Academic writing

Academic writing requirements

Writing academically means following certain particular characteristics which distinguish academic writing from other types of writing styles. It has its own set of rules and genres for instance the use of a particular kind of language and technique and specific writing styles. These features are closely related to the different characteristics that a discourse community has to have in order to be recognized as such (Pintos & Crimi, 2010 b).

The purpose of this work is to analyze Myles’ (2002) article and find examples of the specific features which characterize academic writing, such as acknowledging of sources, introductory phrases and use of reporting verbs. In addition, analysis of the American Psychology Association (APA) requirements is compared to those used by Myles in his work.  

There are many systems to cite sources and avoid plagiarism in the academic field (Pintos & Crimi, 2010 a). According to APA (2006), writers employ a combination of in-text citations to sustain their arguments. Myles (2002) makes use of a variety of in-text citations in her article following APA rules for academic writing in order to validate her claims about second language writing.  

APA (2006) establishes three systems for integrating in-text citation in an academic writing:  quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing. The uses of them give credibility to the writing, support the author’s arguments, and provide examples of different points of view on the writing topic among others.

Miles (2002) recurs to a combination of quotations, paraphrases and summaries which sustain her arguments, give credibility to her work and attempts to obviate plagiarism. For instance,

The nature of academic literacy writing often confuses and disorients students, particularly those who bring with them a set of convention that are odds with those of the academic world they are entering (Kutz, Groden & Zamel, 1993, p.30)

According to APA (2006) style, “in-text citation consists of a combination the author’s last name, date of publication, and location reference, all separated by commas” (as cited in Purdue Owl, 2006, para. 1) and there are different modes of citing sources. “(Grabe & Kaplan, 1996)”, “Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987) also propose...” exemplify the accurate usage of APA (2006) rules and the variety of in-text citation which Myles (2002) utilizes in her article to crediting her arguments.  

As regards long quotations, APA (2010) states that a block quotation that it is longer than 40 words should start in a new line separated from the text, indented five spaces from the left margin and quotation marks should be omitted (cited in Purdue Owl, 2010). In Myles’ (2002) article two quotations are found. By using block quotations in her paper, the author avoids omitting any important word which can destroy the integrity of original source. For instance, when she cites Mc Laughlin

[L]earners lack the necessary information in the second language or the attentional capacity to activate the appropriate second-language routine. But such an account says little about why certain linguistic forms transfer and others do not. (1988, p. 50)

Another requirement for academic writing is the use of introductory phrases and reporting verbs, being both closely related. Pintos and Crimi (2010 a) state that “the key to good writing is using a variety of structures and lexis” (p. 22). To make writing more academic, it is necessary to employ a diversity of formal language and this variation is given by the use of different reporting verbs in introductory phrases (Pintos & Crimi, 2010 a).

Introductory sentences are a means of in-text citations. They are composed by the source and the main idea (Pintos & Crimi, 2010 a). Myles (2002) employs a diversity of introductory phrases and reporting verbs. For instance, “Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987) also propose…”, “The Flower and Hayes (1980, 1981) model focuses on…”, “According to Bialystok (1998)” are found in her article. Thus, Myles (2002) gives her paper an academic tone with a rich of structures and styles.

Considering that reporting verbs are fundamental to write an appropriate academic writing, Myles (2002) applies a range of reporting verbs such as point out, stress, advocate, argue, state, observe, analyze, mention and many other to make her writing flows smoothly and to provide it with a variety of structures. In addition, Myles’ (2002) use of reporting verbs helps her to include in her writing the ideas of other writers who support her concepts avoiding plagiarisms. 

All in all, writing academically implies the application of a wide assortment of requirements which provides academic writing with particular features and it can be distinguished from other types of writing. The aim of this work is to analyze, compare and provide examples of the requirements of academic writing styles such as sources acknowledging, introductory phrases and reporting verbs established by APA (2006) in Myles’ (2002) article. By employment of the different APA rules the author gives her paper an academic tone with an extensive variety of structures and styles.

