Textos Acadêmicos

Disciplina
Compreenso e Produo de Textos Acadmicos em

Lngua Inglesa
Coordenador da Disciplina
Prof. Slvia Malena Modesto Monteiro

4 Edio
Copyright 2010. Todos os direitos reservados desta edio ao Instituto UFC Virtual. Nenhuma parte deste material poder ser reproduzida,
transmitida e gravada por qualquer meio eletrnico, por fotocpia e outros, sem a prvia autorizao, por escrito, dos autores.
Crditos desta disciplina
Realizao
Autor
Prof. Silvia Malena Modesto Monteiro
Sumrio
Class 01: The academic Text .................................................................................................................... 01
Topic 01: What is an Academic Text? ................................................................................................... 01
Topic 02: Types of Academic Texts ...................................................................................................... 05
Topic 03: Academic Language .............................................................................................................. 10
Topic 04: Forum and Portfolio Activities .............................................................................................. 23
Class 02: The Abstract.............................................................................................................................. 24
Topic 01: What is an Abstract? .............................................................................................................. 24
Topic 02: Reading Abstracts .................................................................................................................. 29
Topic 03: Writing Abstracts ................................................................................................................... 35
Topic 05: Grammar Topic...................................................................................................................... 44
Class 03: The Critical Review .................................................................................................................. 50
Topic 01: What is a Critical Review? .................................................................................................... 50
Topic 02: Reading Critical Reviews ...................................................................................................... 53
Topic 03: Writing Critical Reviews ....................................................................................................... 57
Class 04: The Essay ................................................................................................................................... 67
Topic 01: Whats an Essay? ................................................................................................................... 67
Topic 02: Reading Essays ...................................................................................................................... 70
Topic 03: Writing Essays ....................................................................................................................... 75
COMPREENSO E PRODUO DE TEXTOS ACADMICOS EM LNGUA INGLESA

CLASS 01: THE ACADEMIC TEXT
TOPIC 01: WHAT IS AN ACADEMIC TEXT?
ACADEMIC TEXTS:
are expressed in their own language (scientific community), which is
more rigorous and denotative;
are written in a logic, articulated and systematic way;
present a well-built structure which permits good communication;
have their own format established by the scientific community;
express research results on the theoretical or practical level, depending
on the area of study.
STEPS FOR READING AN ACADEMIC TEXT:

1. Recognizing Decoding the text;
2. Organizing Setting meaning units in a perceptible logic sequence;
3. Extrapolating Enlarging the present universe by offering additional
meaning, confronting the text in a critical way.
RECOGNIZING
The process of recognizing is basically exploratory and it aims at a first

contact with the text and its universe. It includes checking external
information cover, title page, introduction, preface, abstract, appendix,
bibliography photos, tables etc. When you are recognizing the text, you do
not worry about the contents. You just read and check for unknown words
and confusing expressions.
ORGANIZING
When you organize a text you build a scheme that can offer a broad
view of the main moments of the text. You select important topics or key
words that define the text universe the text logic structure. You also
identify the theory, the methodology, the topic being researched and the
researchers.
When you organize, you can summarize the text in two ways:
- Indicative brief (abstract): It indicates the author and the data of the
text.
- Informative brief (summary): It explains the logic structure, the
methodology used and more internal aspects of the text.
EXTRAPOLATING
Extrapolating means building a review that is able to express the

reading process of the reader, revealing his/her critical thoughts and his
own analysis of the text. It presupposes taking a position and being able to
see beyond the universe proposed by the author.
VERSO TEXTUAL
1
TIP: The approach of an academic text needs to be done from the

surface to the deep internal structures of the text.
PRATICE 01
Read the following paper, according to the steps you learned in
TOPIC 1. Then, answer the questions.
The Effect of Slave Narratives on Abolitionists.doc - Click here (Visite
a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.)
QUESTIONS
RECOGNIZING
1. Who is the author of the paper?
2. What is the title of the paper?
3. Does it have any photos/graphics?
4. List some words/expressions that you found difficult to understand.
ORGANIZING
1. What are some important words present in the text (*key words)?
2. What is the main topic of the text? What does it talk about?
3. What is the theory being discussed?
* KEY WORDS ARE USUALLY REPEATED THROUGHOUT THE

TEXT.
EXTRAPOLATING
1. What is your critical view of the text?
2. Do you agree with the ideas presented in the text? Why? Why not?
3. What is the theory being discussed?
CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS:
ANSWER KEY:
RECOGNIZING
1. BRITTNEY FRETWELL
2.
THE
EFFECTS
OF
ABOLITIONISTS
SLAVE
NARRATIVES
ON
3. NO, IT DOESNT
4. (PERSONAL ANSWER)
ORGANIZING
1. SLAVE, NARRATIVES, ABOLITIONIST, WOMEN
2. IT TALKS ABOUT HOW THE SLAVE NARRATIVE
INFLUENCED THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT
3.
SLAVE
NARRATIVES
GREATLY
INFLUENCED
ABOLITIONISTS TO PUSH FOR AN END TO SLAVERY
EXTRAPOLATING
DOCUMENTING ACADEMIC TEXTS TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION

1. THEMATIC it is built according to the theme being approached, based
on personal notes and observations. Example:
http://ec.europa.eu/european_group_ethics/thematic_doc/index_en.htm
[2]
STOP AND CHECK

Look at some tips for reading academic texts:
VERSO TEXTUAL
Reading academic texts is directly related to writing academic

texts. The process of reading generates production and this
production demands new reading it is a cyclic process.
The more familiar you are with the universe being researched, the
more natural the act of reading becomes. Managing vocabulary and
understanding the theoretical framework are decisive conditions for
mastering the quality of reading academic texts.
Documenting the reading of academic texts is very important
because it can be used as a reference for future academic papers.
The more you practice, the better you read and understand the
reading techniques.
Do not restrict your understanding to what you read, only. Build
challenging hypothesis that can generate more reading. Question
the author. Doubt the results. Review the methodology. Be curious
and sagacious.
3
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer
2. http://ec.europa.eu/european_group_ethics/thematic_doc/index_en.h
tm
Universidade Federal do Cear - Instituto UFC Virtual

TOPIC 02: TYPES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
See below a list of different types of academic texts and their definitions:
1 - RESEARCH PROJECT
2 - TECHNICAL-SCIENTIFIC REPORT
3 - MONOGRAPH
4 - DISSERTATION
5 - THESIS
6 - SUMMARY
7 - ABSTRACT
8 - CRITICAL REVIEW
9 - SCIENTIFIC PAPER
10 - ESSAY
1. RESEARCH PROJECT
It is a research into questions posed by scientific theories and

hypotheses.
2. TECHNICAL-SCIENTIFIC REPORT
It is a document characterized by information or other content reflective

of inquiry or investigation, which is tailored to the context of a given
situation and audience.
3. MONOGRAPH
It is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually also by a single

author. It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released
in the manner of a book or journal article.
4. *DISSERTATION
It is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is

submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional
qualification.
5. *THESIS
It is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is

submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional
qualification.
6. **SUMMARY
It is a condensed version of a text, a condensation that reproduces the

thought, emphasis, and tone of the original.
7. **ABSTRACT
It is a written and published report describing original research results.

Scientific papers are usually reviewed by scientific peers and published in a
primary journal.
8. CRITICAL REVIEW
It consists of identifying, summarizing and evaluating the ideas and

information presented in an article or book. You are looking to analyze
5
strengths, weaknesses and validity, making a few key points about your
opinion of the book or article.
9. SCIENTIFIC PAPER:
It is a written and published report describing original research results.

Scientific papers are usually reviewed by scientific peers and published in a
primary journal.
10. ESSAY
It is usually a short piece of writing. It is often written from an author's

personal point of view. Essays can be literary criticism, political manifestos,
learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of
the author.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Learn more about different types of academic texts:
1. RESEARCH PROJECT: CLICK HERE
Learn more about research projects:

http://www.howto.co.uk/business/researchmethods/how_to_define_your_project/ [1]
See here some examples of research projects:
http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/audience/default.htm [2]
2. TECHNICAL-SCIENTIFIC REPORT: CLICK HERE
Learn more about technical-scientific reports:

http://www.io.com/~hcexres/textbook/techreps.html [3]
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_scientific.html [4]
See here some examples of technical-scientific reports:
http://www.eurocontrol.int/eec/public/standard_page/LIB_Reports.html
[5]
3. MONOGRAPH: CLICK HERE
Learn more about monographs:

http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/element.html
[6]
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/element.html
[7]
See here some examples of monographs:
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ [8]
4. *DISSERTATION: CLICK HERE
Learn more about dissertations:

http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.dissertation.html [9]
http://www.howtowriteadissertation.co.uk/# [10]
6
See here some examples of dissertations:

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04302001144238/unrestricted/Etd.pdf [11] (Visite a aula online para realizar
download deste arquivo.)
5. *THESIS: CLICK HERE
Learn more about theses:

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~martins/sen_sem/thesis_org.html
[12]
http://ciips.ee.uwa.edu.au/pub/HowToWriteAThesis.pdf
(Visite a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.)
[13]
See here some examples of theses:

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/73776 [14]
* In fact, the terms thesis and dissertation are interchangeable.

A thesis as well as a dissertation is a written discourse on the given
subject. Although, there are 2 essential differences between a
THESIS AND DISSERTATION. A thesis means that you have to
conduct original research. A dissertation implies that you have to
synthesize the information collected and perhaps, include your
thoughts on it. The second difference lies in the degree you obtain
after completing these papers. A thesis allows getting the higher
degree; a dissertation is more likely to be the smaller part of the 1st
http://custom-writing.org/blog/writingdegree.
(Source:
tips/425.html [15])
6. **SUMMARY: CLICK HERE
Learn more about summaries:

http://www.enotes.com/topics/how-write-summary [16]
See here some examples of summaries:
http://www.cgss.cz/en/scientific-summary/ [17]
http://hypertension.ca/chep/recommendations/summaries/evidencebased-discussion/ [18]
7. **ABSTRACT: CLICK HERE
Learn more about abstracts:

http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html [19]
http://research.berkeley.edu/ucday/abstract.html [20]
See here some examples of abstracts:
http://www.sccur.uci.edu/sampleabstracts.html [21]
http://www.sefmd.org/Abstracts/SampleAbstracts.htm [22]
**An ABSTRACT is generally seen as a more specialized form of
Both come at the beginning of a text, and serve to
SUMMARY.
indicate and predict the STRUCTURE and CONTENT of the text

which follows.
Source:
http://ec.hku.hk/acadgrammar/report/repproc/sections/abstract/differen.htm
[23])
8. CRITICAL REVIEW: CLICK HERE
Learn more about critical reviews:

http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/critrev.html [24]
http://arts.monash.edu.au/lls/resources-good-crit-review.pdf [25]
See here some examples of critical reviews:
http://tlu.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/pdfs/criticalreviewwriting.pdf [26]
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/26-criticalreview.xml [27]
9. SCIENTIFIC PAPER: CLICK HERE
Learn more about scientific papers:

http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/classes/bioc568/papers.htm [28]
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/~smaloy/MicrobialGenetics/topics/scientificwriting.pdf [29] (Visite a aula online para realizar download deste
arquivo.)
See here some examples of scientific papers:
http://www.ashsss.uaf.edu/adv_sample_paper.php [30]
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/58/planetprotect.html
[31]
10. ESSAY: CLICK HERE
Learn more about essays:

http://grammar.about.com/od/qaaboutrhetoric/f/faqwhatisessay.htm
[32]
http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/ [33]
See here some examples of essays:
http://www.essaydepot.com/essayme/3852/index.php [34]
http://www.essaypage.com/essay_example.html [35]
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.howto.co.uk/business/researchmethods/how_to_define_your_project/
2. http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/audience/default.htm
3. http://www.io.com/~hcexres/textbook/techreps.html
4. http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_scientific.html
8
5. http://www.eurocontrol.int/eec/public/standard_page/LIB_Reports.ht
ml
6. http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/element.html
7. http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/element.html
8. http://monographs.iarc.fr/
9. http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.dissertation.html
10. http://www.howtowriteadissertation.co.uk/#
11. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04302001144238/unrestricted/Etd.pdf
12. http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~martins/sen_sem/thesis_org.html
13. http://ciips.ee.uwa.edu.au/pub/HowToWriteAThesis.pdf
14. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/73776
15. http://custom-writing.org/blog/writing-tips/425.html
16. http://www.enotes.com/topics/how-write-summary
17. http://www.cgss.cz/en/scientific-summary/
18. http://hypertension.ca/chep/recommendations/summaries/evidencebased-discussion/
19. http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html
20. http://research.berkeley.edu/ucday/abstract.html
21. http://www.sccur.uci.edu/sampleabstracts.html
22. http://www.sefmd.org/Abstracts/SampleAbstracts.htm
23. http://ec.hku.hk/acadgrammar/report/repproc/sections/abstract/diff
eren.htm
24. http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/critrev.html
25. http://arts.monash.edu.au/lls/resources-good-crit-review.pdf
26. http://tlu.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/pdfs/criticalreviewwriting.pdf
27. http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/26-criticalreview.xml
28. http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/classes/bioc568/papers.htm
29. http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/~smaloy/MicrobialGenetics/topics/scientific
-writing.pdf
30. http://www.ashsss.uaf.edu/adv_sample_paper.php
31. http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/58/planetprot
ect.html
32. http://grammar.about.com/od/qaaboutrhetoric/f/faqwhatisessay.htm
33. http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/
34. http://www.essaydepot.com/essayme/3852/index.php
35. http://www.essaypage.com/essay_example.html

TOPIC 03: ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
Academic texts are linear, which means they have one central point or
theme with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without
digressions or repetitions. The objective of academic texts is to inform rather
than entertain.
There are six main FEATURES of ACADEMIC LANGUAGE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
complexity,
formality,
objectivity,
explicitness,
hedging.
responsibility.
1. COMPLEXITY
Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language
(Biber, 1988; Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad & Finegan, 1999; Chafe, 1982;
Cook, 1997; Halliday,1989).
Written language is grammatically more complex than spoken language.
It has more subordinate clauses more "that/to" complement clauses, more
long sequences of prepositional phrases, more attributive adjectives and
more passives than spoken language.
Written texts are shorter and have longer, more complex words and
phrases. They have more nominalizations, more noun based phrases, and
more lexical variation. Written texts are lexically dense compared to spoken
language - they have proportionately more lexical words than grammatical
words.
A subordinate clausealso called a dependent clause will begin
with a subordinate conjunction [1] or a relative pronoun [2] and will
contain both a subject [3] and a verb [4].
EXAMPLES:
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to
pause and reflect." (Mark Twain)
"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the
few who are rich." (John F. Kennedy)
A complement clause is a notional [5] sentence [6] or predication

that is an argument [7] of a predicate [8]. EXAMPLES:
We thought that you were coming.
For you to come would be a mistake.
10
Prepositional phrases arewords used to show the relationship of a

noun or a pronoun to some other word. EXAMPLES:
"Marge, there's an empty spot I've always had inside me. I tried to
fill it with family, religion, community service, but those were dead
ends! I think this chair is the answer."
(Homer in The Simpsons)
"It is time for us to turn to each other, not on each other."

