學術英語理工

AcademicEnglishforScienceandEngineering

第二版byHeCanwenInthisunit,youwilllearnhowto:identifyconclusionsandreasonsincriticalthinkingsearchforandevaluatereliablesourcesusereadingstrategiesforspecificinformationlookforvisualandauralsourcesusesourcesbyparaphrasingUnit2

SearchingforSources1CriticalReadingUnderstandingthetextIdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsDoingresearchprojects2AcademicWritingSearchingforexternalsourcesEvaluatingvarioussourcesUsingreadingstrategiesforspecifi...Lookingforvisualandauralsources...3LiteracySkillsParaphrasingUnitContentsDiscussion:WhatkindoftensesareusedintheIntroductionpartandtheMethodspart?Whatarethefunctionsofdifferenttenses?Pickoutusefulsentencepatternsfromthetextthatyoumayuseinyourownresearcharticles.1.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextTASK1Skimthetextandcompletethetablebelow.1.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextKeywordsObjectiveMethodsusedGreenhouseEffects,Students’Understanding,GlobalWarming,InteractiveTechnologytoreporthowstudents’understandingofthegreenhouseeffectandglobalwarminghasincreasedaftertheyparticipatedinanexperimentbasedonacurriculumunitanexperimentTASK2Readthetextandanswerthefollowingquestions.Whatarethecontentsoftheexperiment?Whichsectiontellsyouthis?What’sthepurposeoftheexperiment?Whatisthefunctionofthepre-/post-testandwhatisthecontent?Howdoyouknow?WhydoestheauthormentionthestudiesofVosniadouandBrewer(1992,1994)?1.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextTASK2Skimthetextandanswerthefollowingquestions.Whatarethecontentsoftheexperiment?Whichsectiontellsyouthis?Studentsconductedvirtualexperimentswithavisualizationofthegreenhouseeffect.Theymanipulatedtheexperiment,analyzeddataanddrewconclusionsabouthowindividualvariablesaffectchangesintheEarth’stemperature.Theyalsocarriedoutinquiryactivitiestomakeconnectionsbetweenscientificprocesses.Theproceduresectiontellsit.1.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextWhat’sthepurposeoftheexperiment?Thegoalisforstudentstolearnabouttheroleofeachconceptinthegreenhouseeffectandtounderstandhowtheyinteracttocreatethegreenhouseeffect.1.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextWhatisthefunctionofthepre-/post-testandwhatisthecontent?Howdoyouknow?Thefunctionofthetwotestsistomeasurethechangesinstudents’understandingthegreenhouseeffects.Thecontentofthetwotestsisthesame:thereareeightquestionstestingtheparticipants’knowledgeofthegreenhouseeffects.Thiscanbeinformedintheresearchdesignsection.1.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextWhydoestheauthormentionthestudiesofVosniadouandBrewer(1992,1994)?Tocomparetheirresultswiththeirsandfindasimilarconclusionthatchildrentendtoreconcilenewideaswiththeirpre-existingknowledge.1.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextTask4:Matcheachofthefollowingmainideas(summarizedfromParas.1-25)withtheappropriateparagraphnumberofthetext.1.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextKeysParas.1-5 52341Paras.6-10 810679Paras.11-15

1314151211

Paras.16-20 1916201817Paras.21-25

21232524221.CriticalReading

UnderstandingthetextOneofthemostcriticalactivitiesofcriticalreadingistoexaminetheargument,theviewpointwhichtheauthorhopestoconvincethereaderstoacceptincertainways.

majorcomponentsofanargument:aconclusion+thereasons(premises)allegedlysupportit.Agoodconclusionisbasedonasoundreason,butmostimportantlyonavalidpremise.1.Criticalthinking

Identifyingconclusionsandreasonseg:Mygrandmotherdied(reason),andIhadtomissclasstoattendthefuneral(conclusion).thepremise:attendingthegrandmother’sfuneralismoreimportantthanattendingclass.Criticalthinking:Canyouacceptthepremise?1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsConclusion:Youngstudentsshouldhaveabetterunderstandingofthegreenhouseeffect.Reason1:Becausetheycanmakeinformedjudgmentsinpoliticalmattersinvolvingthereductionoftheemissionofcarbondioxide.(Itspremise:Thegoodknowledgeofthegreenhouseeffectiscriticaltoinformeddecisionsinpoliticalmatters.)Reason2:Becausetheknowledgeofthegreenhouseeffectisprerequisiteforamoderncitizen.(Itspremise:Theknowledgeofthegreenhouseeffectisamustforamoderncitizen.)Discussion:Whichreasonismoreconvincing?1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsHintObviouslythesecondreasoniswrongbecauseitspremiseisinvalid.Identifyinglogicalreasonsandtheconclusionisessentialforevaluatingthevalidityofanargument.1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsAconclusion“Weshouldexpectthepublictoknowsomethingaboutradioactivityandradiation”mayhavemorethanonereason:

Becausepeopleshouldbecapableofprotectingthemselvesfromtheharmfuleffectsofradiationaswellasavoidingexcessivefear.