References

Myles, J. (2002). Second language writing and research: The writing process and error

     analysis in student texts. TESEL-EJ 6 (2) Queen’s University. Retrieved October 2010

     from http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESl-EJ/ej22/a1.html.

Pintos, V.  & Crimi, Y.  (2010 a)  Unit 2 Personal narratives in teaching. Retrieved September

     2010, from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=7214

Pintos, V.  & Crimi, Y.  (2010 b)  Unit 3 Academic writing Retrieved October 2010, from

     http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=7214

Purdue OWL. (2006).Quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing. Retrieved August 2010,

     http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/course/view.php?id=54

Purdue OWL. (2010). In-text citations: The basics. Retrieved August 2010, from

     http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/course/view.php?id=54

A tool for Teachers’ reflection

Critical Incidents:  A powerful tool for teachers’ reflection

Critical incident technique (CTI) is a powerful tool for teachers to reflect not only on the teaching practices but also on the relationship among teachers and students. Tejada (2000) states that there is a need to form professionals capable of observing the classroom events and also able of reflecting upon their teaching practises to carry out assertive decisions about the problems in the classroom (cited in Fernandez Gonzalez, Elòrtegui Escartìn & Medina Pèrez, 2003).

Designed by the American psychologist Flanagan in 1954, the CTI is a powerful method for reflective teaching practices. According to Flanagan (1954) this technique is composed of “a set of procedures for collecting direct observations of human behaviour in such a way as to facilitate their potential usefulness in solving practical problems” (para.2)

Thus, the use of the CTI in the classroom helps teachers to face and solve problems in their current practises appealing to reflection and analysis. The following is a critical incident analysis to show how this technique helped my teaching practises.

At a school meeting, all teachers complained to the headmistress about the serious problems of discipline that we had had with two students in particular.  She informed us that they had all sorts of problems, particularly family problems. They did not have sufficient support of their family. She suggested that we could work with them appealing to emotions, making them feel that they were important.

When I had lessons with this group again I gave them especial roles within the classroom and I always praised them for their behaviour or work in the lesson. Since then, they have changed their mind; they participate in the lessons, bring homework and material. They have also changed the way of socializing with their classmates and behaving.

To conclude, the CTI is a powerful tool for teachers’ reflection that should be used for teachers more frequently to analyse and reflect on their teaching practises. Many of the problems that teachers have to face in the classroom could be tackled through analysis and reflection.

References

Fernández González J., Elortegui Escartin, N., & Medina Perez, M. (2003). Los incidentes

     críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de

     la naturaleza. Revista Universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17(1). Zaragoza,

     España. Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved from

     http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=27417107

Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The Critical Incident Technique. Psycological Bulletin, 51(4)

     Retrieved September 2010 from

     http://www.analytictech.com/mb870/Readings/flanagan.pdf

Tackling a critical incident in the classroom

Some months ago I started working with a project that I was carrying out together with the Spanish teachers in one of the school where I work. First, I explained students briefly about the project and asked two students to help me delivering the books chosen for this project.

While they were carrying on this activity, one student had an inexplicable reaction. She went where the students were delivering the books and she threw the book to them. She also stated that she refused to read it and wanted another title.

Her reaction shocked everybody in the classroom so I asked her to go the headmistress’ office to talk about this situation. When I arrived to the headmistress’ office, she was shouting and denying the incident. I realised that my presence worsened the situation. She started yelling at me and we could not calm her down. Thus, I decided to leave the office and talk with the headmistress and the student afterwards.

Some days later I had a meeting with the headmistress and our pedagogic assistant to find a solution. They suggested having a meeting with the student’s mother to inform her about the situation and took some measures. Besides these measures, I decided to work with the whole group the topic of values.   

That critical incident has made me reflect on and analyse my teaching practises to find an assertive way of solving these kinds of events in the future. Besides it has helped me develop understanding of the incident and develop an ability to reflect on them. It has also made me find strategies and solutions for future incidents in the classroom.

Discourse Communities

What is a Discourse Community?

