presentations, small-scale research projects, and the
defence of Bachelor or Master theses (Fortanet, 2005).

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Glossary of concepts
PROCRASTINATION
The deliberate and useless postponement of an activity or task because
of overestimating efficiency vis-à-vis the available time.
TIME MANAGEMENT
A technique used to carefully plan the available amount of time in
relation to the tasks that must be fulfilled within a deadline.
BASIC OUTLINE
The first working version of a speech which only shows the rough
structure and the elementary orientation points.
THESIS STATEMENT
The main sentence in a speech which marks the main direction of the
investigation and a concise summary of the main idea.
CLINCHER
A memorable sentence which is used to close speeches and which is
designed to ‘resonate’ in the mind of the audience.

Theoretical background
Success is not only a great and uplifting feeling but also encourages us to
invest more and more time in an activity that brings success and satisfaction.
The amount of time we invest in preparing our speech is a sure indicator of
possible success in academic speaking too. Procrastination – the delaying
or postponing of a task – is a sure fire way to failure. Student researchers
must realize that preparation for a good speech takes much more time than
the actual delivery of the speech. A scientific paper presentation can last
from a few minutes to one hour, but the process of preparing a speech in a
deliverable form will undoubtedly take as long as a few days if not weeks.

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Therefore, first and foremost, careful time management is required from
student researchers.
There is a lot to do before a presenter can actually stand up in front of
his or her audience. Selecting a topic – when it is not explicitly prescribed
in the course – can be a long process itself and may be preceded by a wide
range of time-consuming reading about the given subject area. This time is
not wasted, however, as much of the collected information can be used and
built into the speech later but one day is rarely sufficient to obtain a concise
overview of anything scientific. Therefore, desktop research and visiting
libraries can consume two or three days for even a five minute speech.
There is not a single piece of work which cannot be updated, improved,
altered or completed in some way. One of the most frequent problems
student researchers make is that they waste too much time on the different
steps of the preparation just to make sure that they will be able to read the
most up-to-date and best available sources. It is important to have sufficient
data and not all data for preparing the speech. It is better to have some
usable visual aid than the best image. Student researchers can avoid making
this mistake by setting up some internal deadlines for finalizing the
necessary incremental steps.
Writing a basic outline for a speech is not a one-step activity, but rather
a lengthy process which requires continuous re-reading and re-writing of
the speech. What may seem to be good in written form is not necessarily
equally good in spoken form. Constant revision and repeated evaluations of
what has already been accomplished is as necessary as the rehearsal of the
final speech. The following section is a summary of the basic steps that are
included in the preparation process (based on Sprague and Stuart, 2008, p.
66):

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 The initial decision includes the selection of the general topic, which
is followed by narrowing the scope and determining the focal point of the
speech. This stage also includes determining the purpose of the speech; it to
inform, analyse or persuade? The most important step here is the framing of
thesis statement.
Research does not start but instead culminates in the second phase.
Some preliminary research is necessary during the initial decision-making
phase, but the literature review and collection of sources takes place in the
second phase. Always remember that careful note taking is essential
throughout the entire process in order to develop a solid theoretical
framework and scientific foundation for your argumentation. You are also
required to persuade the audience that you are fully informed about the state
of the art in the given field.
In the following step, you should develop the basic outline of the
speech. Write down the main points and collect supporting sentences for
them. If necessary, prepare your visual aids and adjust the presentation with
the outline.
Finally, rehearse the speech. Often, we do not have a partner to
evaluate our performance, but we can overcome this obstacle by making
sound or video recordings. Carefully observe the videos and try to identify
and eliminate your mistakes. One important issue for speakers whose first
language is not English is to check your pronunciation carefully.
Surprisingly, the majority of your time will be invested in the research
and the development phases, because you must be absolutely sure that the
data you present or the sources that you use meet the requirements of the
scientific community. Furthermore, creativity cannot be planned and
rushed. Even experienced speakers sometimes face the problem of sitting at

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their desk and waiting for inspiration to trigger the actual writing process,
but nothing comes. These crises of creativity cannot be planned and cannot
even be, but student researchers should anticipate such a problem and it is
good to have some technique at hand to overcome them.
One possibility is asking questions about the topic. Young researchers
are sometimes not aware of the fact that any communication – even a
scientific speech – which follows a common pattern is basically a dialogue.
The only difference between a real everyday discussion and a presentation
is that the questions are not asked explicitly. Therefore, when young
researchers experience a creative crisis, it might help to ask questions about
the topic to overcome the initial paralysis of the mind.
Another element that can crucially influence creative performance is
fatigue. Human beings are not machines, and nobody is able to concentrate
for an endlessly long time. Student researchers often overestimate their
effectivity and plan too much within a too short period of time. Only
experience can really show us how effective we are, but when planning your
academic speech project, you should take the possibility of this error into
account and leave yourself some extra time.
Speech points are defined as paragraphs. A paragraph is an elaborate
development of a single thought in a fixed structure which consists of a main
or defining statement supported by a series of explanatory statements which
concludes with a closing statement. The most important idea that the
speaker wishes to convey is included in the first – the defining – sentence.
Other authors, for example (Sprague & Stuart, 2008) use different names
for defining the main points of a speech and the supporting ideas. The term
coordinate points is used to refer to the main idea, with subordinate points
(ibid. 133) referring to the supporting ideas. There is a logical relation

