Academic writing

Metadiscourse and referencing

Sum up from last week• Coherence and cohesion

Study time sum-up• Comp. p 13, task 2• The first English colonies in what is now the US.• England made several failed attempts at setting up permanents settlements in

what is now the US before they eventually succeeded. In 1585, for example, Sir Walter Raleigh, who was an English poet, soldier and statesman, tried unsuccessfully to found a new settlement on Roanake Island, later to be known as the ‘lost colony’. Roanake Island is situated near the coast of what is now North Carolina. About two decades later, in 1607, England managed to establish the first permanent settlement in what is now the US in Jamestown, Virginia. This is still 13 years before the Pilgrims, who were English separatists, landed in Massachusetts and founded Plymouth Colony in 1620.

Study time sum-up• Comp. p 13, task 2• Kings and queens of England• In 1688-89 England witnessed what is now known as ‘the Glorious revolution’ or

the ‘bloodless revolution’, which resulted in the deposition of King James II and the accession of his daughter Mary II and her husband William III (William of Orange). The Glorious revolution also resulted in the Bill of Rights, which is one of the basic instruments of the British constitution, and the establishment of Parliament as the ruling power of England. In 1701 an act was passed, which -among other issues – required that the English king should be protestant. This act was called the act of settlement, and since 1701 it has regulated the succession to the throne of Great Britain.

Study time sum-up

• Comp. p 13, task 2• Kings and queens of England + what is now the US• Following the act of settlement, King George II was the

king of Great Britain from 1727-60. He was married to the beautiful and intelligent Caroline of Ansbach, and it is after her that the American states of North and South Carolina are named.

Study time sum-up• Comp. p 16, task 1

(E) Despite variation in structure, length and pattern of development, paragraphs can be said to have certain features in common. (B) They are visually set off from other paragraphs by double spacing. (H) Well-developed paragraphs consist of a succession of sentences which develop one dominant idea. (F) (One sentence paragraphs are rarely found in academic prose.) (D) The main idea is usually announced in a general statement, called the topic or controlling sentence, and it is often – but not always placed towards the beginning of the paragraph. (G) This sentence contains key words which control the way the paragraph will be developed. . (I) The last sentence in the paragraph usually rounds off the idea being developed or serves as a transition to the next paragraph. (A) The rest of the sentences in the paragraph refer back to the topic sentence ad support it, thus providing the reader with evidence, examples, facts etc. at various levels of generality, which contribute to the reader’s understanding of the main idea (C) In extended texts, paragraphs help create global coherence in that the unifying idea expressed in the topic sentence links up with the other topic sentences to form the overall theme or line of argument of the whole text.

Study time sum-up• Comp. p 17, task 5

Student feedback on ”why study English” texts: paragraph structure, topic sentence etc

Depth of paragraph

Rework paragraph

metadiscourse

• W hat is it?

• W hy use it?

metadiscourse

• W hat is it?

• “W riting about writing, whatever does not refer to the subject matter being addressed.” ( W illiams)

metadiscourse

• W hy use it?

• To point out and make clear the argument in your text

• To help the reader organise the content of your text and react to it.

Metadiscourse • Meta-paragraphs (introductory sections and forewords,

which introduce the topic; state the aims and purposes; and outline the structure of the text)

• Meta-sentences (which identify what the focus is)

• Meta-words (connectives first, next, for example, however)

• Meta-punctuation (colon, quotation marks, exclamation marks, etc)

• Meta-typography (italics, bold letters, underlining)

Use metadiscourse when you write• Introduce and point out the focus of your text.• State how you use sources, theories and methods. • State if it is you or your sources speaking.• Make transitions from section to section and from paragraph to

paragraph.• Refer to what you have said and what you will say.• Link paragraphs.• Mark topic changes.• Mark levels (categories/subcategories),order and sequence.• State function and status of the information you use in your text.• State speech acts.

How metadiscourse creates coherence and cohesion

• Text connectives (connect particular blocks of information to each other)• Sequence: first, next, in the third place• Logical or temporal relationships: however, nevertheless, as a consequence, at the

same time• Reminders about material presented earlier: as I noted in Chapter One• Announcements of material appearing later in text: as we shall see in the next section• Statements of what material one is on the verge of presenting: what I wish to do now is

develop the idea that..• Topicalizers: for example, there are, as for, in regard to

How metadiscourse creates coherence and cohesion

• Code glosses (help readers grasp the appropriate meanings of elements in the text)

• For example to define or translate a foreign word.