(Jesse Jackson)
Most adjectives occur in two positions: before a noun and after a

linking verb. Attributive adjectives, however, only occur before a noun.
EXAMPLES:
"A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face; it gives a higher
pleasure than statues or pictures; it is the finest of the fine arts. (Ralph
Waldo Emerson)
A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an

action into the subject of a sentence. That is, whoever or whatever is
performing the action is not the grammatical subject of the sentence.
EXAMPLES:
"America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was
looking for something else [] America was named after a man who
discovered no part of the New World. History is like that, very
chancy." (Samuel Eliot Morison)
"Fiction was invented the day Jonas arrived home and told his wife
that he was three days late because he had been swallowed by a
whale." (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
It means turning a verb or an adjective into a noun. EXAMPLES:
A NOUN PHRASE (abbreviated NP) is a phrase [9] whose

head [10] is a noun [11] or a pronoun [12], optionally accompanied
by a set of modifiers. EXAMPLES:
"The only white people who came to our house were welfare
workers and bill collectors."
(James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son, 1955)
11
McSorley's bar is short, accommodating approximately ten

elbows, and is shored up with iron pipes."
(Joseph Mitchell, "The Old House at Home," 1940)
Lexical words are perhaps more commonly known as content

words or information words. They are the words that carry
information. Consider the sentences below: (The lexical words are
in bold type). EXAMPLES:
MAGNETIC MATERIALS
ATTRACTED to MAGNETS.
are
MATERIALS
that
are
In a CHEMICAL CHANGE, the MATERIALS BREAK DOWN

completely.
MATERIALS that can CARRY ELECTRICITY are called
CONDUCTORS - they CONDUCT ELECTRICITY.
FUNCTION WORDS (or GRAMMATICAL WORDS) are words

that have little lexical meaning or have ambiguous meaning, but
instead serve to express grammatical relationships with other
words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the
speaker. Function words might be prepositions, pronouns,
auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, grammatical articles or particles, all
of which belong to the group of closed-class words.
1. In general, avoid words like "I", "me", "myself". A reader will
normally assume that any idea not referenced is your own. It is
therefore unnecessary to make this explicit. For instance:
Don't write: "In my opinion, this is a very interesting study."
Write: "This is a very interesting study."
1. Avoid "YOU" to refer to the reader or people in general.
Don't write: "You can easily forget how different life was 50
years ago."
Write: "It is easy to forget how difficult life was 50 years ago."
PRACTICE 01
For each pair of sentences below (1 4), identify which is
spoken (S) and which is written (W).
COLUMN A
1
COLUMN B
Whenever I'd visited
Every
previous
there before, I'd ended up feeling visit had left me with a sense
12
that it would be futile if I tried to of the futility of further action

do anything more.
on my part.
2
The
cities
in
Violence changed
Switzerland had once been the face of once peaceful

peaceful, but they changed when Swiss cities.
people became violent.
3
Because the technology
Improvements in
has improved its less risky than it technology have reduced the
used to be when you install them risks
and
high
costs
at the same time, and it doesn't associated with simultaneous
cost so much either.
installation.
4
The people in the
colony rejoiced
promised that
Opinion in the
when it was colony greeted the promised

things would change with enthusiasm.
change in this way.

Confirmar
CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS
Column A
Column B
(S)
(W)
(S)
(W)
(W)
(S)
(W)
(S)
2. FORMALITY
In general this means that in an academic text you should avoid:
VERSO TEXTUAL
a. colloquial words and expressions; ""stuff", "a lot of", "thing",

"sort of",
b. abbreviated forms: "can't", "doesn't", "shouldn't"
c. two-word verbs: "put off", "bring up"
d. sub-headings, numbering and bullet-points in formal essays:
but use them in reports.
e. asking questions
13
PRACTICE 02
It is often the case that formal words are longer than informal words,
formal words are single words not multi-words and formal words are of
French/Latin origin rather than their informal equivalents which are of
Anglo-Saxon origin. For example: "depart" is from French/Latin but "go"
is Anglo-Saxon. Make the correspondence between the two columns,
puttting the right number in the box
ADVERBS
VERBS
Formal
Informal
1. appear
go
2. ascend
free
3. assist
keep
4. cease
ask
Formal
Informal
so
1.finally
2.
immediately
next
3. initially
mainly
4.
at first
intermittently
5.
commence
mend
6.
consume
keep
5.
principally
on and
off
in
6.
7.
say no
repeatedly
want
7.
subsequently
at once
8.
therefore
again and
decrease
8.
demonstrate
tell
9. depart
the
end
again
show
10. desire
ADJECTIVES
11.
enquire
stop
12. finish
help
13. inform
get
14. obtain
seem
Formal
1. amiable
2.
complete
3.
Informal
worse
mad
laid back
energetic
15.
preserve
live
shorten
16. reject
need
17. release
4.
fortunate
enough
5.
immature
better
cheap
14
18. repair
begin
19.
require
6.
incorrect
climb
end
20. reside
7. inferior
friendly
8.
wrong
inexpensive
use
21.retain
9.
indistinct
NOUNS
Formal
Informal
1.
comprehension
sweat
2.
4.
perspiration
10. insane
whole
11. relaxed
clear
childish
sight
12.
responsible
lucky
house
13.
sufficient
in charge
lack
14.
superior
deficiency
3.
opportunity
15.
chance transparent
5. residence
16. vacant
6. vision
dim
empty
lively
understanding
3. OBJECTIVITY
This means that in an academic text the main emphasis should be on the
information that you want to give and the arguments you want to make,
rather than you. This is related to the basic nature of academic study and
academic writing, in particular. Nobody really wants to know what you
"think" or "believe". They want to know what you have studied and learned
and how this has led you to your various conclusions. The thoughts and
beliefs should be based on your lectures, reading, discussion and research
and it is important to make this clear.
Some tips of how to write a more objective text: Click here!
In general, avoid words like "I", "me", "myself". A reader will
normally assume that any idea not referenced is your own. It is
therefore unnecessary to make this explicit. For instance:
Don't write: "In my opinion, this is a very interesting study."
Write: "This is a very interesting study."
Avoid "you" to refer to the reader or people in general.
15
Don't write: "You can easily forget how different life was 50 years
ago."
Write: "It is easy to forget how difficult life was 50 years ago."
Read these examples of how to write objectively:
Clearly this was far less true of France than ...
This is where the disagreements and controversies begin ...
The data indicates that ...
This is not a view shared by everyone; Jones, for example, claims that ...
. . .very few people would claim ...
It is worthwhile at this stage to consider ...
Of course, more concrete evidence is needed before ...
Several possibilities emerge ...
A common solution is ...
PRACTICE 03
Compare these two paragraphs. Which is most objective?
A The question of what
B We don't really know
constitutes "language proficiency"

and the nature of its cross-lingual
dimensions is also at the core of
many hotly debated issues in the
what language proficiency is

but many people have talked
about it for a long time. Some
researchers have tried to find
areas of bilingual education and

second language pedagogy and
testing.
Researchers
have
suggested ways of making second
language teaching and testing
ways for us to make teaching

and
testing
more
communicative because that is
how language works. I think
that language is something we
more "communicative" (e.g.,

Canale and Swain, 1980; Oller,
1979b) on the grounds that a
communicative approach better
use for communicating, not an

object for us to study and we
remember that when we teach
and test it.
reflects the nature of language

proficiency than one which
emphasizes the acquisition of
discrete language skills.
(Acesse aula online para visualizar este contedo.)
VERSO TEXTUAL
Text A is more objective than Text B.
4. EXPLICITNESS
Academic writing is explicit in several ways.
4.1. It is explicit in its signposting of the organization of the ideas in the
text (Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad & Finegan, 1999, pp. 880-882). As a
writer of academic English, it is your responsibility to make it clear to your
16
reader how various parts of the text are related. These connections can be
made explicit by the use of different signaling words.
FOR EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE 1
If you want to tell your reader that your line of argument is going to
change, make it clear. The Bristol 167 was to be Britain's great new
advance on American types such as the Lockheed Constellation and
Douglas DC-6, which did not have the range to fly the Atlantic non-stop. It
was also to be the largest aircraft ever built in Britain. However, even by
the end of the war, the design had run into serious difficulties.
EXAMPLE 2
If you think that one sentence gives reasons for something in another
sentence, make it explicit. While an earlier generation of writers had
noted this feature of the period, it was not until the recent work of
Cairncross that the significance of this outflow was realized. Partly this was
because the current account deficit appears much smaller in current
(1980s) data than it was thought to be by contemporaries.
EXAMPLE 3
If you think two ideas are almost the same, say so.
Marx referred
throughout his work to other systems than the capitalist system, especially
those which he knew from the history of Europe to have preceded
capitalism; systems such as feudalism, where the relation of production
was characterized by the personal relation of the feudal lord and his serf
and a relation of subordination which came from the lord's control of the
land. Similarly, Marx was interested in slavery and in the classical Indian
and Chinese social systems, or in those systems where the ties of local
community are all important.
EXAMPLE 4
If you intend your sentence to give extra information, make it clear.

He is born into a family, he marries into a family, and he becomes the
husband and father of his own family. In addition, he has a definite place
of origin and more relatives than he knows what to do with, and he receives
a rudimentary education at the Canadian Mission School.
EXAMPLE 5
If you are giving examples, do it explicitly. This has sometimes led to

disputes between religious and secular clergy, between orders and bishops.
For example, in the Northern context, the previous bishop of Down and
Connor, Dr Philbin, refused for most of his period of leadership in Belfast
to have Jesuits visiting or residing in his diocese.
4.2. It is explicit in its acknowledgment of the sources of the ideas in the
text. If you know the source of the ideas you are presenting, acknowledge it.
Do THIS in academic writing
McGreil (1977: 363-408) has shown that though Dubliners find the English
more acceptable than the Northern Irish, Dubliners still seek a solution to
the Northern problem within an all-Ireland state.
17
NOT
Although Dubliners find the English more acceptable than the Northern
Irish, Dubliners still seek a solution to the Northern problem within an allIreland state.
NOT
Researchers have shown that though Dubliners find the English more
acceptable than the Northern Irish, Dubliners still seek a solution to the
Northern problem within an all-Ireland state.
SIGNALING WORDS (CLICK HERE)
1. TIME/ORDER
at first, eventually, finally, first, firstly, in the end, in the first

place, in the second place, lastly, later, next, second, secondly, to begin
with
2. COMPARISON/SIMILAR IDEAS
in comparison, in the same way, similarly

3. CONTRAST/OPPOSITE IDEAS
but, despite, in spite of, even so, however, in contrast, in spite of

this, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, whereas,
yet
4. CAUSE AND EFFECT
accordingly, as a consequence, as a result, because, because of

this, consequently, for this reason, hence, in consequence, in order to,
owing to this, since, so, so that, therefore, thus
5. EXAMPLES
for example, for instance, such as, thus, as follows

6 GENERALIZATION
as a rule, for the most part, generally, in general, normally, on the

whole, in most cases, usually
7. STATING THE OBVIOUS
after all, as one might expect, clearly, it goes without saying,

naturally, obviously, of course, surely
8. ATTITUDE
admittedly, certainly, fortunately, luckily, oddly enough, strangely

enough, undoubtedly, unfortunately
9. SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
finally, in brief, in conclusion, in short, overall, so, then, to

conclude, to sum up
10. EXPLANATION/EQUIVALENCE
in other words, namely, or rather, that is to say, this means, to be

more precise, to put it another way
11. ADDITION
18
apart from this, as well as, besides, furthermore, in addition,

moreover, nor, not only...but also, too, what is more
12. CONDITION
in that case, then

13. SUPPORT
actually, as a matter of fact, in fact, indeed

14. CONTRADICTION
actually, as a matter of fact, in fact

15. EMPHASIS
chiefly, especially, in detail, in particular, mainly, notably,

particularly
PRACTICE 04
Identify the signaling words in the following paragraph. Write the
signaling words in the box below.
Because language plays such an important role in teaching, Bellack
and his colleagues chose to examine in some detail the "language game" in
the classroom. They contended that "teaching is similar to most games in
at least two respects. It is a form of social activity in which the players
(teachers and students) fill different but complementary roles.
Furthermore, teaching is governed by certain ground rules that guide the
actions or moves made by the participants" (p. 4). By studying the
language game, then, Bellack et al. intended to identify the various types of
verbal moves made by teachers and students and the rules they followed in
making these moves. As a result, they could investigate the functions these
verbal moves served and examine the meanings that were being
communicated.
(Lorin Anderson & Robert Burns (1989) Research in classrooms, p.
278)
Write the signaling words here.
Confirmar
5. HEDGING
It is often believed that academic writing, particularly scientific writing,
is factual, simply to convey facts and information. However it is now
recognized that an important feature of academic writing is the concept of
cautious language, often called "hedging" or "vague language". In other
words, it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on a particular
19
subject, or the strength of the claims you are making. Different subjects
prefer to do this in different ways.
LANGUAGE USED IN HEDGING: CLICK HERE
e.g. seem, tend, look like, appear to be,

think, believe, doubt, be sure, indicate,
suggest
1.
Introductory
verbs
2.
Certain
verbs
lexical
3.
Certain
verbs
modal
4.
Adverbs
frequency
5.
Modal adverbs
e.g.
certainly,
definitely,
clearly,
probably, possibly, perhaps, conceivably
6.
Modal adjectives
e.g. certain, definite, clear, probable,

possible
7.
Modal nouns
e.g. assumption, possibility, probability
8.
That clauses
e.g. It could be the case that.