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between one main idea and the subordinate points which is most frequently
seen as a cause-effect relationship.
Depending on the overall objective of the speech – whether
explanatory, persuasive, informative or some other – the strategy for
selecting the speech points can vary. One possible choice may be the usage
of the so-called topical pattern which indicate that the speaker does not want
to differentiate between the topics discussed as the main points of the speech
according to any possible criteria, such as, for example, importance or
relevance. In a topical pattern the speech points reflect ideas which are of
equal importance and are not organized hierarchically. This is the most
frequently used pattern of organization.
An alternative to the structure represented by coordinate points is a
structure with an emphasized hierarchy between the main points of the
speech. The main points can be arranged according to a wide variety of
criteria, including the arrangement of the main points from the highest to
the lowest relevance, from the most likely to the least probable, or from the
most widely known to the least notable. A similar arrangement of the main
points can be very advantageous in persuasive speeches.
A third option for the arrangement is the application of chronological
order. This pattern is straightforward and puts the main points of the speech
in a linear system which can have two directions: from the past to the present
or from the present to the past.
Besides the chronological order, speakers can arrange their thoughts
according to spatial or geographical patterns.
Cause-effect patterns can also be used. In this pattern the main speech
points represent a logical relationship, and this pattern is “well suited to a
speech in which the goal is to achieve understanding or agreement rather

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than overt action” (Sprague and Stuart, 2008, p. 145). An alternative to the
cause-effect pattern is the problem-solution pattern.
The opening and concluding paragraphs of a speech differ substantially
from the paragraphs listed in the body of the speech. Although, scientific
speech, the main topic in our case, is a highly formal and rigorous genre,
some ‘showy elements’ may help the speaker grab the attention of the
audience right in the beginning of the speech. According to some authors
“You should begin with an attention getter, a few opening sentences of a
speech that capture the audience’s interest and invites them to listen to you”
(ibid. 205). First and foremost, however, you are required to establish
credibility in your introductory paragraph. By emphasizing your deep
interest in some notable scientific achievements and publications –
primarily those which were the products of some of the members of your
audience – will improve your credibility. Therefore, audience analysis
should be an extremely important part of the preparation of student
researchers. There are other showy elements that can be useful in different
public speaking situations, but it is not really advisable to apply them in
scientific discourse; they may cause more damage than good. After all,
student researchers are often required to speak in front of their tutors and
senior colleagues many of whom may be highly appreciated members of the
given scientific community. Showing respect and appreciation is always a
surer path to success than any attempt to manipulate your audience.
The closing paragraph of the speech is just as important as the opening
one. You should provide a summary in this part of the speech and this is the
opportunity to point out the limitations of the research which you have
spoken about and invite your audience to comment and ask questions. Last
but not least, every speaker should thank the audience for their attention. “It

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is as important to plan your last sentence as it is your first. Every speech
needs a clincher, a carefully crafted closing sentence or so of a speech that
provides a compelling ending and leaves no doubt that the speech is over”
(Sprague & Stuart, 2008, p. 222).

Language study
1. The following expressions are used for making comparisons. Try to
use them in sentences and memorize as many of them as possible: compared
to/with, by comparison, in comparison to, as against/opposed to, unlike,
in/by contrast, in proportion/relation to, relative.

2. Translate the following expressions which are used to compare

things or people: draw a comparison/analogy/parallel, liken
somebody/something to…, contrast, draw a distinction between.

3. Which of the following words express approximate and which

exact?
about, exactly, roughly, precisely, right, somewhere in the region of,
… or more, to be exact, directly.

4. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech, and therefore,
thus your speech should be between 390 and 650 words.

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Sample speech:

THE PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND UTILIZATION OF

WEALTH
There are rich and poor people in the world and, though, the number of
people who live in extreme poverty has been declining continuously, we
still face a lot of inequality. Some argue that the source of inequality is
capitalism and the uncontrolled exploitation of workers, while others
maintain that capitalism is a means of reducing poverty globally. In my
presentation I would like to analyze the two views, contrast capitalism
with its alternatives and identify where the truth lies.
Capitalism is an “economic system, dominant in the Western world
since the breakup of feudalism, in which most of the means of production
are privately owned and production is guided and income distributed
largely through the operation of markets” (Encyclopædia Britannica,
2015, p.n.a.). An essential element of capitalism is its dependence on
freedom – i.e., the minimum possible control of economic processes by
external forces such as government regulations, fiscal and non-fiscal
trade barriers, and other restrictions. Capitalism is rooted in the protestant
work ethic, in which hard work and frugality are considered as strong
ethical values and wealth is seen as a virtue.
Capital is not only the accumulation of money, but that of any
“stock of resources that may be employed in the production of goods and
services” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015, p.n.a.). In the classical
understanding, capital comes into existence through the accumulation of
resources which “arose out of the excess of production over
consumption” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015, p.n.a.). Business
activities are aimed at creating profit – “A financial gain, especially the
difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying,
operating, or producing something” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2021,
p.n.a.). The accumulation of capital makes it possible for a business to
expand, multiply its production facilities, employ more employees, and
gradually sell more goods to a greater number of customers. Profit
generation is an elementary condition for the growth of any firm but can
also turn into a self-generating and self-exciting process when the
accumulated capital does not serve the growth of the company, increases
in salaries and wages, or investment into new technologies anymore.
It is evident that capitalism is able to generate wealth very
effectively and can serve as the motor of society, but unregulated –
laissez-faire – markets can also generate huge social inequality. Because
big and financially powerful companies continue to grow not only due to
their more effective production but by abusing their economic power or
monopoly position on the market to eliminate competition. Another
negative side-effect of unregulated capitalism is its vulnerability to

