Postgraduate textbook. Учебное пособие

2.ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЕ РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ ПО РАБОТЕ СО СПЕЦТЕКСТОМ

Основной задачей аспиранта (соискателя) является выра- ботка умений и навыков работы с иноязычным специализиро- ванным (научным, научно-техническим) текстом.

Однако то, что видится приоритетным при подготовке и сдаче кандидатского экзамена не может и не должно ограни- чиваться лишь навыком перевода. Работа с аутентичным тек- стом предусматривает различные виды деятельности, направ- ленной на понимание текста и умение выделить и передать его основную мысль, ознакомиться с основной терминологией по теме сообщения, уметь с ней работать, активно включать ее в свою речь. Поэтому авторам учебного пособия представляется целесообразным обозначить вид деятельности (а точнее говоря, некий конгломерат различных видов деятельности), направлен- ный на работу с иноязычным текстом, не просто как перевод текста, а как его анализ.

Анализ текста включает следующие фазы и виды языковой деятельности:

ESP Analysis:

Phase I – Pre-reading Phase II – While-reading Phase III – Post-reading

Phase I – Pre-reading

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Phase II – While-reading

• the text

• to understand the purpose

Learners' Perspective on the Problem

Поскольку в качестве учебных текстов может быть исполь- зована оригинальная монографическая и периодическая литера- тура по тематике широкого профиля вуза (научного учрежде- ния), предлагаемый для анализа текст не является собственно научным, но дает возможность не только выработать навык ана- лиза и перевода текста, но и сообщает сведения, имеющие прак- тическую значимость для непосредственных научных изыска- ний аспиранта (соискателя).

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SKILLS DEVELOPMRNT

VARIANT 1

Pre-reading task

1.Read the headlines of the text and subtext and explain why the text is divided into these parts and numbered points.

2.Complete the table «Things I know about the topic» (work with the left part only – «Before reading»).

Things I know about the topic

3.Guess the topic and the gist of the text.

4.Think of the words and ideas you associate with «Research paper», and rank them in the order of importance.

5.Write down the words related to the topic.

6.Predict how the text begins (two sentences).

WRITING A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PAPER

Steps in Writing a High School Science Research Paper

Science laboratory experiments provide students with a chance to use scientific investigation methods.

Putting together an effective research paper for a high school science class or competition requires a suitable experiment and paying proper attention to the steps of the scientific method. This will ensure that the results of the experiment are authentic and accurate. Science papers are typically experiment-based and help teach students about scientific methodology. The paper should elaborate on the experimental method in such a way that readers can repeat the experiment on their own.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Choose a topic for your experiment. Conduct preliminary research to determine whether other similar experiments have been con-

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ducted. Conduct an online search and peruse some scientific journals to find these. Take notes and write down the source for each note.

2.Write down the steps of your experiment and create a hypothesis regarding what you think the results of the experiment will be.

3.Conduct your experiment and record your results. Determine whether the results of your experiment match up to your hypothesis. Create a list of reasons as to why you believe they did or did not. Repeat the experiment as many times as necessary to attain repeated measurable results. Record the results each time you conduct the experiment. Compare the results to any other similar experiments you may have found and try to determine the reasons for any differences in results.

4.Create an abstract for your paper. The abstract is a oneparagraph summary of the results of your research that gives the reader a snapshot of your experiment and research.

5.Write the introduction to your paper. This is similar to the abstract, but longer and more detailed. The introduction should show your reader your hypothesis and the experiment you set up to test it. It should list the various variables used in your experiment and how you tested each of these. The introduction should also provide some examination of other similar experiments and research that you uncovered. Show how your experiment differs from these other reports and experiments.

6.Craft the body of your paper by providing a detailed account of each trial of your experiment. Include all data and variables so that the reader can see, in detail, how your experiment played out. Create charts and graphs if necessary to illustrate your main ideas or to compare data from one trial to the next. You can also include comparisons of your experiment with the results of others you learned about in your research.

