LECTURE X DEALING WITH TEXTS (PART 2)
1. TYPES OF
SCHOLARLY
2. GENERAL
QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES THAT CAN (AND SHOULD) BE APPLIED TO ANY TEXT
3.
READING/WRITING ABSTRACTS
4.
READING/WRITING A SUMMARY
(ACADEMIC) ARTICLES*
Scholarly
articles are of several types, among them:
a.
factual/critical articles
b.
book reviews
c.
review essays
d.
reviews of research
e.
research reports.
Scholars also write articles
for audiences not restricted to specialists in their own field; such articles
may discuss, for example, the current state of understanding in a discipline or
matters of public interest from the point of view of a particular discipline.
FACTUAL/CRITICAL
ARTICLES
Current usage blurs the
sharp dictinction that was once observed between
«scholarly», or factually based, articles and «critical», or theoretically
based, articles. Either type requires the scholar to:
a. demonstrate
familiarity with the previous scholarship of the topic
b. suggest an
original thesis
c. present
supporting evidence
d. point to the
significance of the proposition advanced
The best scholarly articles
incorporate all four aspects in a proportion appropriate to the subject and
audience.
Exercise:
1.
Read the following texts:
A. Education and Tolerance B.
The Outsiders
2. For each text,
decide which of the above labels best describes the type of text it is.
3. A. Decide
which of the four aspects of a typical scholarly text it incorporates.
B. For each of the aspects
that it does incorporate, note the number of the paragraph/s in which that
aspect is developed.
YOU READ FOR ANY PURPOSE*
(Not necessarily in this order)
* Adapted from Exercise by Arthur Schneiderman, Dept. of EFL
A.
1. What is the
subject area of the article (judging by the title)?
2. What
information or knowledge do you already have about the subject (before you have
read the article)?
3. What is your purpose in
reading this article? Have you been given any guidelines for reading this
article? If so, what are they.
4. What are the
writer's basic assumptions, his hypothesis (or hypotheses), and his main
thesis?
5. What
historical or other background material does the writer provide?
6. What is the writer's plan
or method of organization? Does any one type of text structure dominate this
article? i.e.:
a. Does the
writer define a word or concept?
b. Does the
writer compare/contrast two ideas?
c. Does the
writer describe a historical event — causes leading up to the event, results
of the event or both?
d. Does the
writer analyze a situation or event, providing us at the outset with a
generalization and following this up by supporting evidence (deductive
organization)?
e. Does the
writer begin with the details and end with a generalization (inductive
organization)?
f. Does the writer
first present the arguments of other writers, only to refute them, and then
finally, present his own viewpoint on the subject? (e.g., consider Towards a
Humanistic Medicine and The Outsiders in Part IV.)
g. Does the
writer use some combination of the above rhetorical text structures and
organizing patterns to develop his argument?
7. What is/was
the writer's purpose in writing this article?
8. What kind of
writing characterizes this article (expressive? informational? a combination
of both? Which one of them dominating?)*
* See Types of Discourse, Unit 1 of Section IV (Part II).
9. What questions
or problems are discussed?
10. What other
researchers who support his point of view does he mention?
11. What points
of view other than his own does the writer present?
12. What evidence
or data does the writer present to support his ideas?
13. What
definitions (of special terminology, or terms he uses in a special way) are
presented by the writer?
14. What examples
does he bring in to illustrate each of his ideas?
15. What reservations or
qualifications are made by the writer? Is he making a strong or weak claim for
each of the points in the thesis?
16. Is he
convincing? Why (or why not)?
17. Determine if, and where,
the writer makes use of such rhetorical devices as: (a) irony; (b) humor; (c)
appeal to the emotions; (d) analogy; (e) figures of speech (metaphors,
similes); (f) repetition for purposes of stressing important points; rhetorical
questions.
18. Summarize the
main points of this article in 2-3 paragraphs.
19. What difficulties did
you have in reading this text? (Vocabulary? Sentence structure? Following the
writer's argument? Missing background information?)
20. How closely does this
article fit in with the lectures andcourse work for
which you are reading it?
Hints on Answering Objective
Test Questions About a Text
1. Always read the questions
very carefully: at least as carefully as you read the text they are based on.
In a question, every word is important.
2. Watch out for statements
in true-false or multiple-choice questions that have the little, but important,
qualifying words such as not, some, can, must, may, most, very, hardly, often,
always, usually, never, or seldom. They affect the meaning of the sentence.
Double negatives are tricky;
«the idea was not unattractive» means that the idea was attractive. (See Unit 8
of Section II [Part II]). Also, make sure that you have read the relevant part
of the text to the very end of the idea being expressed. The writer may begin
by suggesting that one thing may be true, but then go on to decide that the
opposite is true!
