Write Like a Chemist: Drawing on Applied Linguistics Research

Fredricka L. StollerNorthern Arizona Universityfredricka.stoller@nau.edu

Overview of Presentation

Overview of Write Like a Chemist project

Discussion of the contributions of applied linguistics research and methodologies to the project

Write Like a Chemist Project

Write Like a Chemist Project Goals

Design a discipline-specific writing course

Improve chemistry students’ discipline-specific writing skills

Write Like a Chemist Project Goals

Analyze the language of chemistry in four genres

Translate findings into a pedagogical approach and instructional materials

Drawing Upon Applied Linguistics

Drawing Upon Applied Linguistics

Discourse analysis Corpus linguistics Curriculum and course design Language teaching pedagogy Writing pedagogy Assessment Language knowledge base

Discourse Analysis

Discourse Analysis

Genre analysis Journal article Conference abstract Poster presentation Research proposal

Discourse Analysis Genre analysis

Moves Hedging Lexical-grammatical patterns Collocations Pronoun use Active-passive voice Nominalizations

Moves

1. Introduce the Research Area1.1 Identify the research area1.2 Establish the importance of the research area1.3 Provide essential background information about the research area

2. Identify a Gap (or Gaps)

3. Fill the Gap3.1 Introduce the current work3.2 Preview key findings of the current work (optional)

Cite relevant literature

General

Specific

Figure 6.1. The move structure for a typical Introduction.

Move 1 Establishing a territory (citations required) via Topic generalizations of increasing specificity Move 2 Establishing a niche (citations possible)

viaStep 1A Indicating a gap

orStep 1B Adding to what is known

Step 2 (optional) Presenting positive justification (Adapted from Swales, 2004)

1. Introduce the Research Area

Identify the research area

Establish the importanceof the research area

Provide background information about the

research area

2. Identify a Gap(where a gap identifies a question that needs to be answered, an area that needs to be better understood, a step that needs to be taken, a procedure that needs to be improved, an idea that needs to be tested, etc.)

3. Fill the Gap

Present goals of current work

Preview principal findings

Cite relevant works to support each move/submove

More General

More Specific

1. Introduce the Research Area1.1 Identify the research area1.2 Establish the importance of the research area1.3 Provide essential background information about the research area

2. Identify a Gap (or Gaps)

3. Fill the Gap3.1 Introduce the current work3.2 Preview key findings of the current work (optional)

Cite relevant literature

General

Specific

Figure 6.1. The move structure for a typical Introduction.

Discourse Analysis

To facilitate discourse analyses, we made use of corpus linguistics tools Project-specific corpus

American Chemical Society (ACS) Journals Search data base

Write Like a Chemist Corpus

200 full-length refereed journal articles (991,606 words)

240 sections of refereed journal articles (297,407 words)

132 full-length popular chemistry articles (157,344 words)

Total word count: 1,466,357 words

ACS Journals Search

Legacy data base (1879-1995) 23 journals, 464,233 articles

Current issue to 1996 data base 33 journals, 316,131+ articles

ASAP articles data base 2,745 articles (as of 9/30/08)

Collocations

first-principles calculations first-principles kinetics first-principles methods first-principles molecular dynamics

study first-principles simulations first-principles study

Active and Passive Voice

0

5

10

15

20

Abstract Introduction Methods Results & Discussion

Section

Freq

uenc

y/50

0 w

ords

Table 2. Common Transitional Phrases (typically followed by we)

In the present study,In the present work,In this context,In this investigation,In this paper,In this study,In this work,Herein,

Use of “we”

In this work, we ___(present tense)

In this work, we ___(past tense)

carry outdemonstratedescribedevelopemploypresentproposeprovidereportshowuse

analyzed solvedcalculated studied chose synthesizeddeterminedemployedexaminedfocused onfoundinvestigatedmeasured

Table 3. Common verbs that follow we in the fill-the-gap statement of the Introduction

Historical Changes: We

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

J. Ag. FoodChem.

Anal. Chem. JOC J. Phys. Chem JACS

"w

e"/"

the"

