Academic Writing for Graduates

Liang WANG
Ph.D. CHE
Autumn 2020
现代社会以海德格尔的一句“一切实践传统都已经瓦解完了”为嚆矢。滥觞于家庭与社会传统的期望正失去它们的借鉴意
义。但面对看似无垠的未来天空，我想循卡尔维诺“树上的男爵”的生活好过过早地振翮。
我们怀揣热忱的灵魂天然被赋予对超越性的追求，不屑于古旧坐标的约束，钟情于在别处的芬芳。但当这种期望流于对
过去观念不假思索的批判，乃至走向虚无与达达主义时，便值得警惕了。与秩序的落差、错位向来不能为越矩的行为张
本。而纵然我们已有翔实的蓝图，仍不能自持已在浪潮之巅立下了自己的沉锚。
“我的生活故事始终内嵌在那些我由之获得自身身份共同体的故事之中。”麦金太尔之言可谓切中了肯綮。人的社会性是
不可祓除的，而我们欲上青云也无时无刻不在因风借力。社会与家庭暂且被我们把握为一个薄脊的符号客体，一定程度
上是因为我们尚缺乏体验与阅历去支撑自己的认知。而这种偏见的傲慢更远在知性的傲慢之上。
在孜孜矻矻以求生活意义的道路上，对自己的期望本就是在与家庭与社会对接中塑型的动态过程。而我们的底料便是对
不同生活方式、不同角色的觉感与体认。生活在树上的柯希莫为强盗送书，兴修水利，又维系自己的爱情。他的生活观
念是厚实的，也是实践的。倘若我们在对过往借韦伯之言“祓魅”后，又对不断膨胀的自我进行“赋魅”，那么在丢失外界预
期的同时，未尝也不是丢了自我。
毫无疑问，从家庭与社会角度一觇的自我有偏狭过时的成分。但我们所应摒弃的不是对此的批判，而是其批判的廉价，
其对批判投诚中的反智倾向。在尼采的观念中，如果在成为狮子与孩子之前，略去了像骆驼一样背负前人遗产的过程，
那其“永远重复”洵不能成立。何况当矿工诗人陈年喜顺从编辑的意愿，选择写迎合读者的都市小说，将他十六年的地底
生涯降格为桥段素材时，我们没资格斥之以媚俗。
蓝图上的落差终归只是理念上的区分，在实践场域的分野也未必明晰。譬如当我们追寻心之所向时，在途中涉足权力的
玉墀，这究竟是伴随着期望的泯灭还是期望的达成？在我们塑造生活的同时，生活也在浇铸我们。既不可否认原生的家
庭性与社会性，又承认自己的图景有轻狂的失真，不妨让体验走在言语之前。用不被禁锢的头脑去体味切斯瓦夫·米沃什
的大海与风帆，并效维特根斯坦之言，对无法言说之事保持沉默。
用在树上的生活方式体现个体的超越性，保持婞直却又不拘泥于所谓“遗世独立”的单向度形象。这便是卡尔维诺为我们
提供的理想期望范式。生活在树上——始终热爱大地——升上天空。
———————————————————————————————————————————————————

Q：如果10分为满分，你给这篇文章打多少分？如果你觉得这篇文章好，好在哪里？如果你觉得不好，缺点是什么？
• 文采与抒情 vs 说理与论证
• GRE, IELTS, academic writing
Academic Writing for Graduates
Liang WANG
Ph.D. CHE
Autumn 2020
How many of you have started
written academic papers?
 My feelings about my writing experiences……
•
•
•
•
•
• ……

• The following will make sense if you take the time to write something here
When being asked feelings about writing, usually negative feelings come up first. Below are some
examples:
• I feel both terror and boredom….
• I get depressed when I think about having to write…
• I feel discouraged because I feel like I have never done enough research to start writing…
• I have fun in the beginning but I really hate revising….
• I enjoy revising, but I hate getting the first draft done …
识不足则多虑，威不
• My advisor is so critical that whenever I think of writing I feel inadequate…
足则多怒，信不足则
• I feel like there are rules that everyone knows but me 多言。——弘一法师
• I feel like procrastinating （拖延） whenever I think of how much writing I have to do and
how little I have done… There is only one
• I feel ashamed of my writing skills heroism in the world:
to see the world as it
• I wish my English is better is, and to love it.
• I feel if people read my writing they will know that I am a dumb bunny -Romain Rolland
• I get a good idea but then I feel a fog come over me…
The harder I work, the
• When I think about the fact that my entire career depends on publication, I feel completely
luckier I get-Samuel
paralyzed… Goldwyn
• I feel confident that I could do anything, if I could just get out of bed…
 Writing is difficult!

