English language

How to Draft an Academic Paper

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 16:02:34 +0000

How to Draft an Academic Paper ana.lacerda@ma… Tue, 07/16/2024 - 12:02

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Grammar, Literature reviews, Samples of written work, Vocabulary, Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Learn the steps in drafting an academic paper or standalone literature review.

Roadmap presenting the fours steps to prepare a literature review or academic paper and indicating you are now in step 4, part 1, writing the draft.

Introduction

Note: the instructions on this page focus on the following types of academic papers: research papers and standalone literature reviews.

Drafting an academic paper involves three main steps:

Understanding the general structure of the text genre (e.g., research paper, literature review, etc.)
Creating an outline
Drafting/writing the paper

We will look at each of these stages in detail.

Step 1: Understand the Structure of Academic Papers

Research Papers

These papers typically focus on the results of original research. This is their structure:

Introduction

Here you give the background information on your topic, include a problem statement, briefly contextualize your topic in the literature, and outline your objective/thesis statement/research questions.

To learn more, check How to Write Introductions.

Literature Review

This is sometimes included in the Introduction for academic journal articles. Here you review the relevant literature on the topic before eventually identifying a gap that your study aims to fill.

To learn more, check What is a Literature Review? and How to Prepare a Literature Review.

Methods

Here you give details on your research design, participants, data collection procedures, data analysis techniques, etc. (i.e. how you conducted your research).

Findings/Results

This is where you share the findings of your research, often organized into themes. In more quantitative papers, you will find tables and charts in this section, while qualitative studies will have a lot of participants’ quotes in this section.

Discussion

In this section, you generally zoom out to discuss the meaning of the findings altogether, their connections to the previous literature, and the ultimate answers to your research questions. This section will take on a more narrative style than the numbers and charts found in the quantitative Results section and more analysis of participants' perspectives in qualitative texts.

Conclusion

Finally, you summarize the key points and then discuss larger implications in the Conclusion. This is where writers often include the study’s limitations, areas for future research, and recommendations for practice.

To learn more, check How to Write Conclusions.

Standalone Literature Reviews

These papers are based on secondary sources. The entire paper is a literature review and the data is the literature itself. This is their structure:

Introduction

Much like in Academic Papers, give the reader an overview of the topic and the rationale or objective of the Literature Review, ending with the research questions. If you need to give more background information than there is room for in the Intro, you can create separate background sections to follow the Intro.

To learn more, check How to Write Introductions.

Methods

Because the entire paper is a Literature Review, we don’t need a separate Literature Review section here. Thus, jump straight to the Methods, including information on the retrieval of relevant studies (databases, key words), inclusion and exclusion criteria (limits on date of publication, topic, text type, etc.), and then briefly introduce the studies that you did include and the categories that you will use to organize them in your Literature Review.

Findings/Results

This section looks like the Literature Review section of the Academic Paper, except here the literature IS your data. You can, again, organize this section by theme and outline the focus, methods, and results of each study before comparing, contrasting, integrating, and critiquing them.

Discussion

Zoom out and look at your ‘findings’ all together. How have they answered your research questions? What are the similarities that you found in the literature? Any unresolved debates? Any remaining gaps and areas for future research? You will continue to do comparison, contrast, synthesis and critique here, but now across all your themes instead of one-by-one.

Conclusion

Quickly highlight the key takeaways from your Literature Review before focusing on larger implications, recommendations, predictions, etc. You can also discuss the limitations of your own Literature Review here (as opposed to the limitations of the literature in general, which fits into the Discussion above).

To learn more, check How to Write Conclusions.

To learn more about Literature Reviews, check What is a Literature Review? and How to Prepare a Literature Review.

Other Types of Academic Papers

Here are some Resource Pages of other text types that you will probably find in your courses at OISE, so take a look for their specific organizational patterns:

Step 2: Create an Outline

Always start with an outline before drafting your paper – it will make your drafting and revising phases much easier.

Beyond just creating an outline for the main sections of your paper (described in the section above), try to develop a more detailed outline that shows different sub-headings, points, and supporting arguments within each section.

Consult your outline continually during the writing process and check it again at the completion of a rough draft to make sure you included all relevant and important points. At the same time, keep in mind that your outline will evolve during the writing process as you read more, come up with new ideas, and drop old ones, so some flexibility with your outline is also advised.

Here is an example of a detailed outline of a research paper.

Step 3: Draft / Write

In the drafting/writing process, the order that you write in depends on you.

Some people like to start at the beginning (Intro) and then write in the same order as the outline until the Conclusion. Others prefer starting with the main findings and then writing out from there, jumping around to write different sections and sometimes even ending with the Introduction once all the details are filled in. Try experimenting with different approaches to see which writing sequence works best for you.

The following Resource Pages give some guidance on the writing process, starting with the most basic level of the paragraph:

Next, these Resource Pages can help you draft different sections of your paper, from Introductions to Literature Reviews to Conclusions.

When zooming in on specific sections or paragraphs of your paper, these Resource Pages describe more mechanical aspects such as communicating directly to your readers, using transitions, attending to flow, and bringing out your own voice in the writing:

Beyond your own voice, these last Resource Pages give instruction on how to integrate other articles and texts into your writing as well as how to use APA style:

Example of a Standalone Literature Review

Literature Review (student sample) (366.38 KB, PDF)

This is a full literature review paper written by an OISE student on the topic of Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) and Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) in Writing Centers (WC). Throughout the paper, you will find several annotations. Yellow annotations refer to the structure of the paper, its content and how ideas are developed. Purple annotations refer to writing elements and language elements (e.g., paragraphs, paraphrases, summaries, quotes, stance and voice, cohesion, etc.).

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Related Resource Pages on ASH

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How to Write Conclusions

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 14:35:21 +0000

How to Write Conclusions ana.lacerda@ma… Mon, 07/01/2024 - 10:35

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Learn the steps in writing an effective Conclusion for a research paper.

Introduction

Often overlooked in the research paper writing process, the Conclusion is important in that it reminds the reader of the key points in the body of the text, communicates important takeaways, and zooms out to discuss the larger implications of the paper’s findings or arguments.

This resource page will cover three key steps or moves that comprise an effective Conclusion:

Summarize key points & main takeaways while connecting back to the thesis and/or research questions.
Make connections to the literature and/or theory presented earlier in the paper.
Zoom out: Discuss limitations, implications, and/or give recommendations.

Step 1: Summarize key points & main takeaways

Start your conclusion by reminding the reader about the key points from the body of your paper. Consider this question: What do you want your reader to remember? Also know that readers sometimes skip down to the Conclusion to get the gist of the paper before reading body paragraphs, so make sure to communicate your most important points here. Also, make sure that this summary aligns with your thesis and/or research questions outlined in the Introduction (i.e. what the main findings or answers to your RQs are).

In the following Conclusion example, the writers highlight three key points or takeaways from their study on theory-practice relationships in teacher education. In the final point, the implications of ‘the embedded practicum model’ are described in terms of the training of teacher candidates.

Example

In the teacher preparation program described in this study, many program components and practices contributed to enabling teacher candidates to develop insights into the complex relationship between theory and practice. Theory and practice were viewed by faculty as existing in an integrated, reciprocal relationship, with many program structures and practices organized around school-based experiences. Faculty adopted a variety of student-centered, active pedagogical approaches (course- and program-based) that explicitly enabled teacher candidates to make theory and practice connections. A key feature of the program that fostered theory–practice connections was the embedded practicum model, which allowed for a gradual enculturation into the teaching profession. This prepared teacher candidates to gradually participate in the life of teaching, starting with low-risk activities in safe learning environments (e.g., viewing case studies of classroom practice, peer teaching) and gradually progressing to more complete complex teaching responsibilities (planning and implementing assessment with children) over time.

From: Goodnough, K., Falkenberg, T., & MacDonald, R. (2016). Examining the nature of theory–practice relationships in initial teacher education: A Canadian case study. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue canadienne de l'éducation, 39(1), 1-28.

Step 2: Make connections to the literature and/or theory presented earlier in the paper

In the next move, return to some of the key literature that you discussed earlier to evaluate how your findings/conclusions compare or add to this body of literature. You can also return to the key theories you used in your paper, evaluating how your findings/conclusions can be interpreted through those theoretical lenses.

In the next section of the example text, the reader is reminded of three key theories that were presented previously. The authors signal their alignment with the second and third theories before discussing the implications for teacher educators in moving away from the first theory (traditional approach).

Example

Earlier in this article, we theorized about three approaches to teacher preparation: traditional, Deweyan, and practical wisdom. Other scholars, such as Grossman, Hammerness, and McDonald (2009), have also suggested that teacher preparation be premised on the ideas of the latter two approaches. These authors suggest that teacher education be organized around core principles of practice, skills, and teacher identity to best prepare teacher candidates for the teaching profession. They state that traditional divides between foundation and methods courses and divides between schools and universities need to be dismantled. This implies a particular role for teacher educators if teacher candidates are to examine discrete aspects of the complex act of teaching. It would require faculty to envision course content differently, and to view program and pedagogy from the starting point of clinical practice.

In the next example, the researchers return to the literature by showing the alignment between the findings in their article and the emerging literature surveyed before. Once again, implications for teacher candidates and teacher education programs are then described.

Example

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, emerging literature does suggest a number of principles for offering high-quality teacher education programs (Allen, 2009; Beck & Kosnik, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2006). These principles and their associated practices were evident in the design and implementation of the program described in this article. The principles underpinning a teacher preparation program have implications for the scope and sequencing of content and experiences, as well as program structure and pedagogy, and will influence how teacher candidates experience and understand theory– practice relationships.

Step 3: Zoom out: Discuss limitations, implications, and/or give recommendations

In the final step, it is time to zoom out and give your final take-home message. Here, we reverse the “general to specific” pattern in the Introduction, ending with more general points around the implications and recommendations for the field based on your key findings and conclusions. You can also discuss the limitations that were uncovered during the paper writing process, such as gaps that still exist, and then suggest areas for future research.

In the final example, the writers begin with recommendations, discuss areas for future research, outline a key existing challenge, before ending with a description of the significance of the study and how it adds both to our knowledge while also uncovering some tensions for teacher education on the level of theory-practice relationships.

Example

We, the authors, recommend that teacher educators and those involved in teacher preparation, development, and implementation constantly reflect on how teacher candidates are constructing their understanding of teaching and theory–practice relationships. Enabling teacher candidates to establish a sound foundation to start their teaching careers is one of the broad goals of teacher preparation. More research is needed to understand the context of teacher preparation and how programs and individual faculty can offer appropriate, coherent learning experiences that shift away from the traditional divide between theory and practice. While a considerable body of literature about theory and practice in teacher education exists, theory–practice dynamics continue to be a challenge in terms of how teacher educators can best support teacher candidates as they develop their own understanding of theory–practice relationships in the context of learning to teach. This case study research adds to the knowledge base of teacher education, providing insight into the nature of faculty and teacher candidates’ thinking about theory– practice relationships and how this may shape practice. It also provides insight into some of the tensions and challenges faculties of education may experience as they implement new programs and/or practices that explicitly attend to creating strong theory–practice relationships.