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 cyclical economic crises which can cause a domino effect and destroy a
large number of workplaces and drive thousands and millions into
poverty and debt. Consequently, capitalism needs to be regulated by
governments, but this is no easy task as the vast amounts of accumulated
wealth allow representatives of large companies to influence political
goals, corrupt decision makers and exercise influence without public
empowerment. Companies are not democratic institutions, but function
in a strict and rigid hierarchical system. Owners and shareholders simply
hire managers, but workers and employees are never asked whether they
agree or disagree with decisions made at the highest decision-making
positions. The constant pressure for profit generation can also create a
highly stressful environment.
There are some alternatives to capitalism. One of the most
prominent is socialism, which calls for public ownership of the means of
production and advocates centralized distribution of wealth. In socialism
“everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and
everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share
in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property
for the benefit of all its members” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015,
p.n.a.). Advocates of socialism argue that private ownership inevitably
leads to inequality and that free choice and equal opportunity are not
available for the employees but remain the privilege of the rich, who own
the capital and the means of production. There have been experiments in
human history to build societies based on socialist principles, but these
have not been successful and many of them ended up in tyranny.
The solution of the problem might be a delicate fine tuning of a
hybrid system where capitalistic production processes are
counterbalanced by social protections that ensure a fairer distribution of
the accumulated wealth while maintaining the competitive power and
vitality of capitalism. It is a complicated – probably never-ending –
process taking into account the fact that societies are continuously
developing and new technologies, means of production and social
changes that will bring along new problems and opportunities.

Works cited
Capitalism. In Encyclopædia Britannica. [online]. Ultimate Reference
Suite. Chicago, 2015. [cit. 2020.12.22]. Available from:
<https://www.britannica.com/>.

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FORTANET, Immaculada. Honoris Causa Speeches: An Approach to
Structure. Discourse Studies. In SAGE Journal, 2005: pp. 31-51.
Profit. In Oxford Dictionary. [online]. [cit. 2021.01.05]. Available from:
<https://www.lexico.com/definition/profit>.
SPRAGUE, Jo and Douglas STUART. The Speaker's HANDBOOK. Eighth
Edition. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore Spain, United
Kingdom, United States: Thomson Wardsworth, 2008.
Socialism. In Encyclopædia Britannica. [online]. Ultimate Reference Suite.
Chicago, 2015. [cit. 2020.12.22]. Available from:
<https://www.britannica.com/>.

Further reading
BEINHOCKER, Eric D. The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and
the Radical Remaking of Economics. Boston: Harvard Business Press, 2006.
CAIMCROSS, Alec and Peter SINCLAIR. Introduction to Economics.
London, Boston, Durban, Sydney, Toronto and Wellington: Butterworth-
Heinemann, 2014.
REISS, Julian. Philosophy of Economics: A Contemporary Introduction.
New York and London: Routledge, 2013.
SCHULTZ, Eric A. Inequality and Power: The Economics of Class.
Abingdon and New York: Taylor & Francis, 2011.
SCHUMPETER, Joseph A. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New
York: Routledge, 2013.

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8.2 Academic writing: ‘Practice makes perfect’

“If a student works rigorously, no topic is truly foolish,

and the student can draw useful conclusions
even from a remote or peripheral topic.”
Umberto Eco

The text of a thesis, whether a Bachelor, Master or doctoral dissertation and

regardless of the field of investigation, should respect all of the essential
requirements for the composition, structure and content of its individual
sections given that it documents an original research project.
Every thesis is an example of an academic writing genre and is, as was
mentioned above, one of those to which the rules of academic register apply
most strictly.
While existing templates define the formatting elements, such as
margins, fonts, cover layout or title page information, and prescribe certain
features, such as compulsory sections and their order, or reference system,
the content of individual parts and their organisation depends on the type of
conducted investigation.
Producing the text of the conclusions is one of the final steps in the
thesis writing process and it should provide a concise and motivating
summary of both the thesis text and the research it documents.

Glossary of concepts
COHERENCE
The organisation of a text in a logical and consistent way. If the text is
coherent, it is semantically meaningful.

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 COHESION
The result of a process that makes a text into a united whole. It is a
linking (grammatical or lexical) implemented at the level of the sentence
and paragraph which makes a text hold together and fully reveals its
meaning.
COMPOSITION
The principle of a proportional organisation of items, constituent
elements, pieces or objects into a whole.
CONCLUSION
A statement, claim, opinion or judgement that is reached and expressed
after some contemplation. It is usually a final feature of a process and
provides a final comment or recommendation.
STRUCTURE
A set of relations between items, elements and pieces on the basis of
which they are organised into something more complex, i.e., a cohesive
whole.
SUMMARY
An account of the content of a text which provides the main points, the
most important information and the characteristics of dominant items.