“A naturalists life would be a happy one if he had only to

observe and never to write. ”- Charles Darwin

Writing research papers is

painful for many researchers!

Huang Yue Yuan ( 2019)
John Bates Clark Medal: 约翰·贝茨·克拉克奖（John
Bates Clark Medal）俗称“小诺贝尔经济学奖”,由美国
经济学会评选的，是经济学界除诺贝尔经济学奖外的
另一项重要殊荣。
Source:
There are also some positive experiences about writing…
1. I feel excited when I think up a good idea
2. Sometimes I write a sentence that comes out more coherently than I expected and I feel
great..
3. I feel euphoric when I realize that I have a good conclusion that ties the paper together..
4. I love the feeling of having just finished a paper
5. When I re-read something I wrote a year ago, I am impressed and I think, did I write that?
Lessons to be learned from my positive experiences of writing
1. I had a deadline that forced me to sit down and do the
writing…
2. I had an friend/spouse who was encouraging…
3. I was working on a paper that meant a lot to me
personally…
4. My parents took my kids for a week…
5. I got into a rhythm of writing every evening after 사랑의
불시착
6. I had a part-time job that forced me to use my time
more efficiently
7. I read an article that really inspired me and got me going
8. I asked my advisor to meet with me once a week and to
expect some writing me every time…

《吉田医生哈佛求学记》
 Is writing learnable?
Absolutely.

Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.ca%2Fpin%2F169236898480367324%2F&psig=AOvVaw2CAZ2SpOI5FbmDCgmW63BF&ust=1582298193013
000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCLCUv4a24OcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAV
Murthy, U. S., & Wiggins, C. E. (2002). Why manuscripts are rejected: An analysis of
JIS rejections. Journal of Information Systems, 16(1), 41-48.
Source: https://mluebbecke.wordpress.com/2014/11/21/how-to-write-a-paper/
Source: https://mluebbecke.wordpress.com/2014/11/21/how-to-write-a-paper/
 Language(English/Chinese)

clear

Theory/literature Topic

logical concise

Research design
Every research paper has these THREE components!

Dissertation/journal paper
Content Research content 研究内容
内容
Language • Vocabulary 词汇
语言 • Sentence grammar 句子语法
Structure (1) Global structure全局结构
结构 Abstract-Introduction-literature Review-Methods-Results-
Discussion-Conclusions-Reference
(2) Local structure局部结构
Internal structure of each component (The introduction-elaboration-
conclusion formula applies to the whole article as well as paragraphs)

The importance of the content

• Good science (content) demands strong writing.
• Good writing cannot overcome bad science (content).
Huang Yue Yuan ( 2019)
 Every research paper has these THREE components!

Dissertation/journal paper You Your supervisor/advisor Liang WANG

Content
√ √
Research content 研究内容
内容

√
Language • Vocabulary 词汇 √
语言 • Sentence grammar 句子语法

√ √
Structure
结构
(1) Global structure全局结构
Abstract-Introduction-literature √
Review-Methods-Results-Discussion-
Conclusions-Reference
(2) Local structure局部结构
Internal structure of each component

Huang Yue Yuan ( 2019)

Writing: from words to a research paper
Abstract-Introduction – Methods –
A research paper Results – Discussion - Conclusions

• Abstract: background-aim-methods-results…
Sections •
•
Introduction: importance-gap-aim…
Methods: materials-instruments-procedures…
• …

Paragraphs •
•
One paragraph, one main idea!
A topic sentence for the main idea

• S-> NP VP
Sentences •
•
NP -> Adj N
VP -> V NP
• PP -> P NP

Phrases word collocation词的搭配

e.g. a study on or a study of
a touching screen or a touch screen?

