Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Swales' Article

In the extract from Swales' book we looked at Unit 1, "An Approach to Academic Writing." The author gives some good tips about how to get started writing and revising. The author is particular about how someone should write. This is not a free writing exercise. The student must be conscious about who they are writing for. After a first draft is ready then the student must clean up their paper. They can do this by using the words: assist, establish, reduce, create, determine, investigate, fluctuate, increase, and eliminate.
To this list I would like to add: "Research shows", "The author intends", "Research suggests", "The author goes on to say", and "The author continues."
A big part of doing a research paper is quoting and citing the research of others. If you would like to express yourself more then let me suggest that you do an Ethnography. This acceptable writing format allows you to engage in 'participant observation.' You can observe a situation, classroom, and/or phenomenon and make your own observations. Your own thoughts then become a focal point of your research as you record your experience.
Otherwise, you will be researching other people's work and then organizing the data. You will be able to express your own ideas in the conclusion but more often than not it will be a reflection of your source material. Good luck!

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