Example of a Conclusion

Literature Review (student sample) (366.38 KB, PDF)

Our Tips

Often, students will focus on Step 1 (Summarizing of key points) in their Conclusion and then stop there. Don’t forget to include Steps 2 (Making connections) and 3 (Zooming out) for an effective Conclusion.
Note that writers do not always follow the Step 1 -> Step 2 -> Step 3 sequence in perfect order. These steps may be mixed up and returned to numerous times in a Conclusion.
A sign of an ineffective Conclusion is when it only comprises a few sentences. For your research papers, aim for the Conclusion to take up half a page at minimum.
Before writing the Conclusion, look back at your Introduction to make sure that the promises you made to the reader there (focus, thesis, significance, etc.) are still relevant to your paper. If not, you can adjust the Introduction to reflect what was actually accomplished in your paper.

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

Video: How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper

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How to Write Introductions

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 19:40:43 +0000

How to Write Introductions ana.lacerda@ma… Wed, 06/19/2024 - 15:40

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Learn the steps in writing an effective Introduction for a research paper.

Introduction

The Introduction of your research paper is important as it should grab the reader’s attention, provide needed background information and context for the paper’s focus, and outline your main arguments and/or research questions.

This resource page will cover five key steps or moves that comprise an effective Introduction:

Introduce the general topic and grab the reader’s attention.
Describe the situation/background information.
Identify a problem and why it is important to solve.
Look at what other researchers have found/done.
Outline the focus, purpose, and main argument/research questions.

Step 1: Introduce the General Topic and Grab the Reader’s Attention

Start the paper off by announcing your topic with a catchy ‘hook’ to grab the reader’s attention. The hook can be a vivid quote, a thought-provoking question, an interesting anecdote or scenario, a surprising fact or statistic, a bold statement, etc.

In the example below, the authors provide some historical context to indicate the importance of their topic, as it has been in scholarly discussion for many years.

Example

Research about theory–practice relationships in teacher preparation has been prevalent since the early 1970s.

Step 2: Describe the Situation/Background Information

In the following sentences, explain the background and context to your topic, moving from general to more specific information. This is also a place where you can define or clarify key terms, provide further statistics, and give details that lead into the problem statement in Step 3.

In the example below, the writers provide background information by specifying exactly what they mean by ‘theory’ and ‘practice,’ introducing key considerations in the design or review of teacher education programs, and then announcing their focal context (K-12).

Example

Often, this “real” or “perceived” relationship has been characterized as a “gap” or “divide” between learning in university classrooms (theory) and classroom teaching (practice). In designing or renewing teacher preparation programs, issues such as the nature of theory and practice, how they relate to each other, and how theory–practice relationships are envisioned and enacted as teacher candidates learn to teach must be considered carefully. It is also important to consider teacher educator perspectives about the relationship between theory and practice and how these perspectives are reflected in their thinking and professional practice. K–12 classrooms are becoming increasingly complex (e.g., catering to needs of all children in the regular classroom, staying abreast of emerging technology, etc.), and warrant pedagogy that reflects inclusivity, standards-based curricula, and technology.

From: Goodnough et al., 2016.

Step 3: Identify a Problem and Why it is Important to Solve

Very often (but not always), an essay or research paper will include a problem statement, as we often write about current issues in the field and education before offering recommendations. Beyond just introducing the issue, however, we also need to describe its significance (i.e., address the “so what?”).

In the following excerpt, the researchers first explain the importance of integrating theory-practice for K-12 education and then introduce the problem with traditional approaches to theory-practice relationships in teacher education.

Example

The changing nature of the K–12 learning environment has implications for how teacher education programs are structured, as well as influence the pedagogy adopted that enables teacher candidates to integrate and connect theory and practice in ways that support their learning and development. Traditional approaches to teacher preparation often conceptualize the relationship between theory and practice as “a two-step process of knowledge acquisition and application or transfer” (Feiman-Nemser & Remillard, 1996, p. 79). In other words, teacher educators provide knowledge about teaching and learning in university settings, while teacher candidates are expected to apply this to their practice in classrooms as they learn to teach. However, recent research has shown that adopting a “theory first and practice later” perspective has not been effective in supporting teacher candidates in creating strong theory–practice connections (Brouwer & Korthagen, 2005; Grossman, 2008; Wideen, Mayer-Smith, & Moon, 1998).

From: Goodnough et al., 2016.

Step 4: Look at What Other Researchers Have Found/Done

Introductions also often include a very abbreviated literature review, highlighting some of the major findings on the topic before identifying a gap (what has not been found yet). This gap provides the context for your research questions (Step 5) which are framed to help fill the gap.

In the next section of our example, a brief overview of important studies on the topic is given before introducing the gap, and thus this study’s contribution to the field.

Example

While there is no one “best” approach to program design and structure, emerging literature on the integration of theory and practice in teacher preparation suggests a number of useful practices for offering high-quality teacher education programs, such as ensuring coherence across program components (Beck & Kosnik, 2006), developing strong partnerships with schools (Darling-Hammond, 2006), and offering theory-focused course learning with practice-focused field experiences in an integrated manner (Allen, 2009).
Little research exists on how teacher educators understand and experience theory–practice dynamics, thus this study adds to this body of research.

From: Goodnough et al., 2016.

Step 5: Outline the Focus, Purpose, and Main Argument/Research Questions

Once the gap is established, you can announce the focus and purpose of your paper and the research questions (answers to which will help fill the gap). This can also take the form of a main argument/thesis statement where you outline the importance and uniqueness of your argument (a new perspective which thus fills a gap). For more quantitative papers, a hypothesis is used here, which will be confirmed or refuted in the body of the paper (as opposed to a more qualitative and open research question).

In the example below, the authors describe their data sources (focus) and then introduce the research questions. Finally, they outline the purpose of the study by highlighting contributions to the field and key findings.

Example

In this case study, the authors report on data collected from a Canadian faculty of education in which a new post-degree K–12 teacher preparation program was implemented. The following research questions guided this study: (a) What is the nature of theory– practice relationships in a new teacher preparation program? (b) What tensions will arise as theory–practice relationships are manifested in this new teacher preparation program?
This study contributes to the teacher education literature by reporting on how theory–practice relationships were conceptualized and enacted in practice in a teacher preparation program that underwent reform. The study highlights the issues and tensions that arose and explores how these may be addressed or resolved as diverse personal and theoretical perspectives on theory–practice relationships “come to life” in a teacher preparation program.

From: Goodnough et al., 2016.

Bonus Step: End with a ‘Roadmap’ for your Paper

Much like an outline slide in a presentation, a roadmap at the end of an Introduction helps structure the paper and aids your reader in anticipating the organization and key points/sections. Make sure the points in your roadmap match the main headings/sections in your paper.

Roadmap phrases:

This paper first focuses on...
Next, I will look at...
The paper then explains...
Finally, I outline...

See our Resource Page on Signposting for more information.

Example of an Introduction

Literature Review (student sample) (366.38 KB, PDF)

Our Tips

Writers sometimes write their Introductions during the last stage of their overall writing process (after the body paragraphs). We recommend writing a rough draft Introduction at the beginning, and then returning to it again at the end to see if your overall focus or purpose has shifted.
In Step 1, avoid the ‘long distance opening’ which is much too broad for the focus on your paper. For example, a general statement on the field of education as a whole would too broad. Rather, announce your more specific topic (e.g. theory-practice relationships in teacher education) in the first sentence.
With any section of a paper, be aware of your audience and how much background knowledge they already have. For course papers, your professor is the audience, so consider the amount of background information they need for a topic in their field vs. a very specific topic that they probably haven’t explored much before.

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

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How to Write Cohesively

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 21:18:34 +0000

How to Write Cohesively ana.lacerda@ma… Mon, 06/03/2024 - 17:18

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Understand the significance of cohesion in academic writing
Write logical and smooth connections between ideas
Address your readers to guide them through your ideas
Improve the overall readability of your written work

What is Cohesion?

In academic writing, ideas must stick together logically (cohesion) and make sense as a whole (coherence).

Coherence (i.e., “how ideas make sense as a whole”) is related to logic and flow in the text and facilitates the overall understanding of your writing.

Cohesion (i.e., “how ideas stick together”) refers to the interrelatedness of sentences in a text to create a sense of unity. Cohesion is essential because it affects how the text and the ideas are structured and ultimately understood.

Check the following example. Text A is cohesive; Text B is the same text without any cohesive elements.

Text A

This research argues against the effectiveness of a particular model of understanding teaching. The model is criticized for being limited by an intellectualist bias in its conceptualization of the mind and for having a narrow definition of excellence, particularly in the context of actual classrooms. The text suggests that excellent teachers, dealing with real-time challenges, are too immersed in the immediate classroom situation to engage in critical reflection on their beliefs. The act of stepping back and critically evaluating one's choices is seen as potentially disruptive to the flow of the classroom, missing valuable teaching opportunities. The text further describes the peculiar phenomenology of the teacher experience, emphasizing the quick and intuitive decision-making process without a reliance on consciously held beliefs. The argument concludes that teacher education programs focusing on reflective models may overlook the fundamental importance of teachers' intuitive responsiveness to classroom dynamics.

Taken from: García, J. & Lewis, T. (2014). Getting a Grip on the Classroom: From Psychological to Phenomenological Curriculum Development in Teacher Education Programs. Curriculum Inquiry, 44(2), 141-168, DOI: 10.1111/curi.12042

Text B

This research argues against the effectiveness of a particular model of understanding teaching. It is criticized for being limited by an intellectualist bias in its conceptualization of the mind and for having a narrow definition of excellence, particularly in the context of actual classrooms. Excellent teachers, dealing with real-time challenges, are too immersed in the immediate classroom situation to engage in critical reflection on their beliefs. The act of stepping back and critically evaluating one's choices is seen as potentially disruptive to the flow of the classroom, missing valuable teaching opportunities. The peculiar phenomenology of the teacher experience includes a quick and intuitive decision-making process without a reliance on consciously held beliefs. Teacher education programs focusing on reflective models may overlook the fundamental importance of teachers' intuitive responsiveness to classroom dynamics.

Text B lacks connective devices/transition phrases to guide the reader through the logical order of the arguments, so the text is disjointed and difficult to follow. Also, the second sentence uses an unclear pronoun (it) rather than repeating the key noun (the model). When you read Text B, it may sound fragmented and lacking flow, with unclear connections between sentences.

Cohesion plays an important role in guiding your readers through your writing and ideas by connecting ideas and maintaining a smooth narrative. Without cohesive devices, the text loses its structure and becomes inaccessible to the readers.

How to Write Cohesively?

