To begin with, unit 7 introduces how to write a short communication, which is no concern of mine.I focus on a typical organizational patter for my paper, the so-called IMRD (Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion) format. What I should write and what the book can help me are including:
- Title
- Abstract-unit 5 (Summary writing)
- Introduction-unit 2 (General-specific), unit 3 (Problem-solution), unit 6 (Critique)
- Methods-unit 3 (Process descriptions)
- Results-unit 4 (highlighting statements; qualifications)
- Discussion-unit 4 (explanations), unit 6 (literature comparisons)
- Acknowledgement
- Reference
Table 21 is very useful because it lists the frequencies of important features in RP sections. For example, the frequency of present tense in introduction and discussion is high, while in methods and results is low. On the other hand, the frequency of past tense in introduction and discussion is mid, while in methods and results is high. Other features are including passive voice, citations, qualifications, and commentary.
The direction begins at methods instead of introduction. In different fields, people have different strategies to develop their methods sections. In many of the social sciences, describing all the detail is very important in methods sections because developing methodology could be one of the main points of an research paper. However, in natural science, engineering and parts of medical research, previous researchers have established many standard procedures and methods, which are widely available. Table 22 provides 8 tips to condense or extend the methods sections based on different requirements.
About result, unit 4 (data commentary) has covered many skills. Therefore, unit 7 emphasizes the organization of results sections.
(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)
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