Дискурсивно-стилистический анализ английской письменной научной речи. Учебное пособие

5.Are combining devices used to tie points or sentences together?

•Transition;

•Coordination;

•Subordination.

Exercise35.Peer-reviewpractice.Readtheparagraphwrittenby your partner. Evaluate it using the following evaluation form.

Peer Editor’s Comments and

Suggestions

General

1. What is the best feature of this paragraph?

Paper Format

2. Is the format correct? Does it look like the model?

Organization and Content

3.Topic sentence: Is there a clear topic sentence? Does it have a controlling idea?

4.Supporting sentences: Is the main idea clear? Does the writer need to add more details to explain it?

5.Concluding sentence: Is there a concluding sentence? Does it begin with an appropriate end-of-paragraph signal?

6.Unity: Do all of the sentences support the topic sentence?

7.Coherence: Do the sentences flow smoothly? Are there any inconsistent pronouns?

Are transition signals used?

Sentence Structure

8. Are there any unclear sentences? Can you suggest a way to improve them?

Grammar and Mechanics

9. Are there any errors in grammar and mechanics?

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2. Essay

Essay structure

Essays are shorter pieces of writing used in an academic environment to train an number of study and research skills such as close reading, analysis, comparison and contrast, persuasion, conciseness, clarity, and exposition. Essays are concise and require clarity in purpose and direction. An essay usually displays a clear standard structure which correlates with the paragraph structure.

The introduction is the first part of the essay. It begins the essay and has two parts: general statements and the thesis statement.

Generalstatementsgivethereaderbackgroundinformationabout the topic of the essay. They should be interesting enough to keep the reader’s attention.

The thesis statement introduces the main idea of the essay.

–It states the main topic of the essay.

–It may list the subtopics of the main topic.

–It may also mention the method of organization.

The conclusion is the last paragraph of the essay. It does three things.

–It signals the end of the essay.

–It summarizes the main points.

–It leaves the reader with the writer’s final thoughts on the subject.

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Types of essays

Types of essays common in academic settings include expository essays, descriptive essays and argumentative essays.

The expository essay is a genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner.This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition, example, the analysis of cause and effect, etc.

The descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe something – object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc.

The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner.

Exercise 36. Read two Introduction sections.

Descriptive Translation Studies and the Cultural Turn

The study of translation has, for much of its history, been perceived as a subordinate art whose remit existed outside the scholarly domains of linguistics (Fozooni 2006). The narrow band of concerns that formed the conventional focus in the study of translation behaviour has typically related almost exclusively to the authenticity of a given translation – evaluations of faithfulness and of whether translations were “definitive” (Bassnett and Lefevere 1990; Xie 2009; Dinçel 2012).

However, the past three decades or so have seen a broadening of scope in translation research that has extended it well outside of its traditional realm. Dubbed “the cultural turn”, this period heralded a marked change in emphasis driven primarily by an acknowledgement of the direct influence of culture and underlying ideologies on both the study and practice of contemporary translation. The movement by scholars and practitioners towards broader issues of context heralded a rapid diversification in translation theory.

This paper explores the phenomenon and discusses the changes undergone in the field of translation studies as a result. The paper

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will first offer an outline of the landscape prior to the cultural turn in order to show the theoretical frameworks that informed it. In particular, this will focus on the position of descriptive studies in translation, before discussing what facilitated the movement towards more culturally-informed developments in translation principles. Some of the most significant developments, encompassing socially, politically and historically-grounded methodologies, will be explored in greater detail. Finally, comment will be made on how, with their emphasis on context, these burgeoning theories continue to develop the role of translation as a discipline capable of intercultural understanding and exchange.

(https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/cels/ essays/translation-intro/Descriptive-Translation-Studies- and-the-Cultural-Turn.pdf)

Spinning a Web of Words: demonstrating the principles of collocation with Harry Potter

It is a fact widely discussed and generally accepted that users of language do not always assemble sentences one word at a time, inserting vocabulary words into a mental grammatical framework to produce linguistic output that is always new and unique. Language teaching that is based entirely on this classical model is therefore outdated and inaccurate. Mental linguistic processing seems to rely heavily on associations that are not primarily grammatical in nature, and this is attested to by the phenomenon of lexical collocation: the common cooccurrence of certain words in a manner not predicted by grammatical rules. Collocation ensures that it is unrealistic to a ssume that any word can be placed next to any other word, and that choices are limited according to context.

