Universidad Nacional de La Matanza

Dirección de Pedagogía Universitaria

Cátedra de Inglés

THIS MATERIAL BELONGS TO ENGLISH LEVEL 1

MODULES 1 to 4

SECTION 4

Introduction to Academic Literacy: The Abstract

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Module 4

KEYS Section 4- Modules 1 to 4

 English 1 - Module 1- Section 4

SECTION 4 – Introduction to Academic Literacy: The Abstract

Take a look at the screenshots. What information do they offer? Are you familiar with

sources like this?

28
 Answer the following questions.

1. What is the Spanish equivalent for journal?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Do you read journals in your programme at UNLaM? Which ones?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. What types of texts do journals include?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. Do you know if UNLaM publishes any journals?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Are you interested in any of the following journals1?

1
For more examples visit
https://www.elsevier.com/searchresults?labels=journals&query=international%20law&page=1

29
30
Read the following text and answer the questions below it.

Abstract 1

1. What is the Spanish equivalent for abstract? Do you know the concept of abstract?
Can you give a definition?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. What is the topic or the problem that the abstract introduces?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. What is the purpose of this study?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. Are the authors giving information about any results?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Does the abstract finish with a conclusion?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

31
 Explain the abstract in Spanish.

Read Abstract 2 and answer the questions about the information it communicates.

Abstract 2
Research article

Factors that influence the university's inclusive educational processes:

perceptions of university professors
Nuria González-Castellano a, María Jesús Colmenero-Ruiz a, Eulogio Cordón-Pozo b
a University of Jaen, Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences, Jaen, Spain
b University of Granada, Department of Business Organization II, Faculty of Economics and Business, Granada,
Spain

ABSTRACT
Training in attention to diversity is a key aspect for achieving the inclusion of students with special
educational needs in higher education for these students to have access to the same rights as any
other student. The purpose of this study is to determine, through the perceptions of university
professors, if the existence of barriers that arise in the teaching-learning process is determined by
various factors of interest, such as gender, training in attention to diversity, and the attitudes that
the professors present before the inclusion of these students. The research was carried out in eight
universities in Andalusia (Spain), using as the main method of data collection a validated survey, the
APTD Scale (Accessibility, Processes, Training, Demand), with the participating sample of 580
university professors. The university professors generally agree to perform inclusive actions in their
teaching-learning process, although there is a significant association between variables. The study
includes a series of perceptions that may help other university professors to make their practice
more inclusive.

Keywords: Higher education, University professor, Inclusive process, Special educational needs
Adapted for pedagogical purposes

1. What is the topic of the abstract?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. What field of knowledge or discipline does the topic relate to?

- Medicine?
- Social Sciences?
- Psychology?

32
 - Social Work?
- Economic Sciences?

3. What key words in the abstract indicate that discipline?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. What is the purpose of the study?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Who are the participants of the study?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6. What method of data collection was used?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Explain the abstract in Spanish.

Log in for more practice.

33
English 1 - Module 2- Section 4

Go back to M1 S4 and reflect on the answers to

questions 3, 4 and 5.

What do the answers show?

Do you think these are typical parts in an abstract?

The abstract internal structure

In a study of research abstracts within the field of applied linguistics, Swales

(1993)1 identified a pattern consisting of five moves. These moves constitute the
transitions between the different stages of the abstract, each fulfilling a
communicative purpose.

The background:
it situates the research.
The aim:
it presents the objective of the research.
The method:
it describes the methodology.
The results:
it summarises the results.
The conclusion:
it discusses and interprets the results.

This pattern highlights the transitions of the text. Not all stages will be found
in every abstract, and the order of the moves may vary. Still, this list of moves can
be used as a kind of template for abstract writing.

Abstract 4

Focus on the title. Anticipate the content of the abstract.

