Slezská univerzita v Opavě Fakulta veřejných politik v Opavě ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES Distanční studijní opora Veronika Portešová Opava 2012 Projekt č. CZ.1.07/2.2.00/15.0178 Inovace studijního programu ošetřovatelství na Slezské univerzitě v Opavě
Obor: Organizace a management, geografie, historie, právo, pedagogika, jazykověda, politologie, psychologie, sociologie, etika, filosofie. Keywords: Anotace: Authorship, plagiarism, citation style, source of information, data, critical thinking, types of academic texts, publication types, target group, topic, formality, thesis statement, outline, headline, draft, presenting ideas, rhetorical functions, essay structure, introduction, essay body, conclusion, abstract, topic sentence, cohesion, coherence, consistency, language awareness, proofreading, editing, conference, presentation, features of spoken language. Kurz odborné angličtiny je zaměřen na rozvoj jazykové kompetence v oblastech, které jsou pro vědecké pracovníky klíčové. Hlavním výstupem by měla být schopnost psát odborné texty, prezentovat své poznatky na konferencích a schopnost následných úprav textu před jeho odevzdáním, stejně jako i celkové zdokonalení v anglickém jazyce. Největší důraz bude kladen na dovednost psaní odborného textu. Frekventanti si v průběhu kurzu osvojí základní i některá pokročilejší pravidla psaní odborného textu v angličtině. Výstupem budou nejen odborné texty, ale další texty, které mohou být pro akademiky cenné - například curriculum vitae, motivační dopis apod. Dalšími oblastmi kurzu je prezentování v angličtině. Každý účastník bude mít možnost prezentovat v anglickém jazyce a bude se moci zdokonalovat díky zpětné vazbě. Na závěr budou představena základní pravidla pro úpravu odborných textů v angličtině. Slezská univerzita v Opavě Fakulta veřejných politik v Opavě Autor: PhDr. Veronika Portešová Lektoři: Jména lektorů ISBN
OBSAH 1 AUTORSHIP AND AVOIDING PLAGIARISM. SOURCES OF INFORMATION...7 1.1 Authorship and Plagiarism...7 1.2 Sources of Information...9 1.2.1 Reliability of Sources...10 1.3 Data...11 1.3.1 Data Collection...11 1.3.2 Data Commentary...11 2 CRITICAL THINKING AND AVOIDING COMMON FALLACIES...13 2.1 Critical Thinking...13 2.1.1 Critical Reading...15 2.1.2 Critical Writing...16 2.2 Common Fallacies...16 3 TYPES OF TEXTS...18 3.1 Various Types of Text Relevant for Academics...18 3.1.1 Argumentative Essay and Persuasive Essay...19 3.1.2 Article...19 3.1.3 Conference Paper...19 3.1.4 Proposal...20 3.1.5 Popularization...20 3.1.6 Thesis and Dissertation...20 3.1.7 Curriculum Vitae and Motivation Letter...21 3.2 Publication Types...23 4 GETTING STARTED: SOCIAL FACTORS AND CHOOSING A TOPIC...25 4.1 Target Group and Other Social Factors...25 4.1.1 Formality...26 4.2 Choosing a Topic...28 4.3 Getting Started Writing...29 4.3.1 Thesis Statement...29 4.3.2 Thesis Outline...29 4.4 Headline...29 5 WRITING AND REWRITING. PRESENTING IDEAS...31 5.1 Writing as a Process...31 5.1.1 Writing the First Draft...32 5.1.2 Rewriting...33 5.2 Various Ways of Presenting Ideas...34 6 ESSAY STRUCTURE. WRITING AN ABSTRACT...35 6.1 General Advice...35 6.2 Essay Structure...36 6.2.1 Introduction of an Essay...36 6.2.2 Body of an Essay...36 6.2.3 Conclusion of an Essay...37 6.3 Writing a Conclusion of a Thesis or Dissertation...38 6.4 Abstract...39 7 ORGANIZING A PIECE OF TEXT: COHESION AND COHERENCE...41 7.1 Basic Terms...41 3
7.1.1 Paragraph...41 7.1.2 Topic Sentence...42 7.1.3 Structure of a Paragraph...42 7.1.4 Features of a Paragraph...43 8 ORGANIZING A PIECE OF TEXT II: CONSISTENCY AND LANGUAGE AWARENESS...47 8.1 Consistency...47 8.2 Language Awareness...50 9 TEXT REVISION: PROOFREADING VS. EDITING...53 9.1 Text Revision: Proofreading vs. Editing...53 9.2 Revision Checklist...54 9.2.1 General Questions about the Text...54 9.2.2 Presenting Your Ideas and Arguments...54 9.2.3 Choice of Words...55 9.2.4 Working with the Sources of Information...55 9.2.5 Length...56 10 PRESENTING AT A CONFERENCE...57 10.1 Making a Good Conferenc Paper...57 10.1.1 Tips for Writing a Paper...58 10.2 Presenting a Paper at a Conference...59 10.2.1 Tips for Presenting at Academic Conferences and Making the Most of Them...59 4
ÚVODEM The study material presented may also begin with the words Once upon a time, there was a, which could probably make the reader think about adding the word academic. What is more, you being the reader could imagine that s/he would receive a call for paper, which would lead to his/her contemplation about how to write a proposal (or an abstract), also which steps to take in order to put the actual paper together, how to present it at an international conference, and, finally, proofread as well as edit it in order to make it publishable in English. Or, possibly, consider you would be a Ph.D. student whose aim is to make a summary of a recently written dissertation. Or maybe you are just supposed to produce an article for an acclaimed foreign journal. Try to put yourself in such academic s shoes. Do the above mentioned activities await you? Does it actually happen to you to be challenged like this? If so, go through this study material. Simply because its aim is not only to provide you with a concise overview of topics related to academic writing, but also give you useful tips and practical advice. A hands-on approach will engage you in the process of academic writing so that you can act more confidently when it comes to, first, writing a piece of scholarly text and, second, presenting what you have written all this paying attention to various differences between your mother tongue and English. 5
RYCHLÝ NÁHLED STUDIJNÍ OPORY The presented study material guides the course participants through the most significant topics related to academic writing in a practical way such as authorship, critical thinking, various types of academic texts, etc. More important, it takes a step by step approach to explaining the process of creating a piece of text, which consists of considering the target group, choosing a topic, writing a thesis statement and outline, making the first draft of an essays as well as rewriting it into the final one, presenting ideas, being familiar with various parts of an essay, writing an abstract, and so on. The course participants become also aware of the essential role coherence, cohesion, and consistency play in writing; proofreading and editing, which represent text revision, form a necessary part of the process too. Finally, they get the chance to present their research and findings and what they have written, being given an immediate feedback not only from the tutor but also other participants. 6