Academic WritingAcademic Writing, fall 2008. Metadiscourse and referencing

Info on Individual Assignment1. Choose 1 to 1½ pages from your assignment from the course

Discourse and Society 1 (if your assignment does not exceed 1½ pages, hand in the entire assignment)

2. Explain briefly what you have worked with in particular and how (coherence, paragraphs, metadiscourse, referencing, and vocabulary choice)

3. Choose two topics for teacher feedback.

When is it due?According to the compendium, the assignment is due in week 45 (last week

of lecture)

But:

You are not handing in the assignment in Discourse and Society 1 until week 47, so that is also the due date for this course (!)

Send the assignment to me over e-mail and I will send it back to you with comments. Then print out the assignment and put it in your portfolio.

Text structure sum-up• Sentence

• Paragraph

• Section (one section can be made up from one or more paragraphs, has to do with content)

• Chapter

Sum-up from last weekWorkshop

Student feedback:

Paragraph structure, topic sentence etc

How to give and receive constructive criticism

Rework paragraph

Revise and rewrite – save for portfolio!

NB: Content versus StructureThis course: focus on the structure of a text, not the

content.

But:

Content of course has to do with structure! In order to have a logical line of argument, you must be aware of content.

Today: Metadiscourse and Referencing

First: What is discourse?

A serious speech or piece of writing on a particular subject, e.i. a discourse on art.

Serious conversation or discussion between people, i.e. a serious political discussion.

The language used in particular types of speech or writing, e.i. a study of spoken discourse

(Descriptions taken from The Longman Dictionary)

What it metadiscourse?In academic writing, metadiscourse is a term used to describe a word or group of words

that comment on what is in the sentence, usually as an introductory adverbial clause. It is any phrase that is included within a clause or sentence that goes beyond the content itself, often to examine the purpose of the sentence or a response from the author. Metadiscourse includes phrases such as "frankly," "after all," "on the other hand," "to our surprise," and so on.

Metadiscourse is a redundancy that refers to:• the writer's intentions: to sum up, candidly, I believe • the writer's confidence: may, perhaps, certainly, must • directions to the reader: note that, finally, therefore, however • the structure of the text: first, second, finally, therefore, however • Most writing needs metadiscourse, but too much buries ideas. Technical, academic, and

other non-fiction writers should use metadiscourse sparingly(!)

(Paraphrased from Wikipedia)

Metadiscourse

• So, what is it?

• “Writing about writing, whatever does not refer to the subject matter being addressed.” ( Williams)

Metadiscourse

• Why use it?

• To point out and make clear the argument in your text

• To help the reader organise the content of your text and react to it.

Metadiscourse • Meta-paragraphs (introductory sections and forewords,

which introduce the topic; state the aims and purposes; and outline the structure of the text – also called the method)

• Meta-sentences (which identify what the focus is)

• Meta-words (connectives first, next, for example, however)

• Meta-punctuation (colon, quotation marks, exclamation marks, etc)

• Meta-typography (italics, bold letters, underlining)

Use metadiscourse when you write

• Introduce and point out the focus of your text.• State how you use sources, theories and methods. • State if it is you or your sources speaking.• Make transitions from section to section and from paragraph to

paragraph.• Refer to what you have said and what you will say.• Mark topic changes.• Mark levels (categories/subcategories),order and sequence.• State function and status of the information you use in your text.• State speech acts.

How metadiscourse creates coherence

• Text connectives (connect particular blocks of information to each other)• Sequence: first, next, in the third place• Logical or temporal relationships: however, nevertheless, as a consequence, at the

same time• Reminders about material presented earlier: as I noted in Chapter One• Announcements of material appearing later in a text: as we shall see in the next

section• Statements of what material one is on the verge of presenting: what I wish to do now is

develop the idea that..• Topicalizers: for example, as for, in regard to

How metadiscourse creates coherence• Code glosses (help readers grasp the appropriate meaning of elements in the

text)• For example to define or translate a foreign word.