Writing cohesive and coherent texts means using linguistic and structural techniques to link ideas, sentences, and paragraphs to ensure the writing is easy to follow. Effective cohesion strategies include:

Repeating key nouns
Using pronouns consistently
Using transitions to link ideas
Arranging your ideas in a logical order

1. Repeat key nouns

Repeating key nouns frequently in your paragraphs is a common strategy to make the sentences flow smoothly. Have a look at the following example and feedback:

Example + Feedback

Example: However, Mateo underlined the relation of self-transformation to social transformation, as self-love grows into collective liberation. Because Mateo expressed excitement for a world of love and joy for queer and trans people of color, mediated by the Queer Eye X Lizzo video, I asked him if he saw himself in the video now or felt that it represented a future he could be a part of someday. Mateo emphasized, “I can see myself being a part of it in the future, but right now, I’m at the beginning, the start of the line.” Mateo shared that being at the beginning, “feels like I’m more comfortable just being around myself.” He theorized that the future he imagined alongside the video “has to start with me, so I can kind of, in a way, spread it to others.”

Taken from: Shrodes, A. (2023) “The word ‘getting over’ is really weird”: Storying disability in desired futures. Curriculum Inquiry, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2023.2206932

Feedback: The key noun (Mateo) is consistently employed throughout the text to maintain sentence coherence.

2. Use pronouns consistently

In academic writing, using consistent pronouns is key for a clear and cohesive text. Since pronouns do not denote meaning by themselves, they need referents, i.e., a topic or a noun elsewhere in the text they refer to.

Example + Feedback

Example: Our experiences as white teacher educators—in our work in classrooms often filled with white women future teachers, as well as in our work with white practicing teachers, community members, and university colleagues—have taught us about the ubiquity and potency of stereotypes in the white racial imagination. As Zeus Leonardo (2005) reminded us, “Critical work on race does not only study its real manifestations and deem everything else ghosts of the real; it must critically understand … how people imagine race in their daily lives” (p. 404). We believe that our teacher education efforts are haunted and undermined by the workings and power of racist stereotypes. Our hope is that attending to Mammy and Brute Negro stereotypes with more sophistication and insight might help us, ultimately, more effectively work with white women in teacher education, particularly related to concepts of culturally relevant pedagogies. In our conclusion, we frame crucial questions and challenges that confront us, given our retelling and analysis of Danielle’s and Lily’s stories.

Taken from: Taken from: Miller, E. & Lensmire, T. (2020). Mammies, brute Negroes, and white femininity in teacher education, Curriculum Inquiry, 50(5), 400-418, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2020.1860643

Feedback: In this example, the authors refer to themselves as they examine two stories about white femininity. Pronouns are crucial in referencing earlier noun phrases (referents), as seen in the example where ‘our,’ ‘us,’ and ‘we’ refer to the authors and their involvement in the academic narrative. This enhancement in readability stems from the precision and cohesion achieved in every sentence.

3. Use transitions to link ideas

In academic writing, transition words are helpful to achieve cohesion by linking ideas and providing a sense of movement that will help your readers understand the connections you wish to convey in your text. Some transition words can be helpful to

start a paragraph
link secondary sentences within a paragraph
conclude and/or bridge ideas in a paragraph to move on to the following one.

Check below different categories of transition words, their purposes and examples.

Addition

Purpose: To add extra information

Linking word examples: also, too, as well, above all, in addition, similarly, correspondingly (formal), equally, likewise, in the same way, by the same token, and. More emphatic: actually, besides, moreover, furthermore, in fact, what is more, as a matter of fact

Written sentences examples: Additionally, this study engages the AsianCrit tenet of story, theory, and praxis. CRT recognizes stories as an essential tool for the survival and liberation of oppressed groups; within CRT, stories are often used as a means of psychic self-preservation and/or to lessen members of oppressed groups’ own subordination. Furthermore, when members of oppressed groups share their stories, such storytelling may shatter complacency, challenge the status quo, and engage conscience (Delgado, 1989).

Naseem, N. (2020). “Invisibility is not a natural state for anyone”: (Re)constructing narratives of Japanese American incarceration in elementary classrooms, Curriculum Inquiry, 50(4), 309-329, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2020.1831369

Time

Purpose: To sequence, to situate in time, to order chronologically

Linking word examples: first, second, third, then, meanwhile, in the meantime, originally, first of all, afterwards, next, eventually, subsequently, finally, at last, in the end

Written sentences examples: The language chosen to speak on behalf of the five billion inhabitants of the globe is English. Meanwhile, back on the surface of the earth, from a small radio in a township shack in Soweto, come tumbling the words of a song by Johnny Clegg and Savuka.

Pennycook, A. (2017). The cultural politics of English as an international language. Routledge.

Comparison

Purpose: To compare points

Linking word examples: similarly, in the same way, likewise

Written sentences examples: However, the metapragmatic evaluation “this is not an English class” raised by Valentina earlier, can easily cross over between sectors. Similarly, a negative student evaluation of a pedagogical interaction based on relevance to a specific objective, such as gaining fluency to improve employment prospects, can easily be complemented by an evaluation based on moral objectionability.

Windle, J.A. & de Araujo Rosa, J. (2023). Navigating Critical Language Education at the Crossroads of Neonationalism and Neoliberalism: The Role of Border Talk. TESOL J, 57. 752-774.

Contrast

Purpose: To show differences

Linking word examples: however, on the contrary, by contrast, in contrast, on the other hand, instead, in fact, conversely, yet.

Written sentences examples: According to the JD-R model, job demands comprise job characteristics that require effort and are linked to higher strain and burnout (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Yet, empirical studies have shown that not all job demands have direct and solely negative effects (Crawford et al., 2010); Van den Broeck et al., 2010).

Jörg, V., Hartmann, U., Philipp, A., & Kunter, M. (2023). Teachers' proactive behaviour: Interactions with job characteristics and professional competence in a longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 00, e12642. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12642

Exclusion

Purpose: to show options.

Linking word examples: alternatively, on the one hand-on the other hand, rather, Or (else)

Written sentences examples: Both positions have their limitations. On the one hand, identity politics’ inclination towards essentialism threatens to naturalize difference and reproduce dominant cultural assumptions. On the other hand, the idea that “gender” or “race” are fictions threatens to invisibilize difference altogether, along with the power relationships that create it (Alcoff, 1988, 2006).

Tien, J. (2019). Teaching identity vs. positionality: Dilemmas in social justice education, Curriculum Inquiry, 49(5), 526-550, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2019.1696150

Concession

Purpose: To concede information

Linking word examples: still, however, all the same, even so, that said, nevertheless. More formally: nonetheless, notwithstanding. More informally: anyhow, anyway, only, though, but, yet

Written sentences examples: In other words, Mock Spanish invokes stigmatizing stereotypes about Latinas/os without making such stereotypes explicit. The most profound aspect of this process, however, is not that it frames “Spanish speakers” (regardless of national background and ethnoracial identity) in particular ways, but that it specifically produces “Latina/o” as a U.S. racial category.

Rosa, J. (2016). 'From Mock Spanish to Inverted Spanglish: Language Ideologies and the Racialization of Mexican and Puerto Rican Youth in the United States', in H. Samy Alim, John R. Rickford, and Arnetha F. Ball (eds), Raciolinguistics: How Language Shapes Our Ideas About Race. Oxford Academic.

Reason

Purpose: To explain points.

Linking word examples: Therefore, for that matter, accordingly, on account of this, that is why.

Written sentences examples: New perspectives conveyed through shared dialogue result in complex understandings. Therefore, dialectical constructivist theory privileges a social nexus that is facilitated (Vygotsky, 1986) by an instructor rather controlled by one.

Lahey, T. (2023). From college to classroom: Using virtual collaborative inquiry to support first-year teachers with classroom management. Journal of Education, 0(0). DOI: 10.1177/00220574231166014

Result

Purpose: To demonstrate results

Linking word examples: as a result, therefore, accordingly, consequently, in consequence, of course, hence. Formal: as a consequence, in consequence, thus.

Written sentences examples: As a result, students themselves began identifying as “people with privilege” and using the frameworks of “privileged” vs. “unprivileged” people. For example, in his final reflection on the course, Peter wrote that, “I am learning that as a person of privilege, I need to find ways to give up some power, while stewarding those things that I cannot give up.”

Tien, J. (2019). Teaching identity vs. positionality: Dilemmas in social justice education, Curriculum Inquiry, 49(5), 526-550, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2019.1696150

Purpose

Purpose: To indicate directions

Linking word examples: thus, for this purpose, therefore, with this in mind

Written sentences examples: The importance of a research article is routinely measured by counting how many times it has been cited. However, treating all citations with equal weight ignores the wide variety of functions that citations perform. We want to automatically identify the subset of references in a bibliography that have a central academic influence on the citing paper. For this purpose, we examine the effectiveness of a variety of features for determining the academic influence of a citation.

Zhu, X., Turney, P., Lemire, D., & Vellino, A. (2015). Measuring academic influence: Not all citations are equal. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66(2), 408-427.

Condition

Purpose: To indicate conditions

Linking word examples: if so, if not, in that case, that being so, in such an event, Then, Under such circumstances

Written sentences examples: If we accept that colonialism is varied and operates in different contexts, then our responses have to be multiple, and we are obliged to acknowledge the inherent tensions between competing visions of anti-colonialism.

Dei, G. S. & Lordan, M. (2016). Anti-colonial theory and decolonial praxis. Peter Lang.

Enumeration

Purpose: To sequence multiple points

Linking word examples: for one thing (... for another thing), In the first place, Secondly, next, then (again), finally, in the first/second place, first of all, to begin with, to start with; Especially in formal and technical use: we find a.... b .... c...., one ... two .... three....

Written sentences examples: First, and in the most obvious sense, English is worldly by dint of its vast global expansion. Second, English is worldly in the sense that a person may be called worldly: it has been and is constantly in the process of being changed by its position in the world. And third, it is in the world, it is part of the world; to use English is to engage in social action which produces and reproduces social and cultural relations.

Pennycook, A. (2017). The cultural politics of English as an international language. Routledge.

Summative

Purpose: To summarize and synthesize information

Linking word examples: all in all, altogether, overall, thus, in conclusion, in sum, to sum up, to conclude, to summarise, in short, after all

Written sentences examples: This code definition connects, albeit broadly, to the wider construct of autonomy referenced above but is also grounded in our data capturing teachers’ perceptions and reported actions of autonomy both in response to interview questions about the pacing guide and beyond. Thus, we conceptually aligned the notion of having autonomy with deviating from the pacing guide and approached the excerpts coded for Deviating with the goal of compiling evidence of teacher autonomy.

Exemplification

Purpose: To provide examples

Linking word examples: for example, namely, e.g. , for instance, to illustrate, as an example

Written sentences examples: Race is also a point of connection to the English language for critical teachers who seek to reposition English as a language of protest and solidarity, for example, through discussions of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Windle, J.A. & de Araujo Rosa, J. (2023). Navigating Critical Language Education at the Crossroads of Neonationalism and Neoliberalism: The Role of Border Talk. TESOL J, 57. 752-774.

Clarification

Purpose: To explain points

Linking word examples: In other words, put differently, namely, thus, that is (to say), i.e. , (I mean), in fact.