The term discourse community can be defined as a group of people who gather and share particular knowledge, ideologies and a common discourse (Bizzel, 1986, 1992; Candlin, 1997; Gunnarson, 1997; Herzberg, 1986; Ivanič, 1998; Reid, 1993; Swales, 1990, cited in Pinto & Crimi, 2010). For instance a community college can be considered as a discourse community because “its members have, over time, developed a common discourse” (Kelly-Kleese, 2001, para. 4) that includes common knowledge and purposes, common relationships, attitudes and values. Swales (1990) has pointed out six characteristics that a discourse community requires in order to be identified as such: common goals, participatory mechanisms, information exchange, highly specialized terminology and high general level of expertise (cited in Pinto & Crimi, 2010). The purpose of this work is to find evidence that sustains Swales’ basic criteria for a discourse community.

As regards Swales’ (1990) first criterion, common goals, many discourse communities have developed in order to remark how reflection on teaching practises  itself is “mobilised in particular contexts for particular political, pedagogical, and phenomenological purposes” (Owens, 2002; as cited in Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles & Torres, 2003, para. 8). Wenzlaff and Wieseman (2004) propose that a group work is a feasible method of achieving objectives and give proof of this through a research study of a cohort based master’s degree program in curriculum and pedagogy where its members worked together to accomplish a common purpose .

Taking into account the second criterion Swales (1990) suggests, participatory mechanisms, Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles and Torres (2003) state that teacher reflection in social context takes place “as teachers engage in and share their reflection in diverse ways”(p. 4). Interaction among the members of a discourse community is the principal mechanism to provide information and feedback. Participation “in cultural contexts supports learning environments where people collaborate, use artifacts, strategize solutions to problems, and rely on other, more experienced members” (Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles & Torres, 2003, para. 18). The authors also affirm that teachers become resources for one another, guiding and assisting each other so as to form new ideas.

The third requirement that Swales (1990) proposes is information exchange. Members of a community should interact among themselves to exist as a community. Therefore they can use journals or virtual systems of communication such as e-mail, mailing lists, and discussion forums on the Web to share their experiences (cited in Pinto & Crimi, 2010).

Considering Swales’ (1990) fourth criterion, community-specific genres, Kelly-Kleese (2004) claims that a discourse community borrows its concept from that of speech community. Speech communities can be defined “in terms of the words that are used, the ways they are pronounced, the subjects talk about” (Kutz, 1997; as cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2004 para. 5). She also affirms that members of a discourse community “exhibit a flow of discourse that has a particular structure and style” (Kelly-Kleese, 2004, para.5)

Swales (1990) establishes as the fifth criterion that a discourse community should have a highly specialized terminology. Its members adopt a particular language and have “a greater skill in using (and manipulating) the language system” (Bowers, 1987 as cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2001, para. 5).

Finally, Swales (1990) proposes that a group which belongs to a discourse community should acquire a particular level of knowledge, high general level of expertise (cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010). A community develops certain level of prestige through its writing and publishing. Zito (1984) claims that “an author is granted a certain biding authority to his intended meaning: this legitimated by academic credentials, professional associations, and the division of knowledge within the academy” (as cited Kelly-Kleese, 2001, para. 11). Moreover, the author points out that only those members who belongs to a discourse community and that are “qualified by some socially institutionalized agency may engage in such discourse and be taken seriously” (Zito, 1984 as cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2001, 11).

To conclude, Swales (1990) basic criteria serves as an important contribution to identify discourse communities and their members. Evidence on the six requirements a discourse community should meet to be recognized as such, as Swales (1990) establishes, is found in the four articles analyzed.

References

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher

     learning as praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved October 2007, from

     http://finderarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442653

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor’s Choice: An Open Memo to Community College

     Faculty and Administrators. Community College Faculty and Administrators.

     Community College Review. Retrieved October 2007, from

     http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: community college

     scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved October 2007,

     from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541

Pintos, V. & Crimi, Y. (2010). Unit 1: Building up a community of teachers and

     prospective researchers. Retrieved August 2010, from

     http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=6856

Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers Need Teachers To Grow. Teacher

     Education Quarterly. Retrieved October 2007, from

     http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n9349405