1
Swales, J. (1993). Genre Analysis. English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

63
 In pairs, read and check in which version the moves are well identified.

Version 1
Gendering Urban Namescapes: The Gender Politics of Street Names in an Eastern
European City
Abstract

The gender relations of power embedded within the urban landscape and materialized
in street nomenclature remain an underexplored topic in place-name studies (BACKGROUND).
This paper situates the gendered spaces of street names within the broader investigation
of identity politics played out in the public space. Drawing on scholarship from “critical
toponymies”, this article diachronically examines the gender patterning of urban
nomenclature in a city from Eastern Europe (Sibiu, formerly Hermannstadt, Romania) (AIM).
For this purpose, a dataset was compiled from the entire street nomenclature of the city
across seven successive historical periods, from 1875 to 2020 (n = 2,766) (METHOD). The
statistical analyses performed on this dataset revealed a “masculine default” as a
structuring principle underpinning Sibiu’s urban namescape for the two centuries
investigated (RESULTS). As this analysis demonstrates, contrary to the overall democratization
of the Romanian post-socialist society, Sibiu’s streetscape continues to tell a patriarchal
story informed by hegemonic masculinity (CONCLUSION).

Version 2
Gendering Urban Namescapes: The Gender Politics of Street Names in an Eastern
European City

Abstract

The gender relations of power embedded within the urban landscape and materialized
in street nomenclature remain an underexplored topic in place-name studies. This paper
situates the gendered spaces of street names within the broader investigation of identity
politics played out in the public space (BACKGROUND). Drawing on scholarship from “critical
toponymies”, this article diachronically examines the gender patterning of urban
nomenclature in a city from Eastern Europe (Sibiu, formerly Hermannstadt, Romania). (AIM)
For this purpose, a dataset was compiled from the entire street nomenclature of the city
across seven successive historical periods, from 1875 to 2020 (n = 2,766) (METHOD). The
statistical analyses performed on this dataset revealed a “masculine default” as a
structuring principle underpinning Sibiu’s urban namescape for the two centuries
investigated. As this analysis demonstrates, contrary to the overall democratization of the
Romanian post-socialist society, Sibiu’s streetscape continues to tell a patriarchal story
informed by hegemonic masculinity (RESULTS).

64
 Could you conduct a similar study in our context? Why? Why not? Does the

last sentence describe our streetscape?

Abstract 5

Focus on the title and predict the content of the abstract.

Street naming practices: A systematic review of urban toponymic scholarship

Abstract

Street names (odonyms) and their academic study constitute an important part of
onomastic research. This paper takes stock of the growing literature on street naming
processes and provides a meta-analytical systematic review of odonymic scholarship. To
this purpose, a collection of 121 peer-reviewed articles on street names published in
English language academic journals in the social sciences and the humanities were
identified in the Scopus database. The statistical analyses conducted on these materials
indicate (1) the temporal dynamics of knowledge production and the geographical
hotspots in toponomastic scholarship, (2) the geopolitical settings and historical contexts
framing these studies, (3) the theoretical perspectives employed to conceptualise street
naming practices, and (4) the methodological outlines characterising the research done
on street names in the literature. The conclusions point out four main clusters of
toponomastic research and indicate directions for future inquiry in street name
scholarship.

Keywords: Street names, street renaming, toponomastics, odonyms, place names.

Compare the structure of the titles of abstracts 4 and 5. Can you spot the

similarities?

A-4

Gendering Urban Namescapes: The Gender Politics of Street Names in an Eastern

European City

A-5

Street naming practices: A systematic review of urban toponymic scholarship

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

65
 Read abstract 5, highlight the moves, and complete the following table.

Move 1 Move 2 Move 3 Move 4 Move 5

Name of
move
Number of
sentences

What conclusions can you make? What is the connection between move and

number of sentences?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Explain this study to the class in Spanish.

Log in for more practice.

66
 English 1 - Module 3- Section 4

1 Let’s remember… circle the correct option.

a. According to Swales (1996), research abstracts are usually written following an inner

pattern which is always / usually / never the same.

b. That inner pattern is organized into what Swales called stages / moments / moves.

c. Every move of the abstract accomplishes a general / specific purpose.

d. The usual order of moves is background - aim - method - conclusion – results /

background – method – aim – results – conclusion / background – aim – method –

results – conclusion.

e. All / Not all the moves appear in abstracts and their order can / can’t vary.

f. There is / isn’t a connection between the moves and the number of sentences in each

one of them.

2 Focus on the title of the abstracts below and anticipate their content.

3 Read and identify the moves that appear in them. Then, highlight the sentences in each

move.