e.g. It might be suggested that.
e.g. There is every hope that.
9.
Toclause+adjective
e.g. It could be the case that.

e.g. It is important to develop.
e.g. It is useful to study.
of
e.g. believe, assume, suggest

e.g. will, must, would, may, might, could
e.g. often, sometimes, usually
PRACTICE 05
Identify the hedging expressions in the following sentences.
1. For example, it is possible to see that in January this person weighed
60.8 kg.
2. For example, it may be necessary for the spider to leave the branch on
which it is standing, climb up the stem, and walk out along another
branch.
3. Escherichia coli, when found in conjunction with urethritis, often
indicate infection higher in the uro-genital tract.
4. There is experimental work to show that a week or ten days may not
be long enough and a fortnight to three weeks is probably the best
theoretical period.
5. Conceivably, different forms, changing at different rates and showing
contrasting combinations of characteristics, were present in different
areas.
6. One possibility is that generalized latent inhibition is likely to be
weaker than that produced by pre-exposure to the CS itself and thus is
more likely to be susceptible to the effect of the long interval.
20
7. For our present purpose, it is useful to distinguish two kinds of

chemical reaction, according to whether the reaction releases energy or
requires it.
8. It appears to establish three categories: the first contains wordings
generally agreed to be acceptable, the second wordings which appear to
have been at some time problematic but are now acceptable, and the third
wordings which remain inadmissible.
WRITE YOUR ANSWERS HERE.
1.
5.
2.
6.
3.
7.
4.
8.
Confirmar
6. RESPONSIBILITY
In academic writing you are RESPONSIBLE for demonstrating an
understanding of the source text. You must also be responsible for, and must
be able to provide evidence and justification for any claims you make.
The object of academic writing is for you to say something for yourself
using the ideas of the subject, for you to present ideas you have learned in
your own way. You can do this by reporting the works of others in your own
words.
You can either PARAPHRASE if you want to keep the length the same,
if you want to make the text shorter or SYNTHESIZE if you
need to use information from several sources. In all cases you need to
SUMMARIZE
acknowledge other people's work. You must not use another person's words
or ideas as if they were your own: this is Plagiarism and plagiarism is
regarded as a very serious offence.
PARAPHRASING
PARAPHRASING is writing the ideas of another person in your own

words. You need to change the words and the structure but keep the
meaning the same. Please remember, though, that even when you
paraphrase someone's work, you must acknowledge it.
SUMMARY
A SUMMARY is a shortened version of a text. It contains the main

points in the text and is written in your own words. It is a mixture of
reducing a long text to a short text and selecting relevant information. A
good summary shows that you have understood the text. Please remember,
though, that even when you summarize someone's work, you must
acknowledge it.
21
SYNTHESIS
A SYNTHESIS is a combination, usually a shortened version, of

several texts made into one. It contains the important points in the text
and is written in your own words. To make a synthesis you need to find
suitable sources, and then to select the relevant parts in those sources. You
will then use your paraphrase and summary skills to write the information
in your own words. The information from all the sources has to fit together
into one continuous text. Please remember, though, that when you
synthesize work from different people, you must acknowledge it.
STOP AND CHECK

It will always be assumed that the words or ideas are your own if you
do not say otherwise. When the words or ideas you are using are taken
from another writer, you must make this clear.
The ideas and people that you refer to need to be made explicit by a
system of CITATION. The object of this is to supply the information needed
to allow a user to find a source. In the following classes you will learn how
writers cite the work of other writers.
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/subordinateconjunction.htm
2. http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/relativepronoun.htm
3. http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/subject.htm
4. http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/verb.htm
5. http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsNotio
nal.htm
6. http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsASen
tence.htm
7. http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsACor
eArgument.htm
8. http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAPre
dicate.htm
9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)
11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronoun
22

TOPIC 04: FORUM AND PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES
FORUM 01
Discuss with your friends and tutor the main points you have studied.
Talk about:
- different types of academic text:
What kind of text is the easiest to write? Why?
What type of text is the most difficult to write? Why?
What are the main characteristics of each one?
FORUM 02
Look at the comic strip below and discuss it:
Describe the situation.
Whats the teacher saying to the student?
Whats wrong about the language the student is using in her dissertation?
Do you know the words and expressions she is using in her text? What are
their meanings?
PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY
After you do all the 5 PRACTICES in TOPIC 3, copy the answers of
PRACTICES 2, 4 and 5, save them in a Word document and post them in
your individual portfolio.
GOOD LUCK!
Source [1]
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/formal.htm
23

CLASS 02: THE ABSTRACT
TOPIC 01: WHAT IS AN ABSTRACT?
In CLASS 1, we saw there are many types of academic texts. In this

course, we are going to learn more specifically about ABSTRACT, CRITICAL
REVIEW and ESSAY.
As we have already seen in CLASS 1 TOPIC 1, an abstract serves to
reduce a long text to its essential key points summing up the study,
concentrating on the research findings and conclusions.
The abstract is a stand-alone statement that briefly conveys the
essential information of a paper, AN article, A document or A book; IT
presents the objective, methods, results and conclusions of a research
project; IT has a brief, non-repetitive style.
The abstract, although it comes first logistically, always should be
written last. It needs to be written last because it is the essence of your
report, drawing information from all of the other sections of the report. It
explains why the experiment was performed and what conclusions were
drawn from the results obtained. A general guideline for an abstract has four
parts or areas of focus:
the problem being addressed;
what methods were used to solve the problem;
the major results obtained;
the overall conclusions from the experiment as a whole.
Do not be misled, however, from this list into thinking that the abstract
is a long section. In fact, it should be significantly shorter than all of the
others. All of this information should be summarized in a clear but succinct
manner if the abstract is going to be successful.
An estimated average length for all of this information is only a single
paragraph. Although this may seem as though it is a short length to contain
all of the required information, it is necessary because it forces you to be
ACCURATE and yet COMPACT, two essential qualities.
OBSERVATION
The most important thing to remember when writing the abstract is
to be brief and state only what is pertinent.
No extraneous information should be included. A successful abstract is
compact, accurate and self-contained. It also must be clear enough so
someone who is unfamiliar with your experiment could understand:
why you did.
24
what you did.

what the experiment indicated in the end.
An additional note is that abstracts typically are written in the passive

voice, but it is acceptable to use personal pronouns such as I or WE.
VERSO TEXTUAL
What did I do?

Why was the work needed?
Why are these results useful?
What results did I get?
THE PARTS OF AN ABSTRACT:

PROBLEM
WHY WAS THE WORK NEEDED?

What was the context of the work?
Introduce the problem or provide background for what you will address.
METHOD
WHAT DID YOU DO?

Describe the method of research, study, or analysis applied to the problem.
RESULTS
WHAT RESULTS DID YOU GET?

State what you found and relate it to the problem.
Summarize the major results of the research, study, or analysis.
CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS
WHY ARE THESE RESULTS USEFUL?

State the relevance, implications, or significance of the results or
conclusions, to the business.
Significance of work is often implied by the recommendations or
implications for future work.
It answers the question "So what?"
WHY ARE KEY WORDS IMPORTANT IN AN ABSTRACT?
Source [1]
The practice of using key words in an abstract is vital because of today's

electronic information retrieval systems. Titles and abstracts are filed
electronically, and key words are put in electronic storage. When people
search for information, they enter key words related to the subject, and the
computer prints out the titles of articles, papers, and reports containing
25
those key words. Thus, an abstract must contain key words about what is
essential in an article, paper, or report so that someone else can retrieve
information from it.
WHEN DO PEOPLE WRITE ABSTRACTS?
when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals

when applying for research grants
when writing a book proposal
when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or MA thesis
when writing a proposal for a conference paper
when writing a proposal for a book chapter
QUALITIES OF A GOOD ABSTRACT

uses one or more well developed paragraphs: these are unified, coherent,
concise, and able to stand alone.
uses an introduction/body/conclusion structure which presents the article,
paper, or report's purpose, results, conclusions, and recommendations in that
order.
follows strictly the chronology of the article, paper, or report.
provides logical connections (or transitions) between the information
included.
adds NO new information, but simply summarizes the report.
is understandable to a wide audience.
oftentimes uses passive voice [2] to downplay the author and emphasize the
information.
PRACTICE 1
COMPARING ABSTRACTS
Read the two pairs of abstracts above and compare them. Observe
problem, method, results and conclusions. Which one do you think is
better? Why?
ABSTRACT #1:
Changes in temperature and/or humidity can cause materials, such as

tape media, to expand or contract. We have conducted
in situ
experiments that measure the width between two servo tracks to determine
the change in media width. By changing the environments, we have found
that humidity is the strongest influence on the tape dimensions, and that a
tape can change by as much as xxx* ppm, depending on the substrate and
coatings.
ABSTRACT #2:
Environmental changes in temperature and humidity can cause

materials, such as magnetic tape media, to expand or contract. Of
26
particular concern are changes in the width of the tape media, because if
data is written in one environment, the drive must be able to read the data
at a different environment. Since servo and data track widths are getting
smaller as we increase track density for future products, we need to have a
good understanding of how the media behaves over different

environments. Current techniques for measuring the dimensional stability
of media are conducted outside the drive, yet we know that the interaction
of the tape with the head has a significant affect on the tape width.
Therefore, we have developed and conducted in situ experiments that
measure the width between two servo tracks at different points on the tape.
By changing the environments, we have found that humidity is the
strongest influence on the tape dimensions, and that a tape can change by
as much as xxx* ppm, depending on the substrate and coatings. This
technique has provided insights into the media and enabled us to
communicate with our media manufacturers and substrate manufacturers
the need to improve the dimensional stability for future media.
*note that normally this would be filled in this is xxxd out to keep it nonconfidential.
COMMENTS:
Confirmar
ABSTRACT #3:
This experiment will determine what will make enzymes effective and
what will make them ineffective. We tested different samples of enzymes in
a spectrophotometer and recorded their absorption rates. Six samples were
placed in the spectrophotometer but two contained no enzyme; these acted
as blanks for the other samples. The four remaining samples contained
Catecholase ranging from 0.5 ml to 1.75 m. The second half of the
experiment contained four test tubes with a constant amount of
Catecholase, but the pH levels ranged from four to eight. It was found that
if the enzyme was present in large amounts, then the absorption rate was
high, and if the pH level ranged from 6 to eight then the absorption rate
was high. Therefore it can be said that enzymes work well in neutral pH
levels and in large amounts.
ABSTRACT #4:
This experiment was performed to determine the factors that

positively influence enzyme reaction rates in cellular activities since some
enzymes seem to be more effective than others. Catecholase enzyme
activity was measured through its absorption rate in a spectrophotometer,
using light with a wavelength of 540 nm. We compared the absorbance
rates in samples with varying enzyme concentrations and a constant pH of
7, and with samples with constant enzyme concentration and varying pH
levels. The samples with the highest enzyme concentration had the greatest
absorption rate of 95 percent compared to the sample with the lowest
concentration and an absorption rate of 24 percent. This suggests that a
higher concentration of enzymes leads to a greater product production
27
rate. The samples with a pH between six and eight had the greatest
absorption rate of 70 percent compared to an absorption rate of 15 percent
with a pH of 4; this suggests that Catecholase is most effective in a neutral
pH ranging from six to eight.
COMMENTS:
FURTHER INFORMATION
Learn more about ABSTRACTS HERE:
http://www.comcol.umass.edu/conference/abstractguidelines.asp [3]
http://www.ulcl.leidenuniv.nl/index.php3?m=1&c=124 [4]
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html [5]
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
http://vcia.illinois.edu/FoundationRelations/images/keywords.gif
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/passive
http://www.comcol.umass.edu/conference/abstractguidelines.asp
http://www.ulcl.leidenuniv.nl/index.php3?m=1&c=124
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html
Responsvel: Prof. Slvia Malena Modesto Monteiro

28

TOPIC 02: READING ABSTRACTS
WHAT IS THE STYLE OF AN ABSTRACT?

The style of an abstract should be concise and clear. Readers do not
expect the abstract to have the same sentence structure flow of a paper.
Rather, the abstract's wording should be very direct.
Source[1]
READING AN ABSTRACT
Reading an abstract usually demands time and attention, even though
abstracts are not usually long texts. However, they often present technical
terms and academic language, making the text more complex than other
kinds of writing. Here are some steps that a reader can follow, when reading
an abstract:
29
FIFTH STEP
What are the implications of the answer for the problem? Is it

going to change the world (unlikely), be a significant win, be a nice
hack, or simply serve as a road sign indicating that this path is a waste
of time (all of the previous results are useful). Are the results general,
potentially generalizable, or specific to a particular case?
FOURTH STEP
What's the answer for the problem? Does it present the result in
numbers? Does it present vague, hand-waving results such as very,
small, or significant. Is the analysis clear or are there numbers being
misinterpreted?
THIRD STEP
What is the importance of the research? What problem is it

solving? What is the scope of the work (a generalized approach, or for a
specific situation)? Whats the jargon being used?
SECOND STEP
How did the research go about solving or making progress on the

problem? What is the main argument/thesis/claim? Did it use
30
simulation, analytic models, prototype construction, or analysis of

field data for an actual product? What was the extent of the work (did it
look at one application program or a hundred programs in twenty
different programming languages?) What important variables did it
control, ignore, or measure?
FIRST STEP
Why do we care about the problem and the results? Read the idea
behind the research and observe the importance of the work, the
difficulty of the area, and the impact it might have if successful.
Fonte da figura: http://www.ohiorc.org/graphics/adlit/strategy/street_signs.jpg
WHEN READING AN ABSTRACT, REMEMBER:

ALL ABSTRACTS INCLUDE:
1. The full citation of the source preceding the abstract.

2.The most important information first.
3.The same level of language found in the original, including technical
language.
4.Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of
the work.
5.Clear, concise, and powerful language.
ABSTRACTS MAY INCLUDE:
1. The thesis of the work in the first sentence.