Becauseanindividualcanderivepersonalpleasureandfulfillmentfromknowingsomethingabouttheworldaroundhim.

Becausepeopleshouldbecapableofinformedjudgmentsinpoliticalmattersinvolvingradiationphenomena,nuclearenergy,wastedisposal,exposurelimits,etc.1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsTobeacriticalreader,youcanraisequestionssuchas:Whichoneisvalid?Whichoneismoreconvincing?Isthecombinationofthethreereasonsmorereasonableratherthanmerelyoneofthem?1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsTASK1ReadthelastparagraphoftheCriticalReadingtextinUnit1andidentifytheconclusionofthestudy.Trytosummarizethereasonswhichcansupporttheconclusion.1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsTASK2ReadthefirstparagraphoftheCriticalReadingtextandidentifythereasonsoftheconclusion:“Obviously,helpingstudentstohaveabetterunderstandingofgreenhousegasesandtheirimpactonthetemperatureoftheEarthisurgent.”Discuss:Whichreasonisvalidormoreconvincing?1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsTASK3ReadthelastparagraphoftheCriticalReadingtextandidentifytheconclusionofthestudy.Trytosummarizethereasonswhichleadtotheconclusion.1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsTASK4Advancethereasonsforeachofthefollowingsupposedconclusions.1Itisessentialandevencriticalforyounggenerationtohaveabetterunderstandingandkeenawarenessofclimatechanges.2WesternpeoplehavestrongerawarenessofclimatechangeandglobalwarmingthanChinesepeopledo.3Chinaisfacedwiththechallengingissueofmaintainingtheeconomicgrowthwhilecontrollingtheemissionofalargeamountofcarbondioxide.1.Criticalthinking

IdentifyingconclusionsandreasonsTASK1WatchLecture2andanswerthefollowingquestions.1Whatisthe“carbonfootprint”?2Whatgreenhousegasesarementionedinthetext?3Whatisthe“carbondioxideequivalent”?4Whatarethe“foodmiles”?5Howtodecreasethecarbonfootprintintermsoftransportation?1.CriticalReading

DoingresearchprojectsKeysWhatisthe“carbonfootprint”?

Itreferstothegreenhousegasesreleasedintotheatmospherebecauseofanindividual’dailyactivitiessuchasburningfossilfuelsfortransportationorheatinghomes.Whatgreenhousegasesarementionedinthetext?

CarbondioxideCO2,methaneCH4,nitrous-oxideN2OWhatisthe“carbondioxideequivalent”?Itisthemeasurementfordescribinghowmuchglobalwarmingeachgreenhousegasmaycontributeto.1.CriticalReading

DoingresearchprojectsWhatarethe“foodmiles”?

Atermusedtodescribethepotentialgreenhouseeffectoftheagricultureproduct.Howtodecreasethecarbonfootprintintermsoftransportation?Carpooling(getmorepeopleinonecar),usingthemostefficientroute,reducingtheidlingtime,maintainingthevehicleandcheckingthetirepressureatleastonceamonth,considerationofbuyingsmaller,ecoorhybridversion,electriccars,travelingbytrains.1.CriticalReading

DoingresearchprojectsWatchLecture2again.Searchformorelecturesorarticlesaboutgreenhouseeffectsandglobalwarming.Raisesomeresearchquestionswhichyoucananswerbyconductingsurveys(e.g.,questionnairesorinterviews).1.CriticalReading

DoingresearchprojectsTASK2Workingroupsoffiveorsix.Eachgroupsearchesforaminimumofthreearticlesrelatedtothetopicofgreenhouseeffectsandglobalwarming.Writeashortreportonthemainideasfromthesearticles.GiveaPowerPointpresentationofyourreport.1.CriticalReading

DoingresearchprojectsTASK3Sources:anyinformationtakenfrombooks,journalarticles,reports,governmentdocuments,conferenceproceedings,webresourcesandlecturestwotypesofsources:primaryandsecondarysourcesDiscussion:Whatisaprimarysource?Whatisasecondarysource?2.AcademicWriting

