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книги / How to Write a Research Paper in English

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This paper details the algorithm used for … .

This paper discusses the influence of … .

This paper explains how … .

This paper offers recommendations for … .

This paper presents the results of … .

This paper proposes a set of guidelines for … .

This paper provides the complete framework and … .

This paper reports on our progress so far … .

This paper summarizes our results for … .

Exercise 9. Translate the extract into Russian.

Many students face a writer’s block from the beginning, and it makes sense they want to know how to start a research paper. Structure the introduction around the outline. Do not go into the details when introducing the topic. The field experts constitute the target audience of a writer, and they possess the background information about the chosen problem. Present the problem briefly.

Set the scene – provide short background information. Don’t write too many facts about the subject of your paper. A little bit of information would be enough.

Share some findings from the previous studies. Make sure to cite all of the resources you have used.

Stress the significance of the problem.

Give hints to what you will be talking about. Don’t open all of the cards immediately, but share a few facts about the main topic.

State the thesis. The thesis statement is the most important of your paper, so pay attention to that.

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PART 2. MAIN BODY

Exercise 1. Read the text and answer the question: What are the parts of the body paragraphs?

WORKING ON THE BODY PARAGRAPHS

It is impossible to learn how to write a good research paper without covering the sections that constitute the body of this work. Body paragraphs are the place where you discuss all of the main ideas, explain your thesis statement, and back up your thoughts with the help of some evidence. It’s best for your strongest argument to be in the first paragraph of your paper, while the weakest one should be in the last.

Although papers can be organized into sections in many ways, those reporting experimental work typically include Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion in their body. In any case, the paragraphs in these sections should begin with a topic sentence to prepare readers for their contents, allow selective reading, and ‒ ideally ‒ get a message across.

The Methods section of a research article is like a roadmap leading to the core of the research, guiding the readers through the actual journey the authors took to reach their destination. In the manuscript, this section contains the essential details for other scientists to replicate the experiments of the study and help the common readers to understand the study better.

In this article, we will share some tips to make the Methods section of your manuscript interesting and informative. Listed below are some useful ways of breaking the ice between the Methods section and the readers:

First, let’s ponder over the issue of the perception of boredom we often associate with the Methods section of an article. It may be the names of the equipment, materials or instruments, separated by some numbers in terms of some concentrations or the technical terminologies that make the reading a heavy-duty task.

Secondly, the information in the methods section is closely scrutinized by the journal editors and peer reviewers to assess whether the most appropriate technique was used to reach your research goal. While every detail of your experiment need not be included, the essential and critical steps should be well described to receive a positive peer review.

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1.Explanation: Usually, each paragraph or subsection of the Methods section talks about a specific experiment. Early in each paragraph, explain the rationale behind your choices of that particular experiment; for example, why you used a certain compound, a specific strain of mice as the experimental model or the particular concentration of that key reagent.

2.Visual presentation: To help the readers follow the study design or methodology better, visual elements like the schematic diagram, flowchart, and table can be used in this section. They help in breaking the monotony and making the absorption of complex information easy.

3.Structure the section so that it tells the story of your research: All the experiments should be presented in a logical manner that helps the reader retrace the gradual and development and nuances of the study. A useful way of achieving this is to describe the methods in a chronological order of the experiments.

4.Follow the order of the results: To improve the readability and flow of your manuscript, match the order of specific methods to the order of the results that were achieved using those methods. When reporting and discussing your results, do not force your readers to go through everything you went through in chronological order. Instead, state the message of each paragraph upfront: convey in the first sentence what you want readers to remember from the paragraph as a whole. Focus on what happened, not on the fact that you observed it. Then develop your message in the remainder of the paragraph, including only that information you think you need to convince your audience.

5.Use subheadings: Dividing the Methods section in terms of the experiments helps the reader to follow the section better. You may write the specific objective of each experiment as a subheading. Alternatively, if applicable, the name of each experiment can also be used as subheading.

6.Provide all details meticulously: Provide the details that you considered while designing the study or collecting the data because the smallest variations in these steps may affect the results and interpretation of their significance. When employing the outcome measures, the readers would like to know the information regarding validity and reliability. The correct way of reporting the reliability and the validity depends on the specific research design. Usually, information from existing literature is presented to support for the reliability and the validity of a measure.

Carefully describe the materials, equipment (like testing instruments and technical equipment), or stimuli used in the experiment. If your study involved a survey or any psychological assessment, mention the questionnaire, scoring methods, and validation of scales with every possible detail.