Theoretical background
The text of a thesis conclusion encompasses both a summary and the
presentation of research conclusions. Its main aim is to summarise and
reflect on the investigation conducted in the thesis research, to provide
answers to the research questions, to state whether or not the hypothesis has
been proven, to describe the most important findings and conclusions of
research, to share any new knowledge gained from the investigation, to

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place the thesis research into a broader context of the field of study and to
make recommendations for potential future explorations of the research
topic.
Depending on whether or not the last chapter of the thesis comprises a
discussion, the summary section of the conclusion may be reduced
substantially in order to provide more space for the conclusions. The text of
the conclusion is not supposed to provide any new information, new
arguments or new materials which has not already been provided in the body
of the text.
The text of the conclusion begins with the author returning to the
research questions formulated in the text of the introduction and answering
them using the research findings. By answering the research questions, the
author shows that the goals and aims of the research task have been
successfully fulfilled.
The author then states whether or not the hypothesis has been proven
and explains the benefits and shortcomings of the methodology (methods
and techniques) chosen and applied in the investigation. This is also the
opportunity to discuss any problems or unexpected impediments
encountered in the process of exploration.
Subsequently, the author underlines the most relevant information
produced in the analytical part of the thesis and the most important
conclusions drawn as a synthesis of the findings and the information from
the secondary sources. Moreover, the author should emphasise their own
contribution by demonstrating how their research has filled a previously
identified gap in the research into the topic, how the findings can contribute
to the development of the theory of the studied field, or how the findings
complement the work of other researchers. Also, the limitations of the

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investigation should be indicated at this point, followed by any limits to the
validity of the research findings.
Finally, the author assesses any dimensions and outcomes of the
investigation that may have the potential to be further developed in future
research by the author or by other scientists and can also suggest proposals
for the practical application of the research.
Obviously, the text of the conclusion represents a reflective type of
writing. Reflection is defined by the tutors of Research and Learning Centre
of the Monash University (Australia) as “a metacognitive process, which
means it involves thinking about our thinking” … “[it] is a form of analysis
with a focus on you, your thinking, behaviour and actions” … “Reflecting
on a process or your practice may involve consideration of what happened,
why, how you felt or how it impacted you, and how you may respond or
adapt in the future” (https://www.monash.edu/rlo/research-writing-
assignments/ critical-thinking/reflecting).

Academic writing mechanics

The structure and composition of a thesis depends on the area of study, the
type of research, the research topic and the requirements of the university to
which the thesis is being submitted. In the humanities, arts and social
sciences, the text is composed around a main argument, i.e., a central
hypothesis, and the chapters are divided according to the themes and/or
character of the primary sources.
Several different compositional forms exist for theses (cf. Hartley,
2008; Luey, 2010):

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 1. Traditional simple thesis (or argumentative thesis) – the main
structure is divided into an introduction, literature review, methodology,
analysis/results, discussion and conclusion. This form is typically used for
Bachelor and Master theses.
2. Traditional complex thesis (or argumentative thesis) – consisting of
an introduction, a background to the theme, extensive literature review, an
overview of existing relevant theories, methods and techniques, analysis, a
detailed discussion of the results and conclusion. This form is typically used
for most doctoral dissertations.
3. Topic-based thesis (or explanatory thesis) – divided into an
introduction, chapters focusing on individual topics and conclusion.
4. Compilation thesis (explanatory thesis) – usually consisting of
several research articles that replace traditional chapters.
5. Professional or practitioner thesis – less extensive and focusing on
practical problems within the field of a profession. Often used for theses of
students of professional disciplines such as medicine or social work.

All types of thesis forms share the following standard sections:

1. Cover – containing information identifying the university (and
faculty) to which the thesis is submitted, the type of thesis (Bachelor,
Master, doctoral dissertation), title, name of the author, year of submission
2. Title page – containing information identifying the university,
faculty and department to which the thesis is submitted, the study
field/programme and specialisation, the type of thesis (Bachelor, Master,
doctoral dissertation), title and subtitle, name of the author, name of the
supervisor/consultant, year of submission

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 3. Abstract and keywords (usually in the language of the thesis and in
one other language) – containing information about the research topic, aims,
questions, basic methodology, primary sources
4. Table of contents – titles of sections and their page numbers
5. List of abbreviations and symbols – specific abbreviations and
symbols with their full versions and/or explanations
6. List of figures, tables, charts, diagrams, other graphic material –
including page numbers. The numbering of graphic materials follows their
location in chapters and subchapters
7. Introduction – information about the research topic, motivation for
its choice, research aims, research questions, research hypothesis, outline of
research methodology, primary sources with the criteria for their selection,
brief description of individual chapters and subchapters
8. Main body of the thesis – chapters divided into subchapters
8.1 Theoretical framework;
8.1.1 Literature review
8.1.2 Methodology of research – methods and techniques
8.1.3 Primary sources – detailed description of selection
criteria
8.2 Empirical / Analytical part
8.3 Discussion – overview of analysis and research outcomes
9. Conclusion (for more on composition, see above);
10. Resume in another language (i.e., mother tongue, foreign
language). This usually consists of a summary of the same information
which appears in the Conclusion.
11. Bibliography – divided into Primary sources and Secondary
sources

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 12. Appendices
Errata – a separate sheet of paper inserted into the printed version in
case the author finds significant mistakes which need to be corrected
after the thesis has been printed and bound.

Study questions
1. There are four principles of academic writing, those of formality,
efficiency, modesty and clarity. Explain these principles and provide
descriptive examples for each of them from your own academic writing
practice. Which of them do you consider to be most demanding? Which of
them would you characterise as being based on culture?
2. In the academic information system of your university, find
examples of Bachelor, Master theses and doctoral dissertations. On the basis
of an analysis of the introductions and conclusions of the texts, present
examples of higher and lower levels of cohesion and coherence. Does the
composition of these texts follow the principles and requirements described
in the text of this subchapter?

