1. Organising Arguments in Academic Writing
Research discussions
5th March 2018
Richard Watson Todd

2. (A)IMRD structure Argumentation crucial in
Introduction (plus Literature review),
Discussion and Abstract

3. Why focus on Introduction/Literature review?

4. What is the Introduction?
“The main purpose of the Introduction is to provide the rationale for the paper, moving from general discussion of the topic to the particular question or hypothesis being investigated. A secondary purpose is to attract interest in the topic – and hence readers”
(Swales and Feak, 1994)

5. What is the Introduction?
“The main purpose of the Introduction is to provide the rationale for the paper, moving from general discussion of the topic to the particular question or hypothesis being investigated. A secondary purpose is to attract interest in the topic – and hence readers”
(Swales and Feak, 1994)

6. The rationale Need to build to the rationale
Don’t start “The purpose of this paper is to …”
Identify a gap and justify why the gap is worth filling
“There is almost no research which examines how Vietnamese students use citation in their M.A. theses.”

7. What is the Introduction?
“The main purpose of the Introduction is to provide the rationale for the paper, moving from general discussion of the topic to the particular question or hypothesis being investigated. A secondary purpose is to attract interest in the topic – and hence readers”
(Swales and Feak, 1994)

8. The organisation of the Introduction
General patterns
General to specific
Familiar to unfamiliar / Known to unknown
Problem to solution
Chronological

9. The organization of the Introduction
Moves in the Introduction
Move 1: Establish a research territory
Show the importance of the general area
Introduce relevant previous research
Move 2: Establish a niche
Indicate a gap in previous work
Move 3: Occupy the niche
Outline purposes

10. What is the Introduction?
“The main purpose of the Introduction is to provide the rationale for the paper, moving from general discussion of the topic to the particular question or hypothesis being investigated. A secondary purpose is to attract interest in the topic – and hence readers”
(Swales and Feak, 1994)

11. Clarifying the focus
The introduction (and literature review) is an argument justifying the focus (not a review of the literature)
From the general patterns, the focus is
specific
unfamiliar / unknown
the proposed solution
the most recent
The focus must be highlighted in the middle of the abstract

12. What is the Introduction?
“The main purpose of the Introduction is to provide the rationale for the paper, moving from general discussion of the topic to the particular question or hypothesis being investigated. A secondary purpose is to attract interest in the topic – and hence readers”
(Swales and Feak, 1994)

13. Catering to the audience
Addressing your audience’s knowledge
Who are the following addressed to?
Writing is defined as “to describe or record (ideas, experiences, etc.) in a sequence of symbols”.
Writing is probably the least practiced and most problematic skill for Thai students.
Writing involves a complex synthesis of cognitive processes, while also accounting for social factors.

14. Catering to the audience
Addressing your audience’s interest
What are the purposes of conference abstracts?
Creating a research space
Impressing the conference review committee
Attracting an audience for your presentation
Writing a good title
Which of the following do you prefer and why?
Why were there so many misunderstandings?
An investigation of social disconnections in dialogic interactions following microteaching
When things go wrong: Feedback on teaching practice in TESOL

15. 3 case studies of improving organisation in academic writing