93
Source: Published Online January 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/psych)

Source: https://www.herdsa.org.au/system/files/Nneji.pdf

94
4 What are the differences between them? Explain.

5 Explain these studies to the class in Spanish.

Log in for more practice.

95
 English 1 - Module 4- Section 4

Read abstracts 8 and 9. Highlight the moves.

Abstract 10

The effect of listening to music on concentration and academic performance of

the student: Cross-sectional study on medical undergraduate students

Abstract

Listening to music while studying has become a usual practice in the student
population. While one group of students claim it would enhance their curricular
efficiency, on the other hand, some researchers deny such assumptions. The
overall objective of the study was to explore the effect of music on the curricular
activity of the student and whether this trend is to rule out it is beneficial to the
students in their academic performances. Present study involved 200 Malaysian
students representing three major ethnicities. Among them, 120 students prefer to
listen to music while studying and the remaining 80 were not. The study comprised
of two ways of survey namely questionnaire based and experiment based. Data
obtained from the responses of participants compiled in the form of graphs and
charts 47% believes that music helps them to concentrate while studying. 29%
claims that music would keep their mind calm, and 17% stated that it would
prevent sleepiness. 78 out of 80 students said that listening to music while studying
distract their concentration. Experimental data revealed higher incidence (75%)
of correct answers while listening to soft music than other fast track or instrumental
music. The positive finding as obtained from the study is relevant to justify the
current trend of listening to music while studying as it may not pose any adverse
effects on the concentration of student. In fact, it might also improve the
performance of the student in their academic perspectives.

121
 Abstract 11

Equality versus Freedom in ‘‘Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut:

A Study of Dystopian Setting

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of one of Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian short
stories, Harrison Bergeron, through the setting analysis focusing mainly on the
use of media as a means of creating mono logical setting and discussing the
dance scene as an act of escape from this mono logical setting. Kurt Vonnegut,
a contemporary American novelist and short story writer, using his experiences
during World War II, reflects on the post war American society especially through
his satirical works about power structures. And in this short story he satirizes the
forced equality in an imaginary American society.

Are they similar or different to the ones discussed in the previous modules?

What conclusions can you make about moves?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Log in for more practice.

122
 English 1 - Module 1- KEY Section 4

SECTION 4 – Introduction to Academic Literacy: The Abstract

1 Take a look at the screenshots. What information do they offer? What makes them look
different?
The first screenshot is the cover of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory
and Cognition.
The second screenshot is an extract from the journal’s website with information about the
journal.

2 Answer the following questions.

1. What is the Spanish equivalent for journal?
Revista de publicaciones científicas o de divulgación científica.
2. Do you read journals in your programme at UNLaM? Which ones?
Answers will vary.
3. What types of texts do journals include?
They include academic texts.
4. Do you know if UNLaM publishes any journals?
Answers will vary.
5. Are you interested in any of the following journals1?
Answers will vary.

3 Read the following text and answer the questions below it.

1
For more examples visit
https://www.elsevier.com/searchresults?labels=journals&query=international%20law&page=1

14
 1. What is the Spanish equivalent for abstract? Do you know the concept of abstract?
Can you give a definition?
Resumen or sinopsis. Answers will vary.

2. What is the topic or the problem that the abstract introduces?

The problem is the overconfidence in low-performing students.

3. What is the purpose of this study?

The current studies examined whether poor performers in the classroom are truly
unaware of their deficits by examining the relationship between students’ exam
predictions and their confidence in these predictions.

4. Are the authors giving information about any results?

Yes, they are. It is the sentence that starts: Relative to high-performing students,…

5. Does the abstract finish with a conclusion?

Yes, it does. It is the last sentence.

4 Explain the abstract in Spanish. Answers will vary.

5 Read Abstract 2 and answer the questions about the information it communicates.
1. What is the topic of the abstract?
It is mentioned in the title: the perceptions of university professors of the factors that
influence the university's inclusive educational processes.

2. What field of knowledge or discipline does the topic relate to?

- Medicine?
- Social Sciences? X
- Psychology?
- Social Work? X
- Economic Sciences?

15
 3. What key words in the abstract indicate that discipline?
Diversity, inclusion, special educational needs, rights, inclusive actions, inclusive
process.