Words 3 types of words

Huang Yue Yuan ( 2019)
 The relation of
The five questions and the global structure of a research article

WHAT？

Huang Yue Yuan ( 2019)

Course evaluation

• Attendance 40%
• Individual assignment (60%) = presentation (30%) + written
assignment (30%)

• Note: there will be a small contest for the Presentation part. All
students will be graded by their peers, with a structured evaluation
form. The top three students (i.e., with the highest scores) will not
only receive small souvenirs but also be granted with extra points of
3, 2, 1, respectively.
Small souvenirs
 Assignment
Write to learn!

Formal requirements for academic writing.docx

Topic 1 Structure
Liang WANG
Ph.D. CHE
Autumn 2020
• Please have a look at the paper you chose as the one you like the
most for its structure.
• Look at your chose paper for its structure.
• Look at the paper you selected to identify its structure.
TAIMRDR 结构

WHAT？

Huang Yue Yuan ( 2019)

Writing: from words to a research paper
Abstract-Introduction – Methods –
A research paper Results – Discussion - Conclusions

• Abstract: background-aim-methods-results…
Sections •
•
Introduction: importance-gap-aim…
Methods: materials-instruments-procedures…
• …

Paragraphs •
•
One paragraph, one main idea!
A topic sentence for the main idea

• S-> NP VP
Sentences •
•
NP -> Adj N
VP -> V NP
• PP -> P NP

Phrases word collocation词的搭配

e.g. a study on or a study of
a touching screen or a touch screen?

Words 3 types of words

Huang Yue Yuan ( 2019)
 洋八股和土八股的对比

洋八股 问题 文献 假设 测量 数据 方法 分析 结论

土八股 破题 承题 起讲 入手 起股 中股 后股 束股

彭玉生. (2010). “洋八股” 与社会科学规范. 社会学研究, 2, 51-54.

 Parts of a research article
 Title
 Abstract
 Introduction/literature review
 Research Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Conclusion
 Acknowledgements
 References
 1 setting the hook: title; abstract; introduction
 2 standing on the giants: literature review
 Setting the hook: title; abstract;
introduction
a) Characteristics of a good title
1. Don't stop believing: Rituals improve
• indicate the topic of the study
performance by decreasing anxiety
• indicate the scope of the study
2. Job Titles As Identity Badges: How Self-
• be self-explanatory to readers in the chosen
discipline reflective Titles Can Reduce Emotional
Exhaustion
b) Qualifications in RA titles 3. What “blindness” to gender differences helps
• A study of … vs A preliminary study of … women see and do: Implications for
• An analysis of … vs Towards an analysis of … confidence, agency, and action in male-
• The role of … vs The potential role of … vs The dominated environments
possible role of …
4. When job performance is all relative: How
c) Colon use in RA titles family motivation energizes effort and
• Pre-colon: Problem, general, topic, major compensates for intrinsic motivation
• Post-colon: Solution, specific, method, minor
 setting the hook: title; abstract;
introduction
a) Definition: Abstract
• An abstract is a short summary of a research paper. It is not part of the actual text and
must be included at the very beginning of your work. It does not show up in the
structure and the table of contents of your thesis.

• You write an abstract to give a brief account of the most important information
relating to the research background, structure, method, data analysis, and results of
your research paper. The abstract should not create suspense: Making it very clear
early on what your results are will help the reader evaluate the relevance of your
paper.
 setting the hook: title; abstract;
introduction
a) Definition: Abstract
• An abstract is a short summary of a research paper. It is not part of the actual text and
must be included at the very beginning of your work. It does not show up in the
structure and the table of contents of your thesis.

