(from English Academic Writing-book, Research's Bible and my editing)

Scientific/ Academic Writing

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

Assignment, prepare

Make a group 5, detail will be updated on web course Will be started next week, some students would be called or volunteer then talk something to the class (5-7 minutes) Group task 1 Tense Review, start next week, some groups will present it detail will be updated on web course

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

Academic Writing

Nearly every piece of academic writing is in some way argumentative Formal as scientific sentences, try to avoid informal/trivial or obstacle sentences dont worry translator can't do it :-) Paraphrase other peoples ideas Argue in favor of your own opinion Writing should be convincing for your reader
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Paragraph

Communicate the idea in writing A part of writing is paragraph A paragraph is a group of sentences that support and develop a single idea or one aspect of a large and more complex topic. The paragraph performs three functions:

Introduces a new topic (or aspect of a topic) and develops it Visually and logically, it distinguishes the present (new) topic from the previous one and from the following one as a result of this, it shows a logical relation between the sentences within the paragraph

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

Part of Paragraph

Topic Sentence

Main idea, not only names the topic of paragraph, but also limits the topic the topic one or two area that can be discussed completely in the space in single paragraph. Its called the controlling idea

Ex: Data on the web Controlling idea: three types of data on the web

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

Supporting Sentence

Develop the topic sentence Explain by giving reason, examples, fact etc

Ex: Web is the biggest repository of data, such as: text, image, audio and video. In the knowledge point of view there are three types of data on the web, structured data, unstructured data and semi stuctured data . Structured data is
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Concluding Sentence

Signal of the end of paragraph and render the important points

Ex: Among those types of data on the Web, the web is still dominated by Unstructured data but recently, Stuructured data is quite blooming recently

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

Ex:

Free-writing Free-writing is writing without stopping. It means writing whatever comes to your mind without worrying whether your ideas are good or the grammar is correct but the ideas should be related to the topic. Its purpose is to free your mind to let it make associations and connections. So when you freewrite do not interrupt the flow of your ideas. Write them as they come to you. Do not cross anything out. When you freewrite set a time limit. After you have finished, reread what you have written and look for interesting ideas or insights that might be useful to you in your writing.

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

Note!

Every good paragraph has unity, which means that in each paragraph, only one main idea is discussed. If you start to discuss a new idea, start a new paragraph Furthermore, every supporting sentence in the paragraph must be directtly related to the main idea. Do not include any information that does not directly support the topic sentence Make the reader easier to know the main idea used to in the beginning of paragraph

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

The Other
The topic sentence The topic presents the subject of the paragraph; It introduces the subject that the paragraph is to develop, the topic sentence is typically the first sentence of the paragraph. It is effective in this position because the reader knows immediately what the paragraph is about. Example: Much has been written about the social problems caused by the transition to democracy in Central Europe.(In certain situations, however the topic sentence may appear elsewhere. For example in an argumentative essay in the introductory paragraph, the topic sentence is the thesis statement [see the definition of a thesis statement below]).

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

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Expansion or restatement

It is very common after the topic sentence for writers to develop further or expand their main idea. This may also involve a more detailed or qualified restatement of the topic sentence.

Example: Indeed, in the long term, it may be that the social problems of transition will in fact prove more difficult to overcome than either political or economic issues.

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

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Limitation

Another common strategy after the topic sentence is to immediately limit or narrow the paragraph or a precise aspect of this topic which will be discussed.

Example: Amongs these problems, however, some of the most serious are those experienced by women, whether this be in the family or in the workplace.

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Illustration

A frequent feature of good paragraphs is that having made a claim in the topic sentence and elaborated it, the writer then brings examples or evidence to support his or her claim. This can be very helpful in persuading the reader of the validity of the writers position. In academic writing, this illustration may well take the form of quotation from or reference to research carried out by others.

Example: Research by Hofstetter and Igel (1995), for example, has shown that women in former East Germany experienced considerably higher rates of depression and resorted more often to psychiatric help in coping with social change than their male counterparts
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Analysis

Of course it is not enough to simply drop an example. Having given an example, the writer must then analyse and demonstrate what the example proves and what can be learnt from it.

Example: While one can not of course dismiss the possibility that these figures are skewed by mens refusal to seek help for fear of appearing weak, nevertheless, comparable research in Hungary (Randoni 1997) suggests that the areas in which the greatest social change has occurred, notably the conflict between breadwinning and childrearing, are areas where women are more involved than men.

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

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Conclusion

Finally, the writer needs to finish off the paragraph, usually concluding with a sentence that either reiterates or states modified from the idea presented by the topic sentence. Effective paragraphs rarely finish with an example.

Example: Clearly then, the study of the social effects of transition should not neglect gender as an important factor for consideration
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Feature of Paragraph

Coherence

The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus, as expressed in the topic sentence. If it begins with one focus or major points of discussion, it should not end with another or wonder within different ideas. The sentences should lead on from each other logically so that each one answers the question that comes into the readers mind when they read the sentence before it. If the reader has to go back to read again two or three times to understand what you have written, this is an indication that the paragraph is not coherent and that sentences do not logically flow from one another.
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Cohesion

In a cohesive paragraph, each sentence relates clearly to the topic sentence and to the sentences on either side of it. Cohesive devices such as transition words (first, for example, however) or reference words (this,the question, she) make clear to the reader both where the paragraph is going and how each sentence relates to the others. A cohesive paragraph also highlights the ties between old information and new information to make the structure of ideas or arguments clear to the reader.

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

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Adequate development

The topic introduced in the topic sentence should be discussed fully and adequately. Academic writing demands a thorough and careful analysis Much more in analysis, not in explaination or description

English II - odd 2011 - DWW - Sebelas Maret University

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