Written sentences examples: Yet, the racializing effects of Mock Spanish do not apply to a large number of the individuals who would seem to fit into this category, namely many Spaniards and other “historically Spanish-speaking populations” that are not racialized as non-White in the ways that millions of U.S. Latinas/os are.

Identification

Purpose: To identify specific information

Linking word examples: namely, specifically, especially, in particular

Written sentences examples: We did not observe any differences in the level of teachers' personal initiative with regard to their gender, age, years of professional experience, school track or full-time versus part-time positions. Regarding the job characteristics and aspects of professional competence, only one factor, namely, personal initiative of the team, showed a significant difference between teachers of different school tracks: Higher track teachers reported significantly lower values (M = 2.72, SD = .99) than lower track teachers (M = 3.50, SD = .90, t(105) = 2.44, p = .016, d = .48).

Inference

Purpose: To deduce and infer implicit information

Linking word examples: In that case, in other words, then, otherwise, else, more accurately, more precisely

Written sentences examples: “Even if [classroom management] preparation was sufficient, teacher education would need to be explicit about how classroom management could be adapted, integrated, or reconceptualized towards shifting classroom demographics” (p. 207). In other words, the SEL must be culturally compatible.

Lahey, T. (2023). From college to classroom: Using virtual collaborative inquiry to support first-year teachers with classroom management. Journal of Education, 0(0). https://doi-org.myaccess.

Digression

Purpose: To introduce new points not mentioned before

Linking word examples: incidentally, as a matter of fact, at any rate

Written sentences examples: Decolonial epistemic reconstitutions, and the politics of decolonial investigations, aim to overcome the hegemony of the “European paradigm of modernity/rationality” and take the first two trajectories (deWesternization and reWesternization) as a field of investigation. As a matter of fact, setting up the current world order as the conflict between the rise of de- Westernization and the counterrevolution of reWesternization is a decolonial conceptualization of epistemic reconstitutions to understand the current world order emerging from five hundred years of Westernization.

Mignolo, W. (2021). The politics of decolonial investigations. Duke University Press.

4. Arrange ideas in a logical order

Another method to enhance cohesion involves organizing sentences in a specific order. Your choice will depend on your topic and writing purpose. Two common forms include chronological order and logical division of ideas.

Chronological Order

Chronological order concerns the organization of ideas representing a sequence of events or steps within a process. In the example, the authors provide a sequence of steps where they establish cohesion through strategic use of sequence markers like first, second, third, finally.

Example: First, drawing on her own experiences and critical consciousness calls as a Chicana Spanish-speaker, Andrea immediately noticed the low number of Spanish speakers in her program and the imbalanced requirements in the teacher qualification policy (Freire, 2021). In turn, Andrea and her colleagues engaged in four additional critical consciousness actions (see Palmer et al., 2019). Together they committed to developing similar habits of continuously interrogating power during regularly scheduled PLC gatherings where they reviewed DLBE policy information on program aspects whose fairness they questioned. Second, the group historicized schools in DLBE by looking backward at the history of bilingual education to have a larger sense of the possibilities for focusing on the civil rights era issues still at play in the current DLBE climate. Third, the group engaged in critical listening as they encouraged one another to be courageous and calmly express disagreement when necessary as they made different arguments for what constituted fairness. Finally, teachers got better at engaging with discomfort.

From: Valdéz, V., Delavan, G., & Freire, J. (2023). Using critical policy analysis in collaborative professional learning communities to enhance dual language bilingual educators’ critical consciousness in Lisa M. Dorner, Deborah Palmer, Claudia G. Cervantes-Soon, Dan Heiman, and Emily R. Crawford (Eds.) Critical consciousness in dual language bilingual education: Case studies on policy and practice (First Edition). Routledge.

Logical Division

Logical division consists of the categorization of ideas into parts for clarity, with each part discussed separately.

Example: The chapters in the teaching and teacher learning section, like the previous sections, span a broad range of contexts and experiences. Taken together, they illustrate how the overlapping actions of critical consciousness can be embodied in schools through classroom practice and teacher learning.
The first two chapters provide an intersectional lens that actively aims to interrogate binaries, to critically listen to current problems in DLBE spaces, and to accompany Black and LGBTQ+ students.
The final four chapters in the teaching and teacher learning section demonstrate the need to interrogate white-stream conceptualizations of academic achievement, bilingualism/biliteracy, and intercultural competence, the three traditional goals of DLBE (Howard et al., 2018).

From: Dorner, L. M., Palmer, D. K., Cervantes-Soon, C. G., Heiman, D., & Crawford, E. R. (Eds.). (2023). Critical consciousness in dual language bilingual education: Case studies on policy and practice (First Edition). Routledge.

Types of Transitions

Transitions in an academic text can be written using a single word, a phrase, a sentence, or even an entire paragraph. In this way, you provide your readers with signals about how to read through your text. Transitions are generally used for three purposes: linking sections, linking paragraphs and linking ideas within paragraphs.

1. Transitions between sections

This type of transition is frequent in longer texts (e.g., book chapters and scholarly papers) to link information in one section to what follows in the next. These links are necessary to ensure the continuity of the text. Note that these are larger shifts between topics than the transitions between paragraphs below.

Example

Despite the benefits of social interaction with host-nationals, many international students experienced only superficial contact with Americans, and give up hope of establishing deep cross-cultural relationships (Mallinckrodt & Leong, 1992).

Taken from: MICUSP International Students in the United States: Developing Interpersonal Relationships for Cross-cultural Adjustment and Intercultural Maturity

Explanation

This writer uses a contrastive device (Despite) to transition from the topic of the previous section (benefits) to the focus of the current section (barriers to interaction). This is the topic sentence of the first paragraph in this section.

2. Transitions between paragraphs

Transitions between paragraphs are similar to transitions between sections as their purpose is to let the readers know that the upcoming content will experience a shift (contrast, addition, further explanation, etc.) from the content of the previous paragraph. As paragraphs contain a single controlling idea, the change or shift to new arguments, ideas, and information should happen in the following paragraph. These shifts are generally still on the same topic, as opposed to the shifts between sections (new topics) outlined above. For instance, a shift between sections might be benefits -> challenges while a shift between paragraphs may look like benefit 1 -> benefit 2.

As with section transitions, paragraph transitions can be strategically positioned in different locations within the text. Oftentimes, they are located at the end of the first paragraph, the beginning of the second paragraph, or at both junctures.

Example

Another argument for avoidance is that histories like the Holocaust are too horrific and complex for children to adequately understand, so they should not be introduced at all (Totten, 1999).

In contrast, supporters of teaching difficult histories to children have often argued for their instructive nature: to learn lessons from the past, so that we do not forget and do not repeat our mistakes (Rodríguez, 2019).

Naseem, N. (2020). “Invisibility is not a natural state for anyone”: (Re)constructing narratives of Japanese American incarceration in elementary classrooms. Curriculum Inquiry, 50(4), 309-329, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2020.1831369

Explanation

The author uses a single expression (in contrast) to signal a shift in perspective in her argumentation. She introduces a new line of thought, presenting the opposing stance of supporters who argue for the educational value of teaching difficult histories to children. This signals a shift in the narrative, emphasizing the instructive nature of difficult histories and the potential lessons that can be learned to avoid repeating mistakes.

3. Transitions within paragraphs

As with transitions between sections and paragraphs, transitions within paragraphs act as cues to help readers anticipate what is coming next as well as understand the types of logical relationships between sentences (contrast, addition, etc.). Within paragraphs, transitions tend to be single words or short phrases.

Example

Virtually every definition of culture (e.g., Hofstede 1980, Mead 1955) suggests that it represents a coalescence of discrete behavioral norms and cognitions shared by individuals within some definable population that are distinct from those shared within other populations. These normative beliefs and behaviors provide resources for realizing individual and collective goals, and so are often institutionalized in a variety of formal and informal ways. Moreover, there exist means for transmitting beliefs and behaviors to new members of the cultural population, so that the norms defining a culture may persist over very long periods of time.

Taken from: https://www2.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/LehmanChiuSchaller2004.pdf

Explanation

The use of ‘Moreover’ adds another point to the main idea of cultural norms.

Our Tips

Achieving cohesion takes time, so be patient and practice your writing. While you write your assignments, ensure that you make conscious decisions about connecting ideas and establishing relationships among ideas and paragraphs.
Avoid excessive use of linking words as it may overload the text, diminishing their effectiveness in maintaining flow and reader comprehension. Also, avoid only placing linking words at the beginning of the sentence (vary their usage).
Read out loud or have a computer read your writing. Listen to your assignment and think if, first, it makes sense to you and if it will make sense to somebody else. You will be able to notice important gaps when you listen to your own writing.
Show your paper to somebody else. Remember that cohesion concerns your readers and how they understand and react to your ideas.

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

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How to Talk to your Readers: Signposting

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 17:01:08 +0000

How to Talk to your Readers: Signposting ana.lacerda@ma… Mon, 06/03/2024 - 13:01

How to Talk to your Readers: Signposting

Introduction
Signposting Order
Signposting Relations
Help & Additional Resources

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

learn what signposting is and what it's used for
learn how to effectively use signposting vocabulary

Introduction

Academic writing can be understood as a type of formal conversation where you need to effectively engage your readers, and signposting is a very common strategy for this purpose.

Signposting means telling your reader what you will do in your paper and its sections, how you will organize the content, and what you have done in previous sections. Signposting is like a “road map” that guides your readers through the content and organization of your paper.

In this Resource Page, you will learn two types of signposting that are frequent in academic writing: Order and Relations.

Signposting Order

These signposting phrases direct readers through your writing, provide a ‘roadmap’ for the order in which you will talk about things, help readers stay on track throughout, and remind them of key information.

Signposting order can be especially useful for introductions, conclusions, transitioning from one significant idea to another, or discussing methods and procedures.

Here are six common types of signposting order:

Listing
Foreshadowing
Changing Topic
Going Backward
Progress
Summary

1. Listing

Listing signposting consists of phrases that will facilitate the reader’s understanding of the logic and sequence of the text.

In the example below, the author uses a typical listing strategy to sequence the arguments.

Let me identify what I take to be the potential dangers here. In the first place, one finds that Levinas’s work is understood and used within a discourse of multiculturalism. There are indeed rich resources in Levinas that can con- tribute to enquiry of this kind, but things go wrong, for example, where his understanding of the Other is assimilated to a politics of recognition. Second, there is the tendency to enlist his work in something like a psychology of dialogical relations, perhaps of student-teacher relations, where the aim is better communication. This may seem close to Levinas’s concerns, but the problem is that such communication is understood as a matter of personal relations and, it should be added, with a relative indifference to the content of what is communicated. Sometimes, a third point, Levinas’s work has been interpreted in a way that relies excessively on a vocabulary of transcendence, causing it to be rarefied and detached from the quotidian circumstances of human lives. That vocabulary easily becomes incantatory, and its reiteration stands in the way of a more exact realization of the practical significance of ideas in question. Finally, the reception of Levinas’s thought suffers from a more general problem, regarding the understanding of poststructuralism.