3. In answering
multiple-choice questions, cross out the choices you're sure are wrong for some
reason (e.g., because they make no sense; because they obviously contradict
something stated in the text; etc) and concentrate on the ones that are left.
4. In answering matching
questions (where items from one column are matched to items in a second
column), lightly cross out the items you've already used (lightly - because you
may change your mind); that way you can keep track of the one's you still have
to work with.
5. You may be asked to fill
in blanks in a sentence. Be careful; after filling in the blank, reread the
whole question just to be sure the completed statement makes sense, and is in
reasonably good English.
6. Always reread your answer
to short answer questions to make sure you wrote what you meant. It's probably a good idea to translate
your answer from English into your native language to make sure that it makes
sense.
An abstract is a brief
summary of the content and purpose of an article. In some journals, the
abstract is used in place of a concluding summary. The abstract allows readers
to survey the contents of an article quickly. It is self-contained, fully
intelligible without reference to the body of the paper. Information or
conclusions that do not appear in the paper are not supposed to appear in the
abstract.
(suggested
length: 100-175 words)
I. An Abstract of
a Research Article usually includes:
1. statement of
problem
2. method
3. results
4.
conclusions
It should
specify: subject population (number, type, age, sex, etc.)
It should
describe: research design, test instruments (i.e. questionnaires, tests,
interviews), research apparatus of data gathering procedures
It should
summarize: data or findings
It should report:
inferences or comparisons or conclusions drawn from results
II. An Abstract
of a Review or a Theoritical Article should include:
1. Topics covered
2. Central thesis
3. The Sources
used (i.e. personal observation of author, review of published literature, or
present, current research bearing on topic and conclusions drawn)
It should be
short but informative.
Exercise:
A. Read the abstracts in the
following set of 9. Categorize each abstract as one based on:
(a)
a research article
(b)
a review of research in a given field
(c)
a theoretical article.
B. Using I and II above as
an inventory checklist, see how many of the items listed for each type of
article can be found in each of the abstracts.
Abstract No. 1
Kufeldt, Kathleen & Nimmo, Margaret (Faculty Social Welfare U Calgary, Alberta
T2N 1N4), Youth on the Street: «Abuse and Neglect in the Eighties», CHILD ABUSE
AND NEGLECT, 1987, 11, 4, 531-542.
A report on an interview
study of runaways & homeless youth (n = 489) conducted over a 1-year period
in Calgary, Alberta. Analysis reveals two distinct groups: the true «runners»
tend to leave their homes with the intention of not returning & thus their
runs are extended: «in & outers» use the run as a temporary coping
mechanism & their runs tend to be impulsive & of short duration.
Findings also indicate that runaways, in particular the runners, are at great
risk of being drawn into illegal activities; major factors affecting this risk
are distance from home & length of time on the run. A significant
proportion of Rs had run from substitute care
arrangements. Results imply that adolescents in Canadian society suffer from
systemic abuse & neglect. This researh led to the
opening of a safe house for early runners in Jan. 1987. The operation of the
house includes careful compilation of data to further advance understanding of
the runaway population & its needs. 4 Tables, 6 Figures, 1 Appendix, 19
References. Modified HA (Copyright 1989, Socioligical
Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved).
Abstract
No. 2
Tinsley, Barbara J. &
Parke, Ross D. (Dept Speech Communication U Illinois, Urbana 61801),
«Grandparents as Interactive and Social Support Agents for Families with Young
Infants», INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGING AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, 1987, 25, 4,
259-277.
The role of grandparents in
infant development is investigated in a comparative analysis of
grandparent-infant grandchild & parent-child interaction patterns in 30
Caucasian Mc families. The extent to which grandparents serve as social support
agents for their adult children & grandchildren is also examined.
Observations of dyadic play sessions between 51 grandparents & their 30
7-month old grandchildren were compared with those between the infants &
their parents using both time-sampling & global coding schemes; information
on grandparental support relative to other social support services was obtained
via questionnaires completed by both parents & grandparents. Results indicate
that both grandmothers & grandfathers are interactive & support
agents, with a pattern of similarities & differences in interactive style
evident across generation & gender. There is a high degree of overlap in
parent and grandparent interaction style, but parents appear more competent;
both parents & grandparents report a high degree of satisfaction with
their level of intergenerational contact. Results support an expanded view of
the effects of various agents in young children's social environments. 3
Tables, 40 References. Modified HA (Copyright, 1989, Sociological Abstracts,
Ins., all rights reserved).
