ETI 321 READING AND WRITING SCIENTIFIC TEXTS

Conclusion Abstract Article analysis ETI 321 READING AND WRITING SCIENTIFIC TEXTS

This week we will • Talk about conclusion part of your research, • See what is “abstract”, how to write one. • Analyze a paper

Conclusion • A research paper starts with a broad look at the research and narrows down to the analysis and results. • At the beginning of the research paper, you looked at all of the previous research and formulated your research questions. • In the analysis/discussion, you assess how the results answer to this question and discuss its relevance to the existing knowledge in the field.http://www.experiment-resources.com/writing-a-conclusion.html#ixzz1BF2N9Epf

What has your research shown? • This is a very quick synopsis of the results and discussion. Writing a conclusion involves summing up the paper and giving a very brief description of the results, although you should not go into too much detail about this. • Anybody reading the conclusion has read the entire paper, so the conclusion merely acts as an aid to memory. http://www.experiment-resources.com/writing-a-conclusion.html#ixzz1BF7rrP1h

How has it added to what was known about the topic? • This is where you tie it in to the body of research highlighted in the introduction; during the course of your literature review.You should then point out the importance of the study and point out how it relates to the field. • You can also point out how your findings can be used by readers, pointing out the benefits. http://www.experiment-resources.com/writing-a-conclusion.html#ixzz1BF8CxiQm

What were the shortcomings? • Whilst writing the conclusion, you should highlight any deficiencies in your methods, explaining how they may have affected your results.This will allow the next researcher to refine the methodology and learn from your mistakes, one of the foundations of the scientific process. • http://www.experiment-resources.com/writing-a-conclusion.html#ixzz1BF8Xn9lG

Has your research left unanswered questions? • Do your findings open up any suggestions for future research? • For a shorter paper, this is not always essential, but you can highlight any possible areas of interest and give some ideas for those following. http://www.experiment-resources.com/writing-a-conclusion.html#ixzz1BF8pBiDd

Are my results of any use in the real world? • This is not always applicable, but you can suggest any practical uses for your findings.For example, if you uncovered a link between diet and the speed at which children learn, you could suggest a short plan for ensuring that children receive good nutrition. • With writing the conclusion finished, you are almost at the end of your research project. http://www.experiment-resources.com/writing-a-conclusion.html#ixzz1BF9338Ru

Avoid the following • Beginning with an unnecessary, overused phrase such as "in conclusion," "in summary," or "in closing." Although these phrases can work in speeches, they come across as wooden and trite in writing. • Stating the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion. • Introducing a new idea or subtopic in your conclusion.

Avoid the following • Ending with a rephrased thesis statement without any substantive changes. • Making sentimental, emotional appeals that are out of character with the rest of an analytical paper. • Including evidence (quotations, statistics, etc.) that should be in the body of the paper. http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/conclusions.html

Some common problems with conclusions: • Too long. The conclusion section should be short. Often the conclusion section is as little as 2.5% of an entire piece of published research. • Too much detail. Conclusions that are too long often have unnecessary detail. The conclusion section is not the place for details about your methodology or results. Although you should give a summary of what was learnt from your research, this summary should be short, since the emphasis in the conclusions section is on the implications, evaluations, etc. that you make. http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21CONC.HTM

Some common problems with conclusions: • Failure to comment on larger, more significant issues. Whereas in the introduction your task was to move from general (your field) to specific (your research), in the concluding section your task is to move from specific (your research) back to general (your field, how your research will affect the world). In other words, in the conclusion you should put your research in context. http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21CONC.HTM

Some common problems with conclusions: • Failure to reveal the complexities of a conclusion or situation. Negative aspects of your research should not be ignored. Problems, drawbacks etc. can be included in summary in your conclusion section as a way of qualifying your conclusions (i.e. pointing out the negative aspects, even if they are outweighed by the positive aspects). • Lackof a concise summary of what was learned. In order to be able to discuss how your research fits back into your field of study (and the world at large) you need to summarize it very briefly. Often the summary is only a few sentences. http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21CONC.HTM

Some common problems with conclusions: • Failure to match the objectives of the research. Often research objectives change while the research is being carried out. This is not a problem unless you forget to go back and rewrite your original objectives in your introduction so that they accurately reflect what you were trying to accomplish in your research (not what you thought you might accomplish when you began). • http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21CONC.HTM

Next week: • Proof reading • Formating

ETI 321 READING AND WRITING SCIENTIFIC TEXTS