Standish, P. (2008). Levinas and the language of curriculum in Egéa-Kuehne (Ed.), Levinas and education at the intersection of faith and reason. Routledge.

More Listing Phrases:

The first section of this paper will examine ...
This paper begins by ... It will then go on to ...
The essay has been organised in the following way: ...
The remaining part of the paper proceeds as follows: ...
The main issues addressed in this paper are a), b) and c).
This paper first gives a brief overview of the recent history of X.
This paper has been divided into four parts. The first part deals with ...
This topic can best be treated under three headings: X, Y, and Z.
The key aspects of (topic) can be listed as follows: X, Y, and Z.
There are three reasons why X. These are ...
This section has been included for several reasons: X ...; Y ...; and Z...
The disadvantages of the new approach can be discussed under three headings, which are ...

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

2. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing phrases anticipate what will happen in the upcoming parts of the text. They typically open the writing and are a central part of introductions. The main function of foreshadowing signposting is to preview the content to come, as opposed to the organization of the text (as in listing signposting above).

In the example below, the author previews upcoming content with the phrase “In the next section”.

In the next section, I will examine some of the implications of Goals 2000 and No Child Left Behind on the educational situation of immigrant children, the roles of state and federal legislatures in passing legislation, as well as the role of the courts in deciding issues of contention - in essence, issues of federalism. I argue that this ground-breaking trend toward a convergence of federal power in directing educational policies is unlikely to be successful without more input from states, especially in meeting the needs of immigrant groups within states.

Taken from MICUSP: National Identity and Language Education Policy.

More Foreshadowing Phrases:

This study set out to explore...
The aim of the chapter is to introduce …
This chapter seeks to assess the impact of …
This chapter is subdivided into three sections. The first section will attempt to assess whether …
The second part highlights the key theoretical concepts which …
This chapter contextualises the research by providing background information on …
This chapter discusses the specific methods by which the research and analyses were conducted.
The next chapter describes synthesis and evaluation of ...
A summary of the main findings, together with …, is provided in the next chapter.
The next chapter describes the procedures and methods used in this investigation …
In the next section, I will present the principal findings of the current investigation ...
These analytical procedures and the results obtained from them are described in the next chapter.

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

3. Changing Topic

This type of signposting is a straightforward way to tell your readers that you have stopped developing specific topics in your discussion. Rather than simply previewing the next topic, as in foreshadowing signposting, changing topic signposting mentions the previous focus and then announces the shift.

In the example below, the writer accomplishes this with the phrases “Now that we have considered” (previous topic) and “let us move to” (new topic).

Now that we have considered the treatment of multiple hedging in the research literature, let us move to a brief overview of some textbooks used for teaching academic writing, which will not only give examples of the different extents to which hedging is covered in textbooks (which is explained in much more detail by Hyland 1994) but will also give an indication of whether or not textbooks devote time or focus to multiple hedging and the question of its acceptability or to underhedging and overhedging as potential problem areas for students.

Taken from MICUSP: Attitudes towards and Frequency of Multiple Hedging in Written Academic English

4. Going Backward

Backward signposting is helpful when you need to remind your readers about points you have made previously in your text which are useful to provide continuity to your arguments.

In the example below, the author reminds the reader of a point made earlier in the text with the phrase “As previously stated”.

As previously stated, there are many different ways in which so can be used. Many of these uses cannot be placed into the anaphoric, discourse marker or deictic categories. Because of this we have created this other examples section where we will explain some of the other types of so.

More Phrases to Go Backward:

As discussed above, …
As explained earlier, …
As previously stated, …
As indicated previously, …
As described on the previous page, …
As was mentioned in the previous chapter, …
Returning (briefly) to the (subject/issue) of X, …
As explained in the introduction, it is clear that …
As was pointed out in the introduction to this paper, …
As mentioned in the literature review, ...

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

5. Progress

Progress signposting is helpful to let the readers know where they are in the discussion, or as a reminder, such as drawing the reader’s attention to previously stated information, especially when your writing is lengthy. Progress signposting also signals to the readers that there is more material to come.

In the example below, the writer reminds the reader of their progress through the text up to this point (“So far, we discussed”) and then adds additional information (“We showed that”). In the final sentence, “However” is used to signal that the discussion will now more on to a new focus.

So far, we discussed the implication of considering different forms of knowledge according to their nature (i.e. modal vs. amodal) or their level of abstractness for explaining conceptual activities (i.e. categorization or generalization effects). We showed that conceptual activities could be explained thanks to a global-matching process that occurred on modal exemplars instead of using multiple forms of memory representation. However, it might still be possible that we use different forms of knowledge depending on the nature of the activity (i.e. memory activities vs. perceptual activities).

More Phrases to Indicate Progress:

The studies presented thus far provide evidence that ...
Two important themes emerge from the studies discussed so far:
In view of all that has been mentioned so far, one may suppose that ...
Thus far, the thesis has argued that …

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

6. Summary

Summary signposting is helpful to conclude a paper or specific section and highlight the central takeaways.

In the example below, the author employs “In sum” and “This chapter addressed” to draw attention to the “evidence reviewed in the chapter,” which reinforces the key findings.

In sum, evidence exists for the mental simulation of space, speed and time in the comprehension of both word and sentences. Importantly, the relationship between language and perception appears to be bidirectional (language affects perception and vice versa)…
This chapter addressed the embodiment of language about space, speed and time. These three domains may less obviously be grounded in our perceptual processes for two reasons…
The evidence reviewed in this chapter has shown that space, speed and time are in fact dimensions that are included in mental simulations, or situation models, built during discourse comprehension.

More Phrases to Summarize Literature:

Together, these studies indicate that ...
Overall, these studies highlight the need for ...
Considering all of this evidence, it seems that ...
Collectively, these studies outline …
In all the studies reviewed here, X is recognised as …
The evidence presented in this section suggests that ...
Taken together, these studies support the notion that …
Overall, there seems to be some evidence to indicate that ...
Together these studies provide important insights into the ...
All of the studies reviewed here support the hypothesis that …
These research findings reported here consistently point towards …
The evidence reviewed here seems to suggest a pertinent role for …
These studies clearly indicate that there is a relationship between …

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

More Phrases to Summarize Sections of your Paper:

The previous section has shown that …
To conclude this section, the literature identifies …
This section has reviewed the three key aspects of …
In summary, it has been shown from this review that …
This chapter has described the methods used in this investigation and it has …
This section has attempted to provide a brief summary of the literature relating to …

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

More Phrases to Summarize Findings and Conclusions:

This study has identified …
The research has also shown that …
The second major finding was that …
These experiments confirmed that...
This study has found that generally …
The investigation of X has shown that …
The results of this investigation show that …
The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that …
One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that …

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

Signposting Relations

You can use this type of signposting to show that you are constructing logical steps in your writing, show the relationship between your ideas, and make them clear to the reader.

Here are five common types of signposting relations:

Explaining
Similarity
Contrast
Cause-effect
Emphasis

1. Explaining

In academic writing, clarity is fundamental. Explaining expressions guide your readers through your ideas to enhance their understanding.

In the following example, the writer proposes a redefinition/reclassification of key terms in their paper, using explaining expressions to make sure this is clear to the reader.

The terms citizenship education and civic education have typically been used interchangeably to refer to aspects of the school curriculum- whether formal or informal- that prepare young people for their roles as citizens. However, I would like to propose that we consider these terms in a more nuanced manner and to think of them as distinct entities.

Adapted from MICUSP: Schools and the development of national identity in young children: A justification for comparison.

More phrases to clarify concepts, theories or processes:

Throughout this paper, the term ‘X’ will refer to ...
The term ‘X’ will be used in this thesis to refer to …
Historically, the term ‘X’ has been used to describe …
It is necessary here to clarify exactly what is meant by ...
The phrase ‘X’ will be used in this study to describe the …
According to Smith (2002), X can be defined as follows: ‘ ... ’
In this article, the abbreviation XYZ will be used to refer to ...
Throughout this dissertation, the term ‘X’ will be used to refer to ...
The term ‘X’ is a relatively new name for ..., commonly referred to as ...
In this essay, the term ‘X’ will be used in its broadest sense to refer to all ...
In this dissertation, the terms ‘X’ and ‘Y’ are used interchangeably to mean ...

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

2. Similarity

Drawing parallels between ideas is a crucial signposting strategy. Establishing similarities fosters cohesion and aids in illustrating associations between concepts or other texts, enriching the depth of your discussion.

In the following example, the writer draws parallels between anti-immigration sentiment in the United States at different time periods.

There are many similarities between the immigration debates that occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century and those that are occurring now, almost one hundred years later... In the mid-nineteenth century, many Irish Catholics immigrants were also vilified and looked upon with mistrust. Even earlier, Native Americans cannot have been happy at the arrival of the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who took over their land. Hopefully, the understanding that no matter who we are, those who were here before us looked upon our arrival with suspicion will help us change our attitude towards immigration, and to realize that each new wave of immigrants has brought positive changes to the United States. The current new wave will too, if we only give them the opportunity.

Taken from MICUSP: Immigration and Americanization: Then and Now.

More phrases to establish similarity:

Both X and Y share a number of key features.
There are a number of similarities between X and Y.
The effects of X on Y are similar to those of Z.
Both X and Y generally take place in .
These results are similar to those reported by (Smith et al. 1999).
This definition is similar to that found in (Smith, 2001) who writes:
The X is similar to that of comparable studies (e.g. Smith et al. 1999).
The approach used in this investigation is similar to that used by other researchers.
Studies have compared Xs in Ys and found that they are essentially identical.

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

3. Contrast

In academic writing, signaling contrast is essential to clearly delineating differences between concepts, theories, or perspectives, either your own or among other thinkers, time periods, etc.

In the following passage, the writer contrasts Dewey’s educational ideas with those of traditional schooling through the use of signposting language, such as "rather than," "unlike," and "whereas,".

Dewey’s new educational ideas were centered around a classroom in which children would be active participants, exploring the world around them, guided by a teacher, rather than the traditional schooling where they were required to memorize facts given by the teacher. Unlike traditional schooling, which was set up to teach a large group of children the same information, Dewey’s ideal school would individualize instruction, and students would learn at their own rates. In short, the traditional method of schooling was centered on the teacher and the textbook, whereas Dewey’s method focused on the individual student.

Taken from MICUSP: Curriculum Changes in the Progressive Era and Great Depression

More phrases to establish contrast:

Unlike Smith, Jones (2014) has argued …
In contrast to Smith, Jones (2014) maintains …
Despite this, little progress has been made in the ...
However, this system also has a number of serious drawbacks.
On the other hand, in spite of these recent findings about the role of ...,
X is different from Y in a number of respects.
X differs from Y in a number of important ways.
There are a number of important differences between X and Y.
Areas where significant differences have been found include X and Y.
In contrast to earlier findings, however, no evidence of X was detected.
A descriptive case study differs from an exploratory study in that it uses …

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

4. Cause-effect

In academic writing, using clear markers of cause-effect allow you as a writer to show the connections between actions and outcomes,

In the following example, the writer frames the research questions around causes and effects.