7.Conclude your paper with a summary of your experiment and a definitive conclusion of whether you believe it proved your hypothesis true, false or inconclusive. The conclusion of the paper should reiterate the major findings of your paper and drive home the

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connection between your hypothesis and the results of your experiment.

8. Add a bibliography to your paper. Your bibliography should include a reference for each source you consulted for your paper. Bibliographic entries usually include the name of the author, title of the book or article, name of the journal, if applicable, edition or volume, publisher, place of publication and year the work was published.

While-reading task (skimming reading)

1.Read the text quickly to get the main ideas.

2.Get the author's overall message.

3.Develop your own ideas how the text is organized.

4.Work in groups. Discuss the True/False statements:

a)science laboratory experiments provide students with a chance to use scientific investigation methods;

b)when taking notes it is not necessary to write down the source for each note;

c)the results of your experiment should match up to your hypothesis;

d)you needn't to compare your results to any other similar experiments you may have found;

e)the abstract is a twoor more paragraph summary of the results of your research;

f)the introduction to the paper is similar to the abstract, but longer and more detailed;

g)crafting the body of your paper you should provide an account of some basic trials of your experiment;

h)the conclusion of the paper should reiterate the major findings of your paper and drive home the connection between your hypothesis and the results of your experiment;

i)bibliographic entries usually include the name of the author, title of the book or article, name of the journal, edition or volume, publisher and place of publication.

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While-reading task (scanning reading)

1.Read the text more carefully to understand details.

2.Underline special terms and explain their meaning. Write them down to craft your own glossary.

3.Tell the other sub-group members about main points of the text.

4.Put at least five questions to the text and let your neighbour answer the questions.

Post-reading task

1.Complete the table «Things I know about the topic» (work with both parts of the table).

Things I know about the topic

VARIANT 2

Pre-reading task

1.Read the headlines of the text and subtexts and explain why the text is divided into these parts.

2.Complete the table «Things I know about the topic» (work with the left part only – «Before reading»).

Things I know about the topic

3.Guess the topic and the gist of the text.

4.Think of the words and ideas you associate with «Research paper», and rank them in the order of importance.

5.Write down the words related to the topic.

6.Predict how the text begins (two sentences).

WRITING A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PAPER

Writing a high quality scientific research paper is one of the most difficult and important aspects of science. The goal of this brief tutorial is to lay out some key concepts in the process of writing a scientific paper. We will not cover methods for any one field, but

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rather, provide a general approach to the process. For help with specifics within your field, your best bet is to ask your advisor or other members of your lab for assistance.

When am I ready to write?

The simple answer here is this: when эyou can prove something that is novel and important. You must have sufficient data to tell a story that reveals something new about nature that is also important. Obviously, you must have a thorough knowledge of the available literature to gauge your results. Additionally, it is essential that you are able to repeat your experiments and achieve the same results. Finally, your advisor will usually give you a «thumbs up» to write when the time is right.

Ok, so I have a story. What do I do now?

The first thing to do is to just get something down on paper. Don’t worry too much about the quality of what you are writing at this point. It is critical to something written since it will help you to overcome writer’s block. Once you have written your first paper you will find that constant revision is part of the writing process. Therefore, your mission is to get ideas down for each section so that you have something to mould into your final masterpiece.

Typically, a scientific paper consists of the following sections (in order): Title, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion / Conclusions, and References. Although this is the order in which the sections will appear in your paper, they are often written out of turn. For instance, your References section will be worked on throughout the writing process. Oftentimes, the easiest section to start with is the Materials and Methods section. Let’s start there.

Materials and Methods

This section consists of what you actually did. For instance, you’ll describe any software you used, a new technique you invented, what organisms were cultured, etc. You need to be specific about how you did things such that another researcher can repeat your experiments. This section is typically the easiest to write because you

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have presumably done your experiments many times. Therefore, they should be second nature to you and writing about them should just be a matter of recalling them from memory. Once you have a rough amount of material down for this section, you are ready to begin writing others.