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7. Statistical analysis: In this section, describe all statistical tests, levels of significance, and software packages used to conduct the statistical analysis. Don’t forget to indicate if the recommendations of a knowledgeable and experienced statistician were considered. Finally, it is important to provide the justification of the preferred statistical method used in the study.

This section should be concluded with summarizing and tying everything together into a coherent narrative. A summary typically touches on the main points beginning with the main research question, methods employed, results, including findings. Conclusion section gives way for readers to remember the gist of your study. This section is especially helpful when readers don’t have enough time or when they are doing preliminary research and are trying to assess your research paper content quickly.

To summarize all the tips stated above, the Methods section of an ideal manuscript aims to share the scientific knowledge with transparency and also establishes the robustness of the study.

Exercise 2. Translate the following words and word combinations.

Equipment / tools / instruments. Methodology section.

A thesis statement. The method applied.

Investigation / observation. A research design.

Target / goal / aim / purpose / objective. Advantages / disadvantages.

A coherent narrative. Appropriate technique. Reliable / valid / effective.

Reliability / validity of a measure. Data / results / method.

Calculate / analyse data. Make calculations / analysis. Achieve results.

The gradual / development / nuances of the study. Describe the methods.

To improve.

Work out / develop / design.

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Exercise 3. Make up word combinations with each of the following words: method, result, analysis.

Exercise 4. Provide synonyms and / or antonyms to the following words and word combinations.

To discuss, an idea. To explain. Evidence.

The strongest argument. In many ways. Typically.

A topic sentence. Selective reading.

To reach the destination. Essential details. Interesting and informative.

Exercise 5. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1.Основная часть исследовательской работы – это та часть, в которой вы обсуждаетевсеосновныеидеи, объясняететемуиподкрепляетесвоимыслис помощью некоторых доказательств.

2.Несмотря на то, что статьи могут иметь разную структуру, те, которые сообщают об экспериментальной работе, как правило, включают такие подразделы, как «Материалы» и «Методы (Методология)», «Результаты» и «Обсуждение» в основную часть.

3.Не забудьте внимательно прочитать подраздел «Инструкции» для авторов каждого конкретного журнала и следовать данным инструкциям.

4.Вначале каждого абзаца объясните, почему вы выбрали именно этот эксперимент.

5.Все эксперименты должны быть представлены в логической форме, которая помогает читателюпроследить поэтапность, развитиеи нюансы исследования.

Exercise 6. Give Russian equivalents for the following phrases.

1.It is impossible to learn how to write a good research paper … .

2.To help the readers follow the study design or methodology better … .

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3.Carefully describe the materials, equipment or stimuli used in the experiment… .

4.To improve the readability of your manuscript … .

5.This section should be concluded with … .

 

Exercise 7. Match the beginnings of the phrases in the left column with their

counterparts from the right one.

 

1)

It’s best for your strongest argument…

a) to describe the methods in a

2)

The Methods section contains the

chronological order of the experiments;

 

essential details for other scientists…

b) to conduct the statistical analysis;

3)

The information in the methods

c) to replicate the experiments of the study

 

section is closely scrutinized by the

and help the common readers to

 

journal editors and peer reviewers…

understand the study better;

4)

A useful way of achieving logic is…

d) to be in the first paragraph of your

5)

The correct way of reporting the

paper;

 

reliability and the validity depends…

e) to assess whether the most appropriate

6)

In this section describe all statistical

technique was used to reach your

 

tests, levels of significance, and

research goal;

 

software packages used…

f) on the specific research design.

Exercise 8. Read and translate the following text.

THE ESSENTIAL DON’TS OF WRITING

A TECHNICALLY SOUND METHODS SECTION

1.Do not describe well-known methods in detail: For the sake of brevity, avoid listing the details of the experiments that are widely used or already published in numerous articles in your field of research. Instead, mention and cite the specific experiment and mention that the referred process was followed. However, if you have modified the standard process to meet the specific aim of your study, do describe the modifications and the reasons for those in sufficient detail.

2.Do not provide unnecessary details: Avoid unnecessary details that are not relevant to the result of the experiment. For example, you need not mention trivial details such as the color of the bucket that held the ice. Try to stick only to the details that are relevant and have an impact on your study.

3.Do not discuss the pros and cons of other methods: While it may be tempting to discuss the reasons why you did not use a particular method or how your chosen

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method is superior to others, save these details for the Discussion section. Utilize the Methods section only to mention the details of the methods you chose.

Exercise 9. Write a paragraph on the methodology used in your ownresearch, both in Russian and in English.

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PART 3. CONCLUSION

Exercise 1. Read the text and answer the question: What is the purpose of a conclusion paragraph?