A handful of scholars have focused on this issue and have used a variety of methods to research the following types of questions: What has caused the growing use of part-time faculty at community colleges? Should it be a concern? What are its effects? How should it be addressed?

Taken from MICUSP: Growing Trend of Part-Time Faculty at Community Colleges.

More phrases to establish cause-effect relations:

X may have been an important factor in ...
X may have contributed to the increase in ...
X may have been caused by an increase in ...
X may have played a vital role in bringing about ...
In the literature, X has been associated with Y.
X in many cases may be associated with ...
There is some evidence that X may affect Y.
It is not yet clear whether X is made worse by Y.
This suggests a weak link may exist between X and Y.
The use of X may be linked to ...

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

5. Emphasis

In academic writing, emphasis is often key to conveying the significance of specific ideas. Emphasizing expressions through careful word choice or repetition ensures that crucial points stand out, enhancing readers' comprehension of your main arguments.

In the following text, the writer emphasizes one particular finding that they want the reader to pay attention to, possibly because this is where their topic leads next.

This increasing population of international students, especially from Asia, in the United States faces special challenges in terms of adaptation to a new living and learning environment at host universities and colleges (Perrucci & Hu, 1995). In addition to academic pressures, many international students tend to experience a variety of adjustment concerns, including language difficulties, insufficient financial resources, social integration, challenges in daily life tasks, homesickness, and role conflicts (Mallinckrodt & Leong, 1992). Interestingly, several studies suggest that students from Asia have more difficulty adjusting to life in the United States than international students from non-Asian countries (Abe, Talbot & Geelhoed, 1998).

Taken from MICUSP: International Student Adjustment.

More phrases to demonstrate emphasis:

Most significantly...
Interestingly...
Notably...
Most importantly...
It is well known that …
It is a well-known fact that …
Smith’s well-known argument that …
It is well known among educational researchers that …

(Adapted from the Academic Phrasebank)

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

On Campus Services

Book a writing consultation (OSSC)

What are Stance & Voice and How to Apply them in Academic Writing

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Thu, 23 May 2024 15:45:07 +0000

What are Stance & Voice and How to Apply them in Academic Writing ana.lacerda@ma… Thu, 05/23/2024 - 11:45

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Vocabulary, Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Understand the meaning of stance and voice in academic writing
Learn when and why stance and voice are relevant for graduate students
Learn strategies for utilizing stance and voice effectively in your writing
Learn how to take a stance and balance your voice with those of other authors

What is Stance?

Stance means taking a position or showing what you think in relation to ideas, theories, findings, etc. Taking a stance is important for showing both your understanding of and opinion on an idea or claim. This also helps you demonstrate your critical thinking and analysis skills and is one of the first steps to producing original academic work.

How to Take a Stance

You can use the following phrases and examples to take a stance in academic writing. This includes expressing the degrees of likelihood of a claim and showing distance or closeness to a claim.

Express degrees of likelihood of a claim:

Sentence starters

It is clear that...

It is rather clear that...

It is very probable/highly likely that...

It is probably/likely that...

It is possible that...

It is unlikely that...

Adjectives

There is a definite/strong/good/slight/small possibility that...

Show your distance from a claim:

Attribute a point to the past or early stages of research knowledge

Based on the limited data available...

According to a preliminary study...

According to some historical studies...

In the view of earlier scholars...

Soften a claim

Modal verbs:

Mental health education can/may/might help students’ quality of life.

Softening verbs:

Mental health education seems to/appears to/tends to help students’ quality of life.

Weaker reporting verbs: claims, suggests, assumes

Recent research suggests that poverty contributes to children’s low academic achievement.

Weaker main verbs:

Recent research suggests that poverty contributes to children’s low academic achievement.

Frequency words:

Children living in poverty generally/often perform poorly in school.

Limit the subject:

Many/Some children living in poverty perform poorly in school.

Add restrictions/conditions/exceptions:

In many areas of the world, children living in poverty perform poorly in school, but parental involvement can make a difference.

Show your closeness to a claim:

Attribute the point to recent or more well-established research

In the view of many scholars...

It is well established that...

There is a general consensus about...

According to recent research...

Strengthen a claim

Adverbs: clearly, definitely, surely

Mental health education clearly helps students’ quality of life.

Adjectives: valuable, impressive, positive, significant

Study X has provided valuable insight into the issue of mental health education

Stronger reporting verbs: finds, confirms, asserts

Recent studies have confirmed that poverty causes children's low academic achievement.

Stronger main verbs:

Recent studies have confirmed that poverty causes children's low academic achievement.

Tip 1: Choose purposefully among these strategies based on what you want to express. Rather than choosing a phrase or expression randomly or because "it sounds good", start with what you are trying to communicate (e.g., how close /distant your stance is from a certain idea) and then find a phrase that expresses that.

Tip 2: You can combine strategies, but don’t overdo it! Use only one strategy in the main claim part of the sentence.

Good example: According to recent studies, it is highly likely that mental health education helps students’ quality of life.

Poor example: According to recent studies, it is possible that in some cases mental health education seems to help students’ quality of life.

What is Voice?

Academic voice refers to the differentiation of your own words, thoughts, and ideas from those of others. This is important because you want to use the voices of other scholars to support your voice and stance, rather than have other voices dominate your own. Making the range of academic voices clear to your reader is an integral part of effective academic writing.

How to Use your own Voice

Generally, a sentence without a citation or the use of strategies to signal other voices (see below) will be assumed to be the voice of the student writer. The exception is when you are expressing common knowledge, which do not need citations (e.g. “K-12 education systems in Canada are run by each provincial government”).

In a paragraph or section, you can start with a point or main idea (your voice), then back it up with evidence (other voices) and then end with an explanation or evaluation (your voice). Check the model below to understand how different voices appear in a paragraph.

In: Kathy Bickmore, Ruth Hayhoe, Caroline Manion, Karen Mundy & Robyn Read (Editors), 2017, _Comparative and International Education: Issues for Teachers_, 2nd edition (pp. 268-299). Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press.

Using Different Voices in a Paragraph (example) (14.01 KB, Word)

For users with accessibility needs: this example shows how different voices are used within a paragraph.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to take a stance in relation to published research and other scholars. As you are now grad students, you have the authority to enter these scholarly debates.

Examples

Main Idea:

Declarative Statements

School uniforms benefit students by eliminating competition based on designer labels.

A competitive, efficiency-based development model has not considered the rate at which natural resources are being exploited.

If current trends continue, the likelihood of species extinction in Australia continues to increase unless more stringent measures are adopted.

Recommendations

For several reasons, the Supreme court should have...

In light of the research findings, it is recommended that...

Explanation/Evaluation:

Explanation

In other words...

A possible explanation for this might be...

This [data] means that…

This [study] shows…

This is why…

This is important because..

Evaluation/Critique

The main weakness with this theory is that …

The key problem with this explanation is that …

However, this theory does not fully explain why …

The study would have been more relevant if the researchers had asked …

One major drawback of this approach is that …

How to Incorporate the Voice(s) of Others

Here is where the evidence comes in in the model presented in the image above. Bringing other voices into your text may involve direct voice (quotations) or indirect voice (paraphrases and summaries). Make sure that these voices are clearly labelled with correct APA citations or strategies for maintaining voice so that you do not make another’s voice seem like your own.

Here are some examples of strategies to introduce evidence from other sources:

Direct Quotes

In discussing the importance of teaching study skills, Jordan (1997) comments that “study skills are not something acquired instinctively” (p. 8).

For more information, check our Resource Page on How to Use Direct Quotes.

Paraphrasing

As students do not obtain study skills automatically, it is very important to teach them these skills (Jordan, 1997).

For more information, check our Resource Pages on How to Paraphrase and Citations & APA Style.

Summarizing

It is important to teach study skills to students (Jordan, 1997).

For more information, check our Resource Page on How to Summarize.

For more information on how to integrate others' research into your paper, check our Resource Page How to Integrate Others' Research into your Writing.

How to Maintain Others’ Voices

You do not need to cite every single sentence to maintain the voice of another author. In addition, avoid simply citing at the end of a paragraph as it will be unclear where the different voices start and finish. Rather, cite at the beginning of a new voice and then use phrases such as the following to maintain that voice throughout the section:

The authors go on to state that...

(Name of author) continues by arguing that...

He/she also mentions that ...

The article concludes that...

Example:

Lattuca (2002) maintains that interdisciplinary work results in productive engagements and innovative scholarship. At the same time, she recognizes the conflicts that it can create as it confronts the entrenched assumptions and practices of the traditional academic world.

Taken from MICUSP: Diversifying Communities of Practice in Higher Education

How to Shift between Others’ Voices

When moving from an author’s voice to another author’s voice in your writing, a new citation is the primary way to signal the shift. Likewise, the use of transition words can explicitly show the relationships between voices (agreement, contrast, etc.).

Common transition words include:

According to (citation),

Similarly, (citation) argues that...

On the contrary, (citation) points out that...

Example:

Lattuca (2002) maintains that interdisciplinary work results in productive engagements and innovative scholarship. John-Steiner and Meehan (2002) also stress the role that transformation plays in the appropriation of technologies, psychological tools, and scientific and artistic symbols.

Taken from MICUSP: Diversifying Communities of Practice in Higher Education

For more information:

How to Integrate Others' Research into your Writing

How to Write Cohesively

How to Talk to your Readers: Signposting

Tip: Make sure that your own voice is the primary voice in the text. Remembering to start and end paragraphs with your voice, with evidence from other voices in the middle, will help you achieve this.

Putting it All Together

Stance & Voice Paragraph (example) (76.27 KB, PDF)

This example with annotations shows how a student writer takes a stance and shifts between voices in a paragraph about Mathematics programs.

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

Academic Phrasebank | The University of Manchester

On Campus Services

How to Integrate Others' Research into your Writing

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 20:08:06 +0000

How to Integrate Others' Research into your Writing ana.lacerda@ma… Tue, 04/16/2024 - 16:08

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Citations, Plagiarism, Vocabulary, Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Understand the importance of integrating others’ research into your own writing
Learn effective strategies for integrating others’ research.

Why should I Integrate Others’ Research into my own Writing?

Integrating others’ research into your own writing is essential for several reasons:

It strengthens the credibility and validity of your arguments by grounding them in existing scholarship and expert opinions.
It provides a foundation for generating new insights and ideas.
It fosters intellectual engagement and demonstrates respect for the contributions of others in the academic community.
By incorporating well-researched evidence, you demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the subject and contribute to scholarly conversation.
Integrating diverse perspectives allows for a more nuanced and well-rounded discussion, acknowledging the broader context and potential counterarguments.

How can I Integrate Others’ Research into my own Writing?