Results

The next easiest section to write is the results section. Here, you will write only about what your data actually are, not what they mean in a greater context (we’ll save that for the discussion section). For instance, «We found the rate of X.»; and «We found the rate of X to be consistent with the Bunny Model.» (inappropriate). The first statement is fine since it indicates a value that is measured. The second statement is inappropriate because it is an interpretation of what the data mean. Such interpretations should be left for the Discussion section.

Discussion / Conclusions / Introduction

Within the Discussion section, you need to interpret your data and present what they mean. It is here that you will talk about why your data are relevant and important and what remains to be done in the field. The catch is, in order for your audience to understand what is going on, you need to make sure that they are familiar with your subject. As such, it can be useful to write the Introduction section along with the Discussion section. The idea here is that, when you want to make a point in the Discussion section, you then just make a note in your Introduction section saying, «Ok, I need to explain this point.» By the time you have a first draft of your Discussion section, you’ll know what needs to be in your Introduction section.

Title / Abstract

The Title and Abstract are probably the most important sections of the whole paper. The Title immediately clues the reader (and the reviewers) into what your point is and why it’s important. As such, your Title should be concise, specific, and interesting. Assuming that you’ve written a fantastic Title, your Abstract will act as a «movie

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preview» that readers (again, and reviewers) will use to see if they want to actually read your paper. Your Abstract should be short (usually no more than 250 words) and should briefly describe what you’re studying, what’s been done, what you’ve found, and why that’s interesting. Writing a good abstract is the key to getting your paper read, and accepted, by reviewers.

Final considerations

The basic idea behind good paper writing is to make sure that you’ve got good solid chunks of writing down that you can mould and reshape through revision. No one gets it right in one draft and it takes multiple rounds of revision to make sure that you’ve got everything that you need.

While-reading task (skimming reading)

1.Read the text quickly to get the main ideas.

2.Get the author's overall message.

3.Develop your own ideas how the text is organized.

4.Work in groups. Discuss the True / False statements:

a)writing a high quality scientific research paper is one of the most difficult and important aspects of science;

b)you must have a thorough knowledge of the available literature to gauge your results;

c)it is not so essential that you are able to repeat your experiments and achieve the same results;

d)it is very important to try and write a high quality research material from the very first attempts to get something down on paper;

e)typically, a scientific paper consists of the following sections (in order): title, introduction, materials and methods, results, and references;

f)all the sections must be written in order;

g)the easiest section to start with is the materials and methods section;

h)all interpretations should be left for the results section.

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i)within the discussion section you will talk about why your data are relevant and important and what remains to be done in the field;

j)never write the introduction section along with the discussion section;

k)the title is probably the least important section of the whole paper;

l)your abstract should be long enough to describe what you’re studying, what’s been done, what you’ve found, and why that’s interesting;

m)no one gets the research paper right in one draft and it takes multiple rounds of revision to make sure that you’ve got everything that you need.

While-reading task (scanning reading)

1.Read the text more carefully to understand details.

2.Underline special terms and explain their meaning. Write them down to craft your own glossary.

3.Tell the other sub-group members about main points from any two sections you choose.

4.Answer the questions:

a)When do you think you are ready to write your research paper?

b)Your advisor will give you a «thumbs up» to write when the time is right. Who is an adviser? What does the expression «thumbs up» mean?

c)What is the first thing to do when you have had a story?

d)Revision is part of the writing process, isn't it? Why?

e)How many sections are there in a scientific paper? Name them in order. Are they written in order or out of turn?

f)What is the easiest section to start with? Why?

g)Why is the statement «We found the rate of X.» fine, while «We found the rate of X to be consistent with the Bunny Model.» statement is inappropriate?

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