研生学术英语写作教程Unit 5 Reporting Results

Unit 5 Reporting Results
Objectives:
-Understand the function and the major elements of the results section;
-Learn the major steps to deal with the results section;
-Use the tips for describing graphic information;
-Grasp the tips for making comparison and contrast;
-Learn the skills for choosing appropriate graphs and making graphs.
Contents:
- Teacher’s introduction;
- Reading and discussion: Types of Language for Thinking and Lexical Collocational Errors;
- Language focus: graphic description; comparison and contrast;
-Writing practice: using graphs and describing graphs (tables and charts);
- Rewriting practice: grasping the major moves for outlining the results section;
- Classroom extension: descriptions of data and graphs when reporting results.
1.Reading Activity
1.1 Pre-reading Task
Do you know how to report the results of your research? The standard approach to the results section of a research paper is to present the results with the statistical
techniques such as tables and charts. This does not mean that you do not need any text to describe data presented in graphs.
Think about the following questions before reading the text and then have a discussion with your classmates.
1. What is the function of the results section?
2. What are the major elements included in the results section?
3. What are the major steps for you to deal with the results section?
4. How do you describe graphic information in the results section?
5. How do you compare and contrast the data presented in graphs?
The following is part of the results section of a research paper which investigated how EFL learners’ type s of language for thinking influence their lexical collocational errors in speech.
1.2 Reading Passage
Results
Types of Language for Thinking and Lexical Collocational Errors
1One key issue in this study was whether a learner’s type of language for thinking influences lexical collocational production. 2This issue was explored by examining one retrospective report on the qu estionnaire, ‘‘When tape recording, what language did you mainly use for inner speech?’’ 3Based on their responses, the 42 participants were classified into four language groups: Chinese, English, Chinese mingled with English, and other languages. 4The par ticipants’ inaccuracy rates were compared, which were obtained by dividing the number of errors by the overall number of lexical collocations they produced individually, among the language groups.
The preliminary analysis discovered that the 42 participants produced a total of 2,491 lexical collocations, and each participant created approximately 29 lexical collocations per minute. Regarding learner errors, 263 incorrect collocations were found among the 2,491 lexical collocations, resulting in an inaccuracy rate of 10.56. To report the effect of language for thinking on the production of lexical collocations in speech, Table 1 records the fact that 5 students stated that their type of language for thinking was for the most part Chinese. As Table 1 shows, 17 mainly used English for thinking, 20 primarily thought in Chinese mingled with English, and none thought in other languages. The inaccuracy rate of oral lexical collocations in each language group was calculated by dividing the total number of lexical collocational errors by the total number of lexical collocations produced. Descriptive statistics demonstrated that those who mainly thought in their native language (Mandarin Chinese) produced the highest inaccuracy rate of lexical collocations (M=15.17), followed by those who primarily thought in English (M=12.40) and those using a combination (M=8.44).
Results of a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) further displayed that the difference among these three groups reached a significant level, F(2,39)=4.07, p<.05. This result supports the notion that EFL learners’ type of language for thinking appreciably influences their oral production of lexical collocations.
To probe intergroup differences, the Fisher Least Significant Difference (LSD) posthoc test was adopted, which aims at discerning whether the comparison between groups reaches the significance level. The LSD test showed that the Chinese-mingled-with- English group had a markedly lower inaccuracy rate than the Chinese or English groups, while the difference between the Chinese and English groups was not significant. Thinking in both Chinese and English was more beneficial and effective to the EFL learners’ oral production of lexical collocations.
Table 1: Types of Language for Thinking and Inaccuracy Rates of Lexical Collocations
Note: Mean shows the average inaccuracy rate of collocations in each group.
*P<.05
(Hung-ChunWang & Su-Chin Shih, 2011) 1.3 Reading Comprehension
1.3.1 Read the first paragraph and identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the text.
1.3.2 Some verbs can be used to locate the results of the research, such as “show”and “indicate”. Read the second and third paragraphs carefully and think of the question: Which verbs did the authors use for locating the results?
1.3.3 Read the second and third paragraphs carefully and think of the question: What is the function of the last sentence in the 2nd and 3rd paragraph s respectively?
2Language Focus
2.1 Graphic description
The results section clearly presents the findings of your study. It is usually presented both in graph and text. First, prepare the graphs as soon as all the data are analyzed and arrange them in the sequence that best presents your results in a logical way. Then, as the results section is text-based section, the description of graphs is of great importance in paper writing. Good descriptions can help the readers understand your research better while using a single sentence pattern to describe the statistical and graphic information in a research paper will make your readers feel too bored and lose interest in reading on, so we need to pay more attention to the language use when describing the statistical and graphic information.