2.The background that places the work in the larger body of literature.
3.The same chronological structure of the original work.
Now, see below an example of an abstract analysis and observe how it is
done:
EXAMPLE 01
Kenneth Tait Andrews, "'Freedom is a constant struggle': The
dynamics and consequences of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement,
1960-1984" Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997 DAIA 59/02, p. 620, Aug 1998.
This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a
multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its
peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this
historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements
transform social structures and the constraints' movements face when
they try to do so. The time period studied in this dissertation includes the
expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the
desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight
academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two
major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data
and (2) three case studies. Data have been collected from archives,
interviews, newspapers and published reports. This dissertation
challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Indeed,
some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as
31
the agents driving institutional change. Typically these groups acted

in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the
civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge
independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and
injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions,
movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.
WHAT THE STUDY DOES
This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a

multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak
in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically
important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social
structures and the constraints' movements face when they try to do so.
HOW THE STUDY DOES IT
The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of

voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public
schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall
of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies:
(1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and
(2) three case studies.
RESULTS
This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are

inconsequential. Indeed, some view federal agencies, courts, political
parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change.
Typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the
leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement.
CONCLUSION
The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures

for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling
change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an
enduring legacy in Mississippi.
KEYWORDS
Civil Rights Movement

Mississippi
Voting rights
Desegregation
PRACTICE 01
READ THE FOLLOWING TEXT AND ANALYZE IT ACCORDING TO
THE EXAMPLE 1 YOU JUST SAW:
Luis Lehner, "Gravitational radiation from black hole spacetimes"
Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1998 DAI-B 59/06, p. 2797, Dec 1998.
The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable
32
attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States,

Europe and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would
be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of
the detected signals. The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented
to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D
asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future
null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the
unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact
source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included
in the evolution algorithm. This code is shown to be second-order
convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we
have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is
equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational
radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to
treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code
carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately
evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.
WHAT THE STUDY DOES
RESULTS
CONCLUSION
KEYWORDS
33
Confirmar
CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS

WHAT THE STUDY DOES
The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain

an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically
flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null
infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the
unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some
compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed
and included in the evolution algorithm.
Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is

included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous
calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A
module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in
the evolution algorithm. This code is shown to be second-order
convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes.
RESULTS
This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to

handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown
that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to
a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in
one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat
the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes.
CONCLUSION
The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity

and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with
apparently unlimited stability.
KEYWORDS
gravitational radiation (GR)

spacetimes
black holes
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/wVdFKsVdpjA/TwuOWedV19I/AAAAAAAACwU/hDQ17KCo4w/s1600/untitled.jpg
34

TOPIC 03: WRITING ABSTRACTS
In order to understand how we should read an abstract, we are going to

see first how abstracts are written:
HOW DO YOU WRITE AN ABSTRACT?

Writing an abstract involves boiling down the essence of a whole paper
into a single paragraph that conveys as much new information as possible.
One way of writing an effective abstract is to start with a draft of the
complete paper and do the following:
1. Highlight the objective and the conclusions that are in the paper's
introduction and the discussion.
2. Bracket information in the methods section of the paper that contains
keyword information.
3. Highlight the results from the discussion or results section of the
paper.
4. Compile the above highlighted and bracketed information into a single
paragraph.
5. Condense the bracketed information into the key words and phrases
that identify but do not explain the methods used.
6. Delete extra words and phrases.
7. Delete any background information.
8. Rephrase the first sentence so that it starts off with the new
information contained in the paper, rather than with the general topic.
One way of doing this is to begin the first sentence with the phrase "this
paper" or "this study."
9. Revise the paragraph so that the abstract conveys the essential
information.
STOP AND CHECK

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING ABSTRACTS:
(CLICK HERE)
Start by writing one sentence answering the questions you saw in

TOPIC 1 of this Class.
Add detail where appropriate to fully answer these questions and to
fill in the suggested information previously outlined.
Consider your audience.
Give enough background to allow the educated generalist as well as
the specialist approach your abstract/poster without feeling confused or
annoyed.
Do not make your readers feel they need to research your topic
before they can approach your paper or poster.
35
Have a colleague read your abstract and then tell you what your
project is about. If he or she has difficulty explaining your research,
consider revising your abstract.
Write clearly and concisely.

Explain abbreviations and acronyms at their first occurrence, even in
an abstract.
Proofread and spell check (they are different!)
PRACTICE 01
Now, lets practice! Above you have 3 abstracts. Number the parts of
each abstract in the right sequence:
ABSTRACT 1
Violence, Subalternity, and El Corrido Along the US/Mexican Border
( ) Such contradictions desensitize and deny the essence and root

cause of the conflict &endash; an ongoing sociopolitical, cultural, and
economic struggle between the two nations. While information
transmission in the north has a U.S. focus, south of the divide knowledge
distribution is very Mexico-centered. However, the border region acts as a
third space t hat gives birth to a distinct border gnosis, a unique form of
knowledge construction among subaltern communities on both its sides.
One form of subalternity, corridos, (border folk ballads), has functioned to
create an alternative discourse to the borderlands imaginary.
( ) This study is an examination of the analysis and critique found in
corridos that seek a critical approach to the violence at the nations' shared
edges and its ensuing political implications. To illustrate their subaltern
function, I will examine two incidents: the 1984 McDonalds shooting in
San Ysidro, California, and the 1997 death of Ezequiel Hernndez in
Redford, Texas. These cases are indicative of the politically charged
environment of a border region that in becoming an increasingly
militarized zone has also set the stage for a cultural battle amongst
different forms of knowledge construction and legitimation.
( ) The Geopolitical divide that separates the United States and
Mexico has long plagued the region with violence and conflict. However,
its extent and political nature is often overshadowed and undermined by
mainstream information outlets. The boundary inspires polarized
reactions: tough on crime/immigration rhetoric from politicians and
enforcement officials &endash; exemplified in current border
militarization &endash; and appeasement through feel-good news
reporting.
ABSTRACT 2
"Quantifying the Mechanics of a Laryngoscopy"
( ) One objective is to use comparisons between expert and novice
users to identify the critical skill components necessary for patients, to
identify the mechanical properties of the human anatomy that effect
36
laryngoscopy, and thus enable the development of a realistic training

simulator. In the future an advanced training mannequin will be
developed whose physical properties will be based on our sensor
measurements, and where virtual reality tools will be used to provide
training feedback for novice users.
( ) Accordingly, there is a need for improved training methods, and
virtual reality technology holds promise for this application. The
immediate objective of this research project is to measure the mechanics
of laryngoscopy, so that an advanced training mannequin can be
developed. This summer an instrumented laryngoscope has been
developed which uses a 6-axis force/torque sensor and a magnetic
position/orientation sensor to quantify the interactions between the
laryngoscope and the patient. Experienced physicians as well as residents
in training have used this device on an existing mannequin, and the force
and motion trajectories have been visualized in 3D.
( ) Laryngoscopy is a medical procedure that provides a secure airway
by passing a breathing tube through the mouth and into the lungs of a
patient. The ability to successfully perform laryngoscopy is highly
dependent on operator skill; experienced physicians have failure rates of
0.1% or less, while less experienced paramedics may have failure rates of
10-33%, which can lead to death or brain injury.
ABSTRACT 3
Cristina Peri Rossi: The Postmodern Transgressions of Parody and
Ambiguity ( ) Uruguayan writer Cristina Peri Rossis first book, El libro
de mis primos (The Book of My Cousins, 1969), is compared with her later
novel, La nave de los locos (The Ship of Fools, 1984), to suggest how an
authoritarian society can be criticized through parody and then rebuilt on
the foundations of a philosophy of ambiguity, similar to Lyotards vision of
the postmodern.
( ) Dissatisfaction with the power structures of tradition and
validation of marginality are characteristics of such vision, which inscribe
Peri Rossi in the postmodern current of Latin-American literature. The
postmodern condition agrees with the major conclusions drawn from both
works. First, tradition is viewed as a decadent state of affairs that needs to
be brushed aside, for it does not respond to genuine human concerns and,
in fact, has frustrated and destroyed them. Parody is the tool used to
dispose of tradition. Secondly, there has to be an acceptance of the
margins, of the other.
( ) This presupposes a tolerant ambiguity of inclusion that is capable
of rebuilding instead of destroying, and does so by using the very materials
of the other. What El Libro destroys La nave rebuilds. El Libros mission is
to do away with the atrophied waste of patriarchal order, while La nave
seeks to fill up the resulting void with one possible solution: the
conciliation of opposing forces by a tolerant philosophy of inclusion.
CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS:
37
ABSTRACT 1: (2), (3), (1)

ABSTRACT 2: (3), (2), (1)
ABSTRACT 3: (1), (2), (3)
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

38

FORUM 01
Discuss with your friends and tutor the main points you have studied.
Talk about:
- What are the parts of an abstract?
- Do you find it easy or difficult to read an abstract? Why?
- Do you remember the steps to write an abstract? Can you
summarize them here?
- Why is the passive voice important when writing abstracts (and
other academic texts)?
PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY
Read the 3 abstracts and identify their parts according to what you
learned in TOPIC 1
1. CAITLIN ALLEN (MICHAEL MORGAN)
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION, UMASS AMHERST, AMHERST,
MA
WHATS FOR DINNER: FAMILY IMAGES IN TELEVISION FOOD AND DRINK
ADVERTISEMENTS (CLICK HERE)
Food is one of the most central necessities and pleasures of

human life. Eating nourishes the body; the social act of sharing a
meal with family or friends nourishes the soul. While not as
nutritious, exposure to advertising seems nearly as difficult to avoid
as eating. Advertisers have exploited the importance of food
traditions to social identity and family bonding, and used them to
their advantage to make food one of the most frequently and
effectively advertised products on television. This study examines
the images of family presented in contemporary food and drink
advertisements on television. The study was conducted using a
coding scheme that incorporates attention to family structure and
demographics like ethnicity, gender, age and socioeconomic status
as well as personal dynamics, gender roles and appeals used by
advertisers. 100 commercials were taken from current television
programming for quantitative analysis; older commercials were also
analyzed for historical comparison. Food advertising has been
blamed for the obesity epidemic, for socializing children to value
and want foods high in sugar and fat, for objectifying women and
targeting minorities with fast food advertisements. The hope of this
study is to measure the validity of these accusations in
advertisements shown on television during different types of
39
programming and different day parts, and to examine trends in the

representation of the family in food and drink advertisements.
WHAT THE STUDY DOES
RESULTS
CONCLUSION
KEYWORDS
2. CAROL A FURNARI (ROBERT DONOHUE)

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, FRAMINGHAM STATE COLLEGE,
FRAMINGHAM, MA
PEDOPHILIA
There is a growing awareness, and thus concern, about the

existence of individuals referred to as pedophiles. Yet despite this
growing awareness, little is known about the causes of pedophilia,
on both a psychological and physiological level. Recent
developments in technology now enable us to examine the structure
and different functions of the brain. Researches are using this
technology to study brains of pedophiles, resulting in revised
40
theories regarding the potential causes of pedophilia. However,

despite this new information gained from this research, treatment
of pedophiles has yet to be altered in an effective manner. The
objective of this paper is to examine psychological and physiological
correlates of pedophiles, relate these correlates to current
treatments, and evaluate each treatments likely effectiveness.
WHAT THE STUDY DOES
RESULTS
CONCLUSION
KEYWORDS
3. JACQUELINE BINKOSKI (MICHAEL MORGAN),

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION, UMASS AMHERST, AMHERST,
MA, 01003
NEWS MEDIA AND FAMILY INTERACTION
My research examines the relationship between news media

and politics within the family. I am curious as to whether the ways
41
in which a parent obtains news can predict or relate to the way their
child does as well. A similarity between a parent and child in their
news consumption might also predict a similarity of their political
outlooks as well. There has been much research done on political
socialization between parents and children. Do parents pass on their
level of interest in news along with politics to their child? Or is there
no relationship? I also am wondering whether or not any
discussions take place between them about news and current events.
I believe that although parents and children will get their news from
different sources, the amount of news use will be predicted from
parent to child. In order to research this topic, I have created a
survey which will be dispersed to college students, and one of their
parents. I will be examining what types of news media are used
most often by each respondent, between newspapers, broadcast and
cable television and the internet. I will also examine similarities of
political outlook asking questions relating to abortion, gay marriage,
capital punishment, economic outlook, etc. I will ask whether or not
a parent or child agrees with a statement of political importance,
whether a child believes they have the same views as their parents
and lastly, whether they discuss these issues.
WHAT THE STUDY DOES
RESULTS
CONCLUSION
KEYWORDS
42
When you finish doing the activity, save it in a Word file and publish
it in your individual portfolio.
GOOD LUCK!
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

43

TOPIC 05: GRAMMAR TOPIC
The use of passive voice is very common in academic writing, which

includes abstracts, research projects, monographs and other kinds of text
(see CLASS 1, TOPIC 1). This happens especially because we DON'T WANT
TO FOCUS ON who is doing an action, but on who is receiving or
experiencing the action.
But first, lets answer the following question: What is passive voice?
In English, all sentences are in either "active" or "passive" voice:
Source [1]
ACTIVE: Werner Heisenberg formulated the uncertainty principle in 1927.

PASSIVE: The uncertainty principle was formulated by Werner
Heisenberg in 1927.
In an active sentence, the person or thing responsible for the action in
the sentence comes first. In a passive sentence, the person or thing acted on
comes first, and the actor is added at the end, introduced with the
preposition "by." The passive form of the verb is signaled by a form of "to
be": in the sentence above, "was formulated" is in passive voice while
"formulated" is in active.
In a passive sentence, we often omit the actor completely:
Example: The uncertainty principle was formulated in 1927.
The next question is: Whats the form of the passive voice?
FORM
to be + past participle
How to form a passive sentence when an active sentence is given:
- object of the "active" sentence becomes subject in the "passive" sentence
- subject of the "active" sentence becomes "object" in the "passive"
sentence" (or is left out)
EXAMPLES (CLICK HERE)
Active:
Peter
builds
a house.
Simple Present
Passive:
A house
44
is built
by Peter.
Active:
Peter
built
a house.
Simple Past
Passive:
Active:
A house
Peter
was built
has built
by Peter.
a house.
Present Perfect
Passive:
A house
Active:
Peter
has been built
by Peter.
will build
a house.
Will - future
Passive:
Peter
Active:
Peter
will be built
can build
a house.
a house.
Modals
Passive:
A house
can be built
by Peter.
Here you will find some examples of how to form the passive depending
on the tense.
Tense
Active
Passive
Simple
Present
Peter builds a house.
A house is built by Peter.
Simple
Past
Peter built a house.
A house was built by Peter.
Present
Perfect
Peter has built a house.
Past
Perfect
Peter has built a house.
Will-future
Peter will build a house.
A house will be built by

Peter.
Going
future
Peter is going to build a

house in summer.
A house is going to be built

in summer by Peter.
to-
Another important question is: When do I use passive voice?

