Organization of a paper: Signposting and punctuation

Reference: Swales, J. & Feak, C. 1994. Academic Writing for Graduate Students. The University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor.

We’ve been talking about flow…

• • Language of academic papers  shift vocabulary Organizing information in a paper  paragraphs and sentences • Now, to establish a clear connection of ideas… • Use linking words and phrases as well as

punctuation

Part 1: Linking words and phrases :

• Can help maintain flow and establish clear relationships between ideas • Can be arranged according to their function and grammatical use

This (these)+ summary word

• ESL lecturers know that students need to understand the differences between formal and informal language. However,

this understanding

cannot usually be aquired quickly.

• Refers to the previous phrase (given  new)

Part 2: Punctuation

• Sentence connectors raise the important issue of punctuation • You have to learn the proper use of punctuation in English and in your field • We only deal with some punctuation, namely comma (,), semicolon (;), colon (:) and dash(-)

Semicolon

• • • Join two completely independent sentences Work much like a full stop (period) – Air traffic delays due to high traffic volume have increased considerably over the last decade; these delays have become a major public policy issue.

Can be used with sentence connectors – Increasing the size of airports is one solution to traffic congestion; however, this is a long-term solution whose benefits may not be seen for many years into the future.

Semicolon

• • Can be used to separate rather long items in list: – Some of the solutions to the air traffic delay problem include increasing the size of airports that routinely experiece flight delays; overhauling the air traffic control system so that more flights can be safely handled; and increasing landing fees.

Note that usually you separate items in a list with a comma

Colon and Comma

• • • • Weaker stops Comma (,) separates items in a list Colon (:) introduces a list Commas used with conjunctions (and, but, or) and subordinators (although, if, whereas) – There are four main causes of airport congestion: bad weather, excessive volume, runway closures, and equipment outages.

Dash • • Sometimes a dash is used to introduce a list Mostly, though, dash is used to intrude additional information to a sentence, much like brackets ().

– There are four main causes of airport congestion: bad weather – such as a snowstorm – may ground planes…

Print out this slide and add the punctuation as instructed.

Print out this slide. Use linking words and phrases to fill in the gaps below.

…and finally

• For more information on how to use punctuation with quotations, please go to the following website: • http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/ quotes.asp