SCIENTIFC

WRITING
Session 2
Topics
• The structure of a research paper
• Academic language in research/scientific writing
The structure of a research paper
IMRD format
• IMRD: Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion
• Some variants (especially in social sciences): Introduction, Literature
Review, Method, Results, Discussion
IMRD format
IMRD format
Parts of a research Targeted knowledge and skill
paper
Title
Abstract Summary writing

Introduction Mapping of the field

Identifying a research gap
Making a claim about needed research
Evaluating and giving critiques to past works
Methods Describing processes
Results Using language for comparison and contrast
Discussion Explanations
Literature comparisons; Evaluation
References Citation and documentation to avoid plagiarism
IMRD format
TASK 1 Recognise the structure of a research paper (p. 135)
Read the research article entitled Free online availability substantially increases a paper's impact by Steve
Lawrence, NEC Research Institute, Princeton, NJ, USA, lawrence@research.nj.nec.com.
See whether you can find paragraphs of the text that generally deal with each of the key IMRD
areas.
Circle either I, M, R, or D for each of the paragraphs.
 Academic language of
research/scientific writing
Academic vs. personal styles of writing

Identify at least THREE features of this sentence that you think are academic
Academic vs. personal styles of writing

Identify at least THREE features of this sentence that you think are academic
Academic vs. personal styles of writing
Academic vs. personal styles of writing
Levels of formality
Levels of formality
Levels of formality
Levels of formality
Levels of formality
The grammar of academic discourse
Cf. Table 1.2 (p. 20)
The grammar of academic discourse
Cf. Table 1.2 (p. 20)
The grammar of academic discourse
TASK 6. The underlined parts are examples of non-academic language: put
each into the correct column, using Table 1.2 for reference.
The grammar of academic discourse

a nominal group
objective point of view

concise vocabulary
The grammar of academic discourse
The grammar of academic discourse