• Illocution markers (make explicit to our readers what speech or discourse act we are performing at certain points in our text (such as hypothesizing, summing up, making claims, giving examples)

• To sum up, for example, we claim that, I hypothesize that

• Validity markers (express our view of the validity of the material we convey)• Register necessary doubts: perhaps, may, might, seem, to a certain extent• Emphatic: clearly, undoubtedly, it’s obvious that• Attributors: according to Einstein

How metadiscourse creates coherence and cohesion

• Narrators (let readers know who said or wrote something)• According to James, Mrs Wilson announced that, the principal reported that

• Attitude markers (reveal our attitudes to the content of the text)• Surprisingly, I find it interesting that, it is alarming to note that

• Commentary (address the reader directly – implicit dialogue)• Most of you will oppose the idea that, you might wish to read the last chapter first, you

will probably find the following material difficult at first, my friend,

Sources and referencing

• Different ways of using sources in your text:

quoting, paraphrasing, referring

• Q uote – W hen the exact wording is important (when

how something is said is as important as what is said)

– when you need the authority of the source– To support and substantiate textual analysis.

quoting, paraphrasing, referring• Parafrase (indirect q uotes)

– when you need the content and when the exact wording is not important

– W hen the style of the source does not ’fit in’– when the source has a different weighting than you

need– To shorten.– To demonstrate understanding.

quoting, paraphrasing, referring

• Refer

• To represent the essense of the source.

• To leave out unnecessary details.

• To give a general introduction of the source.

Q uotes• Should be few and well-chosen• Can serve as examples• Can be the starting point of a discussion of theory. • Can illustrate other approaches than one’s own. • Can substantiate your argument• Should only be included if they are used. • Must be commented on / considered (they cannot speak

for themselves) • Rule of thumb: avoid more than one quote per page and

avoid qoutes longer than 6-7 lines.

techniques• Short q uotes are placed in the text - use

quotation marks. • Longer quotes (four lines or longer): no

quotation marks. Introduce by a colon and indent it from the left-hand margin. Use extra spacing before and after.

• Omitted words are marked by . . . or (…) • added words are marked by [ ] , e.g. [his]

Paraphrase and summary• A paraphrase changes the language of the

original but follows the structure and order of the original text.

• A summary is a digest of ideas and information in another text. You can select relevant parts of the text and change the order of information.

Paraphrase and summary – cntd.• Do not add information• use your own words and style. • Make a clear distinction between the

paraphase/summary of the source and your own comments (use metalanguage: ”on the basis of this we conclude …”)

citation• Q uotes are part of the sentences

– J ones (1982) claims that ” …• Q outes are not part of the sentences

– The coclusion emphasises that things have not changed for the better (Jones, 1982).

W hen do you need references?

You do not need references here:

• basic common knowledge, i.e. what anyone can observe.

• you own observations.

You need references here:• quotes, paraphrases, summaries• Claims, opinions and points of view from sources• Events which have been observed by only a

limited number of observants• Statistics, illustrations, etc.• Information from the internet.

you are too close to your sources if you:• Paraphrase or summarise sources without using it for

anything• use too many quotations• Do not clearly mark when it is you or your source who is

speaking• Do not have very much analysis of your own between the

quotes. • Do not use your sources critically (select, qualify, evaluate)• use the language of your sources in stead of your own

language. (Den gode opgave)

Referencing and the writing process• Read the text – take notes.• Put away the text and possibly also your own notes.• Paraphrase in your own words (spoken language will do for a start – you can revise later).• Do not write ‘difficult’ language to make up for the fact that you have not understood the

content of the text but only lifted sentences or phrases and used them in your own text.• Do not write anything that you do not understand yourself.• You may write about theorists who write in abstract and complicated ways, but that does not

mean that you should write in that way yourself. • Do not quote before you have written the text into which the quote should be integrated.• In the final revision, write well-structured paragraphs with topic sentences, supporting

sentences and concluding sentences.

Study time

• Compendium p. 19, task 1 (metadiscourse)

• Compendium, p. 24, tasks 1 and 2 (referencing)