In this paper I will discuss the implications of this idea for EFL teaching, before looking at a text-based approach to showing students the principles of collocation and how it limits the word-choices open to the language user.

(https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/cels/ essays/lexis/andrew-moffatt-lexis.pdf)

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Text analysis:

1.What sentences introduce general statements? What type of information do they provide?

2.What type of essay do the introductions belong to (expository, descriptive or argumentative)?

3.Analyze the rhetorical moves used in the introductions. Which sentences are used to introduce the broad topic?

4.Which sentences are used to narrow down the topic and introduce a specific problem which will be discussed in the essays?

5.Find thesis statements in both introductions. Compare them. Are the statements narrow enough and debatable? Which thesis statement is more effective? Why?

6.How many paragraphs do the introductions include? What is the reason of such division? How does it correlate with the overall structure of the introduction?

7.What is the purpose of each paragraph in the introductions? How does the purpose of a separate paragraph correlate with the purpose of the introduction as a whole?

8.The assignments for the essays are as follows:

a) Essay 1: Discuss the changes undergone by Descriptive Translation Studies as a result of the influence of Cultural Studies in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

b) Essay 2: Choose a short, authentic, written or spoken text in English (about 200–500 words) and select at least twelve examples of collocations, including some fixed expressions. Discuss how you might use these examples to demonstrate to students the constraints on word-combinations in English.

Compare the assignments and the thesis statements in the introductions. How does the assignment influences the choice of the essay type and the process of formulating the thesis.

9. Based on your analysis, outline a common rhetorical structure of an introduction and state the principles of introduction development.

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Exercise 37. Read the Conclusion sections of the essays presented in Exercise 36.

Descriptive Translation Studies and the Cultural Turn

The remarkable evolution in translation theory – the transition from linguistic-centred methodologies, through DTS (Descriptive Translation Studies) and the cultural turn of the 1980s – has spawned a multitude of new paradigms and concepts. Perhaps even Bassnett and Lefevere, now considered pioneering scholars in the work, did not foresee the ways in which culture would permeate the study of translation. It is worth reflecting on the issues and questions raised by the many developments of the last few decades.

The changes undergone by DTS did much to make such cultu- rally-informed translation theory acceptable in an academic environment which, had previously dismissed it as being more closely related to sociological studies than the academic lineage of literary humanities. In addition, the examination of the ideological, historical, political and moral positions from which texts are interpreted has reformulated the role of the translator. These questions – of ethics, of the relevance of conventional translation theory to the practical results – have gained greater prominence in the view of translation studies, and exposed a seemingly transparent and facilitative process as a manipulative one.

As the focus has moved from DTS and has brought the role of ideology to the fore, the cultural turn has cemented the notion that translated texts can no longer exist outside of the framework of cultural or power-based relations, of which the translator – now depicted as a central but nonetheless subjective character – is part. This may in fact contribute to the divisions that continue to exist between the cultural and linguistic viewpoints. As an example, it is worth noting this interweaving has manifested in a largely unidirectional flow of interdisciplinary cooperation into translation studies, rather than a reciprocal openness (Petterson 1999; Snell-Hornby 2009). The subsequent overshadowing of more empirical methodologies by a desire to authenticate cultural identity could in fact signal a full circle, echoing the focus on translation equivalence that preceded DTS and the cultural turn.

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In any case, it is clear that the pluralism in translation theory at present means that it will continue to be studied, practised and evaluated in different ways. It is hoped that these reappraisals and the resulting conflicts can act as catalysts for explorations in new areas of study, as well as innovation that can narrow the gap between languages or cultures.

(https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/cels/ essays/translation-intro/Descriptive-Translation-Studies- and-the-Cultural-Turn.pdf)

Spinning a Web of Words: demonstrating the principles of collocation with Harry Potter

In this paper I have discussed the continuing debate about the role of “formulaic sequences” in language teaching, with reference to some ideas current in the literature. Most of these ideas advocate the creation of large-scale lexically-based syllabi with which to teach EFL. I have then looked at the idea that many teachers may not be concerned with such large-scale thinking and may want a more pragmatic approach to incorporating collocation in their lessons.With this in mind I have looked at a specific text and analyzed a selection of collocations therein, with a view to using these examples in an interactive lesson in which students can see how the principle of collocation can govern word-choices in narrative writing. This, of course, is only one context, and the topic could be taken a good deal further, showing how different contexts demand different collocations and show different constraints. However, I believe I have chosen a useful starting point to the topic, with a sample text that students around the world will recognize, identify with, and enjoy.