HOW TO WRITE A CONCLUSION

FOR A RESEARCH PAPER

It is important to start thinking about the result since you begin working on the conclusion of your paper. It is a wise solution to start thinking about how to write a conclusion for a research paper once a student comes up with a good topic. An outline of the paper is an action plan. Developing a research paper outline requires having an overall picture of the research paper conclusion.

So, what does the conclusion mean? Before moving to the straight answer to this question, it is important to define what a research paper conclusion is. The work itself is the collection of the findings from different studies. The writer gathers information during the process of in-depth observation of the primary sources (books, scholarly articles, scientific reports, academic journals, etc.).

It doesn’t matter what you are writing about each topic should have its own summary in the end that will briefly conclude the ideas discussed in the paper.

A conclusion is a closing paragraph or few of the academic (scientific, creative) writing, which summarizes the main points of the story. It should not be a very long paragraph ‒ actually, it’s the shortest part of the paper, but the one that is still very important. In conclusion, a writer should restate a thesis statement and all of the ideas of the paper. These definitions will help to understand how to write a conclusion for a research paper.

Without having a clear idea of the way introduction and the rest of the work’s pats should look like, a student will not succeed with the assignment. This type of academic work has more parts than a regular paper. It is not a regular school essay with an introductory paragraph, 3-5 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. It is a scientific study, which aims to explore the problem under the loop.

If you wish to learn how to write an effective conclusion for a research paper meaning you need the highest possible score, pay attention to the abstract, introduction, and results. These sections predetermine the conclusion. An abstract arrives at the beginning of the work with a summary of the findings, but the student has to compose it after the rest of the sections are ready, including the conclusion. There is no way to develop an abstract without writing a final thought.

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If a student wants to find out how to write a conclusion paragraph for a research paper, he/she should draw a parallel between the conclusion and introduction. In this situation, a conclusion depends on the opening one. The student should know what he will be writing about in the conclusion when developing an introduction ‒ these two parts must be interconnected. The closing section restates the thesis statement mentioned in the beginning.

The final thing to pay attention to is the part that contains study results because the conclusion must reveal the research findings once more and conclude everything mentioned in the Results and Discussion section by adding the ideas to implement them further and provide forecasts for the future.

The conclusion of the research paper conclusion is the discussion. This part predetermines the course of concluding section as it evaluates the way results reply to the main question and explain their relevance to the current knowledge in the proposed area.

All conclusion does answer the primary research question stated in the introduction. Try to reply to several questions succinctly even though the author should have answered part of them in the discussion section. The core idea is to leave some unanswered questions and propose forecasts. Other potential scientists will then use this information to support ongoing studies.

Would you like other people to cite your words and recall your name through ages? In this case, it is important to understand how to write a conclusion paragraph for a research paper according to the rules of great scientific work.

The students who are in search of the good research paper conclusion example can find some of the best samples here. The truth is that learning from the examples of others we can become more experienced and write a better paper.

Example A:

2 different designs of an emission-free fuel cell vehicle have been introduced in the paper. The 1st automobile, a premium-class Jaguar functions thanks to hydrogen. The 2nd vehicle, a small family Suzuki, runs on a mix of hydrogen and oxygen. Every automobile has recyclable elements. Both cars meet the requirements of the Australian design standards regarding overall performance and security. The main point if the 2nd automobile, Suzuki, is more economical in terms of manufacturing.

The best way to write a conclusion for a research paper is to remain neutral concerning the participants if the study contains comparisons. Remaining neutral is one of the key features of any professional writer.

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Another example is:

The presented study deals with a couple of environmentally-friendly automobile designs. The team reveals the information about the engine, materials, security, comfort, status, and accessories along with the sketches for every model. Both would be more expensive than regular family automobiles, but they are good regarding the environment.

A team/single student may decide to compose the conclusion in the third-person voice or describe everything using the first-person voice. The main goal is to reveal the truth.

The Results and Discussion section is what predetermines the conclusion of the study, and it is critical to understand how to write a conclusion for a research paper with the help of so-called transitions words.

That is everything a student needs to know about the art of concluding a research paper. Even though it’s not a very easy test, with enough practice you will succeed at it in no time.

Exercise 2. Translate the following words and word combinations.

Start thinking.

A research paper. A good topic. An action plan.

Developing a research paper outline. An overall picture in-depth observation. Primary sources.

Scholarly articles. Academic journals.

A conclusion / closing paragraph. Academic / scientific / creative) writing. Summarize.

A thesis statement.

A clear / core / main / general idea. Succeed with the assignment. Predetermine the conclusion.

Pay attention.

Cite your words / recall your name.

Exercise 3. Make up word combinations with the words: paper, conclusion, idea.

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