• You write an abstract to give a brief account of the most important information
relating to the research background, structure, method, data analysis, and results of
your research paper. The abstract should not create suspense: Making it very clear
early on what your results are will help the reader evaluate the relevance of your
paper.
b) Length of an abstract
• The abstract should comprise between one third of a page and one full page,
depending on the length of the actual paper. It should never exceed two pages
• ~200 words
 4.2.1 setting the hook: title; abstract;
introduction
c) The abstract should contain important aspects of the paper, like the

1. research question, 4. limitations, 7. main results, 10. implications,

2. purpose, 5. study design, 8. main idea or 11. and validity
3. scope, 6. methods, message,
9. key interpretations,
 setting the hook: title; abstract;
introduction
a) RA Introductions need to
• re-establish the significance of the research field in the minds of the readers
• ‘situate’ the study in terms of that significance
• show how this ‘niche’ (research space) will be occupied and defended
b) Create a Research Space
The CARS model enables a writer to achieve the overall
• objective of an RA introduction, namely …
• to build a structure of significance based on his / her research topic / problem and
then clear a space within this larger structure where no one else is working and where
his / her own study can fill the space
 setting the hook: title; abstract;
introduction
b) The CARS model breaks down the RA introduction into THREE
functional steps or ‘moves’.
① Establishing a territory
② Establishing a niche
③ Occupying the niche

c) Closing an introduction
• The writer states his/her main purpose (purposive):
 The purpose of this article is to …
 This paper aims to …
• The writer describes the main feature of the research (descriptive):
 This article reports the main findings of …
 In this paper, I present the results of an investigation into …
Exercise
• Have a look at the hook in your selected paper and assess it.
standing on the giants: literature review
a) The role & purpose of citations
• Recognise and acknowledge intellectual property rights. A defence against charges of
plagiarism.
• Show respect to previous scholars. Recognise history of the field by acknowledging previous
achievements.
• Operate as a mutual reward system.
• Give statements greater authority. Tools of persuasion.
• Evidence that writer qualifies as a member of the scholarly community. Demonstrate familiarity
with field.
• Create a research space by describing what has been done and not been done. Prepare space
for new research.
standing on the giants: literature review
b) Referring to sources
• In-text reference:
 The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic expansion in the provision of English language teaching (ELT) at all levels of China’s education
system. With an estimated 50 million Chinese learning English at school (taught by approximately 400,000 teachers) (Adamson 2004), China has the
largest number of students of English as a foreign language in the world.

• Bibliographic reference:
 Adamson, B. (2004). China’s English: A History of English in Chinese Education. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
standing on the giants: literature review
c) In-text reference
• Bracketed references
 The problem of indoor air quality has received a great deal of scholarly attention in recent years (Cheung,
2006).
 Cheung (2006) points out that the problem of indoor air quality has received a great deal of scholarly attention
in recent years.