In some sentences, passive voice can be perfectly acceptable. You might use
it in the following cases:
CASE 1
The actor is unknown.

45
Example: The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper

Old Stone Age. (We don't know who made them.)
CASE 2
The actor is irrelevant.

Example:
An experimental solar power plant will be built in the
Australian desert. (We are not interested in who is building it.)

CASE 3
You want to be vague about who is responsible.

Example:
Mistakes were made. (Common in bureaucratic writing!)
CASE 4
You are talking about a general truth.

Example:
Rules are made to be broken. (By whomever, whenever.)
CASE 5
You want to emphasize the person or thing acted on. For example, it
may be your main topic:
Example:
Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at
the University of Toronto. It is still the only treatment available for

diabetes.
CASE 6
You are writing in a scientific genre that traditionally relies on passive

voice. Passive voice is often preferred in lab reports and scientific research
papers, most notably in the Materials and Methods section:
Example: The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This
solution was then titrated with hydrochloric acid.
In these sentences you can count on your reader to know that you are
the one who did the dissolving and the titrating. The passive voice places the
emphasis on your experiment rather than on you.
OBSERVATION
Note: Over the past several years, there has been a movement within
many science disciplines away from passive voice. Some scientists now
prefer active voice in most parts of their published reports, even
occasionally using the subject "we" in the Materials and Methods section.
The passive voice is extremely useful in academic writing because it
allows writers to highlight the most important participants or events within
sentences by placing them at the beginning of the sentence.
EXAMPLES
In the following sentences, the passive construction is preferable
because you want readers to focus on the result of an action rather than
the person doing the action.
46
VERSO TEXTUAL
Active: Scientists classify glass

as a solid.
Passive: Glass is classified as a
solid.
The passive sentence focuses

on how glass is classified,
rather than on who classifies
glass.
VERSO TEXTUAL
Active: Four members of the

nursing staff observed the
handwashing practices of staff
during rostered shifts.
Passive: The handwashing
practices
of
staff
were
observed by four members of
the nursing staff during
rostered shifts.
The passive sentence focuses

on handwashing practices
rather than on the four
members of staff.
In addition, in academic writing sometimes it is obvious, irrelevant or

repetitive to state who the 'doer' of the sentence is: thus the passive voice
is a useful way to construct these types of sentences. It is also a way that
the use of informal personal pronouns can be avoided; for example,
VERSO TEXTUAL
One type of work group, the

semi-autonomouswork group,
is discussed in a section later in
this chapter.
It is obvious that it is the

author who will be doing the
discussing.
The group was designed to last

for only the lifetime of a
particular project.
It is irrelevant to the reader

here who did the designing.
The handwashing practices of

staff were observed by 4
members of the nursing staff
during
rostered
shifts.
Handwashing, or failure to
handwash, following patient
contact was recorded. Leaving
the area without handwashing
was consideredfailure to wash.
The passive is used to avoid

repeated reference to the
known doer of the action (ie.
the observers).
The number of seeds found in

ant nests were counted.
The passive allows you to

avoid using a personal
pronoun (...by us).
Sometimes in academic writing it might be expedient to use the

passive voice in order to avoid naming the 'doer' of an action so that the
47
message of your text is less inflammatory; for example, read the following
except:
VERSO TEXTUAL
In this ideology the argument

used to sustain the subjugation
of women has largely rested on
premises
about
biological
difference - the biological
differences between men and
women have been used to
legitimate
hierarchical
structures of social inequality.
Women, because of their
biological function as child
bearers, have been traditionally
confined to the domestic sphere
and excluded from the world
'out there'.
The identity of the 'doer' in

this text could be interpreted
as society, the dominant
social paradigm or males.
PASSIVE VOICE
ACTIVE VOICE
PASSIVE VOICE
In this ideology the argument used to sustain the subjugation of women

has largely rested on premises about biological difference - the biological
differences between men and women have been used to legitimate
hierarchical structures of social inequality. Women, because of their
biological function as child bearers, have been traditionally confined to the
domestic sphere and excluded from the world 'out there'.
ACTIVE VOICE
In this ideology the argument used to sustain the subjugation of women

has largely rested on premises about biological difference - society has used
the biological differences between men and women to legitimate hierarchical
structures of social inequality. Society has traditionally confined women,
because of their biological function as child bearers, to the domestic sphere
and excluded them from the world 'out there'.
The text in the active voice focuses on the 'doers', that is society, rather
than on women, the people acted on by the actions of others. The tone of the
text is also much more political and accusatory:
'Society has ... confined women... and excluded them'
rather than descriptive and explanatory.
PRACTICE 1
Click on the links below and do the proposed activities. Remember to
check your answers when you finish.
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/3avi_q1a.html [2]
48
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/3avi_q2a.html [3]
PRACTICE 2
Go to the following links and do the proposed activities.
http://www.nonstopenglish.com/exercise.asp?exid=921 [4]
http://www.nonstopenglish.com/exercise.asp?exid=671 [5]
http://inglesnanet.com/grammar/passive.htm [6]
http://www.englischhilfen.de/en/exercises/active_passive/passive_sentences1.htm [7]
PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY 2
Click on the link below and watch the video with an explanation about
the PASSIVE VOICE. Then, answer the questions. When you finish, save
them in a Word document and post them in your individual portfolio.
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exerciseenglish-2/exercise-english-1681.php [8]
1.What are the three examples (about paintings) mentioned in the
beginning of the video?
2.According to the explanation on the video, what is the main
difference between the ACTIVE voice and the PASSIVE voice?
3.What are the definitions of ACTIVE voice and PASSIVE voice on the
video?
4.What are the definitions of ACTIVE voice and PASSIVE voice on the
video?
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://tbn1.google.com/images?
q=tbn:BGO1zJMmKBMLmM:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JLfm8oZKt4/RpTXXzFPmTI/AAAAAAAAAEo/BJ9FLgMVuCo/s1600/estudando
2.gif
2. http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/3avi_q1a.html
3. http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/3avi_q2a.html
4. http://www.nonstopenglish.com/exercise.asp?exid=921
5. http://www.nonstopenglish.com/exercise.asp?exid=671
6. http://inglesnanet.com/grammar/passive.htm
7. http://www.englischhilfen.de/en/exercises/active_passive/passive_sentences1.htm
8. http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exerciseenglish-1681.php
49

CLASS 03: THE CRITICAL REVIEW
TOPIC 01: WHAT IS A CRITICAL REVIEW?
(Source: http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/26-criticalreview.xml [2])
WHAT IS A CRITICAL REVIEW?

A critical review is an evaluation of a text (academic or non-academic),
for example:
an article,
a report,
an essay,
a book,
a movie.
Source [1]
You are asked to make judgments, positive or negative, about the text
using various CRITERIA. The information and knowledge in the text needs to
be evaluated, and the CRITERIA that should be used can vary depending on
your discipline. That is, management, sociology, information technology, or
literature may use different criteria.
All critical reviews, however, involve TWO MAIN TASKS:
summary,
evaluation.
SUMMARY/DESCRIPTION
EVALUATION/JUDGMENT
SUMMARY/DESCRIPTION
A description of the text:

The topic, or the main question it proposes to answer.
Why does the author think the question(s) is important?
The arguments (answers with reasons) that it makes.
The structure of the text or the method used to answer the question.
The evidence used to support answers.
The conclusions reached in the text.
Any further questions raised, but not answered in the text.
Be careful not to give too much detail, especially in a short review.
EVALUATION/JUDGMENT
YOUR judgment about the quality or value of the text (for other
researchers, or to practitioners in the field, or to students). An evaluation of
the text using criteria, appropriate to your discipline. When evaluating the
text you could answer some of the following questions:
Is the question the text tries to answer relevant, interesting, new, useful?
Who will find the text useful?
Does the text give new answers to an old question?
50
Is the text detailed, or brief? Simple or complex?

Is the evidence presented to support the answer extensive? Strong?
Weak? Contradictory?
Are the conclusions reached final, or preliminary?
CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOU ANSWERS
ANSWER KEY
Title:
Usually looks like an entry in a
bibliography.
Introduction
should
contain:
A general overview of the topic
or question(s) of the text.
Your evaluation of the
importance of the topic or
question.
An explanation of how the
critical review will be organized.
Body of critical review

should contain:
1. Summary/description of the
text
51
Monster
A. Lee Martinez
Orbit, 304 pages
Judy never expected to
find a yeti in the freezer section
of the Food Plus Mart while she
was working the night shift,
much less a yeti intent on
eating all of the ice cream (save
the vanilla.) But there it is, so
what does she do? She calls
Animal
Control
Services,
which, surprisingly enough,
actually has a remedy for her
infestation
issues.
"Enter
Monster,
of
Monster's
Cryptobiological Rescue, a
large blue-skinned man with a
talent for transmogrifying and
containing supernatural pests,
and
his
paper
gnome
companion Chester. "Several
yetis later, the grocery store is
pest-free, and that's the last
Judy ever sees of Monster....
A. Lee Martinez continues
to be one of those authors who
reinvent themselves with every
book, never settling for telling
the same sort of story twice.
This time around, we're

presented with a bizarre urban
fantasy that reads like a cross
between Neil Gaiman, Tom
Holt and Christopher Moore.
Audacious, thoughtful, comedic
and oddly human, it's an
intriguing tale that never seems
to go where you expect. It
bucks convention and defies
expectations at every turn,
starting with Monster and
Judy's contentious relationship
and ending with the very
universe itself being up for
grabs. In between, there's more
mythological monsters than
you can shake a stick at, an
extradimensional
entity
inhabiting an origami shell,
Monster's succubus girlfriend,
and the most dangerous cat
lady of all time. Great fun.
2. Evaluation of the text
Conclusion:
Critical reviews don't always
need a conclusion so you must
decide whether to include one or
not. If you think a conclusion is
necessary it should reiterate
your overall view of the text.
It's a fun read, quirky and

strange
and
the
perfect
addition to Martinez's already
varied repertoire. While it
would be nice to see what's
next for Monster and Judy, I'll
happily take whatever Martinez
decides to throw at us. But if
you want comic fantasy, this is
definitely a good bet.
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.novavidacaxias.com.br/wpcontent/uploads/2009/04/duvidas-dilemas-louvor-adoracao.jpg
2. http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/26-criticalreview.xml
52

TOPIC 02: READING CRITICAL REVIEWS
(Source: http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/critrev1.html [2])

As we have already seen in TOPIC 1, a critical review is an evaluation of
a text, for example: an article, a report, an essay or a book. So, when you read
a critical review, you need to make sure that you are observing all the
important aspects usually present in this kind of text. For a critical review to
be clear and easy to understand, it has to answer the following questions:
Fonte [1]
Significance
and
contribution to the field
What is the authors aim?

To what extent has this aim been achieved?
What does this text add to the body of
knowledge? (This could be in terms of
theory, data and/or practical application)
What relationship does it bear to other
works in the field?
What is missing/not stated?
Is this a problem?
Methodology or approach
(This usually applies to
more formal, researchbased texts)
What approach was used for the research?

(quantitative or qualitative, analysis/review
of theory or current practice, comparative,
case study, personal reflection etc)
How objective/biased is the approach?
Are the results valid and reliable?
What analytical framework is used to
discuss the results?
Argument
evidence
Is there a clear problem, statement or

hypothesis?
What claims are made?
Is the argument consistent?
What kinds of evidence does the text rely
on?
How valid and reliable is the evidence?
How effective is the evidence in supporting
the argument?
What conclusions are drawn?
Are these conclusions justified?
and
use
of
Writing style and text

structure
Does the writing style suit the intended

audience?
(expert/non-expert,
academic/non- academic)
What is the organizing principle of the
text? Could it be better organized?
Other points to consider
How does this book compare to other

books on the same subject? Does it present
a unique perspective or new research?
Does the book have illustrations? A list of
references or a bibliography? An index? Are
there any other features? Are they effective
and useful?
Does the author suggest areas for further
research or discussion?
What has been left out?
Finally
53
What is your final assessment? Would you

buy this book or recommend it to others?
Here is a sample extract from a critical review of an article. Only the

introduction and conclusion are included. Look at the elements of the
review, marked with numbers:
[1] A CRITICAL REVIEW OF GOODWIN ET AL, 2000, 'DECISION
MAKING IN SINGAPORE AND AUSTRALIA: THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE
ON ACCOUNTANTS ETHICAL DECISIONS', ACCOUNTING RESEARCH
JOURNAL, VOL.13, NO. 2, PP 22-36.
[2] Using Hofstedes (1980, 1983 and 1991) and Hofstede and Bonds
(1988) five cultural dimensions, Goodwin et al (2000) conducted [3] a study
on the influence of culture on ethical decision making between two groups of
accountants from Australia and Singapore. [4] This research aimed to
provide further evidence on the effect of cultural differences since results
from previous research have been equivocal. [5] The study reveals that
accountants from the two countries responded differently to ethical
dilemmas in particular when the responses were measured using two of the
five cultural dimensions. The result agreed with the prediction since
considerable differences existed between these two dimensions in
Australians and Singaporeans (Hofstede 1980, 1991). [6] However the results
of the other dimensions provided less clear relationships as the two cultural
groups differed only slightly on the dimensions. [7] To the extent that this
research is exploratory, results of this study provide insights into the
importance of recognising cultural differences for firms and companies that
operate in international settings. However several limitations must be
considered in interpreting the study findings.
.
[8] In summary, it has to be admitted that the current study is [9] still
far from being conclusive. [10] Further studies must be undertaken, better
measures must be developed, and larger samples must be used to improve
our understanding concerning the exact relationship between culture and
decision making.[11] Despite some deficiencies in methodology,[12] to the
extent that this research is exploratory i.e. trying to investigate an emerging
issue, the study has provided some insights to account for culture in
developing ethical standards across national borders.
CLICK HERE
[1] Title and bibliographic details of the text

