1. Publishing English Lesson 6
Course Website:
(Click on the “Publishing English” link.)
Publishing English Lesson 6
USTC School of Management
Spring 2018
Teacher: Dr. Murray Sherk

2. Lesson 6 Outline Review of Lesson 5
Research Proposals (and similar documents)
Presentation of Dr. Wayne Brodland
Student discussion: Lit Review, References
Reference-Keeping Systems
Demo of EndNote & an important “fix”
Which one? EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero …
Try one out!
More Principles for Good Writing

3. Review of Lesson 5 Sentence Repair Example by Murray
Repair by students
Noun phrases as grammatical subjects or objects.
Pronouns: "it", "they", "that", "which"
Main verbs: “is/are”, “has/have”
Analysis of model papers and own writing

4. Sentence Repair Method
First:
Look for weasel words that add no significant information
Look for redundant words, particularly repeated words
Second:
Look for subjective words, e.g. that make assumptions about the reader’s viewpoint
(e.g. “foreign”, “undeniable”)

5. Sentence Repair Method
Third:
Split into information points using the verbs of the sentence (or nouns if verbs were presented in noun form).
E.g. “x is y”, “x should y z”, “x can y z”, …
Basically, these are SV(O) groups.

6. Check Sentence Info Points
“The fact that firms wanting to expand to other countries should find established larger local partners who can be original equipment manufacturers must not be ignored.”
Info points:
A fact is must not be ignored.
Firms should find partners if they want to expand to other countries
The partners should be established local firms
The local firms can be OEMs
Avoid long S-V distances – look at the first info point.

7. Fix Info Points Keep S-V distances reasonable
Choose content-rich verbs
Consider using an introductory clause
but not too long –- 6-8 words is good
up to 15 words may be OK if the clause flows smoothly and clearly
Make sure the SV(O) structure is reasonably clear
whether or not there is an introductory clause

8. Original vs. Improved
“The undeniable fact that domestic firms wanting to expand to various other countries should find some established larger local partners who can be original equipment manufacturers in the other countries must not be ignored.”
“When expanding to other countries, firms must find established larger local partners who can be original equipment manufacturers.”

9. Lesson 5 Review Sentence Repair Example by Murray Repair by students
Long noun phrases as grammatical subjects or objects.
(Related to BCG3: Avoid long introductory clauses and phrases.)
Pronouns: "it", "they", "that", "which"
Main verbs: “is/are”, “has/have”
Analysis of model papers and own writing

10. Avoid Overly Long Noun/Verb Phrases
The method is…
The analysis method is …
The analysis method of Jones and Weber (2009) is …
The complicated but often-used analysis method of Jones and Weber (2009) is…
The complicated but often-used analysis method of Jones and Weber (2009) which uses three steps but has proven to be very accurate is …

11. Long Noun Phrases
“Using a faulty device or poorly designed component in a key step of an assembly line risks disastrous outcomes.”
S-V distance problem comes because of a long phrase as a subject phrase.
“When a faulty devices or poorly designed component is used in a key step of an assembly line, this risks disastrous outcomes.”
Avoids S-V distance but has the BCG3 “long introductory clause” problem.

12. Long phrase problems can be fixed by using connected SV(O)s
Weak: “Using a faulty device or poorly designed component in a key step of an assembly line risks disastrous outcomes.”
Weak: “When a faulty devices or poorly designed component is used in a key step of an assembly line, this risks disastrous outcomes.”
Good:
“Disastrous outcomes may occur if faulty devices or poorly designed components are used in a key step of an assembly line.”
Using two SV(O) structures is better

13. Lesson 5 Review Review of Lesson 4 Sentence Repair Example by Murray
Repair by students
Long noun phrases as grammatical subjects or objects.
Pronouns: "it", "they", "that", "which"
Main verbs: “is/are”, “has/have”
Analysis of model papers and own writing

14. What is “it”?
[PE5] Use pronouns like "it", "they", "that", and "which" only when the readers will have no doubt about the referent.
When in doubt, name the thing specifically…
…but do not let the writing get too clunky.
You need a balance of clarity and elegance (ideal wording has both).

15. Lesson 5 Review Review of Lesson 4 Sentence Repair Example by Murray
Repair by students
Long noun phrases as grammatical subjects or objects.
(Related to BCG3: Avoid long introductory clauses and phrases.)
Pronouns: "it", "they", "that", "which"
Main verbs: “is/are”, “has/have”
Analysis of model papers and own writing

16. Use Content-Rich Verbs
[PE6] Look for convenient ways to rewrite sentences whose main verbs are “is/are” or “has/have” to use more interesting verbs.
Don’t try to eliminate all such overused verbs but you should not have too many instances of them
particularly if there’s a nice way to avoid them.