• Numbered references
 The problem of indoor air quality has received a great deal of scholarly attention in recent years [1].
 The problem of indoor air quality has received a great deal of scholarly attention in recent years.1
 Integral citations (完整引用）
 Integral citations tend to give greater prominence to the cited author.
 Institutional theory initially focused upon explaining how institutionalized structures of meaning affect
organizational processes. Attention was given to the conforming behavior of organizations, the adoption of a
limited range of socially approved organizational templates, and the resilience of institutional prescriptions
(Tolbert & Zucker, 1996; Scott, 2001). More recently, institutional entrepreneurship and change have become
the phenomenon of interest (Dacin, Goldstein, & Scott, 2002). The notion of change, however, “poses a
problem for institutional theorists, most of whom view institutions as the source of stability and order” (Scott,
2001: 181). If, as institutional theory asserts, behavior is substantially shaped by taken-for-granted institutional
prescriptions, how can actors envision and enact changes to the contexts in which they are embedded? Seo
and Creed (2002: 226) referred to this as the “paradox of embedded agency.” A central challenge for
institutional theory, therefore, is to show how and why actors shaped by (i.e., embedded within) institutional
structures become motivated and enabled to promote change in those structures.
 Non-integral citations(非完整引用）
• Non-integral citations tend to give greater prominence to the cited content.
• Institutional theory initially focused upon explaining how institutionalized structures of
meaning affect organizational processes. Attention was given to the conforming behavior of
organizations, the adoption of a limited range of socially approved organizational templates,
and the resilience of institutional prescriptions (Tolbert & Zucker, 1996; Scott, 2001). More
recently, institutional entrepreneurship and change have become the phenomenon of interest
(Dacin, Goldstein, & Scott, 2002). The notion of change, however, “poses a problem for
institutional theorists, most of whom view institutions as the source of stability and order”
(Scott, 2001: 181). If, as institutional theory asserts, behavior is substantially shaped by taken-
for-granted institutional prescriptions, how can actors envision and enact changes to the
contexts in which they are embedded? Seo and Creed (2002: 226) referred to this as the
“paradox of embedded agency.” A central challenge for institutional theory, therefore, is to
show how and why actors shaped by (i.e., embedded within) institutional structures become
motivated and enabled to promote change in those structures.
 Tenses - Non-integral
citations
• Institutional theory initially focused upon explaining how institutionalized structures of
meaning affect organizational processes. Attention was given to the conforming behavior of
organizations, the adoption of a limited range of socially approved organizational templates,
and the resilience of institutional prescriptions (Tolbert & Zucker, 1996; Scott, 2001). More
recently, institutional entrepreneurship and change have become the phenomenon of interest
(Dacin, Goldstein, & Scott, 2002). The notion of change, however, “poses a problem for
institutional theorists, most of whom view institutions as the source of stability and order”
(Scott, 2001: 181). If, as institutional theory asserts, behavior is substantially shaped by taken-
for-granted institutional prescriptions, how can actors envision and enact changes to the
contexts in which they are embedded? Seo and Creed (2002: 226) referred to this as the
“paradox of embedded agency.” A central challenge for institutional theory, therefore, is to
show how and why actors shaped by (i.e., embedded within) institutional structures become
motivated and enabled to promote change in those structures.
 Present perfect (现在完成时）
The present perfect is often used in non-integral citations to refer to areas of inquiry (i.e. what has been
done) and provide evidence to support a statement.

Example:

• More recently, institutional entrepreneurship and change have become the phenomenon of interest
(Dacin, Goldstein, & Scott, 2002).
• Oddly, the most vigorous discussions about stock options have been over expensing them and back
dating them (Eisinger, 2006; Lavelle, 2005; Mc Namee & Borrus, 2005), rather than over the far more
consequential question, Do stock options pro mote constructive executive behavior, particularly
sensible risk taking?
 Present simple （一般现在时）
The present simple is often used in non-integral citations to state current knowledge.

Example:

• The notion of change, however, “poses a problem for institutional theorists, most of whom
view institutions as the source of stability and order” (Scott, 2001: 181).

• It is an axiom of agency theory that managers tend to be more risk-averse than shareholders
would like them to be (Eisenhardt, 1989).
 Tenses - Integral citations
 Institutional theory initially focused upon explaining how institutionalized structures of meaning affect
organizational processes. Attention was given to the conforming behavior of organizations, the adoption of a
limited range of socially approved organizational templates, and the resilience of institutional prescriptions
(Tolbert & Zucker, 1996; Scott, 2001). More recently, institutional entrepreneurship and change have become the
phenomenon of interest (Dacin, Goldstein, & Scott, 2002). The notion of change, however, “poses a problem for
institutional theorists, most of whom view institutions as the source of stability and order” (Scott, 2001: 181). If, as
institutional theory asserts, behavior is substantially shaped by taken-for-granted institutional prescriptions, how
can actors envision and enact changes to the contexts in which they are embedded? Seo and Creed (2002: 226)
referred to this as the “paradox of embedded agency.” A central challenge for institutional theory, therefore, is to
show how and why actors shaped by (i.e., embedded within) institutional structures become motivated and
enabled to promote change in those structures.
 Past simple
The past simple is often used in integral citations to refer to the methods, findings and conclusions of
individual researchers.

Examples:
• Seo and Creed (2002: 226) referred to this as the “paradox of embedded agency.”

• It is because of this conceptual complexity, as well as other ambiguities, that Wiseman and Gomez-Mejia (1998) described
agency theory's portrayal of risk as "underdeveloped.“

• For example, in an experimental setting, Devers, Wiseman, and Holmes (2007) examined how option holders revise their
subjective valuations of their options in view of the interaction of companies' recent stock price trends and volatility.
Thank you
Topic 2 Structure