[2] Introduction
[3] Reporting verbs (used to tell the reader what the author thinks or
does in their text)
[4] Presents the aim/purpose of the article and Key findings
[5] Sentence themes focus on the text
[6] Transition signals provide structure and coherence
[7] Reviewers judgment
[8] Conclusion (summarizes reviewers judgment)
[9] Modality (modal verbs and other expressions are used to express
54
degrees of certainty and probability. Ex: May, can, should, would,

must etc.)
[10] Offers recommendations
[11] Concessive clauses (acknowledge the strength/ validity of an idea
before presenting an alternate view) assist in expressing a mixed
response
[12] Qualifies reviewers judgment
STOP AND CHECK

SUMMARIZING AND PARAPHRASING FOR THE CRITICAL REVIEW
Summarizing and paraphrasing are essential skills for academic
writing and in particular, the critical review. To summarize means to
reduce a text to its main points and its most important ideas. The length of
your summary for a critical review should only be about one quarter to one
third of the whole critical review.
The best way to summarize is to:

1.Scan the text. Look for information that can be deduced from
the introduction, conclusion and the title and headings. What do
these tell you about the main points of the article?
2.Locate the topic sentences and highlight the main points as you
read.
3.Reread the text and make separate notes of the main points.
Examples and evidence do not need to be included at this stage.
Usually they are used selectively in your critique.
Paraphrasing means putting it into your own words. Paraphrasing offers

an alternative to using direct quotations in your summary (and the critique)
and can be an efficient way to integrate your summary notes.
The best way to paraphrase is to:
1.Review your summary notes
2.Rewrite them in your own words and in complete sentences
3.Use reporting verbs and phrases (Ex: The author describes,
Smith argues that ).
4.If you include unique or specialist phrases from the text, use
quotation marks.
PRACTICE 01
Click on the links below and do the proposed activities. Remember to
check your answers:
55
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_reported1.htm [3]
http://www.english-the-international-language.com/repsp.html [4]
PRACTICE 02
Read the following essay (you are going to see it in more details in
Topic 04) and write a critical review based on it. Remember to check the
parts
os
a
critical
review
we
saw
in
http://lklivingston.tripod.com/essay/sample.html [5].
Topic
01
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1.
pg
2.
3.
4.
5.
http://www.colsantamaria.com.br/v2008/imagens/prisma/escrevendo.j
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/critrev1.html
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_reported1.htm
http://www.english-the-international-language.com/repsp.html
http://lklivingston.tripod.com/essay/sample.html

56

TOPIC 03: WRITING CRITICAL REVIEWS
THE PROCESS OF WRITING A REVIEW

VERSO TEXTUAL
1. Skim/read the text - note the main question or questions the

text tries to answer and the main answers it gives
2. Get to know the work by reading the book carefully and by
reading other opinions of the book (use the resources of the library to
find other critical reviews).
3. Look at the title page, is there a sub-title? Note when the book
was first published. Is there a table of contents, or chapter headings? If
so, use these as an orientation to the organization and contens of the
book.
4. If a bibliography is present, give it careful scrutiny to determine
what may have contributed to the author's conclusions. Also consider
the quality and veracity of the sources.
5. Always read the preface or introduction for statements about
the book's intentions and/ or limitations. As you read, take notes and
flag passages that you fell are illustrative of the purpose, theme and
style of the work.
6. Think of evalution criteria. Note strengths as well as
weaknesses.
7. Read the text again and note the important points in detail such
as the subject, question, arguments and/ or evidence, and conclusions
made, and your evaluation using your criteria.
8. Outline critical review, matching points of descripition with
evaluation criteria.
9. Write the review, including the elements previously discussed.
10. Edit and revise the review before submitting it.
Structure of a critical review
Monster
A. Lee Martinez
Orbit, 304 pages
Parts of a critical review
Examples
Title: Usually looks like an entry in

a bibliography. .
Kotter, J 1990, 'What Leaders

Really Do', Harvard Business
review, vol. 68, no. 3, p. 103.
Introduction should contain:

A general overview of the topic or
question(s) of the text.
Your evaluation of the importance
of the topic or question.
57
Leadership is different from

management and this article
provides
a
clear,
cogent
explanation of the difference.
An explanation of how the critical

review will be organized.
Body of critical review should

contain:
1. Summary/description of the
text
(From Coyle 2000)

Kotter examines the difference
between
leadership
and
management across three major
sets of tasks: setting direction
versus planning and budgeting;
aligning
people
versus
organisation and staffing; and
motivating versus controlling and
problem solving.
(Adapted from Coyle 2000)
2. Evaluation of the text
Kotter's insights, tools, and

ideas for action are relevant but
the need for more insight is great.
[you should explain why in more
detail]
(From Coyle 2000)
Conclusion:
Critical reviews don't always
need a conclusion so you must
decide whether to include one or
not. If you think a conclusion is
necessary it should reiterate your
overall view of the text.
References:
If you have used other sources
in your review you should also
include a list of references at the
end of the review.
In sum, this is some of Kotter's

best work. It is a good resource for
the practising manager who wants
a quick and reliable, even practical
source of information on what
constitutes effective leadership
today. (Adapted from Gibson
1999)
Coyle, J. 2000, 'John P. Kotter
on What Leaders Really Do',
Human Resource Planning, vol.
23, no. 1, p.45.
Gibson, JW 1999, 'John Kotter
on What Leaders Really Do',
Organizational Dynamics, vol. 28,
no. 2, p.90.
PRACTICE 1
READ THE FOLLOWING BOOK REVIEW AND FILL IN THE TABLE
WITH THE PARTS OF THE REVIEW:
A REVIEW BY MICHAEL M JONES CLICK HERE
Judy never expected to find a yeti in the freezer section of the

Food Plus Mart while she was working the night shift, much less a
yeti intent on eating all of the ice cream (save the vanilla.) "But there
it is, so what does she do? "She calls Animal Control Services, which,
surprisingly enough, actually has a remedy for her infestation
issues. "Enter Monster, of Monster's Cryptobiological Rescue, a
large blue-skinned man with a talent for transmogrifying and
containing supernatural pests, and his paper gnome companion
Chester. "Several yetis later, the grocery store is pest-free, and that's
the last Judy ever sees of Monster....
58
Until her apartment is invaded by trolls and other weird

creatures, and Monster again comes to the rescue. "hough neither
her apartment nor Monster's van survive the job, Judy comes away
with the valuable knowledge that the supernatural is real, and very
annoying. "Thus begins a rather uneasy, unlikely partnership
between Judy and Monster, one born out of mutual convenience
and mild dislike for one another. Monster shows her the ropes of
being a cryptological containment expert, she does her best not to
completely screw things up while acting as his transportation. But
as they make their rounds, it becomes clear that the recent upswing
in crypto activity may not be entirely random, and neither is Judy's
involvement. Something really weird is going on, and Judy is at the
heart of it all. "With the fate of the universe at stake, can Judy and
Monster get their acts together long enough to defeat a cranky
immortal, defeat a host of hostile cryptos, and make peace with the
most powerful artifact in existence? Or will all of humanity end up
spending their lives as cats?
A. Lee Martinez continues to be one of those authors who
reinvent themselves with every book, never settling for telling the
same sort of story twice. "This time around, we're presented with a
bizarre urban fantasy that reads like a cross between Neil Gaiman,
Tom Holt and Christopher Moore."Audacious, thoughtful, comedic
and oddly human, it's an intriguing tale that never seems to go
where you expect. "It bucks convention and defies expectations at
every turn, starting with Monster and Judy's contentious
relationship and ending with the very universe itself being up for
grabs. "In between, there's more mythological monsters than you
can shake a stick at, an extradimensional entity inhabiting an
origami shell, Monster's succubus girlfriend, and the most
dangerous cat lady of all time. Great fun.
It's tempting to write MONSTER off as a shallow book; it's got
that dry sense of situational humor that marks Tom Holt or
Christopher Moore, where the characters and their foibles are
played straight, and the comedy comes from the problems they
must deal with. "Of course, when yeti in the supermarket and trolls
in the bedroom and walrus dogs in a diner's kitchen are involved,
things are anything but dull. "And once you look closer, it's easy to
see that MONSTER has depths... or layers, like an onion. It's a fun
read, quirky and strange and the perfect addition to Martinez's
already varied repertoire. "While it would be nice to see what's next
for Monster and Judy, I'll happily take whatever Martinez decides to
throw at us. "But if you want comic fantasy, this is definitely a good
bet.
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

59

FORUM
In this class we learned about critical reviews and indirect speech.
Talk to your friends about these two topics and bring examples of reviews
that make use of indirect speech. Show your examples to your friends and
discuss them in this Forum.
PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY 01
Go to the internet and choose a critical review of an academic article.
Copy the review in a Word document and identify the parts of the review
(TITLE, INTRODUCTION, SUMMARY/DESCRIPTION, EVALUATION,
CONCLUSION, REFERENCES). When you finish, post it in your
individual portfolio.
GOOD LUCK!
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

60

Source [1]
The use of indirect speech is very common in critical reviews. The

author uses it to report dialogues, situations or ideas present in books,
movies, articles etc. Indirect Speech (also referred to as 'reported speech')
refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said. It is often used in
spoken English. Opposing to this idea is the Direct Speech (quoted speech);
it means saying EXACTLY what someone has said, with his/her own words.
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should
be word for word.
FOR EXAMPLE
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."
or
"Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.
The Indirect speech, on the other hand, does not use quotation marks to
enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.
When reporting speech, the tense usually changes. This is because when
we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (past
-- (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past).) .
The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.
FOR EXAMPLE
Direct speech
Indirect speech
"I'm going to the cinema", he

said.
He said he was going to the

cinema.
FOR EXAMPLE
TENSE CHANGE
As a rule, when you report something that someone has said, you go
back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right):
Direct speech
Indirect speech
Present simple
She said, "It's cold."
>
Past simple
She said it was cold.
Present continuous
She said, "I'm teaching
English online."
>
Past continuous
She said she was teaching English
online.
Present perfect simple

She said, "I've been on the
web since 1999."
61
>
Past perfect simple

She said she had been on the web
since 1999.
Present perfect
continuous
She said, "I've been teaching
English for seven years."
>
Past perfect continuous

She said she had been teaching
English for seven years.
Past simple
She said, "I taught online
yesterday."
>
Past perfect
She said she had taught online
yesterday.
Past continuous
She said, "I was teaching
earlier."
>

She said she had been teaching
earlier.
Past perfect
She said, "The lesson had
already started when he
arrived."
>
Past perfect
NO CHANGE - She said the lesson
had already started when he arrived.
>

NO CHANGE - She said she'd
already been teaching for five
minutes.

She said, "I'd already been
teaching for five minutes."
Modal verb forms also sometimes change:

Direct speech
Indirect speech
will
She said, "I'll teach English
online tomorrow."
>
would
She said she would teach English
online tomorrow.
can
She said, "I can teach English
online."
>
could
She said she could teach English
online.
must
She said, "I must have a
computer to teach English
online."
>
had to
She said she had to have a computer
to teach English online.
shall
She said, "What shall we
learn today?"
>
should
She asked what we should learn
today.
may
She said, "May I open a new
browser?"
>
might
She asked if she might open a new
browser.
* Note: There is no change to: could, would, should, might and ought
to.
Direct speech
Indirect speech
I might go to the cinema, he

said.
He said he might go to the cinema.
62
You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that
something is still true, i.e., my name has always been and will always be
Lynne, so:
Direct speech
Indirect speech
"My name is Lynne", she said.
She said her name was Lynne or She

said her name is Lynne.
You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future
event.
Direct speech (exact
quote)
Indirect speech (not exact)
"Next week's lesson is on

reported speech", she said.
She said next week's lesson is on

reported speech.
TIME CHANGE
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must
change it to fit in with the time of reporting.
For example, we need to change words like here and yesterday if they
have different meanings at the time and place of reporting.
Today
+ 24 hours - Indirect speech
"Today's lesson is on
presentations."
She said next week's lesson is on

reported speech.
Expressions of time if reported on a different day

this (evening)
>
that (evening)
today
>
yesterday...
these (days)
>
those (days)
now
>
then
(a week) ago
>
(a week) before
last weekend
>
the weekend before last / the

previous weekend
here
>
there
next (week)
>
the following (week)
tomorrow
>
the next/following day
63
In addition, if you report something that someone said in a different

place to where you heard it, you must change the place (here) to the place
(there).
FOR EXAMPLE
At work
At home
"How long have you worked

here?"
She asked me how long I'd worked

there.
PRONOUN CHANGE
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.
FOR EXAMPLE
Me
You
"I teach English online."
She said she teaches English online.
REPORTING VERBS
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect
speech.
EXAMPLES
We use asked to report questions: Click here
We use told with an object.
We usually use said without an object.
If said is used with an object we must include to:
FOR EXAMPLE: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.
FOR EXAMPLE: Lynne told me she felt tired.