(https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/cels/ essays/lexis/andrew-moffatt-lexis.pdf)

Text analysis.

1. Analyze the rhetorical structure of the conclusions. What sentences aim to summarize the content of the essay? Are there any special linguistics means which signal the end of the essay?

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2.What sentences present author’s final thoughts? How can you characterize these thoughts (opinion, prospects, suggestions etc.)?

3.Compare the thesis statement in the introductions and the summary of the findings in the conclusion? How do they correlate? Do the authors achieved their purpose presented in the thesis statement?

4.Do the conclusions present any new information or ideas?Why? Why not?

5.What are linguistics means which help the authors present their stance in relation to the problem discussed?

Exercise 38. Read and analyze the essays from Exercise 36.

1. Follow the links and read the essays:

a) Descriptive Translation Studies and the Cultural Turn https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/cels/essays/

translation-intro/Descriptive-Translation-Studies-and-the-Cultural-Turn.pdf

b)SpinningaWebofWords:demonstratingtheprinciplesofcollocation with Harry Potter

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/cels/essays/ lexis/IdentifyingandteachingcollocationsfromashorttextBVincent.pdf

2.Analyze the essays.

Overall structure:

1.Which parts and sections do the essays include?

2.How many sections are there? Are they further subdivided? How detailed is the essay division? What are the factors affecting it?

3.What are the differences in the structure of the two essays? How could this difference be explained?

4.What are the headings and subheadings in the essays? How much information do they provide? Do they provide the general understanding of the topic discussed?

5.What parts are typical for both essays?

6.What sections represent the theoretical framework of the research?

7.What sections present authors’original research and findings?

8.Are there appendices? What information do they present?

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Content:

1.What information is presented in the introduction? Does it provide definitions of basic terms? General statements about the topic?Aspecific problem related to the topic?An overview of the whole essay?

2.What is the thesis statement? Which part of the introduction presents the TS?

3.How many sections and subsections provide a theoretical framework for the research? Do the essays contain literature review on the topic discussed? How comprehensive is it? Are there any differences in organizing theoretical information in the two essays? How can you explain the differences?

4.Which sections provide information about methodology, approaches and materials used in the research? How detailed are the descriptions? What are the main methods used in the studies?

5.How do the authors present their own findings? How detailed are the explanations? Do they provide many examples and illustrations? Do they comment on the findings?

6.How do the authors summarize their studies?

Language:

1.Evaluate the vocabulary used in the essays. Find 5–6 examples of terminology and academic vocabulary in the texts.

2.Do the authors follow the rules listen on pp. 7–8?

3.Evaluate the grammar and syntax in the essays. Are the sentences clear and easy to read? Are there any forms or structures requiring revisions?

4.Evaluate paragraphs in the essays. Do they have the structure presented on p. 42? Why? Why not? Are the paragraphs unified and coherent? What means of cohesion do the authors use? Are they frequently used in the texts? What means are especially popular?

5.Analyze the use of transitional words.Are they frequent in the texts? What is their role in organizing the texture?

Conclusions:

1. Using the essays analyzed summarize your conclusions about the structure and the content of an academic essay.

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Exercise 39. Write an expository essay on one of the following topics:

a)Discuss theories which you use as the theoretical framework in your own research. Present two or three theories.

b)Present briefly your current research. Present theoretical framework, methodology and the main findings.

Exercise 40. Proofread your essay. Use the following checklist to help you.

The Whole Essay

1.Is the topic of the essay suitable for college writing and sufficiently narrow?

2.Does your thesis statement clearly communicate the topic and focus of the essay?

3.Does your thesis clearly reflect the purpose of the essay?

4.Does your essay have a logical organization pattern?

5.Is your thesis supported well by the main ideas of the paragraphs?

6.Do the paragraphs cover separate but related main ideas?

7.Are the connections among the paragraphs clear?

8.Does your introduction lead into the thesis statement and the rest of the essay?

9.Does your conclusion provide a sense of completion?

10.Does your essay have a title? Does it reflect the content of the essay, directly or indirectly?

11.Isyourreasoningsound?Doesyouressayavoidlogicalfallacies?

Paragraph

1.Does the introduction help your audience make the transition to the body of your essay?

2.Does each body paragraph express its main idea in a topic sentence as needed?

3.Are the main ideas – and topic sentences – clearly related to the thesis statement of the essay?

4.Are your body paragraphs developed? Is the development sufficient?

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