Works cited
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.
HARTLEY, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical
Handbook. London and New York: Routledge, 2008.
LUEY, Beth. Handbook for Academic Authors. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2010.

137
Further reading
BAILEY, Stephen. Academic Writing: A Handbook for International
Students. London and New York: Routledge, 2011.
CONNOR, Ulla. Coherence in Writing: Research and Pedagogical
Perspectives. London: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages,
1990.
HALLIDAY, M. A. K. and Ruqaiya HASAN. Cohesion in English. London
and New York: Routledge, 1976.
HUNNARD, Ernest H. Reference Cohesion, Conjunctive Cohesion and
Relational Coherence in Student Academic Writing. Pretoria: University of
South Africa, 1989.
LÁSZLÓ, Karol. Ako písať seminárne, záverečné a diplomové práce.
Banská Bystrica: Univerzita Mateja Bela, Pedagogická fakulta, 2003.
SOWTON, Chris. 50 Steps to Improving Your Academic Writing. London:
Garnet Education, 2012.
TANSKANEN, Sanna-Kaisa. Collaborating Towards Coherence: Lexical
Cohesion in English Discourse. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John
Benjamins, 2006.
VENTOLA, Eija and Anna MAURANEN (eds.). Academic Writing:
Intercultural and Textual Issues. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John
Benjamins, 1996.
WALLWORK, Adrian. English for Academic Research: Writing Exercises.
New York and London: Springer, 2013.
ZEMACH, Dorothy E. and Lisa A. RUMISEK. Academic Writing: From
Paragraph to Essay. London: Macmillan, Edumond, 2005

138
CHAPTER 9 ACADEMIC RHETORIC

9.1 Academic speaking: Finalizing and fine-tuning

The preparation process closes with the development of the actual speech
and with its rehearsal. The development phase requires a thorough review
of the accumulated information and the main goal of the process is to
achieve the highest possible degree of clarity and logical coherence of the
speech.
Speakers also have to decide about the examples which they plan to
use for clarification and in the selection of statistical and other data and
speakers should also evaluate different persuasive strategies that they would
like to apply during the speech. Finalizing a speech is no easy task and
requires concentration and strategic thinking from speakers.

Glossary of concepts
CLARITY
The quality of a speech which refers to the lucidity of the text and
suggests that it is well-structured and that all expressions are satisfactorily
explained and used correctly.
COHERENCE
The quality of being clear, logical, and understandable.
FINE-TUNE
To improve the quality of the speech by making small changes to
achieve a more elaborate level and clearer style.
GENUS-SPECIES
Latin expression meaning dictionary definition.

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 TABOO TOPICS
Topics which might be considered offensive or unpleasant by certain
individuals or groups of people.

Theoretical background
When the broad structure of the speech is ready and the main speaking
points have been selected, the speaker must decide about its fine tuning in
order to achieve the highest possible clarity and logical coherence.
Although academic speeches require the use of formal vocabulary and
academic expressions, this necessity should not be emphasised to the
detriment of clarity. Therefore, the speaker must make sure that all of the
expressions – including the professional terms – used in the text will be
absolutely clear and understandable to the audience. There are many
possible methods for defining words correctly. “Logical definition, also
known as genus–species or dictionary definition, has two steps. It first
places the concept to be defined into a category, then it explains the
characteristics that distinguish that concept from all other members of the
category” (Sprague and Stuart, 2008, p. 197). Etymological definitions
analyse the historical roots of words that originate from older cultures.
Operational definitions provide a short explanation of the object or process
the context of how it operates. Synonyms or opposite meanings of the words
can also be used for clarification.
Secondly, the use of examples must also be carefully analysed.
Academic speeches must heavily rely on facts and the examples used must
be carefully selected, with speakers ensuring that the selected examples are
representative. The selected examples should also be presented in sufficient
detail. Taking into consideration the fact that academic audiences are

140
generally well-informed about the state of affairs in their fields and in
adjacent branches of science, the examples selected should not be
explanatory but rather demonstrative. The same applies to statistical
evidence. Both examples and statistical data must originate from reliable
and reputable sources. Statistical data can be misleading or can be
interpreted differently by different authors, so it is advisable to check and
double-check the data. Furthermore, statistical evidence must be interpreted
clearly and straightforwardly.
In summary, in the final phase of development the speaker will have to
make sure that the message is clear and understandable in every aspect.
Using the proper words and professional terminology is necessary. Finally,
it is advisable to avoid risky and taboo topics and the speakers must make
sure to use inclusive language.

Language study
1. The following expressions are used for explaining. Translate them
and try to use them in examples of sentences: this means that, that is, i.e.,
in other words, to put it another way, to put it simply, specifically.

2. Most of the following words are synonymous. Select and translate

them: explain, point up, underline, set out, go through, outline, expand on,
clarify, highlight, emphasize.

3. When something is important, certain expressions are used. Study

the examples and use them in sentences: I would like to stress that…, it
should be noted that…, it is worth bearing in mind that…,
crucial/vital/essential.

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 4. When we would like to emphasize that one person or thing is more
… than others we can use some of the following expressions: in particular,
especially, particularly, notably, above all, most of all, most importantly,
most significantly.

5. Prepare a short speech of three to five minutes. Please note that an

average person uses 130 words in a one-minute-long speech, and therefore
your speech should be between 390 and 650 words.