* Note: Here, me is the object.
FOR EXAMPLE: Lynne said she was going to teach online.
FOR EXAMPLE: Lynne said to me that she'd never been to

China.
*Note: We usually use told Lynne told me that she'd never
been to China.
64
There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked.
These include:
accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologised, begged,
boasted, complained, denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered,
promised, replied, suggested and thought.
Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and
informative.
FOR EXAMPLE:
He asked me to come to the party:
He invited me to the party.
He begged me to come to the party.
He ordered me to come to the party.
He advised me to come to the party.
He suggested I should come to the party.
USE OF 'THAT' IN REPORTED SPEECH

In reported speech, the word that is often used.
FOR EXAMPLE
1- HE TOLD ME THAT HE LIVED IN GREENWICH.
However, that is optional.
2- HE TOLD ME HE LIVED IN GREENWICH.
*Note: That is never used in questions; instead, we often use if.
3- HE ASKED ME IF I WOULD COME TO THE PARTY.
In the tables below you can find a summary of the different cases of
indirect speech:
65
*Note than when a Yes/No question is being asked in direct speech, then
a construction with if or whether is used. If a WH question is being asked,
then use the WH to introduce the clause.
The situation changes if instead of the common said, another part of
the very to say is used. In that case the verb tenses usually remain the same.
Some examples of this situation are given below.
While not all of the possibilities have been listed here, there are enough
to provide examples of the main rules governing the use of indirect or
reported speech. For other situations, try to extrapolate from the examples
here, or better still, refer to a good grammar text or reference book.
Some other verbs that can be used to introduce direct speech are: ask,
report, tell, announce, suggest, and inquire. They are not used
interchangeably; check a grammar or usage book for further information.
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4QbiUz_Rqgc/S6SXEONcISI/AAAAAAAAS
84/_zOp6mytnhk/s320/discurso.jpg
66

CLASS 04: THE ESSAY
TOPIC 01: WHAT IS AN ESSAY?
An ESSAY is usually a short piece of writing. It is often written from an

author's personal point of view. Essays can be literary criticism, political
manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections and
reflections of the author.
In its broadest sense, essay may refer to just about any short piece of
nonfiction:
Source [1]
an editorial,
a feature story,
a critical study,
even an excerpt from a book.
However, a literary definition of essay is usually a bit more complex,

drawing distinctions between an article, which is read primarily for the
information it contains, and an essay, in which the pleasure of reading takes
precedence over the information in the text.
An essay can have many purposes, but the basic structure is the same. You
may be writing an essay to argue for a particular point of view or to explain
the steps necessary to complete a task. Either way, your essay will have the
same basic format. If you follow a few simple steps, you will find that the
essay almost writes itself. You will be responsible only for supplying ideas,
which are the important part of the essay anyway.
Here are some steps that can guide you when writing an essay:
PARTS OF AN ESSAY
WHAT IS AN INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH?
The introduction paragraph is the first paragraph of your essay.

WHAT DOES IT DO?
It introduces the main idea of your essay. A good opening paragraph

captures the interest of your reader and tells why your topic is important.
HOW DO I WRITE ONE?
1. Write the thesis statement. The main idea of the essay is stated in a
single sentence called the thesis statement. You must limit your entire
essay to the topic you have introduced in your thesis statement.
2. Provide some background information about your topic. You can
use interesting facts, quotations, or definitions of important terms you will
use later in the essay.
EXAMPLE
67
Hockey has been a part of life in Canada for over 120 years. It has
evolved into an extremely popular sport watched and played by millions of
Canadians. The game has gone through several changes since hockey was
first played in Canada.
SUPPORTING PARAGRAPHS
WHAT ARE SUPPORTING PARAGRAPHS?
Supporting paragraphs make up the main body of your essay.

WHAT DO THEY DO?
They develop the main idea of your essay.

HOW DO I WRITE THEM?
1. List the points that develop the main idea of your essay.
2. Place each supporting point in its own paragraph.
3. Develop each supporting point with facts, details, and examples.
To connect your supporting paragraphs, you should use special
transition words. Transition words link your paragraphs together and make
your essay easier to read. Use them at the beginning and end of your
paragraphs.
EXAMPLES OF TRANSITION WORDS THAT CAN HELP YOU TO LINK YOUR

PARAGRAPHS TOGETHER:
CLICK HERE
For listing different

points
First
Second
Third
For additional ideas

Another
In addition to
Related to
Furthermore
Also
68
For counter examples

However
Even though
On the other hand
Nevertheless
To show cause and effect

Therefore
Thus
As a result of
Consequently
Like all good paragraphs, each supporting paragraph should have a topic
sentence, supporting sentences, and a summary sentence.
WHAT IS A SUMMARY PARAGRAPH?
The summary paragraph comes at the end of your essay after you have
finished developing your ideas. The summary paragraph is often called a
"conclusion."
WHAT DOES IT DO?
It summarizes or restates the main idea of the essay. You want to leave
the reader with a sense that your essay is complete.
HOW DO I WRITE ONE?
1. Restate the strongest points of your essay that support your main
idea.
2. Conclude your essay by restating the main idea in different words.
3. Give your personal opinion or suggest a plan for action.
EXAMPLE
Overall, the changes that occurred in hockey have helped to improve
the game. Hockey is faster and more exciting as a result of changes in the
past 120 years. For these reasons, modern hockey is a better game than
hockey in the 1890s.
PRACTICE 01
GO TO THE FOLLOWING WEBPAGE AND DO THE PROPOSED
REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS!
ACTIVITIES.
http://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/practice.htm [2]
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.senhoradosol.com.br/admin/fotos/escritor.jpg
2. http://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/practice.htm
69

CLASS 04: THE ESSAY
TOPIC 02: READING ESSAYS
SOURCES
http://www.ehow.com/how_3651_read-essay.html [1]
http://www.studygs.net/reading_essays.html [2]
As we have seen in TOPIC 1, an essay is often written from an author's

personal point of view. Essayists attempt to persuade readers to accept their
views by using strong evidence, logical reasoning and organized expression.
Most good essays follow a fairly predictable pattern. Identifying the pattern
makes it easier to follow the line of reasoning.
When reading an essay, you can follow some steps:
CLICK HERE TO READ BETTER THE STEPS
STEP 1
Identify the "issue" or problem the writer is concerned with. This
theme is usually expressed in the first paragraph. Some examples:
racism in America, failing educational standards, the right to own a
firearm.
STEP 2
70
Identify the writer's thesis, which is his or her main point of

argument about that issue. For example: America's public schools are
failing (issue) and we need a school voucher system that allows
parents to choose their children's schools (thesis). The thesis will be
expressed at the start of the essay, though not necessarily in the first
paragraph.
STEP 3
List the clearly stated assumptions the writer makes (schools are
failing) and consider whether they are true (are our schools really
failing?).
STEP 4
List the unstated assumptions the writer makes (schools are
failing, not students or parents) and consider what problems the
writer is choosing to ignore.
STEP 5
Look for the writer's definitions of terms and consider whether
you agree with those definitions. Examples: Do you agree with her
definition of education? Her definition of failure? Her definition of
rights?
STEP 6
Carefully determine which examples the writer uses to persuade
you that the issue exists (examples of school failure) and which
examples the writer uses to persuade you that her solution to the issue
is the best (examples of how vouchers work well). These examples and
logical reasoning will make up the body of the essay. Evaluate each one
for its logic and effectiveness.
STEP 7
The end of the essay will usually attempt to persuade you to take
some action in accordance with the writer's views.
You can also read the essay having some questions in your mind. This
can be done with books, chapters in books, articles, and all manner of
reading.
1. What is the title?
What does it tell you about what the essay is

about? What do you already know about the
subject? What do you expect the essay to say
about it-especially given when it was written
and who the author was (see next questions)?
2. When was the essay

written?
Do you know anything about the state of the

historical literature on the subject at that time?
If so, what do you expect the essay to say?
3. Who wrote it?
What do you expect him or her to say? What

are the author's credentials. or affiliations?
What are his/her prejudices? Are you familiar
71
with the author's other work related to the

subject?
4. Read the essay,

marking
the
information that is
crucial to you.
What exactly is the subject? How does it

correspond to the title? What are the main
points -- the theses? What is the evidence that
the author gives to sustain the thesis or theses?
5. What is the factual

information that you
want to retrain?
Is there a good description something you

knew, or did not know, that you want to
remember its location? If so, mark it. If for
research, make out a research note on it. Does
the author cite some important source that you
want to retain for future reference? If so, mark
it. If for research, make out a bibliographic note
either now or on reviewing the article for such
citations.
6. Once you have

finished the article,
reflect on;
What have you learned? How does it relate to

what you already know? Did you find the
argument convincing on its own terms? Given
what you know about the subject, do you think
the main point(s) might be correct even if the
argument was not convincing? Can you think of
information that makes you doubt the main
point(s), even if the essay argued if well? How
does the essay relate to other things you have
read--that is, how does it fit in the historical
literature?
MAKE OUT A SUMMARY SHEET ON THE ESSAY

PRACTICE 01
Read the following essay carefully and answer the questions.
ABOUT DOGS AND CATS
"A dog is man's best friend." That common saying may contain
some truth, but dogs are not the only animal friend whose
companionship people enjoy. For many people, a cat is their best
Source [3]
friend. Despite what dog lovers may believe, cats make excellent house
pets as they are good companions, they are civilized members of the
household, and they are easy to care for.
In the first place, people enjoy the companionship of cats. Many
cats are affectionate. They will snuggle up and ask to be petted, or
scratched under the chin. Who can resist a purring cat? If they're not
feeling affectionate, cats are generally quite playful. They love to chase
balls and feathers, or just about anything dangling from a string. They
especially enjoy playing when their owners are participating in the
game. Contrary to popular opinion, cats can be trained. Using rewards
and punishments, just like with a dog, a cat can be trained to avoid
unwanted behavior or perform tricks. Cats will even fetch!
In the second place, cats are civilized members of the household.
Unlike dogs, cats do not bark or make other loud noises. Most cats
don't even meow very often. They generally lead a quiet existence. Cats
72
also don't often have "accidents." Mother cats train their kittens to use
the litter box, and most cats will use it without fail from that time on.
Even stray cats usually understand the concept when shown the box
and will use it regularly. Cats do have claws, and owners must make
provision for this. A tall scratching post in a favorite cat area of the
house will often keep the cat content to leave the furniture alone. As a
last resort, of course, cats can be declawed.
Source [4]
Lastly, one of the most attractive features of cats as housepets is

their ease of care. Cats do not have to be walked. They get plenty of
exercise in the house as they play, and they do their business in the
litter box. Cleaning a litter box is a quick, painless procedure. Cats also
take care of their own grooming. Bathing a cat is almost never
necessary because under ordinary circumstances cats clean
themselves. Cats are more particular about personal cleanliness than
people are. In addition, cats can be left home alone for a few hours
without fear. Unlike some pets, most cats will not destroy the
furnishings when left alone. They are content to go about their usual
activities until their owners return.
Cats are low maintenance, civilized companions. People who have
small living quarters or less time for pet care should appreciate these
characteristics of cats. However, many people who have plenty of
space and time still opt to have a cat because they love the cat
personality. In many ways, cats are the ideal house pet.
Source [5]
By Kathy Livingston, 2009
QUESTIONS:
1.What is the title?

2.When was the essay written?
3.Who wrote it?
4.Read the essay, marking the information that is crucial to you.
CLICK HERE
What exactly is the subject?

How does it correspond to the title?
What are the main points the theses?
73
What is the evidence that the author gives to sustain the thesis or
theses?
5.Once you have finished the article, reflect on?

CLICK HERE
Is there a good description of something you knew, or did not

know, that you want to remember its location? If so, mark it.
Does the author cite some important source that you want to
retain for future reference? If so, mark it.
6.What is the factual information that you want to retain?

CLICK HERE
What have you learned?

How does it relate to what you already know?
Did you find the argument convincing on its own terms?
Given what you know about the subject, do you think the main
point(s) might be correct even if the argument was not convincing?
Can you think of information that makes you doubt the main
point(s), even if the essay argued it well?
How does the essay relate to other things you have read--that is,
how does it fit in the historical literature?
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.ehow.com/how_3651_read-essay.html
2. http://www.studygs.net/reading_essays.html
3. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q84xbAoyqWw/SQ9nhHibCcI/AAAAAAAA
AI4/kshfDCAZ2-o/s400/gato-cachorro.jpg
4. http://stuffpoint.com/cats/image/102264-cats-catsss.jpg
5. http://lklivingston.tripod.com/essay/sample.html
74

CLASS 04: THE ESSAY
TOPIC 03: WRITING ESSAYS
HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY

PREWRITING ESSAYS
WHAT IS THE PREWRITING STAGE?

The prewriting stage is when you prepare your ideas for your essay
before you begin writing. You will find it easier to write your essay if you
build an outline first, especially when you are writing longer assignments.
Source [1]
1. THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO WRITE
Ask yourself: What question am I going to answer in this paragraph or

essay? How can I best answer this question? What is the most important
part of my answer? How can I make an introductory sentence (or thesis
statement) from the most important part of my answer? What facts or
ideas can I use to support my introductory sentence? How can I make this
paragraph or essay interesting? Do I need more facts on this topic? Where
can I find more facts on this topic?
2. OPEN YOUR NOTEBOOK
Write out your answers to the above questions. You do not need to
spend a lot of time doing this; just write enough to help you remember why
and how you are going to write your paragraph or essay.
3. COLLECT FACTS RELATED TO YOUR PARAGRAPH OR ESSAY TOPIC
Look for and write down facts that will help you to answer your
question. Time saving hint: make sure the facts you are writing are related
to the exact question you are going to answer in your paragraph or essay.
4. WRITE DOWN YOUR OWN IDEAS
Ask yourself: What else do I want to say about this topic? Why should
people be interested in this topic? Why is this topic important?
5. FIND THE MAIN IDEA OF YOUR PARAGRAPH OR ESSAY
Choose the most important point you are going to present. If you
cannot decide which point is the most important, just choose one point and
stick to it throughout your paragraph or essay.
6. ORGANIZE YOUR FACTS AND IDEAS IN A WAY THAT DEVELOPS YOUR MAIN IDEA
Once you have chosen the most important point of your paragraph or
essay, you must find the best way to tell your reader about it. Look at the
facts you have written. Look at your own ideas on the topic. Decide which
facts and ideas will best support the main idea of your essay. Once you
have chosen the facts and ideas you plan to use, ask yourself which order to
put them in the essay. Write down your own note set that you can use to
guide yourself as you write your essay.
WRITING ESSAYS
WHAT IS THE WRITING STAGE?

