10) Appendix cliches for summarizng a text

The text:

addresses the highly topical issue /the theoretical aspects of…,

blends a personal insight, conceptual thinking and professional experience related to…,

covers the areas of… ,

concludes with …,

demonstrates … ( the interdependence between ),

draws on examples from …,

examines…,

explores … ,

falls into…parts,

gives an overview and assessment of…,

investigates …,

is an insightful / timely / must read guidebook on…,

is an invaluable resource for/an inspiring portrait of/ a revealing introduction to…,

maps the patterns of …,

may be divided into … main parts,

offers an analysis of …, guidelines for ….,

offers a candid and personal view on…,

offers an insightful look at…,

offers a unique perspective on a key issue of…,

offers a historical overview of …,

offer an integrated approach to …,

presents a fresh perspective on …, a model of …, an approach to…,

present practical techniques for …,

provides a close examination of …, guidance on how to …,

provides the reader with the latest developments in…,

provides detailed coverage of the variety of…

provides the step-by-step procedures for…, the latest research perspective on …,

treats … ,

reports new findings concerning…,

shows how to determine…,

will/may be of interest to… .

VII. Writing a research paper

RESEARCH PAPER STRUCTURE COMPONENTS:

1. Title page

2. Acknowledgements

3. Abstract /Executive summary

4. Table of contents

5. Introduction

6. Literature review

7. Materials and methods/ Materials and procedures

8. Results

9. Discussion

10. Conclusion.

11. References/Bibliography

12. Appendices

1) TITLE PAGE indicates Ministry & University; Department; Subject code; Title; Student name, year and group; Name of the supervisor; Year of submission.

2) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS contain an expression of gratitude to all those who have provided assistance in doing the research.

3) ABSTRACT/ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Abstract is a summary of an article written for the purpose of making the reader read the whole paper. Executive Summary is a stand-alone summary of a longer document which is sufficient for its full understanding.

Similarities:

1) Both present the paper in miniature describing briefly its aims, participants, basic methodology, results, and conclusions.

2) Both are written after the research is completed and are presented before the table of contents.

Differences:

	Abstracts	executive summaries
Use	for shorter papers	for longer paper
Length	1 paragraph long	10% of the original, but not more than 10 pages
Purpose	Getting the reader interested in reading the whole paper.	Written for longer pieces of writing when readers are most likely not to have time to read the entire document.

Tips for Writing an Abstract.

- Keep the abstract short (200-word limit).

- Write it as one paragraph.

- Do not use abbreviations.

- Include citations or references only if they are essential.

- Briefly describe the subjects, the structure of the study, the methods, approaches and procedures.

- Summarize the main results, indicating whether they are significant.

- Stick mainly to Simple Present tense form.

- Do not present detailed discussion or explanation.

- Never write it in the first person.

4) TABLE OF CONTENTS constitutes a 1-page paper outline, listing hierarchically its sections/chapters/parts and subsections/subdivisions. Tips: all sections should be clearly distinguished, systematically numbered and given descriptive titles. Indicates page numbers for each section/chapter/part/subsection and appendix (appendices).

5) INTRODUCTION sets the research context and contains such subsections as:

1) Rationale

2) Description of research

3) Description of paper

Tips: in Rationale you name the topic, explain why it is important to investigate it. In Description of research you state the problem, formulate your hypothesis (your approach to resolving the problem). In Description of paper you list in short the paper parts/sections, indicating the topic of each part/section.

6) REVIEW OF LITERATURE contains a summary of scholarly source material on a particular topic, shows what work has been done by other researchers. It may be used for such purposes as:

• to get ideas about the topic of your interest

• to find interesting information produced by other researchers

• to get ideas about current approaches and methods

• to look for the major concepts, conclusions, theories, arguments in your topic

• to evaluate and synthesize the existing information produced by others (Writing up…)

Tips: 1) organize your content according to ideas instead of individual publications. This helps ensure the smooth flow of contentsand make the paper more readable. It also shows that you have an understanding of the subject area.

2) do not simply quote or paraphrase the contents of published articles, incorporate where possible, your own opinions and comments. This will demonstrate your deeper understanding of the topic.

7) MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES cover the research design: how was the data collected, from whom, where; the procedure for choosing participants, the tasks assigned them, how they were conducted, contains sample questionnaire/interview checklist, tally sheets, sociogram, etc.

8) RESULTS present the data analysis results in an organized way, e.g. sums up the type of data collected and the statistical techniques used to analyze them, shows the research statistics in diagrams, charts, etc.; shows how data were processed, the results of data analysis. Tips: Please avoid interpretation at this time. Place only the most important graphs/tables/charts /diagrams in the paper body. All other pieces of evidence may be presented in an Appendix.

9) DISCUSSION answers any questions raised earlier in the paper and to conclude your paper thoughtfully. Interprets the research results. (Interpretation is the process by which you put your own meaning on the data you have collected and analyzed).

Tips:Begin the discussion with a statement about the data’s support or nonsupport of the hypothesis. Base the discussion only on the data collected and analyzed.

10) CONCLUSION contains a synthesis of all of the above sections; restates your hypothesis as the paper thesis (a general statement of major conclusions you reached through a thoughtful analysis of all your sources and proved by your research); discusses factors that affect the results; shows your contribution, presents your action plan/recommendations, prospects for future research.