17. Lesson 5 Review Sentence Repair Example by Murray Repair by students
Long noun phrases as grammatical subjects or objects.
(Related to BCG3: Avoid long introductory clauses and phrases.)
Pronouns: "it", "they", "that", "which"
Main verbs: “is/are”, “has/have”
Analysis of model papers and own writing

18. Good Analysis: Look for SV(O)s
Look for S-V and S-V-O structure (“SV(O)” for short) in sentences and clauses of compound sentences.
Each “S” is the Subject/agent/thing that is doing something.
The “V” is some Verb/action.
The SV(O) may or may not have an “O” indicating what is acted upon.
Sentences often have two SV(O)s linked by words like “and”, “but”, “therefore”, …

19. Analysis Table
Use the analysis table to record statistics about each S-V(O).
We do this for model papers…
…and for our own writing…
…so we can notice the differences!

20. Lesson 5 Homework
Look at your analysis of your 1000-word writing sample.
How are the analysis answers different from those for the model papers?
Do these indicate problems with your writing?
Write a 250-word analysis of what differences you see and what you need to beware of in your own writing.
Full English sentences (good English!)
this to me before next class.
This can be your writing project work and report for one week.

21. Lesson 6 Outline Review of Lesson 5
Research Proposals (and similar documents)
Presentation of Dr. Wayne Brodland
Student discussion: Lit Review, References
Reference-Keeping Systems
Demo of EndNote & an important “fix”
Which one? EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero …
Try one out!
More Principles for Good Writing

22. Advice from a Canadian Prof.

23. Lesson 6 Outline Review of Lesson 5
Research Proposals (and similar documents)
Presentation of Dr. Wayne Brodland
Student discussion: Lit Review, References
Reference-Keeping Systems
Demo of EndNote & an important “fix”
Which one? EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero …
Try one out!
More Principles for Good Writing

24. With a partner, discuss the following article
ve/art_how_to_write_P_Wong.htm
What can you learn from this?
It is about Research Proposal writing, but what points apply to Journal Papers too?
What are the most important points for you to pay attention to?

25. Lesson 6 Outline Review of Lesson 5
Research Proposals (and similar documents)
Presentation of Dr. Wayne Brodland
Student discussion: Lit Review, References
Reference-Keeping Systems
Demo of EndNote & an important “fix”
Which one? EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero …
Try one out!
More Principles for Good Writing

26. Murray’s Demo of EndNote
Basic ideas
“Cite while you write” MS Word plug-in

27. Discuss this article
0/how-mendeley-helps-phd-students- become-successful-scientists/

28. Lesson 6 Outline Review of Lesson 5
Research Proposals (and similar documents)
Presentation of Dr. Wayne Brodland
Student discussion: Lit Review, References
Reference-Keeping Systems
Demo of EndNote & an important “fix”
Which one? EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero …
Try one out!
More Principles for Good Writing

29. Try out a reference keeper
If you already use one, try another one to learn more
Experiment
What do you like or not like?
Create free accounts using links on course website
Download plug-ins from course website (require account to activate)
Direct from EndNote/Mendeley/Zotero websites is better but slower

30. Lesson 6 Outline Review of Lesson 5
Research Proposals (and similar documents)
Presentation of Dr. Wayne Brodland
Student discussion: Lit Review, References
Reference-Keeping Systems
Demo of EndNote & an important “fix”
Which one? EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero …
Try one out!
More Principles for Good Writing

31. Cultural Bias
Always remember you are writing for an international audience.
They are NOT like you and they do NOT know “what everybody knows”.
“After Liberation…”
“The government…”
“Foreigners often…”
“In the Yuan Dynasty…
“As we all know, …” (NEVER say this!)

32. In your culture… What does “everybody know”?
What assumptions can you make about people in your home culture which you CANNOT make about your international audience?

33. Homework:
If you do not already use a reference-keeping system, then choose one and get used to it.
In at most 250 words, using good English, describe what should be in the final section of a journal paper. This section is usually labeled “Conclusion” or “Discussion and Conclusions”.
You may look up resources to find ideas, or derive your own ideas from examining good published papers.
it to me before next class.