75
The writing stage is when you turn your ideas into sentences.
Five Writing Steps (Click here to open)
FIVE WRITING STEPS
1. For the introduction, write the thesis statement and give some
background information.
2. Develop each supporting paragraph and make sure to follow the
correct paragraph format.
3. Write clear and simple sentences to express your meaning.
4. Focus on the main idea of your essay.
5. Use a dictionary to help you find additional words to express
your meaning.
EDITING ESSAYS
WHAT IS THE EDITING STAGE?
The editing stage is when you check your essay for mistakes and
correct them.
Five Writing Steps (Click here to open)
FIVE WRITING STEPS
Grammar and Spelling

1. Check your spelling.
2. Check your grammar.
3. Read your essay again.
4. Make sure each sentence has a subject.
5. Make sure your subjects and verbs agree with each other.
6. Check the verb tenses of each sentence.
7. Make sure that each sentence makes sense.
STYLE AND ORGANIZATION
1. Make sure your essay has an introduction, supporting paragraphs,

and a summary paragraph.
2. Check that you have a thesis statement that identifies the main idea of
the essay.
3. Check that all your paragraphs follow the proper paragraph format.
4. See if your essay is interesting.
PUBLISHING ESSAYS
WHAT IS THE PUBLISHING STAGE?
The publishing stage is when you produce a final copy of your essay to
hand in.
76
Publishing Steps (Click here to open)

1. DEFINITION ESSAY
When you are writing a definition essay, you take a term or an idea
and write about what it is. Often, definitions are combined with
classification or other forms of organization in the essay. You need to give a
careful definition of the key term before going on to discuss different types
or examples.
1.1. Example question
Write an essay defining energy resources and discuss the different types.
1.2. Introduction
Define the key term energy resources.
1.3 Supporting paragraphs
1. Define one type of energy resources: renewable resources.
2. Define another type of energy resources: non-renewable resources.
1.4 Summary paragraph Summarize energy resources SEE EXAMPLE
HERE: http://www.apstudynotes.org/english/sample-essays/definitionsuccess/ [2]
2. CLASSIFICATION ESSAY
In a classification essay, you separate things or ideas into specific

categories and discuss each of them. You organize the essay by defining
each classification and by giving examples of each type.
Write an essay discussing the three types of government in Canada.
2.2. Introduction
Give background information about government in Canada.
1. Define and describe federal government.
2. Define and describe provincial governments.
3. Define and describe municipal governments.
2.4 Summary paragraph Summarize government in Canada. SEE
EXAMPLE HERE: http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/types%20of%
20essays/Classification%20Essay.htm [3]
3. DESCRIPTION ESSAY
In a description essay, you write about what a person, place, or thing is

like. You organize the essay by describing different parts or aspects of the
main subject.
Write an essay describing the polar bear.
3.2. Introduction
Introduce what a polar bear is.
77

1. Describe where the polar bear lives.
2. Describe the body of the polar bear.
3. Describe what the polar eats.
3.4 Summary paragraph Summarize what a polar bear is. SEE
http://descriptive-essay.org/memories-from-theEXAMPLE
HERE:
cabana [4]
4. COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY
In a compare and contrast essay, you write about the similarities and
differences between two or more people, places, or things. You can
organize the essay by writing about one subject first and then comparing it
with the second subject. A more effective way is to organize the essay by
comparing each subject by category.
Write an essay comparing the weather in Vancouver and Halifax.t
4.2. Introduction
Introduce weather in the cities of Vancouver and Halifax.
1. Compare weather in spring and summer for both cities. State how
they are similar or different.
2. Compare weather in fall and winter for both cities. State how they
are similar or different.
SEE
4.4 Summary paragraph Summarize the similarities and differences.

EXAMPLE
HERE:
http://academichelp.net/samples/essays/compare-contrast/cognitivebehavioral-therapy.html [5]>
5. CHOICE ESSAY
In a choice essay, you need to choose which object, idea, or action that
you prefer. You organize the essay by describing each option and then
giving your opinion.
Write an essay choosing between hockey in the 1890s and hockey today.
5.2. Introduction
Introduce the game of hockey.
1. Describe hockey in the 1890s.
2. Describe hockey today.
3. State which form of hockey you prefer and why.
5.4 Summary paragraph Summarize the game of hockey. SEE
EXAMPLE
HERE:
http://www.eslstudyguide.com/essays/sampleessay098.php [6]
6. EXPLANATION/CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY
78
In an explanation essay, you explain how or why something happens

or has happened. You need to explain different causes and effects. You
should organize the essay by explaining each individual cause or effect.
Write an essay explaining why so many Europeans moved to Canada
during the early nineteenth century.
6.2. Introduction
Give background information on European immigration during this time.
1. Explain first reason: poor economy in Europe.
2. Explain second reason: better living conditions in Canada.
6.4 Summary paragraph Summarize main reasons. SEE EXAMPLE
HERE:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/composition/cause_effect.htm
[7]
7. EVALUATION ESSAY
In an evaluation essay, you make judgments about people, ideas, and

possible actions. You make your evaluation based on certain criteria that
you develop. Organize the essay by discussing the criteria you used to make
your judgment.
Write an essay evaluating the importance of the House of Commons.
7.2. Introduction
Give your judgment on whether the House of Commons is important.
1. Explain first criteria: meeting place for government
2. Explain second criteria: represent Canadians
3. Explain third criteria: make laws for Canada
7.4 Summary paragraph Conclude with an overall judgment about the
House of Commons. SEE EXAMPLE HERE:
http://www.rscc.cc.tn.us/owl&writingcenter/OWL/BBoys.html [8]
1. Make a paper copy of your essay.
2. Show your work to your teacher, tutor, or parents.
3. Ask them for hints on how to improve your writing.
PRACTICE 01
Go the following link anddo the proposed activities, in order to
practice
the
writing
of
na
essay:
http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/ESSAY%20DEVELOPMENT%
20EXERCISES.htm [9]
79
PRACTICE 02
Search the internet and find an essay with citations. Underline the
citations in the text and identify them according to what you learned in
this Topic. Then, save the text in a Word document and post it in your
individual portfolio.
GOOD LUCK!
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TiL2AEXCCFI/SSLnvoDInKI/AAAAAAAAB
Js/Lwdq4FgKS1A/s320/estudando1.png
2. http://www.apstudynotes.org/english/sample-essays/definitionsuccess/
3. http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/types%20of%
20essays/Classification%20Essay.htm
4. http://descriptive-essay.org/memories-from-the-cabana
5. http://academichelp.net/samples/essays/compare-contrast/cognitivebehavioral-therapy.html
6. http://www.eslstudyguide.com/essays/sampleessay098.php
7. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/composition/cause_effe
ct.htm
8. http://www.rscc.cc.tn.us/owl&writingcenter/OWL/BBoys.html
9. http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/ESSAY%20DEVELOPMENT%
20EXERCISES.htm
80

CLASS 04: THE ESSAY
FORUM
Talk to you colleagues about what you learned in this Class. Discuss
the following items:
- Whats the structure of an essay? What are the basic parts of an essay?
- What are the kinds of essay presented in TOPIC 1? Which is your
favorite?
- In your opinion, what are the main difficulties in reading an essay?
- Find some examples of citations on the internet and discuss them with
you friends. What kinds of citation are they?
PORTFLIO ACTIVITY
Choose a topic and write a short essay (you can look for topics on this
link: http://www.goodessaytopics.com/ [1]). Remember to check the
kinds of essays, in Topic 01.
GOOD LUCK!
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.goodessaytopics.com/
81

CLASS 04: THE ESSAY
How to make citation

Any time you use information from a source (book, magazine, journal,
webpage, newspaper, etc.) in your essay you must cite that reference unless
it is a broadly accepted piece of information (ex. the San Francisco
Earthquake of 1906 was on the San Andreas Fault). If you use the exact same
words as the reference does, those words must go in quotation marks. When
you paraphrase (i.e., modify the text into your own words), you still need to
cite the reference.
CITATIONS
If you use direct quotes in your text (a good idea), make sure you cite the
author(s), year of publication. Include page number when you quote directly
from the work or refer to specific passages.
CITING QUOTATIONS IN THE TEXT

Quotations in the text (where the quote is four lines or less) begin and
end with quotation marks.
EXAMPLE ONE
If the authors name is in the text, follow it with the publication year in
parentheses. The beginning and end of the quote is enclosed in quotation
marks. The page number(s) is placed at the end of the quote outside the
closing quotation mark and preceding the period.
In her study of childrearing patterns and social class, Lareau
(2003) argued white and Black middle class children in this study
exhibited an emergent version of the sense of entitlement characteristic of
the middle class. They acted as though they had a right to purse their own
individual preferences (p. 6).
EXAMPLE TWO
If the authors name is not in the text, enclose the last name and year
of publication in parentheses at the end of the sentence. The page number
follows the year of publication after a colon. Note that there are no spaces
between the date, colon, and page number.
One study found middle class black and white children both shared
an emergent version of the sense of entitlement characteristic of the
middle class. They acted as though they had a right to purse their own
individual preferences (Lareau 2003:6).
BLOCK QUOTATIONS
82
Block quotations (for quotes longer than four lines) are presented in
smaller type and are set off in a separate, indented paragraph. They are not
enclosed in quotation marks.
EXAMPLE ONE
If authors name is in the text, follow it with the publication year in

parentheses. The P for page is capitalized when the page number is
cited alone without author and date in formation, as in the example below.
As stated by Lareau (2003): Educators believe parents should take
a leadership role in solving their childrens educational problems. They
complain about parents who do not take children problems seriously
enough to initiate contact with educators. In short educators want
contradictory behaviors from parents: deference and support, but also
assertive leadership when children had educational problems. (P. 27)
EXAMPLE TWO
If the authors name is not used in the text, then the authors name,
year of publication and page number follows the period in a block quote.
Some scholars noted teachers inconsistent expectations of parents:
Educators believe parents should take a leadership role in solving their
childrens educational problems. They complain about parents who do not
take children problems seriously enough to initiate contact with
educators. In short educators want contradictory behaviors from
parents: deference and support, but also assertive leadership when
children had educational problems. (Lareau 2003:27)
KEY IDEA CITATIONS

You should also give credit to an author if you paraphrase a key idea
associated with a particular author. Like direct quotes, you should cite the
author's name and the date of publication. You may want to include a page
number (see example three) if you are citing very specific ideas, definitions
or data.
EXAMPLE ONE
If authors name is part of your sentence, follow it with the publication

year in parentheses.
In her study of childrearing patterns and social class, Lareau
(2003) argued that class differences were far more significant than racial
differences as a predictor of family interactions and attitudes of parents
toward children.
EXAMPLE TWO
If the authors name is not part of the sentence, enclose the authors
name and date of relevant publication in parentheses. This method is often
used when two or more authors make the same point. If citing two or more
sources, use a semi-colon to separate your sources.
83
Several scholars have concluded that class differences were far

more significant than racial differences as a predictor of family
interactions and attitudes of parents toward children (Hays 1996; Lareau
2003).
EXAMPLE THREE
If you are paraphrasing a very specific idea (as opposed to a general

argument) from an author or are giving statistical information, include the
page number where the idea is spelled out or the data is displayed. The
page number should follow the year of publication after a colon:
The New York City public school district spends about $8,000 per
student each year, but spending on students in Mott Haventhe citys
poorest neighborhooddrops to about $5,000 per capita (Kozol
2000:45).
MISCELLANEOUS
If you are referring to lecture material, include the name of the lecturer,
the fact that it came from a lecture and the date of the lecture, e.g., (Kelsey,
lect. 11/27/01).
In general essays include a Work Cited page that gives bibliographic
information about the source of the material that you cited in your text. It is
NOT necessary to attach a Works Cited page to this essay unless you refer to
material not assigned in the course readings.
FINALS TIPS
Citations appear immediately after the information.
All references cited must be listed in the reference list at the end of your
report.
In addition, relevant references used but not cited in your text should
also be listed.
Not using citations is plagiarism, as is directly quoting from a text
without putting it in quotation marks.
Do not use more than four words in a row directly from a text.
What you need to do is paraphrase: put the text into your own words.
Changing a few words here and there is not paraphrasing. You must
understand the concepts and really express the concept with a distinct set
of words. If you dont understand the concept well enough to paraphrase
it, you need to find concepts you can understand to write about.
Fonte [1]
FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://usuariofinal.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/lousa.jpeg
84

Textos Acadêmicos

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Textos Acadêmicos

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Disciplina

Compreenso e Produo de Textos Acadmicos em

Prof. Slvia Malena Modesto Monteiro

COMPREENSO E PRODUO DE TEXTOS ACADMICOS EM LNGUA INGLESA

STEPS FOR READING AN ACADEMIC TEXT:

The process of recognizing is basically exploratory and it aims at a first

Extrapolating means building a review that is able to express the

TIP: The approach of an academic text needs to be done from the

2. What is the title of the paper?

3. Does it have any photos/graphics?

4. List some words/expressions that you found difficult to understand.

3. What is the theory being discussed?

* KEY WORDS ARE USUALLY REPEATED THROUGHOUT THE

3. What is the theory being discussed?

CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS:

DOCUMENTING ACADEMIC TEXTS TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION

STOP AND CHECK

Reading academic texts is directly related to writing academic

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

COMPREENSO E PRODUO DE TEXTOS ACADMICOS EM LNGUA INGLESA

It is a research into questions posed by scientific theories and

It is a document characterized by information or other content reflective

It is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually also by a single

It is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is

It is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is

It is a condensed version of a text, a condensation that reproduces the

It is a written and published report describing original research results.

It consists of identifying, summarizing and evaluating the ideas and

It is a written and published report describing original research results.

It is usually a short piece of writing. It is often written from an author's

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Learn more about research projects:

2. TECHNICAL-SCIENTIFIC REPORT: CLICK HERE

Learn more about technical-scientific reports:

3. MONOGRAPH: CLICK HERE

Learn more about monographs:

4. *DISSERTATION: CLICK HERE

Learn more about dissertations:

See here some examples of dissertations:

5. *THESIS: CLICK HERE

Learn more about theses:

See here some examples of theses:

* In fact, the terms thesis and dissertation are interchangeable.

6. **SUMMARY: CLICK HERE

Learn more about summaries:

7. **ABSTRACT: CLICK HERE

Learn more about abstracts:

indicate and predict the STRUCTURE and CONTENT of the text

8. CRITICAL REVIEW: CLICK HERE

Learn more about critical reviews:

9. SCIENTIFIC PAPER: CLICK HERE

Learn more about scientific papers:

10. ESSAY: CLICK HERE

Learn more about essays:

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

COMPREENSO E PRODUO DE TEXTOS ACADMICOS EM LNGUA INGLESA

A complement clause is a notional [5] sentence [6] or predication

Prepositional phrases arewords used to show the relationship of a

"It is time for us to turn to each other, not on each other."

Most adjectives occur in two positions: before a noun and after a

A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an

It means turning a verb or an adjective into a noun. EXAMPLES:

A NOUN PHRASE (abbreviated NP) is a phrase [9] whose