topic: effects of industrial pollution on plant life
question: what are the effects of increased concentrations of sulfuric acid in the atmosphere on production of grain sorghum?
question: do increased concentrations of sulfuric acid in the atmosphere lead to significant decrease in the production of grain sorghum?
Formulating a Hypothesis
statement of expected result
state in negative way (no effect, will not affect etc), it is called the null hypothesis, which can be rejected
Introduction
the setting
already studied
investigation needed
purpose of new study
optional justification or value of new study
The setting
content
move from general to specific statements
begin with generally accepted facts about a topic
identify one subarea within the general area which includes your topic
arrange ideas in logical sequence
use old information at the beginning of your sentences
language
mark generic noun phrases appropriately
if countable
use plural or
omit article or
use the indefinite article a or an
less obvious
if referring to living creatures or familiar machinery and equipment
use the definite article the
the integration of the computer into the society (meaning "computers in general")
the hummingbird can ... ("hummingbirds in general")
if uncountable
omit article
mark specific noun phrases appropriately
if assumed, shared information
use the definite article the
in the world...
if pointing back to old information already mentioned
first time a/an, now the
if pointing forward, made clear of the meaning in a following phrase
use the
the gas which is produced in the western state...
indicate old information
by using repeated or derived words,
pronouns
this, that
place old information in front, and link it to new information
example: "plants do photosynthesis", "while this is taking place, ...new information..."
Review previous research
purpose
continue with the background information
assures readers that you are familiar with the important research
establishes your study as one link in a chain of research
format
information prominent
information + reference (author, year) or (number - position in the list of references)
author prominent
author + reference (date or reference number) + information
content
use a logical plan to order your citations
grouped by approach
one approach
another approach
etc
ordered from distant to close
ordered chronologically
use information prominent and weak author prominent citations at the beginning and at transitional points
use author prominent citations to report specific findings later in the stage
language
use verb tenses correctly
information prominent citations
present tense for facts
(topic) + (verb) + fact + reference
nutrient resorption is a common phenomenon in forest trees (Karamer, 1979)
weak author prominent: several authors
present perfect tense
authors + verb + topic + references
several researchers have studied the relationship between classroom adjustment and mobility (Madsen, 1980; Biggs, 1983; Randall, 1985)
topic + verb + authors + references
the physiology of annual plants has been studied by several researchers (Madsen, 1980; Biggs, 1983; Randall, 1985)
general statements about the level of research activity
present perfect tense
without citations
level + verb + topic
Little research has been done on topic development in ESL students' composition
author prominent citations: findings from specific studies
past tense
author + reference + verb of report + that + findings
Allington (1983) (found, showed, reported, noted, observed) that teachers allocated equal time to all groups
For author prominent, use the correct form of the verb in the findings, based on your attitude towards the findings
accepted as fact
use present tense in complement verb
author + reference + verb of report + that + findings (present)
Sillen (1) showed that aluminum is a good conductor of electricity
finding results limited to a single study
use past tense in complement verb
author + reference + verb of report + that + findings (past)
Abramson (1974) reported that mobile students had lower academic performance
Harris (7) found that 34.6kg of nitrogen were cycled internally by trees
findings that are tentative, suggestions from the authors
use modal auxiliaries in the complement, e.g. may, might, could, would
author + reference + verb of report(proposed, suggested, hypothesized) + that + findings (modal)
Van (5) proposed that aluminium may be common in diatom residues
use tentative verbs of report for suggestions or proposals
use modal auxiliaries in the complement to indicate tentative findings
Advancing to present research
Missing information
indicate that the previous literature described in the review is inadequate beacause an important aspect of the research area has been ignored by other authors
there is an unresolved conflict among the authors of previous studies concerning the research topic. This may be theoretical or methodological disagreement.
an examination of the previous literature suggests an extension of the topic, or raise a new research question not previously considered by other workers in your field
signaling by
signal word + Gap (present or present perfect) + research topic