4. What is the purpose of the study?

The purpose of the study is to determine, through the perceptions of university
professors, if the existence of barriers that arise in the teaching-learning process is
determined by various factors of interest, such as gender, training in attention to
diversity, and the attitudes that the professors present before the inclusion of these
students.

5. Who are the participants of the study?

A sample of 580 university professors.

6. What method of data collection was used?

The authors used a validated survey, the APTD Scale (Accessibility, Processes, Training,
Demand).

6 Explain the abstract in Spanish. Answers will vary.

16
 English 1 - Module 2- KEY Section 4

Version 1

Gendering Urban Namescapes: The Gender Politics of Street Names in an Eastern

European City
Abstract

The gender relations of power embedded within the urban landscape and materialized
in street nomenclature remain an underexplored topic in place-name studies (BACKGROUND).
This paper situates the gendered spaces of street names within the broader investigation
of identity politics played out in the public space. Drawing on scholarship from “critical
toponymies”, this article diachronically examines the gender patterning of urban
nomenclature in a city from Eastern Europe (Sibiu, formerly Hermannstadt, Romania) (AIM).
For this purpose, a dataset was compiled from the entire street nomenclature of the city
across seven successive historical periods, from 1875 to 2020 (n = 2,766) (METHOD). The
statistical analyses performed on this dataset revealed a “masculine default” as a
structuring principle underpinning Sibiu’s urban namescape for the two centuries
investigated (RESULTS). As this analysis demonstrates, contrary to the overall democratization
of the Romanian post-socialist society, Sibiu’s streetscape continues to tell a patriarchal
story informed by hegemonic masculinity (CONCLUSION).

Could you conduct a simi lar study in our context ? Why? Why not? Does the

last sentence describe our streetscape?

It’s possible to conduct a similar study and the conclusions would probably be
the same.

Abstract 5

Focus on the title and predict the content of the abstract.

Compare the structure of the titles of abstracts 4 and 5. Can you spot the
similarities?

A-4
Gendering Urban Namescapes: The Gender Politics of Street Names in an Eastern
European City
A-5

Street naming practices: A systematic review of urban toponymic scholarship

The general topic is presented before the colon, and then the specific perspective
follows it.

Read abstract 5 and complete the following table.

Move 1 Move 2 Move 3 Move 4 Move 5

Name of Background Aim Method Results Conclusion

move
Number of 1 2 The first part The last part 1
sentences of of
sentence 4 sentence 4

What conclusions can you make? What is the connection between move
and
number of sentences?

Moves may take 1 or more sentences. In one sentence, there may be more than
one move.
 English 1 - Module 3- KEY Section 4

1 Let’s remember… circle the correct option.

a. According to Swales (1996), research abstracts are usually written following an inner

pattern which is always / usually / never the same.

b. That inner pattern is organized into what Swales called stages / moments / moves.

c. Every move of the abstract accomplishes a general / specific purpose.

d. The usual order of moves is background - aim - method - conclusion – results /

background – method – aim – results – conclusion / background – aim – method –

results – conclusion.

e. All / Not all the moves appear in abstracts and their order can / can’t vary.

f. There is / isn’t a connection between the moves and the number of sentences in each

one of them.

2 Focus on the title of the abstracts below and anticipate their content.

Students’ ideas.

3 Read and identify the moves that appear in them. Then, highlight the sentences in each

move.

Academic Procrastinators and Their Self-Regulation

Seung Won Park, Rayne A. Sperling
Department of Educational and School Psychology and Special Education, The Pennsylvania State University, University
Park, USA

Previous procrastination research has provided considerable support for procrastination as a failure of self-
regulation. However, procrastination has rarely been examined in relation to models of self-regulated
 learning. The purpose of this study was to understand the motives and reasons for academic procrastination
from a self-regulated learning perspective. The current study employed a mixed-methods design in which
participants completed several survey instruments of academic procrastination, self-regulation, and
academic motivation and participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings indicated that academic
procrastination was related to poor self-regulatory skills and defensive behaviors including self-handica-
pping strategies. Only limited support for students’ demonstration of procrastination as an adaptive beha-
vior (or, active procrastination) was also indicated. Limitations and implications for future research are
discussed.

