The Science Of Scientific Writing    Set D     Expectations of the Generic Section    Maps for Sections      Exercise 1   Exercise 2    Final Page   .

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OVERVIEW: The way to well-written science

How to do the Course

 

PART I: Paragraphs and Sentences

SET A: Paragraphs: The Maps Behind Them

SET B: Paragraphs: Using Maps to Meet Readers' Expectations

SET C: Paragraphs with Something Extra: Points and Tails

SET D: The Generic Section: Expectations and Maps as Blueprints

SET E: Scientific Sections: The Methods and Results

SET F: Scientific Sections: The Discussion

SET G : Scientific Sections: The Introduction

SET H : Sentences

SET I : The Paper as a Whole

 

 

PART II: The Paper and its Sections

Introduction

SET 1: Argument Parts

SET 2: Indicator Words

SET 3: Refining Claims

SET 4: Locating Arguments in Prose

SET 5: Rationale's Essay Planner

SET 6: Evidence in Arguments: Basis Boxes

SET 7: Assessing

SET 8: More on Assessing

SET 9: Analysis Maps

SET 10: Assessing Again

Synthesis 1: Position-Early Paragraphs

Synthesis 2: Position-Final Paragraphs

Synthesis 3: Writing a Discussion I

Synthesis 4: Writing a Discussion II

Exercise 2

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Find a paper in a journal in your field whose Discussion section has the following characteristics:

  • It is short (12 paragraphs or less)
  • It belongs to an argumentative (i.e. hypothesis/model testing) paper, preferably focused on a single argument
  • It has a Frame of Reference paragraph

Paste in the text of the Discussion into the Scratchpad, making sure that the paragraph breaks are obvious, and either include the paper's URL or mail your instructor the paper.

(Alternatively, if you have a paper of your own to analyse, work with that, irrespective of its features)

Make up a section map for the Discussion, in which the boxes contain the Framing or Point Sentence of each paragraph. If you cannot detect such a sentence for any given paragraph, leave the box for that paragraph blank. (If you are working with one of your own papers, and it does not have a Frame of Reference paragraph, write up a section Framing Sentence suitable for such a paragraph.)

Read over the map: does it provide a coherent story? If not, revise the sentences in the boxes such that it does.

 

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