SearchingforsourcesPrimarysources(alsocalledoriginalsourcesorevidence):documents,reports,recordings,orothersourcesofinformationthatwerecreatedmostprobablythroughfirst-handsurveys,investigations,experimentsandfieldstudies.(themostreliable

source)Secondarysources:cite,commenton,orbuilduponprimarysources(eg:textbooks,literaturereviews)2.AcademicWriting

SearchingforsourcesThegeneralmethodsforsearchingforsources:1)usingtheterm(suchaspeople’sunderstandingofradiation)askeywordsinelectronicsearchesorlibrarysearches;2)locatingpotentiallyappropriateandrelevantsource(titles,contents,introductions,abstracts);3)readingthemquicklyanddecidewhichonesaremostrelevanttoyourtopic;4)evaluatingtheusefulnessandreliabilitybycomparingandcontrastingthosesources.2.AcademicWriting

SearchingforsourcesToevaluatesources,youmayask:1)Isthematerialaprimaryorasecondarysource?2)Isthesourcethelatestone?3)Istheauthorareliablescholaroranexpertinthefield?4)Doesthesourceseemstronglybiased?5)Doesthesourceseemwellwritten?Doyounoticeanyspellingerrors?2.AcademicWriting

Evaluatingvarioussources6)Hastheauthorbeencitedfrequentlyinthefield?7)Aretheauthor’sargumentssupportedbyreliableevidencesuchasstatistics,experiment,recentscientificfindings?8)Aredifferentopinionsconsideredandweighedorsimplyignored?9)Aretheauthor’sargumentsandconclusionsconvincing?10)Whoisthepublisher?Whatreputationdoesthepublisherhave?Whatisthepurposeofthepublicationorwebsite?2.AcademicWriting

Evaluatingvarioussources3rulesofevaluatingareliablesource:1)TheTimeRule:Thecloserintime,thebetterthesourcewillbe.2)TheBiasRule:Chooseunbiasedsourceswhicharemoretrustworthy.3)TheExpertsRule:Choosethesourcescreatedbytheauthorswhoaretheauthoritiesofacertainfieldandwhoseworksarefrequentlycited.2.AcademicWriting

EvaluatingvarioussourcesHints:1Reliablesourcesarethoseofexpertsinthefield(e.g.,articlesfoundinscientificjournalssuchasScience,Nature,ProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciencesoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica,etc./reviewedbyotherexpertsbeforebeingpublished.2Reliablesourcescomefromprestigepublishersandthegovernment

(e.g.,dataonpopulation,crime,economy).2.AcademicWriting

Evaluatingvarioussources3Reliablesourcesarefromwell-knownandrespectedorganizations(e.g.,UNESCO,WHO,theWorldBank).4BecautiousaboutWeb-basedsources

(hardtoknowwhethertheinformationisaccurateornotifanauthorororganizationisnotdefined,orifthereisnodate)2.AcademicWriting

EvaluatingvarioussourcesDiscussion:What’syourunderstandingofskimmingandscanning?2.AcademicWriting

UsingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformationSkimmingandscanningSkimming:thequickreadingofatexttogetthemainpointsormainideas,andskipoverthedetail.Scanning:usedtolookupaspecificdetailinanentireessayorabook2.AcademicWriting

UsingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformationSkimmingandscanningForskimming,Youmaypayspecialattentionto:1)thetitleandsubtitles;2)theabstract(ifthereisone);3)theintroductionandthesis;4)thefirstorlastparagraphsoftheessays/chapters;5)headingsandsubheadings;6)theconclusionandsummaries;7)thefirstsentenceorthelastsentenceofeachparagraph;8)highlightedtextsuchaswordsinboldoritalicscript;9)thetitlesofgraphs,tablesordiagrams.2.AcademicWriting

UsingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformationSkimmingandscanningTipsforscanning:1)keepinmindwhatyouaresearchingfor(e.g.,adefinitionoftheterm,aneffectofthephenomenon,theobjectiveorthemethodofthepaper);2)searchthesisstatementsandtopicsentencesinparagraphs;3)usetheknowledgeofessayorganization(suchascause-effect,comparison-contrast,problem-solution)tofindwhatyouarelookingfor;4)payattentiontosignalwordssuchasnumbers,letters,steps,thewordslikefirst,second,next,orwordsthatarebold-faced,initalics,orindifferentsizes,styles.2.AcademicWriting

UsingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformationSkimmingandscanningDiscussion:Whichpartshouldyoureadifyouwanttofind:thepurposeofthestudy;thepreviousstudiesofthetopic;

theresearchquestionsofthestudy;

themethodsemployedinthestudy;

theresultsofthestudy;

theexplanationfortheresults;

themajorimplicationofthestudy2.AcademicWriting

UsingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformationReadinganabstract(Purpose:toinformthepotentialreaderofthecontentofthearticle)Interpretingthetitlesoftables/figures(tablesorfigures:toreporttheresults)Identifyingtopicsentencesforageneralidea(tendstobeplacedatthebeginningorattheendoftheparagraph)2.AcademicWriting

UsingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformationTask:IdentifythetopicsentencesoftheparagraphsofthearticleonPages74-75andunderlinethem.2.AcademicWriting

UsingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformationContentofagoodnoteincludes:1)asummaryofmainideasandchieffindingsofthesource;2)aparaphraseoftheimportantideas;3)directquotationsofthekeystatements,andstatisticssuchaspercentagesanddates;4)anoteofthepublicationtitle,date,authors’names,pagenumbersandpublishers.2.AcademicWriting

Usingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformation-takingnotesTipsfortakingnotes:1)locatethemainideas,importantsub-pointsinthemargin;2)underlineorhighlightthemainideas,keytermsandimportantdefinitions;3)donottakenotesunlessyoufullyunderstandwhatyouread;4)setthetextasideandparaphrasethesentencesyouwanttouseinyourpaper;5)summarizetheideasoftheparagraphorsectionyouwanttouseinyourpaper.2.AcademicWriting

Usingreadingstrategiesforspecificinformation-takingnotes1.Researchandreadthetopic-relatedsourcesortheassignedmaterial.2.Familiarizeyourselveswiththesubject.3.Sortoutsubject-specificwordsandtermsthelecturemayuse.4.Checkthemeaningandpronunciationofthetermsandwords.2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources--doinghomeworkbeforelisteningtoalecturePayattentiontothefollowingpatterns1)Tostartwith,I’lltalkabout…ThenI’lldiscuss…Afterthat,we’lllookat…I’llfinishbygivingasummaryof…2)InthefirstpartI’llexplain/talk…Theninthesecondpart,Iwillpresent/examine/analyze…2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources--PayingattentiontotheintroductionPayattentiontothesignalwords“thefollowingexample(story/incident)illustrates/demonstrates…”,“suchas”,“asinthecaseof”,“agoodcaseinpoint”Payattentiontothekeysentencebeforeorafteranexample2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Understandingtheideasthroughexamples1.SignpostLanguage1)Signalingtopic:“TodayI’mgoingtotakeupthesubjectof…”“ThetopicI’dliketodevelop…”2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Followingalecturethroughsignalwords2)Signalingstructure:“Nowletmelookatthisfromadifferentpointofview…”“Nowletusconsider…”“Therearemanyfactors/causesthat…”2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Followingalecturethroughsignalwords3)Signalingshift“Now,let’smoveonto…”“Let’sturnnowtothecauses…”2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Followingalecturethroughsignalwords4)SignalingexplanationWhatImeanis,…Thatistosay…2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Followingalecturethroughsignalwords2.Transitionallanguage1)Illustration:forexample,agoodcaseinpointis…,inparticular2)Cause:because,owingto,dueto,since,as3)Effect:therefore,asaresult,consequently,so2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Followingalecturethroughsignalwords4)Comparison:incomparison,similarly,likewise5)Condition:if,unless,assumingthat6)Contrast:however,nevertheless,ontheotherhand,bycontrast2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Followingalecturethroughsignalwords7)Listing:first,inthefirstplace,then,finally,furthermore8)Classification:canbedivided/classifiedinto,onecategoryis9)Summary:tosumup,toconclude,inbrief2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Followingalecturethroughsignalwords3.RhetoricalquestionsHowcanweexplainsuchphenomenon?Well,…Whatdoesthisallmean?Let’slookat…Whatcanyoudotocheckthesituation?Well…2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-FollowingalecturethroughsignalwordsConcentrateontheessentialpoints1)thekeywordontheslidesofPPTortheblackboard2)thepointsemphasizedbytoneofvoice,gestures3)ideasintroducedbythestancewordssuchasarguably,naturally,unfortunately,ridiculously,

it’sessentialthat,wemightsaythat,itseemsthat2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-Memorizingthepointsbytakingnotes4)theimportantideaguidedbysuchphrasesasanimportantconceptis,thepointis,whatImeanis,thefactofthematteris5)summariesgivenattheendofthetalkorreviewsgivenatthebeginningofthetalk.2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-MemorizingthepointsbytakingnotesTipsfortakingnotes:Makenotesbrief/useabbreviationsandsymbols.Putmostnotesinyourownwordsexceptdefinitionsandformulaswhichshouldbenotedexactly.Sketchdiagrams,charts,skeletonoutlineorparticularformatsaccordingtothestructureofalecture.2.AcademicWriting

Lookingforvisualandauralsources-MemorizingthepointsbytakingnotesParaphrase:arestatementofthemeaningofasentenceoratextusingyourownwordschangethewords,wordformsandgrammaticalstructuresasmuchaspossible,ensuringthatasequenceofthreewordswillnotbethesameastheoriginal.