Abstract No. 3
Chovanes, Andrew B. «On
Vietnamese and other Peasants», JOURNAL OF SOUTHEAT ASIAN STUDIES (Singapore)
1986 17(2): 203-235. There are serious theoretical and methodological issues
concerning revolutionary activity. These are examined in extensive critiques of
James Scott's The Moral Economy of the Peasantry and Samuel Popkin's
The Rational Peasant, both studies of the Vietnamese peasant's role in the
revolution, in the light of other work on peasants. Proposed is a «transcultural grammar that would view history as non-pro-gressional, not the inevitable outcome of class conflict,
the most revolutionary group as that with nothing to lose, the presence of
organizational factors which provide a new form of consciousness». 175 notes.
P.M. Gustafson
Abstract No. 4
Vasquez, John A.
«Capability, types of War, Peace». WESTERN POLITICAL QUARTERLY 1986 39(2):
313-327. Whether a balance of power or a preponderance of power produces peace
has long been a debate within the traditional literature. The quantitative
analysis of Singer, Bremer, and Stuckey (1972) added to this puzzle the findinig that the balance of power was associated with
peace in the 19th century but with war in the 20th century. A careful review of
that study, more recent empirical work, and the logic underlying traditional
explanations suggest that neither a balance nor a preponderance of power is
associated with peace, but with different types of war. The author utilized
both behavioral and historical approaches to construct a typology of war that
will more clearly elucidate the varying role of capability in different wars.
Classifies wars along three dimensions — whether they are fought between
equals or unequals; are limited or total; or are
dyadic or complex.
Abstract No. 5
Seccombe, Ian J. «Immigrant Workers in Emigrant Economy: An
Examination of Replacement Migration in the Middle East». INTERNATIONAL
MIGRATION (Belgium) 1986 24(2): 377-396. Jordan, with its relatively skilled
labor force experienced significant unmonitored labor emigration to meet the
growing regional demand for labor that followed the 1973-74 oil price
increases. During this period, however, domestic labor demand was also
increasing dramatically. This demand was met, to a great extent, by
undocumented workers. Legal foreign workers in the mid-1970s, in accordance
with Jordan's 1960 labor law, were predominantly from other Arab countries, but
Asian workers, usually under contract to Asian
companies operating in
Jordan, increased in number rapidly in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Considerable exploitation of foreign workers and abuse of the labor law have
occurred. 27 ref., 6 tables. French and Spanish summaries.
C.Moody
Abstract No. 6
Soffer, Amon. «Lebanon — Where Demography is the Core of Politics
and Life». MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES (Great Britain) 1986 22(2); 197-205.
Government and intercommu-nal relations in Lebanon
since 1943 have been based on a solitary population census taken in 1932, which
has resulted in political relationships in the state being based on a ratio of
6:5 in favor of the Christians. This article attempts to establish the size of
Lebanon's population, the sizes of the various groups within it, and the
population distribution. In all cases figures could only be estimated based on
best available data, but they showed that the Muslims had become a majority,
that geographical distribution had changed little, and that the demographic
strength of the Muslim community and its socioeconomic weakness were factors
that could not be ignored if Lebanon were to have a future. Based on
statistics from the Lebanese government, the UN and UNRWA and secondary
sources; 3 tables, map, 27 notes.
F.A.
Clements
Abstract No. 7
Mohan, Bernard and Helmer, Sylvia. «Context and Second Language Development:
Preschoolers' Comprehension Gestures». (UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA). There
is wide agreement that non-verbal information, and contextual information generally,
plays an important role in language understanding for second language learners.
This raises the question of whether learners understand non-verbal communication.
The «traditional» view of the role of context in language learning assumes
that they do. The «social semiotic» view does not, holding that contextual
understanding is developed in the process of communicative interaction.
Contextual understanding is therefore likely to vary with age and cultural
familiarity.
This paper investigates the
understanding of English speakers' gestures by preschool children, comparing
native English speakers (age four to five) with non-native speakers. Thirty
-six emblems and illustrators, two forms of commonly used gestures, were
decoded by forty children, twenty native speakers, and twenty English as a
second language (ESL) speakers. The gestures chosen were screened by a panel of
ten ESL teachers who considered them to be typical of classroom interaction.
It was found that the
children, on average, understood about half of the gestures. ESL children
understood less than native speakers. Analysis of variance results indicate
that there is an effect for age as well as a strong effect for cultural
familiarity (native speakers vs. ESL). There were significant correlations for
the sequence of acquisition of gestures across all groups.