Here we will introduce some useful words, phrases or sentence patterns which can be used in different situations of graphic description.
If you need to highlight significant data in a table/chart, you may use some adjectives such as “apparent”, “clear”, “interesting”, “obvious”, “revealing”and “significant” to make your viewpoint known and meanwhile attract readers’ attention.
The following sentence patterns are useful for you when you report significant results or findings.
1. It is apparent from Table 2 that...
2. Table 5 is quite revealing in several ways.
3. From Chart 5 we can see that Experiment 2 resulted in the lowest value of ...
4. What is interesting in this data is that ...
5. In Figure 10, there is a clear trend of decreasing ...
6. As Table 2.1 shows, there was a great deal of difference between the
experimental group and the control group.
7. As shown in Table 6.3, chunk frequency also has significant correlation with
the indices of oral proficiency.
8. There was no obvious difference between Method 1 and Method 2.
2.1.1 The following table lists results of a questionnaire concerning students’ interest
and performance in class.
Question 1: You are very interested in the English writing course.
□Strongly agree □agree □I don’t know □disagree □strongly disagr ee Question 2: You are active in group discussion in the classroom.
□Strongly agree □agree □I don’t know □disagree □strongly disagr ee
Note: N=number; P=percentage
Now you are required to report results from the interview. The following sentence patterns may be used in your report.
1. Of all the subjects, 70 completed and returned the questionnaire form.
2. The majority of respondents felt that …
3. Over a half of those surveyed indicated that …
4. A small number of respondents …
5. A minority of participants (%) indicated ...
6. In response to Question 1, most of those surveyed indicated that ...
7. The overall response to this question was very positive.
8. It is apparent from the table above that...
____________________________________________________________________ 2.1.2 The following line graph shows an upward trend in growth rate of Ford car production during the period from January to December 2011.
Look at the line graph carefully first and then do the following exercises.
A. Mark the following places in the graph.
a) The bottom of the line;
b) The peak of the line;
c) The fluctuating part.
B. Describe the growth rate of Ford car production in the following months respectively. Try to use the phrases or sentence patterns of graphic description you learned in this section.
a) In January: _________________________________________________________.
b) From March to April:_________________________________________________.
c) From May to September:______________________________________________.
d) From October to December:___________________________________________.
C. What does the overall line graph reveal in the growth rate of Ford car production during the period from January to December 2011?__________________________.
2.2 Comparison and contrast
When you are writing the reports section, you need to do much more than just give data. What you should always try to do is to convey more information with the data. Comparing and contrasting is a common way to deal with the data. The purpose of comparison is to show similarities while contrast is used to show differences. Through comparison or contrast between two or more things, the reader can understand them better.
Here are some key words commonly used to express comparison or contrast.
Note: Comparison and contrast is often used in graph description. Here are some points for you to pay special attention to.
1) Not all the information has to be compared or contrasted with each other. It is common to introduce the most significant or important information and compare or contrast it. If necessary, you must make some calculation before comparing or contrasting the data.
2) When comparing or contrasting information in the graphs, it is not necessary to lay equal emphasis on every change. Just give stress to those dramatic changes or to those that are of special interest to you, or those that you want your readers to pay more attention to and ignore the less important parts.
3) The comparison/contrast should be supported by concrete and relevant facts or data.
2.2.1 The tables below are the results of a research which examines the average marks scored by boys and girls of different ages in several school subjects. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.
You should write a minimum of 150 words.
Boys:
Girls:
3.Writing Practice
3.1 Using graphs
Graphs are commonly used in reporting the results of your research. A graph is a diagram, usually a line or a curve, which shows how two or more sets of numbers and measurements are related. Graphs usually include bar/column charts/graphs, pie charts, line graphs and tables.
Generally speaking, bar charts are diagrams with rectangular bars with lengths proportional to the values that they represent. The bars can be plotted vertically or horizontally. However, they more clearly show the relationship of different parts of the sample to each other. They do not clearly show the parts in relation to the whole. The following bar chart shows the teachers with master’s degree or above in Northwestern College according to gender.
A pie chart is a circle divided into segments. Pie charts can be used to show the sizes of various parts of the results in relation to each other and in relation to the whole sample. They are usually used to show percentages. The following pie chart shows the percentage of living costs per month in a family.