Sample speech:

CLASS, SOCIAL ORGANIZATION, AND SOCIAL

The term class is used to describe the stratification of human society.
Although everybody accepts the principle that all human beings are
equal, our society is far from being egalitarian. Social groups constitute
a hierarchical system in which positions are defined primarily by the
socioeconomic status of the members. In this presentation, I would like
to highlight some aspects of social stratification.
When discussing social class, one is confronted with the Marxist
view which sees class division as a dualistic and antagonistic system in
which the bourgeoisie – the owners of the means of production – exploit
the proletariat, defined as “the class of industrial workers who lack their
own means of production and hence sell their labor to live” (Merriam-
Webster Dictionary, 2021, p.n.a.). This view, however, excessively
simplifies the question and in doing so ignores the fact that human society
is a much more complex fabric in which other aspects than control over
the means of production can also influence the formation of groups.
National identity or religious belonging can be very powerful group-
forming factors too. For a more complex picture, we can turn to the work
of Max Weber – a German sociologist – who “proposed limiting the
concept of class to impersonal income distinctions between groups,
thereby distinguishing class from social status, collectivities, or political
hierarchies” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015, p.n.a.).
The Weberian definition of social class springs from the protestant
work ethic, which assumes that hard work, thrift, discipline and self-
sufficiency are virtues and will lead to eternal salvation. The protestant
work ethic and capitalism are in a close relationship in the Weberian
explanation of social stratification. In this view, higher social status is the

142
 result of hard work and a disciplined lifestyle where responsible decision-
making, ethical behaviour, investment in education and accumulation of
capital – economic and social – contribute to the well-being of the
individual. Belonging into a social class is therefore conditioned by
choices made at the individual level.
The Weberian explanation, however, does not provide an answer to
the question the extent to which social stratification is justifiable when
inherited. To what extent is upward social mobility possible when social
status of the upper class is maintained by isolated enclaves – schools,
clubs, political parties, etc. – in which older generations pass down the
means and recreate the necessary social networks for the new generations
to maintain their social status? In this situation, it is extremely hard – if
not impossible – for a new candidate to become a fully accepted and
recognized member of the upper-upper class (i.e., aristocracy) because
wealth is not the only requirement to be fulfilled. Tradition, inherited
status, and elite education necessary for developing taste and style
required all influence high-class membership and the distinction between
‘old money’ and the ‘nouveau riche’ remains painful.
We must acknowledge that even if income differences could be
reduced relatively quickly (within one generation), the lack of social and
cultural capital can be accumulated only over the course of several
generations. A famous quote from the second President of the United
States, John Adams, clearly expresses this sentiment:
I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study
mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and
philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation,
commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study
painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain
(Adams, 2021, p.n.a.).
What conclusions can we draw from these thoughts? First, it is
useless to deny that human society is, and has always been, stratified
along many criteria, which exist parallel to each other and which create
a society in which status, wealth, social position and heritage play crucial
roles. Second, similar social stratification does not seem to vanish, and
the dream of a classless society will remain a dream for a long time.
Fostering social mobility is an obligation of modern societies, but we
should not forget that for achieving success individual effort is equally
important.

Works cited
ADAMS, John. Quotes. [online]. [cit. 2021.01.16]. Available from:
<https://www.shmoop.com/quotes/study-politics-war-sons-have-liberty.
html>.

143
Proletariat. In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online]. [cit. 2020.12.02].
Available from: <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fact>.
Social class. In Encyclopædia Britannica. [online]. Ultimate Reference
Suite. Chicago, 2015. [cit. 2020.12.22]. Available from:
<https://www.britannica.com/>.
SPRAGUE, Jo and Douglas STUART. The Speaker's HANDBOOK. Eighth
Edition. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore Spain, United
Kingdom, United States: Thomson Wardsworth, 2008.

Further reading
BERBEROGLU, Berch. An Introduction to Classical and Contemporary
Social Theory: A Critical Perspective. Lanbam, Boulder, New York,
Toronto and Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
GO, Julian (ed.). Political Power and Social Theory. Boston: Emerald
Group Publishing, 2010.
LANGE, Helmuth and Lars MEIER. The New Middle Classes: Globalizing
Lifestyles, Consumerism and Environmental Concern. Dordrecht,
Heidelberg, London and New York: Springer Science & Business Media,
2009.
ROWLINGSON, Karen and Stephen MCKAY. Wealth and the Wealthy:
Exploring and Tackling Inequalities Between Rich and Poor. Bristol and
Chicago: Policy Press, 2012.
ZILIAK, James P. Understanding Poverty Rates and Gaps: Concepts,
Trends, and Challenges. Boston and Delft: Now Publishers Inc., 2006.

144
9.2 Academic writing: Presenting and defending

“During this defense, the thesis advisor and one or more readers
give a report that may include objections to the candidate’s thesis.
This report sparks a discussion in which other professors
participate as members of the committee.”
Umberto Eco

The defence of a thesis is yet another element of academic discourse and at

the same time it is an act of public speaking, because thesis defences are
considered public events in many countries. The thesis defence completes
the procedure of scientific investigation that is documented in the thesis.
The traditions concerning defences vary in different countries. In some
countries they are called viva voce, in others thesis presentations or thesis
defences. The online Merriam Webster Dictionary states that

Viva voce derives from Medieval Latin, where it translates literally as

‘with the living voice.’ In English it occurs in contexts, such as voting, in
which something is done aloud for all to hear. Votes in Congress, for
example, are done viva voce - members announce their votes by calling
out ‘yea’ or ‘nay.’ While the phrase was first used in English as an adverb
in the 16th century, it can also appear as an adjective (as in ‘a viva voce
examination’) or a noun (where it refers to an examination conducted
orally).
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/viva%20voce)

The procedures leading to a thesis defence and the format of the

defence proper are based on university traditions but they are also
influenced by aspects of the culture of the country.