Results therefore
contradicted the «traditional» view and were consistent with the «social
semiotic» view. It is suggested that research on the role of context in second
language learning should take account of the social semiotic and study the
mutual development of language learning and cultural learning in the process of
communicative interaction.
A. READING
SUMMARIES WITHIN A TEXT
When skimming a long text, a
good reader can spot those parts of the text where the writer has summarized
the points of his argument — either before he is about to present these points,
or just after he has presented them. This is basically the same reading skill
involved in spotting the sentence which seems to summarize the main ideas in
each paragraph.
In some long texts, the
entire introductory section may be a summary of the important points in the
text (i.e., it may be a plan or map of the argument that the writer is about to
present). In such cases, the introductory section serves the same function as
the Preface or Foreward to a book.
Similarly, a writer may
pause to summarize what he has already told us before going on to some new
aspect of his argument. Such brief summaries are easier to spot if the writer
has included subtitles for each part of his argument. The summary of each part
would most likely be found at the end of that part (before the next subtitle),
end is often signaled by words such as: thus, hence, in brief, on the whole,
summing up, to conclude and conclusion.
The final section of a long
academic article is often a summary of the main ideas in the article. When
this is the case, by reading the introductory and final sections — even before
he has skimmed the body of the text — the reader can get a good idea of what
the paper is all about.
In general, an introductory
summary should be used as a guide to reading: it's as useful to the reader as a
map is to the navigator of some unknown territory. A concluding summary helps
the reader to control for important points he may have missed or misunderstood
in the course of reading the body of the text. The skilled reader will
immediately go back to the body of the text to find or clarify anything in the
summary that is unfamiliar or unclear.
B. WRITING A
SUMMARY (AFTER HAVING READ A TEXT)
There is a paradox involved
in trying to summarize a text. On the one hand, the summary must be general and
focus on the most important ideas, at times substituting a single generalization
for an extended segment of text, or not even mentioning other segments of the
text because in your judgement, they add nothing new.
For example, you may refer to part of the text as «the author's analysis of
English economy» even though the text does not provide that label. On the other
hand, your summary must be specific and refer to important facts, to points
crucial to the development of the argument, or even to examples that provide
essential support. It should also be written in precise and specific language
that reflects your analysis of the text.
Before you can write a good
summary you must understand and analyze the text. You will probably have to
read the text, or at least parts of the text, more than once in order to answer
such questions as the following:
1. What is the
controlling idea or the main idea of the article?
2. What is the
purpose of the article (regardless of whether the purpose is stated explicitly
or only implied)?
3. How does the
author develop his main idea — that is, what information is used to support the
argument and how is the information organized?
4. What is the
author's attitude toward the subject?
Theoretically, a
summary can be as short as a single sentence or as long as about one fourth of
the original. How long a summary should be and what kinds of information it
should include and leave out depends on the purpose of the summary. If you are
summarizing an article in order to organize and study the information it
presents for an examination, for example, you will probably prefer a longer
summary that includes essential facts and some examples that illustrate important
points. On the other hand, if your purpose is to make a bibliographic note of
the main idea of an article you have consulted in writing a paper, a sentence
or two may be enough to remind you what the article was about.
GUIDELINES FOR SUMMARY
WRITING
1. Read the original text
carefully.
2. Identify the controlling
idea and the relationships among the major supporting ideas.
3. Decide which examples are
necessary for a clear understanding of the text.
4. Try to use your own words
rather than merely quoting from the text, except when you are referring to
technical or professional terms that have a special technical meaning. In
that case, you might wish to use the original term and then indicate, in a few
words of your own, what it means.
5. Write a first sentence
which includes the source of your summary and the controlling idea.
6. Indicate whether the
author is certain or uncertain of the facts he presents and whether the point
of view is his personal one, or one he identifies as belonging to a school of
thought.
7. Omit trivial and
redundant material. (The writer may express the same idea more than once, and
in more than one way, but in your summary the idea should be presented only
once).
8. Wherever possible,
substitute a general term for any list or items which that term would include
(regardless of whether or not the writer has used that general term). This is
one way to delete more detailed facts and ideas without ignoring them.
9. Avoid making comments
about or adding information to the text. Or, if you wish to add information, a judgement, evaluation, etc. label it specifically as your
own opinion, for example: «The author conludes that
... but I don't think the evidence presented really supports this conclusion».
Exercise:
1. Write a long summary of
one of the texts in this book, providing the answers to the four questions
listed above, and including all of the essential facts (i.e., those necessary
to follow the argument); and some of the examples used to illustrate these
facts and to provide supporting evidence.
2. Write a short summary of
one of other texts in the book.