A line graph is a type of graph displaying information as a series of data points connected by continuous lines. It can show a pattern or trend which usually takes place over a period of time. The following line
graph shows the change of annual income of an average family in a certain city in China. .
A table is a set of facts and figures arranged in columns and rows. A table is a very useful way of organizing numerical information. Tables are efficient, enabling
the researcher to present a large amount of data in a small space. They can show exact numerical values and present quantitative data. They emphasize the discrete rather than the continuous. Here is a table which shows the percentage of the use of transportation vehicles in Northwestern College.
Table Use of transportation vehicles in Northwestern College
Turn the table above into other graphs for your different research purposes.
3.2 Describing a graph
The description of graphs is of great importance in paper writing because it can help the readers understand your research better. How do you describe a graph? Here are the major steps for you to follow:
Step 1: Introduce the graphic information briefly and indicate the main trend.
Normally it includes the place, time, content and purpose of the graph.
Step 2: Describe the relevant and most important or significant
data and make
some comparison if necessary. Words and expressions for describing a curve or a trend are very useful in presenting graphic information.
Step 3: Summarize the data/trends.
3.2.1 The line graph below shows the sales amount of an online shop from Monday to Friday. Match the descriptive statements with the graph. Which are the correct statements describing the graph?
A. The sales amount increased sharply from Monday to Tuesday.
B. The sales amount reached a peak on Friday.
C. There was a fluctuation in the sales amount.
D. The sales amount dropped drastically from Wednesday to Thursday.
3.2.2 Write a short passage describing the sales amount of an online shop from Monday to Friday with the information presented in the graph above.
3.3 Describing a table
The table below shows the results of the interviews on the teaching language(s) used by English teachers in class. Answer the following questions first and then according to the answers, describe the information in the table. Pay attention to the use of different sentence patterns when reporting the data.
Table 1 Teaching l anguage(s) used by English teachers in class
Questions:
1. What does the table show us?
2. How many teaching languages are mentioned in the table?
3. What language is used most frequently by English teachers in class?
4. Do English teachers in class often use Chinese?
5. In summary, what impression do you have on the teaching language(s) used by English teachers in class?
3.4 Describing charts
The following is a result from a market survey of personal computers. Report the result from a university student’s perspective. First, describe the student’s needs in personal computers. Then, compare and contrast the three types of personal computers in the items listed in the table below. Finally, conclude by stating which computer seems to be th e most suitable for the student’s needs you have described.
Table 2 A market survey of personal computers
4. Writing project
4.1 Get prepared for writing the results section
Before you write the Results Section of your research paper, you need to make everything ready for your writing. The following steps may be helpful for your preparation.
1. Read the literature review section and the method section carefully and rethink about the research questions;
2. Review you results and check whether they have answered all the research questions;
3. Organize your results in a logical manner (For example, according to priority of the appearance of research questions);
4. Prepare tables and/or other diagrams;
5. Select appropriate language style and pay attention to the use of grammar;
Work in groups and discuss what other preparations you can make for writing the results section of your research paper.
4.2 Outlining the results section
When outlining a results section, there are usually four major moves to follow.
Move 1: Preparing information
This move functions as a reminder and connector between the method section and the results section, as it provides relevant information for the presentation of results. It provides a review of issues mentioned in the method section, the location of tables or graphs where results are displayed and a general preview of the section. However, it is not obligatory because there are also results sections that do not have this move.
Move 2: Reporting results
Move 2 is the core element. It is the move in which the results of a study are presented, normally with relevant evidence such as statistics and examples. In this move, the authors need to locate where the results are and clearly describe the findings of the study both in diagrams and text.
Move 3: Commenting on results
This move serves the purpose of establishing the meaning and significance of the research results in relation to the relevant field. It includes information and interpret ations that go beyond the “objective” results. This can involve how the results can be interpreted in the context of the study, how the findings contribute to the field (often involving comparison with related literature), what underlying reasons may account for the results, or comments about the strength, limitations or generalizability of the results. As indicated by the frequency of moves and steps, this section is highly cyclical.
Move 4: Summarizing results
In this move, the major results obtained are summarized in order to help readers understand the research better. This move is optional in a research paper due to the limited length while it is a must for a dissertation or thesis.
Now, you are required to outline the results section of a research paper entitled A
study of the effect of Chinese language on English writing with the moves given below.
4.3 Drafting your results section
Begin your writing now with the information you have just obtained from your survey.
5. Final Checklist
Here are some useful questions to ask yourself about writing the results section of your paper:。