145
Glossary of concepts
CO-SUPERVISOR (OR CONSULTANT) OF THESIS
A senior lecturer, associate professor or full professor from the same
or different department/faculty/university, or an expert from a relevant
workplace or a related profession who helps students with specific features
of research during the investigation, complementing the expertise of a
supervisor.
CO-SUPERVISION OF THESIS (CO-TUTELLE DE THESE)
The model for joint supervision of a thesis (French ‘co-tutelle de
thèse’, Spanish ‘cotutela de tesis’) by two supervisors from different
universities in various countries was introduced as a result of an initiative
of the French Government to create a procedure for the joint supervision of
doctoral candidates between French universities and universities in other
countries. Nowadays, arrangements using the ‘co-tutelle’ model have been
established among various universities in European countries and
elsewhere. Enrolled doctoral (PhD) students receive support from two
research and academic communities and discover different scientific
approaches and fresh theoretical perspectives as they work with experts who
can broaden their scientific horizons. Thesis co-supervision encourages
doctoral students to reach beyond their familiar borders to both enhance
their education and take part in a world-class research network. Moreover,
they experience the rich social and cultural life of their home university and
that of a university in a different country. Graduates of this type of study not
only gain a significant professional advantage based particularly on the
comparison of subject-matter and methodology and on achieving a mastery
of expert communication in a foreign language, but they also improve their
professional opportunities in the framework of international competition.

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 OPPONENT OF THESIS
An opponent is one of thesis reviewers. Opponents are experts in the
field of research documented by the thesis. In some countries Bachelor and
Master theses are reviewed by a supervisor and by one opponent, while in
others they are reviewed by two opponents. Doctoral dissertations and
habilitation theses are usually reviewed by at least three opponents.
REVIEWER OF THESIS
A thesis reviewer is a person, usually a senior university lecturer,
associate professor or full professor, but sometimes also an expert from a
relevant workplace or a related profession, who critically assesses the text
of the thesis and writes a review.
SUPERVISOR OF THESIS
A supervisor is an expert in the area of research chosen for the thesis,
usually a senior lecturer, associate professor or full professor based in the
department in which the student has written his/her thesis. Supervisors
provide expert guidance for students throughout the process of the
investigation and thesis writing, advising them on various aspects of both
research and its documentation in the thesis.
THESIS DEFENSE/EXAM BOARD/COMMITTEE/COMMISSION
A thesis defence board (or committee or commission) also called a
thesis exam board in some countries, is a body of experts before whom the
defence of thesis is performed. Each university has its own rules dictating
the composition of a thesis defence board. It is usually composed of senior
lecturers, associate professors and full professors, representatives of a
workplace or a profession. Reviewers may or may not be members of the
defence board.

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 THESIS REVIEW
A review is a text written by a reviewer of the thesis. It usually contains
introductory descriptive sections in which a reviewer provides a thesis
summary and then proceeds with a critical evaluation of both content and
form of the thesis. In the final section the reviewer usually formulates
questions that should be answered or discussed during the defence. Some
universities have specific formats and/or content requirements for reviews,
with some also using review templates.

Theoretical background
Public thesis defence is an illustration of public speaking skills which
belong among the most essential advanced skills of a university graduate in
the 21st century. Public speaking skills are nowadays required at all levels
of the social and professional life of an individual with a university
education and as such are taught to students and practiced by them
throughout their study (for example, in presentations of seminar
assignments, individual or group project presentations). The ultimate proof
of the mastery of effective public speaking skills is a thesis defence.
DeVito claims that public speaking skills at present branch from a
classical heritage that stresses the substance (of the content) and the ethics
of the speaker, but they are also influenced by new trends in humanities and
social sciences, intercultural and transcultural communication features and
by information and communication technologies (DeVito, 2018, p. 23). The
thesis defence therefore follows a prescribed format that, in many cases, has
not been modified for decades or even centuries, but which nonetheless
allows authors of theses to use audio-visual presentations projected for the

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members of the defence board with the most up-to-date audio-visual
equipment.
Similarly, the main purpose of the thesis defence and the process of its
preparation have remained unchanged. The author of the thesis should be
able to demonstrate their extended knowledge in the selected research field,
to prove their authorship of the thesis, to defend their research project, to
share the investigation findings and conclusions (i.e., their contribution to
the specific research area), and to discuss the comments and answer the
questions of the reviewers and the members of the defence board. For the
latter, the author receives the reviews in advance (although in some
countries and mostly at the PhD level, candidates do not receive reviews
before the defence and they are expected to respond to the comments and
questions without prior preparation).
The defence is usually divided into three sections. It begins with the
author’s presentation in which he/she should summarise the research topic,
the aims of the investigation, the research questions, the hypothesis, the
methodology used, the criteria for the selection of primary sources and,
most importantly, the findings and conclusions. The text of the presentation
should not be read verbatim in the defence (see more in the Academic
writing mechanics section below).
The second part of the defence is driven by the reviews that are usually
presented by the reviewers in full or summarized by them. The author
should respond to the criticism, comments, suggestions and questions. If the
author has been provided with the reviews in advance, the author should
bring their own print version to the defence and prepare his/her responses
in great detail. The reactions should not be read but should rather be
presented with the use of notes.