Common strategies to effectively incorporate existing research into your writing include integral and non-integral citations, reporting verbs, summarization, paraphrasing and direct quotes. If you are an OISE student, remember to use APA style whenever you incorporate others' research into your own writing.

Click on each strategy below to learn more. Note: The "Paraphrasing", "Summarizing" and "Direct Quotes" buttons will take you to separate Resource Pages.

Integral Citations

Non-integral Citations

Reporting Verbs

Paraphrasing

Summarizing

Direct Quotes

Integral Citations

In academic writing, integral citations refer to the seamless integration of information from a source into the body of the text. This means that the author's name is incorporated directly into the sentence without the use of parentheses. Integral citations are part of the sentence structure and contribute to the overall flow of the narrative. Integral citations place the focus on the text/authors rather than on their ideas.

Structure of Integral Citations

Author’s name + (publication year) + reporting verb

Example: Smith (2019) argues that climate change has far-reaching implications for global biodiversity.

Other Structures of Integral Citations

According to + author’s name + (publication year)...
According to Huntley (1993)…
As indicated by + author’s name + (publication year)...
As indicated by Shu (2018)…
In the view of + author’s name + (publication year)...
In the view of Abe et al. (1998)…
The conclusion drawn in + author’s name + (publication year)...
The conclusion drawn in Shram and Lauver’s study (1998)…
Author’s name + (publication year) + paper discusses...
Dack’s (2017) paper discusses…

When should I use Integral Citations?

Integral citations work well in situations where you want to

Focus on a specific study
Focus on a specific author
Seamlessly incorporate the author's perspective or findings into your own sentence

Non-Integral Citations

Non-integral citations involve enclosing the author's name and publication year within parentheses. These citations are called “non-integral” because the source information is not an integral part of the sentence structure. Non-integral citations are typically placed at the end of the sentence or paragraph that refer to existing research and provide a clear reference to the source. These citations place more emphasis on the ideas as opposed to the text/author(s).

Structure of Non-Integral Citations

Information + (Author’s name, publication year)

Example: Recent research suggests that climate change has far-reaching implications for global biodiversity (Smith, 2019).

When Should I Use Non-Integral Citations?

Non-integral citations are appropriate when you don’t want the source information to disrupt the flow of your writing. For instance:

When the focus of your sentence is on a point or concept or finding. In other words, when the central point is what was found or argued, rather than who found or argued it.

Example: The decline in polar bear populations is alarming (Jones, 2020).

When the point or finding you are writing about is supported by two or more studies which need to be included between parentheses.

Example: English language proficiency was recognized as one of the major adjustment issues for international students (Mallinckrodt & Leong, 1992; Surdam & Collins, 1984).

Reporting Verbs

In academic writing, you need to comment on, evaluate, or agree/disagree with other sources. Reporting verbs help you to show the author’s viewpoint, your own viewpoint regarding the source, or the author’s stance regarding other literature.

You need to select an appropriate reporting verb to communicate these stances.

Reporting verbs are used for the following purposes:

Attributing ideas to their original sources

Reporting verbs signal to the reader that the upcoming information is not the student writer's original thought but is drawn from an external source. This attribution is essential for giving credit to the original thinkers and researchers, acknowledging their contributions to the field. The proper use of reporting verbs helps to avoid ambiguity and plagiarism.

Example: Schram and Lauver (1988) studied the relationship between international students’ adaptation and social alienation.

Indicating the Original Author's Perspective

Different reporting verbs carry different nuances and can indicate the author's attitude towards the cited material. For example, verbs like "argue," "assert," or "contend" suggest a strong and confident stance, while verbs like "suggest," "propose," or "claim" indicate a more tentative or neutral perspective.

Example: Schram and Lauver (1988) suggest that international students who have a strong social support system tend to adjust to college life in the United States more quickly and effectively than those who do not.

Indicating your perspective and stance

If you use a verb like ‘claims’, this suggests that you are unconvinced about the researchers’ arguments, as opposed to a verb like ‘proves’. In the following example, the writer indicates that they may not agree with the first group of scholars (claims).

Example: One group of scholars claims that the growing use of part-time faculty has serious detrimental effects and, therefore, urgent steps should be taken to reverse the trend. The roots of their argument stem from the belief that the predominant cause of the trend has been economic in nature. Another group of scholars, Gappa and Leslie included, has taken the view that the effects of the growing use of part-time faculty can actually be beneficial as long as part-time faculty receive the proper support and respect from their institutions.

Taken from MICUSP: Growing Trend of Part-time Faculty at Community Colleges

Types of Reporting Verbs

Using a variety of reporting verbs adds richness and precision to your writing, allowing you to convey the nuances of the authors' perspectives effectively.

Here is a list of common reporting verbs and how some of them can be used in context. Make sure you choose the correct reporting verb depending on the meaning you wish to convey.

Type of Reporting Verb	Tentative	Neutral	Strong
Argument	posits, proposes	argues	contends, asserts
Assertion	claims	asserts	emphasizes, maintains, declares
Claim	suggests, postulates	claims	asserts, contends
Conclusion	infers, deduces	concludes	decisively concludes, firmly asserts
Demonstration	illustrates, manifests	demonstrates	convincingly demonstrates
Emphasize	underscores, stresses	emphasizes	strongly emphasizes
Highlight	spotlights, accentuates	highlights	strongly highlights
Illustration	exemplifies, portrays	illustrates	vividly illustrates
Implication	insinuates, hints	implies	strongly implies
Indication	signifies, denotes	indicates	clearly indicates
Maintaining	contends, argues	maintains	strongly maintains
Noting	remarks, comments	notes	emphatically notes
Observation	discerns, perceives	observes	keenly observes
Pointing Out	emphasizes, underscores	points out	strongly points out
Proposition	suggests, recommends	proposes	strongly proposes

Examples of Reporting Verbs in Use

Tentative: The scholar proposed that a novel approach to solving the environmental crisis was needed.

Neutral: The scholar argued that a novel approach to solving the environmental crisis was needed.

Strong: The scholar asserted that a novel approach to solving the environmental crisis was needed.

Tentative: The psychologist posits that integrating technology into early childhood education might enhance learning outcomes.

Neutral: The psychologist argues that integrating technology into early childhood education enhances learning outcomes.

Strong: The psychologist contends that integrating technology into early childhood education is essential to enhance learning outcomes.

Tentative: The teacher remarks that incorporating group projects may potentially improve students' collaborative skills.

Neutral: The teacher notes that incorporating group projects improves students' collaborative skills.

Strong: The teacher emphatically notes that incorporating group projects is crucial for the development of students' collaborative skills.

Tentative: The educational researcher suggests that extending school hours might help increase student achievement.

Neutral: The educational researcher proposes that extending school hours would help increase student achievement.

Strong: The educational researcher strongly proposes that extending school hours is essential for significantly increasing student achievement.

Reporting Verbs: Common Issues and Solutions

Instructions: Click on the arrows below the progress bar to go to the next page or the previous page.

Use of Tenses in Reporting Verbs

You also need to pay attention to verb tenses when using reporting verbs in academic writing. This differs from discipline to discipline and often varies in different parts of research reporting (e.g. literature review, methodology, findings).

Here are some common verb tense patterns used in education (and social sciences more generally).

Past Tense

Use the past tense to refer to single studies. Here, we focus on the process or results of the research. These types of sentences are common in literature reviews, methodology, or findings sections. Possible verbs include: investigated, conducted, studied, analyzed, examined (process) / found, showed, revealed, identified, discovered (results).

Examples:

Schram & Lauver (1988) studied the relationship between international students’ adaptation and social isolation.

Fatima (2001) found that many international students experienced significant adjustment-related problems in immersion to a new culture.

Present Perfect Tense

Use the present perfect tense to refer to an area of inquiry. The focus is on general research activity among multiple studies. This is also found in literature reviews and introduction sections of a paper when we provide more background on the research.

Example:

Many researchers have sought to identify specific adjustment problems that international students have experienced (Fatima, 2001; Parr, Bradley & Bingi, 1992).

Present Tense

Use the present tense to refer to the current state of knowledge. This relates to general statements about accepted knowledge. These types of sentences are most often found in introduction sections when providing background on the state of knowledge on a topic/question.

Example:

Researchers agree that social support plays an important moderating role in protecting international students exposed to a new environment against the deleterious effects of acculturation stress (Cemalcilar, Falbo & Stapleton, 2005).

Present Tense or Past Tense?

The present tense is also generally used when expressing the claims and arguments of researchers. In addition, because texts still exist, we usually use the present tense because their statements/conclusions still exist in the present (not finished). These sentences also appear frequently in literature reviews and in the concluding sections of papers.

Example: Schram & Lauver (1998) suggest that international students who have a strong social support system tend to adjust to college life in the United States more quickly and effectively than those who do not.

In the above example, the article from 1998 still suggests the information. However, if we want to provide a historical perspective OR distance ourselves from the findings, the past tense is often used:

Example: From a historical perspective, Schram & Lauver (1998) suggested that international students who have a strong social support system tend to adjust to college life in the United States more quickly and effectively than those who do not. More recent research, however, has found that...

Template Paragraph

Here is a template paragraph that shows you how to use verb tenses correctly, as described above:

In the field of education, _____ has become a hot topic over the last 20 years. Several studies have found that ______ (citation; citation; citation). In particular, one study argues for ______ (citation). This research utilized a _____ research design and involved _____ participants. The findings suggest that _____. Ultimately, researchers now agree that _____.

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

On Campus Services

Book a writing consultation (OSSC)

How to Write Paragraphs

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 19:17:19 +0000

How to Write Paragraphs ana.lacerda@ma… Fri, 03/15/2024 - 15:17

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Learn strategies to organize ideas and write effective paragraphs.

There are several strategies for writing paragraphs. They depend on the writing purposes, the type of text, and the writer's preferences. In this resource page you will find some frequently used strategies to organize ideas and draft paragraphs. This resource page will explore five strategies:

Sentence Sorting
Clustering
Funnel
Brainstorming
Sandwich

Sentence Sorting

Getting started on paragraph writing isn’t always easy. When this happens, a good idea is to start brainstorming ideas as sentences. Here are some practical tips:

Clustering

Clustering is a flexible strategy for organizing ideas and points when constructing a paragraph. There is not a single way to use it. The choices will depend on your needs and purposes in your writing. You can define your own categories, hierarchies and relationships among the concepts and ideas, combining and presenting them as you deem pertinent. You can even discard some of them. It is an exercise of choices that allows you to craft your paragraph content according to your intentions.

Have a look at the following example where the process is illustrated.

Funnel

A funnel is a cone-shaped object that is broad at the top and narrows down at the bottom. It looks like an inverted triangle, as depicted in the image on the right.

In academic writing, the funnel strategy is used to organize information within paragraphs from broader ideas to narrower ideas. In other words, it helps place information containing broad ideas at the top, and as you continue downward, the paragraph gradually narrows its focus to more specific information.

Usually, the broader information at the top includes statements, contextual information, and rhetorical elements like quotes, questions, or topic identification. As we move through the funnel to the narrow part, the information incorporates arguments, underpinning points for the argumentation, examples, and more specific and detailed data.