1953-1963

1993-2003

Word and phrase frequencies

Further (97,663 documents) Farther (1,554 documents)

Proceed (30,381 documents) Precede (18,693 documents)

Principle (57,475 documents) Principal (20,267 documents)

Curriculum & Course Design

Needs analysis Situation analysis Determination of primary goals

and objectives Syllabus design

Syllabus Design

Course content Four genres Five features of writing Audience and purpose

Organization Writing conventions Grammar and mechanics Science content (in prose and

graphics)

Syllabus Design

Scope and sequence

Instructional activities Instructional materials

X of Y by Z pattern found in journal article titlesX (optional) Y (required) Z (optional)

A nominalization (e.g., Determination, Investigation, Analysis, Measurement)

A phrase that refers to, describes, or modifies Y

ofinforto. . .

What was studied o

nin

via

byat

. . .

Target of Y or what was impacted by Y

Method used (or detail of method used) to study Y

Preparation of 5-Substitute1H-Tetrazoles

from Nitriles in Water

Common functions of verb tense-voice combinations in Results sections

Function Tense-Voice Combination

Example

To describe specific results in your work

To describe specific steps in your work

To state scientific “truths” or knowledge

To refer to a figure or table

Past-Active

Past-Passive

Present-Active

Present-ActivePresent-Passive

Other combinations of alcoholic solvents failed to lead to a higher yield.

Initial HSSPME experiments were performed using spiked skimmed and full-fat milk samples.

Language Teaching Pedagogy

Modeling Scaffolding Use of authentic texts and tasks

2-(p-Toluenesulfonyl)-4'-methoxyacetophenone (2a). A mixture of 2-bromo-4'-methoxyacetophenone (45.8 g, 200 mmol) and p-toluenesulfinic acid sodium hydrate (35.6 g, 200 mmol) in ethanol (1 L) was heated at reflux for 1.5 h. The mixture was stirred and cooled to room temperature, and the resulting solid was collected, washed with ethanol (2 × 50 mL), dried to give 54.6 g (90%) of pure 2a: mp 126.0-127.0 °C; IR 2951, 2906, 1676, 1599, 1572 cm-1; 1H NMR (CDCl3) 2.45 (s, 3H), 3.90 (s, 3H), 4.67 (s, 2H), 6.95 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.34 (d, J = 8.2 Hz, 2H), 7.76 (d, J = 8.2 Hz, 2H), 7.95 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 2H); 13C NMR 20.9, 55.1, 62.5, 113.4 (2C), 127.7 (2C), 128.3, 129.1 (2C), 131.1 (2C), 135.8, 144.3, 163.7, 186.0. Anal. Calcd for C16H16O4S: C, 63.14; H 5.30; S, 10.54. Found: C, 63.49; H, 5.35; S, 10.33.

(from Swenson et al., 2002)

Authentic models of text

Language Teaching Pedagogy

Feedback (self, teacher, and peer) Reflection tasks Learning-by-doing tasks Teacher guidelines

Teacher Guidelines How to acknowledge students’

apprehensions about writing How to build students’ confidence

(with, e.g., actionable feedback) How to build upon students’

attraction to objectivity How to deal with mixed-ability

classes

Teacher Guidelines

Reminders that good writing doesn’t develop over night!

Reminders that students learn to write by writing!

Reminders that conciseness is not a matter of simply eliminating words.

Writing Pedagogy Adoption of a process orientation

to writing Attention to multiple factors that

contribute to effective writing Recognition that students need to

have something to say in order to write

Incorporation of different forms of feedback

Assessment

Development of pre and post tests/ tasks to evaluate student progress Identification of benchmarks Development of holistic and

analytic grading criteria and rubrics (for faculty and student use)

Language Knowledge Base

Functions of, e.g., hedging, tense-voice combinations, modals

Terminology (participles vs. particles) Distinctions between tense and

aspect Complexity of article system Nominalizations Two-word modifiers

Write Like a Chemist: Drawing on Applied Linguistics Research

Fredricka L. StollerNorthern Arizona Universityfredricka.stoller@nau.edu