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 The third and final segment of the defence is a general discussion in
which the author replies to the questions asked by the members of the
defence board and any members of public present at the defence. Rules
about who can actually contribute to the general debate and/or ask a
question are specified by each university. The author may anticipate
questions and prepare possible answers in advance because academic
practice shows that most questions fall into one of the following categories:
1. Research topic and its selection criteria
2. Methods and techniques used and the criteria for their range
3. Criteria for the selection of primary material
4. Comparison of the author’s findings with existing research
5. Contribution of the author’s investigation, novelty and uniqueness
of the findings and conclusions
6. Practical application of the research findings
7. Items in the bibliography

Academic writing mechanics

A visual presentation projected for the members of the defence board can
substantially enhance the level of the thesis presentation. It gains and
maintains the attention of an audience, adds to the clarity of content,
contributes to the confidence of the author, and offers evidence.
Visual presentations can be made using one of the standard
presentation tools, such as PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote. More
advanced presentations often use Visme, Haiku Deck, Pitcherific, Canva,
SlideCamp, Microsoft Events, Powtoon, VideoScribe, Prezi or any other
available platform or tool.

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 The content requirements for the thesis defense presentation have been
discussed above. The general guidelines regarding its format are as follows
(cf. DeVito, 2018, pp.107-124):

1. Number of slides – one slide is typically allocated two minutes of

the presentation. It is better to prepare fewer slides because time
management in presentations is also an important academic skill.
2. Amount of text in individual slides – slides should not contain
masses of text; notes/phrases in a bullet format are more suitable. Four to
six lines in one slide is typically considered the maximum.
3. Visuals in individual slides – any visual aids should be relevant to
the content and no ‘decorative’ graphics should be used. Use charts, tables,
etc. only if they are directly related to the presented issues.
4. Backgrounds and colours of text – a dark text on a light background
is generally preferred (the higher the contrast, the better) and ‘rainbow-like’
representations of colours are not recommended. Too much colour can
distract the audience, and the defence of thesis is as formal event in which
the register of the presentation should mirror the register of the thesis.
5. Size of font selected for texts in slides – minimum 24-point, ideally
30-point. Do not use italics as they can be difficult to read. Be consistent in
use of typeface, size and colour. Less is more, and simplicity is preferable.
6. Anticipate technical problems and have a back-up plan, for example,
handouts with copies of presentation slides.
7. Rehearse the presentation several times.

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 It is strongly advised that both the first and the second parts of defence,
i.e., the presentation and response to reviews, should be rehearsed aloud.
The author should be dressed in a manner respecting the academic traditions
of the university and the country in which the defence takes place. If the
university has a document where dress code is described, it should be
respected. In case of its absence, the author should show respect to the
formal nature of the defence and to the reviewers and the defence board
members.

Study questions
1. The thesis defence is also an event where members of the academic
community practice academic socialisation. Find out about the rules of
academic socialisation in your country and at your university and compare
them with the rules applied in other countries. How do these rules differ?
Can you identify the roots of these differences? Is it possible that these
differences might become less significant and gradually disappear? What
factors can contribute to the unification of academic socialisation?
2. Define and describe the concept of academic culture. Prepare a 10-
minute-long visual presentation using a computer-assisted presentation tool
about the academic culture in your own country, comparing it with an
academic culture in some other country.
3. Analyse the quote by Armstrong below. What does he identify as a
driving element of the quest for knowledge? Can you find parallels in
statements of other personalities in science of the 20th century?

“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to

understand.”
Neil Armstrong
(https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/neil-armstrong-quotes)

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Works cited
DEVITO, Joseph A. Essential Elements of Public Speaking. New York:
Pearson Education Inc., 2018.
ECO, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015.

Further reading
BEEBE, Steven A. and Susan J. BEEBE. Public Speaking: An Audience-
Centered Approach. New York: Pearson Education Inc., 2006.
FREY, Lawrence R. Group Communication in Context: Studies of Bona
Fide Groups. Mahwah and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Publishers, 2003.
GRIFFIN, Cindy L. Invitation to Public Speaking. Stamford and London:
Wadsworth, 2003.
HAMILTON, Chery. Essentials of Public Speaking. Stamford and London:
Wadsworth, 2006.
JAFFE, Clella I. Public Speaking: Concepts and Skills for a Diverse Society.
Stamford and London: Wadsworth, 2001.
LE-HA, Phan and Bradley BAURAIN. Voices, Identities, Negotiations, and
Conflicts: Writing Academic English Across Cultures. Bingley: Emerald
Group Publishing Ltd., 2011.
METCALFE, Sheldon. Building a Speech. Stamford and London:
Wadsworth, 2004.
OSBORN, Michael and Susanne OSBORN. Public Speaking. Boston and
New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.
WOOD, Julia T. Communication Theories in Action: An Introduction.
Washington and London: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997.

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Developing Academic English in Speaking and Writing
Academic textbook

Authors: Mgr. Július Rozenfeld, PhD.

Dr. h. c. doc. Mgr. Slávka Tomaščíková, PhD.

Publisher: Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice

Publishing ŠafárikPress

Year of publication: 2021

Pages: 154
Author’s sheets: 6,8
Edition: first

https://doi.org/10.33542/DAE2021-960-3
ISBN 978-80-8152-960-3 (e-publication)