• Illocution markers (make explicit to our readers what speech or discourse act we are performing at certain points in our text (such as hypothesizing, summing up, making claims, giving examples)

• To sum up, for example, we claim that, I hypothesize that

• Validity markers (express our view of the validity of the material we convey)• Register necessary doubts: perhaps, may, might, seem, to a certain extent• Emphatic: clearly, undoubtedly, it’s obvious that• Attributors: according to Einstein

How metadiscourse creates coherence• Narrators (let readers know who said or wrote something)• According to James; Mrs Wilson announced that; the principal reported that

• Attitude markers (reveal our attitudes to the content of the text)• Surprisingly; I find it interesting that; it is alarming to note that

• Commentary (address the reader directly – implicit dialogue)• Most of you will oppose the idea that; you might wish to read the last chapter first; you

will probably find the following material difficult at first; my friend.

Sources and referencing

• Different ways of using sources in your text:

quoting, paraphrasing, referring

• Quote – When the exact wording is important (when

how something is said is as important as what is said)

– when you need the authority of the source– To support and substantiate textual analysis.

quoting, paraphrasing, referring• Parafrase (indirect quotes)

– when you need the content and when the exact wording is not important

– When the style of the source does not ’fit in’– when the source has a different weighting than you

need– To shorten.– To demonstrate understanding.

quoting, paraphrasing, referring

• Refer

- To represent the essense of the source.

- To leave out unnecessary details.

- To give a general introduction of the source.

Quotes• Should be few and well-chosen• Can serve as examples• Can be the starting point of a discussion of theory. • Can illustrate other approaches than one’s own. • Can substantiate your argument• Should only be included if they are used. • Must be commented on / considered (they cannot speak

for themselves) • Rule of thumb: avoid more than one quote per page and

avoid qoutes longer than 6-7 lines.

techniques• Short quotes are placed in the text - use

quotation marks. • Longer quotes (four lines or longer): no

quotation marks. Introduce by a colon or comma and indent it from the left-hand margin. Use extra spacing before and after.

• Omitted words are marked by . . . or (…) • added words are marked by [ ] , e.g. [his]

Paraphrase and Summary• A paraphrase changes the language of the

original but follows the structure and order of the original text.

• A summary is a digest of ideas and information in another text. You can select relevant parts of the text and change the order of information.

Paraphrase and Summary both• Do not add information• use your own words and style. • Make a clear distinction between the

paraphase/summary of the source and your own comments (use metalanguage: ”on the basis of this we conclude …”)

citation• Quotes are part of the sentences

– Jones (1982) claims that " …• Qoutes are not part of the sentences

– "The conclusion emphasises that things have not changed for the better" (Jones, 1982).

When do you need references?

You do not need references here:

• basic common knowledge, i.e. what anyone can observe.

• your own observations.

You need references here:• Quotes, paraphrases, summaries• Claims, opinions and points of view from sources• Events which have been observed by only a

limited number of observants• Statistics, illustrations, etc.• Information from the internet.

you are too close to your sources if you:• Paraphrase or summarise sources without using it for

anything• use too many quotations• Do not clearly mark when it is you or your source who is

speaking• Do not have very much analysis of your own between the

quotes. • Do not use your sources critically (select, qualify, evaluate)• use the language of your sources in stead of your own

language. (Den gode opgave)

Referencing and the writing process• Read the text – take notes.• Put away the text and possibly also your own notes.• Paraphrase in your own words (spoken language will do for a start – you can revise later).• Do not write ‘difficult’ language to make up for the fact that you have not understood the

content of the text but only lifted sentences or phrases and used them in your own text.• Do not write anything that you do not understand yourself.• You may write about theorists who write in abstract and complicated ways, but that does not

mean that you should write in that way yourself. • Do not quote before you have written the text into which the quote should be integrated.• In the final revision, write well-structured paragraphs with topic sentences, supporting

sentences and concluding sentences.

Study time

• Read from p. 18 in compendium and solve task 1 on p. 19 (metadiscourse).

• Read from p. 21 in compendium and solve task 1 and 2 on p. 24 (referencing).