Source: Published Online January 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/psych)

BACKGROUND - AIM – METHOD - RESULTS

Study habits of Nigerian university students

Love M. Nneji
Nigerian Educational Research & Development Council, Abuja, Nigeria. majorleen@yahoo.com

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the study habits of university students in
Nigeria. The sample consists of 441 education students chosen from four federally owned
universities in Nigeria. They responded to a 35 item (3 – point scale) questionnaire which elicited
students’ study habits. Time put into studies, method used in studying and contents of studies were
used as the frame of reference for measuring study habits. Descriptive analysis of data showed that
students put some reasonable length of time into reading; some students used memorization
technique; majority of the students depended on their course handouts or lecture notes as the main
sources of information and read mostly for the purpose of passing examinations or tests. They read
to absorb information as given by their lecturers and not necessarily to search for new or additional
information. It was concluded that although university students in Nigeria read mostly for the
purpose of passing examinations and they do not seem to pursue their studies correctly and
thoroughly, they were found to be diligent. Some recommendations were made as to how to make
university education in Nigeria more beneficial.
Keywords: Undergraduates' study habits.

Source: https://www.herdsa.org.au/system/files/Nneji.pdf

AIM – METHOD - RESULTS - CONCLUSION

4 What are the differences between them? Explain.

Possible answer: Both of them have only four moves but they are not the same.
 4. The musicians didn’t play very well and Harrison wasn’t happy with the music. But
then they tried again, and it was better.
5. Harrison and the ballerina danced defying gravity and kissed each other.
6. Diana Moon Glampers came into the studio and killed them.

7. George and Hazel couldn’t watch the TV because the screen went black.
8. Hazel didn’t remember why she was crying.
9. George told her not to remember sad things, while a noise sounded in his head.

10. Hazel said that this noise was unusually bad.

Why did Hazel say that this noise was

unusually bad?

Probably, because as a mother she sensed that Harrison was dead.

Watch the last part of the story and answer the following questions

Answers will vary. These questions should be discussed in class.

After watching and reading part 4. Which of these themes are present in the
last part of the story?

Answers will vary. This activity should be done in class.

English 1 - Module 4- KEY Section 4

1 Read abstracts 10 and 11. Highlight the moves.

 Abstract 10

The effect of listening to music on concentration and academic performance of

the student: Cross-sectional study on medical undergraduate students

Abstract

Listening to music while studying has become a usual practice in the student
population. While one group of students claim it would enhance their curricular
efficiency, on the other hand, some researchers deny such assumptions. The
overall objective of the study was to explore the effect of music on the
curricular activity of the student and whether this trend is to rule out it is
beneficial to the
students in their academic performances. Present study involved 200 Malaysian
students representing three major ethnicities. Among them, 120 students prefer
to listen to music while studying and the remaining 80 were not. The study
comprised
two ways of survey namely questionnaire based and experiment based. Data
obtained from the responses of participants compiled in the form of graphs and
charts 47% believes that music helps them to concentrate while studying. 29%
claims that music would keep their mind calm, and 17% stated that it would
prevent sleepiness. 78 out of 80 students said that listening to music while studying
distract their concentration. Experimental data revealed higher incidence (75%)
of correct answers while listening to soft music than other fast track or instrumental
music. The positive finding as obtained from the study is relevant to justify the
current trend of listening to music while studying as it may not pose any adverse
effects on the concentration of student. In fact, it might also improve the
performance of the student in their academic perspectives.

Abstract 11

Equality versus Freedom in ‘‘Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut:

A Study of Dystopian Setting

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of one of Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian short
stories, Harrison Bergeron, aim through the setting analysis focusing mainly on
the use of media as a means of creating mono logical setting and discussing
the dance scene as an act of escape from this mono logical setting.
methodKurt Vonnegut, a contemporary American novelist and short story
writer, using his experiences during World War II, reflects on the post war
American society especially through his satirical works about power structures.
And in this short story he satirizes the forced equality in an imaginary American
society. background

Are they similar or different to the ones discussed in the previous modules?
What conclusions can you make about moves?
Abstract 10 has 5 moves and abstract 11 has three and not in the typical order.