1)donotchangeanyoftheideasintheoriginalinformation;

2)donotremoveanyideas,oraddnewones.

3LiteracySkills

Paraphrasing

TASKComparethefollowingparaphraseandsummaryoftheoriginaltext.Discusswithyourpartneraboutthedifferencesofthem.Theoriginaltext:ThemodernconceptofdemocracyistheresultofanevolutionbegunbytheancientGreeks.FortheGreeks,however,democracywasarightexercisedonlybytheelite—landowningmen,afractionofthepopulation.Non-landowningmenandwomenwerenormallyexcludedfromanypoliticalinvolvementandweredisenfranchised.Yesthisconditionwasnotbelievedtobearestrictiononfreedom,butratherareflectionofsociety’svalues.Thoseofwealthandstatuswereexpectedtoholdtheregionsofpower,asitwasinheritedrightandresponsibilitytoattendtotheaffairsofstate.3LiteracySkills

ParaphrasingParaphrase:TotheancientGreeks,democracymeantthatthosepossessinghighsocialrank—aminutepercentageofsociety—hadthedutytoleadthestate.Yet,ratherthanseeingthisarrangementasalimitationoffreedom,thoseexcludedfrompoliticalinvolvement,suchaswomenandmenwithoutproperty,accepteditasanextensionofthenaturalsocialorder.Therefore,thoughcontemporarydemocracyhasevolvedfromancienttimes,initsveryearlyform,onlytheelite(normallylandowningmen)governedtheentirestate.Summary:TheancientGreeksbelievedthatonlymenoccupyingsociety’shighestclasshadtherightanddutytogoverninademocracy.3LiteracySkills

ParaphrasingParaphrasingisusuallyaboutthesamelengthastheoriginalsourcebychangingdictionandstructures.Summarizing

onlycontainsitsmainideas,leavingoutdetails.3LiteracySkills

ParaphrasingDealingwithkeywordsandphrasesSomewordsorphrasesmayremainunchanged.

Examplesofkeywordsandphrasesinclude:1)propernounssuchasnamesofpeople,organizations,places,etc.:AlbertEinstein,WorldTradeOrganization,NewZealand,FudanUniversity3LiteracySkills

Paraphrasing2)commonnounsthataredifficulttorewordefficiently:computer,mosquito,atmosphere,winter,helicopter3)technicalterms:geneticallymodifiedfoods,carbondioxide,DNA,dieselexhausts4)numbersanddates:57%,2014,April203LiteracySkills

ParaphrasingDifferentwaysforparaphrasing:1Byusingdifferentorder2Byusingdifferentpartsofspeech3Byusingthenegativeorpositivestructure4Byusingthepassivevoiceoractivevoice5Byusingsynonym6Byusingimpersonalstructure3LiteracySkills

ParaphrasingDifferentwaysforparaphrasing:1Byusingdifferentorder1)Obviously,differentpeoplehavedifferentattitudestowardsmentalillness.→Obviously,attitudestowardsmentalillnessvaryfrompersontoperson.2)Cognitivedevelopmentdependsonthechildren’sculture.→Thechildren’scultureaffectstheircognitivedevelopment.3LiteracySkills

Paraphrasing2Byusingdifferentpartsofspeech1)Menarereluctanttoretireastheyanticipatethedeprivationofmoney.→Reluctanceamongmentoretireisassociatedwithanticipateddeprivationofafinancialsource.2)Peopleareincreasinglyinterestedinnaturalfoodswhichdonotcontainchemicaladditives.→Interesthasgrowninnaturalfoods:foodswhichdonotcontainchemicaladditives.3LiteracySkills

Paraphrasing3Byusingthenegativeorpositivestructure1)Nowadays,peopletrytomakethemselvesinstantlyaccessibletoeveryoneatalltimes.→Nowadays,peopleneverallowthemselvestheinconvenienceofbeingtemporarilyunavailable.2)Eventhemodestlyeducatedadultcanbeupsetbysuchanexperience.→Nomodestlyeducatedadultcanfailtobeupsetbysuchanexperience.3LiteracySkills

Paraphrasing4ByusingthepassivevoiceoractivevoiceForthisreason,weshouldtakegreatcareto