In the example below, the information of the paragraph on the left follows the funnel strategy (from broad to narrow), as shown in the picture on the right.

American higher education is becoming more diverse now than at any previous time (Zhao, Kuh & Carini, 2005). Behind this trend are international students who constitute an increasingly relevant and important source of diversity on college campuses. During the past decade, American colleges and universities have witnessed a steady increase in international studying abroad is an overwhelming transition there are specific adjustment problems. One problem is English language proficiency. Specific evidence of this problem student enrollments. From 1958 to 2005, the population of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions increased from 43,000 to over 560,000 (Open Doors, 2005). Among that population, Asian students comprise the largest proportion, approximately 58 percent, of all international enrollments (Open Doors, 2005).

Brainstorm Supporting Sentences

Brainstorming and jotting down supporting sentences is helpful when the main idea for your paragraph is clear but you are unsure about how to expand it. This strategy requires you to

write your main idea in a topic sentence format (which can change and be improved as drafts evolve)
brainstorm a list of ideas you think support and expand the main idea.

This strategy also helps you identify “weak” areas where you may need to do more reading to ensure you build a strong argument.

Supporting sentences require as much attention as topic sentences to ensure unity, coherence and clarity. Crafting supporting sentences might not be easy – weaving ideas together may require several attempts until your produce a clear outcome that is logically and organically connected to the topic sentence.

Have a look at the following example where the process is illustrated.

Instructions: Click on the arrows below the progress bar to go to the next page or the previous page.

Sandwich

The “sandwich" strategy helps organize ideas, hierarchies, and roles within the paragraph. The word sandwich is helpful to visualize the structure of the paragraph, having a bun on top representing the topic sentence, the filling as the collection of examples, evidence, and concrete supporting ideas, and the lower bun as the concluding/transition sentence.

Check the example below showing the structure of a paragraph using the sandwich strategy.

You can also check the examples above in the document below:

Paragraph Structure using Sandwich Strategy (example) (61.78 KB, PDF)

For users with accessibility needs: this example shows the structure of a paragraph using the sandwich strategy.

Our Tips

If you find yourself saying or wondering any of the following when crafting paragraphs or longer pieces of writing, these tips are for you!

“But I have so much to say!”

Break down your ideas in small chunks. Avoid writing overly long paragraphs, as they might be more confusing to your readers. Try to be as consistent as possible, ranging from 4 to 6 sentences in a paragraph. Although paragraphs can be longer, you may run the risk of adding unnecessary information.

“I thought my ideas were clear. Weren’t they?”

Don’t assume that your readers are already familiar with the information you are conveying. While you might have a thorough understanding of your subject matter, it is important to recognize that your readers might not share the same level of knowledge. To guide your readers through your content, use clarifications, definitions, and cues to walk your readers through the arguments you present within paragraphs. To learn more about guiding your readers through using specific vocabulary, check our resource page on signposting.

“But I said it in so many ways!”

Redundancy may be a sign that the ideas you are trying to convey are still unclear and need further thinking. Redundancy can be a helpful resource in longer papers or in some academic writing types like dissertations; however, within paragraphs it can be a problem against clarity, as it obscures the main points of your paragraphs. Repeating the same information gives readers the impression that not much is being said. Instead, focus on elaborating solid and simple topic sentences and provide enough and different evidence that can make your ideas clear and on target.

“I thought the language I used was clear. Wasn’t it?”

Paragraphs require proofreading. While proofreading can be time-consuming, it is an essential step. Make sure you set your draft aside for a while, then start the proofreading phase with fresh eyes. Go through your paragraphs one by one so you will perceive your own draft as a reader would. For more proofreading strategies, check our resource page on Revising, Editing & Proofreading.

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

On Campus Services

Types of Paragraphs

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 20:54:12 +0000

Types of Paragraphs ana.lacerda@ma… Fri, 10/06/2023 - 16:54

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

identify different types of paragraphs
understand the functions of different paragraph types.

After learning the basics of paragraphs, it is crucial to recognize the different functions paragraphs serve within a text. Paragraphs can introduce information, describe, criticize, provide evidence, etc. In this page we will explore some common types of paragraphs.

Illustration

Illustration in a paragraph supports a general statement (bolded in the example below) by means of examples, details, relevant quotations and your comments.

A heightened sense of competition is observable in school information evenings as well. For example, prospective parents and students see more families showing up than there are seats available in the auditorium. In one information evening that I attended, people sat on the steps because there were no empty seats. I learned that every year about 600 families apply for 30 spots in that particular selective public choice school (Fieldnote, Nov 19, 2009). Indeed, one of my study participants, Matthew, a Grade 8 middle-class, European–Canadian, mini student at West High, commented that after sitting in a district examination with about 500 students to qualify for mini schools, he came to believe that he and other mini students were selected through a “seriously rigorous process of elimination”. In other words, the required standardized test-taking as part of the new process of the education market has become a mechanism for competition that produces distinctions between those who are successful as learner-performers and everyone else.

—Yoon, E. (2016). Neoliberal imaginary, school choice, and “new elites” in public secondary schools. Curriculum Inquiry (46)4, 369-387, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2016.1209637

Definition

The definition paragraph defines a term, often by drawing distinctions between that term and other related terms. The definition that you provide will often be specific to your subject area. Try to avoid generic dictionary definitions that do not inform your analysis in a meaningful way.

Our typology is built on three dimensions: internality, types of participants, and the degree of effective resistance. For our study, a civil war is any armed conflict that involves (a) military action internal to the metropole, (b) the active participation of the national government, and (c) effective resistance by both sides. With these criteria, we differentiate civil wars from other types of internal violent conflicts.

—Melvin Small and J. David Singer, Resort to Arms: International and Civil Wars, 1816–1980

Analysis or Classification

The analysis or classification paragraph develops a topic by distinguishing its component parts and discussing each of these parts separately.

The lived reality of these students, as of many others in the global South, is that it is almost normal that people leave the country; these fractures are a common part of their lives. Guanajuato students identified two ways emigration patterns represented violence. First, it left them abandoned by parents or close relatives; the bad material conditions and underemployment their parents endured in Guanajuato obliged them to travel. Second, students said that they had learned that the promise of a better future via migration quickly turned into a nightmare, because of the risks involved in illegally entering or as exploited workers in another country.

—Nieto, D. & Bickmore, K. (2017). Immigration and emigration: Canadian and Mexican youth making sense of a globalized conflict. Curriculum Inquiry, 47(1), 36-49, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2016.1255934

Comparison or Contrast

A comparison or a contrast paragraph focuses on a key similarity or difference between, two or more sources, positions, cases, etc. Decide whether to deal only with similarities or only with differences, or to cover both. Also, keep in mind that a single comparison can be spread out over separate paragraphs. As the following topic sentence bolded in the example below indicates, you should make your intention clear to readers from the outset.

Historical memory, both persistent and malleable, was also instrumental in both settings. In Guatemala, inclusion of Indigenous historical memory at Nuestro Futuro provided an opportunity for students to grapple with the past, circumventing the silence created by an official curriculum that, in its focus on reconstructing the state as a liberal, multicultural democracy, occluded the coloniality of power (Quijano 2000) impacting Indigenous communities over time. Historical memory, however, also means contending with the nostalgic counter memories, held by these affluent Ladino students, of the era of the armed conflict as a time of security. In Poland, historical memory reinforced exclusionary nationalist discourses as the country veered to the right. Neither Poland nor Guatemala has officially used the opportunity of post-conflict reconstruction to engage young people in critical reimagination of belonging and citizenship through the historical prism.

- Rubin, B. C., & Cervinkova, H. (2020). Challenging Silences: Democratic Citizenship Education and Historical Memory in Poland and Guatemala. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 51(2), 178–194. https://doi.org/10.1111/aeq.12329

Combination of Functions

A single paragraph often includes a combination of functions. The example below shows the following combination: Definition + Analysis / Classification + Illustration.

Next Step

Now that you have learned about the different functions paragraphs serve, check our resource page on how to write a paragraph effectively.

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Advice on Academic Writing

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 20:29:32 +0000

Advice on Academic Writing ana.lacerda@ma… Sat, 04/22/2023 - 16:29

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, English language

Skills Keywords:

Citations, Grammar, Plagiarism, Vocabulary, Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Navigate academic writing from a UofT perspective.

Introduction

Advice on Academic Writing is a website with practical tips and strategies on academic writing created by writing advisors at UofT. Resources are organized in the following categories: planning, researching, using sources, revising, types of writing, and English language.

You can access Advice on Academic Writing at Writing Advice | University of Toronto (utoronto.ca)

Our Tips

The resources on this website are directed to UofT students of any level and discipline. When checking a resource, determine whether it is suitable for your graduate-level writing and your discipline.
Check the Writer’s Block page whenever you are struggling with starting an assignment. This resource will help you understand assignment instructions, narrow down topics, and will provide tips to understand common reasons for having a writer’s block.
After you finish your assignment, start your editing process from the Hit Parade of Errors to check the most common grammatical, punctuation and style errors.

English language

How to Draft an Academic Paper

Table of Contents

This Resource Page will help you:

Introduction

Step 1: Understand the Structure of Academic Papers

Research Papers

Standalone Literature Reviews

Other Types of Academic Papers

Step 2: Create an Outline

Step 3: Draft / Write

Example of a Standalone Literature Review

Help & Additional Resources

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How to Write Conclusions

Table of Contents

This Resource Page will help you:

Introduction

Step 1: Summarize key points & main takeaways

Step 2: Make connections to the literature and/or theory presented earlier in the paper

Step 3: Zoom out: Discuss limitations, implications, and/or give recommendations

Example of a Conclusion

Our Tips

Help & Additional Resources

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How to Write Introductions

Table of Contents

This Resource Page will help you:

Introduction

Step 1: Introduce the General Topic and Grab the Reader’s Attention

Step 2: Describe the Situation/Background Information

Step 3: Identify a Problem and Why it is Important to Solve

Step 4: Look at What Other Researchers Have Found/Done

Step 5: Outline the Focus, Purpose, and Main Argument/Research Questions

Bonus Step: End with a ‘Roadmap’ for your Paper

Example of an Introduction

Our Tips

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How to Write Cohesively

Table of Contents

This Resource Page will help you:

What is Cohesion?

How to Write Cohesively?

1. Repeat key nouns

2. Use pronouns consistently

3. Use transitions to link ideas

4. Arrange ideas in a logical order

Types of Transitions

1. Transitions between sections

2. Transitions between paragraphs

3. Transitions within paragraphs

Our Tips

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How to Talk to your Readers: Signposting

Table of Contents

This Resource Page will help you:

Introduction

Signposting Order

1. Listing

2. Foreshadowing

3. Changing Topic

4. Going Backward

5. Progress

6. Summary

Signposting Relations

1. Explaining

2. Similarity

3. Contrast

4. Cause-effect

5. Emphasis

Help & Additional Resources

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