ACADEMIC WRITING REVISED2012

ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH
For Asian Students and Researchers
Dhirawit Pinyonatthagarn
Ph.D. (Linguistics)

2 ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC WRITING
ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH
For Asian Students and Researchers
Second Edition (2012)
Copyright©2011 by Dhirawit Pinyonatthagarn. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data
base or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the
publisher.
ข้อมูลทางบรรณานุกรม
ธีรวิทย์ ภิญโญณัฐกานต์
Academic Writing in English for Asian Students and Researchers
/ ธีรวิทย์ ภิญโญณัฐกานต์. นครราชสีมา : สาขาวิชาภาษาอังกฤษ สานักวิชา
เทคโนโลยีสังคม มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีสุรนารี, 2555.
164 หน้า
ISBN 978-974-533-639-1
PE1475 ธ64 2554
1. ภาษาอังกฤษเทคนิค. I. มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีสุรนารี. สาขาวิชา
ภาษาอังกฤษ.
II. ชื่อเรื่อง.
พิมพ์ครั้งที่ 2 (พ. ศ. 2555)
ลิขสิทธิ์ดร. ธีรวิทย์ ภิญโญณัฐกานต์
สงวนลิขสิทธิ์ตามพระราชบัญญัติลิขสิทธิ์ พ. ศ. ๒๕๓๗
จัดพิมพ์โดย ชมรมภาษาอังกฤษนครราชสีมา ถนนจอมสุรางคยาตร์ ตาบลในเมือง อาเภอ
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FOREWORD
Academic writing is a particular style of writing that is characteristic of
academic institutions. It is the style essential for undergraduates,
graduates, researchers and even lecturers when they explore particular
academic questions in essays, reports, dissertations or theses, and
academic papers. Although it shares many similarities with other styles
of writing, it has its own characteristic features.
As can be seen, the characteristic features that it exhibits give it
a distinct style, and the great majority of students wishing to
successfully complete a course of university study should ensure that
their work reflects this style. If students are unwilling or unable to adopt
an appropriate style, they are likely to have greater difficulties
throughout their course.There are a number of factors and these relate
to both the language itself and the structure.
This book was designed to provide undergraduate, graduate students
and young researchers, especially those of Asian background, with both
the theory and practice of academic writing in English, necessary skill for
them to complete their advanced studies and earn degrees in the field
of their choice in and outside their own country.

CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 5 – 9
CHAPTER 2 WRITING ESSAYS IN ENGLISH 10 – 55
CHAPTER 3 WRITING REPORTS IN ENGLISH 56 – 74
CHAPTER 4 PARAPHRASE, SUMMARY & SYNTHESIS 75 – 81
CHAPTER 5 WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS AND
ABSTRACTS
82 – 106
CHAPTER 6 WRITING A DISSERTATION 107 – 123
CHAPTER 7 WRITING A LIST OF REFERENCES AND
CITING SOURCES
124 – 140
CHAPTER 8 PUNCTUATION 141 – 150
REFERENCES 151 – 161
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 162 - 164

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Academic writing is a particular style of writing that is characteristic of
academic institutions. In other words, it is the style that is used by
undergraduates, graduates and lecturers when they explore particular
academic questions in essays, dissertations, Ph.D theses and academic
papers. Although it shares many similarities with other styles of writing,
it also has its own characteristic features, and it is these features that
we will be examining.
The characteristic features that it exhibits give it a distinct style, and the
great majority of students wishing to successfully complete a course of
university study should ensure that their work reflects this style. If
students are unwilling or unable to adopt an appropriate style, they are
likely to have greater difficulties throughout their course. So what, in
general, characterises academic writing? There are a number of factors
and these relate to both the language itself and the structure.
A well-written academic essay will exhibit the following characteristics.
It will:
 put forward a coherent argument
 support that argument with evidence
 show the writer’s knowledge of the subject
 show evidence of reading
 reflect independent thinking
 contain quotations
 contain references and a bibliography
 adopt a formal style
 be logical and analytical
 be clearly structured.
This is not an exhaustive list but it provides an indication of the style of
essay that is expected at a college or university. Other examples of
formal writing may also reflect the elements listed here such as formal
reports, formal agreements, certificates, government papers and so on.

However, it is likely that many undergraduates will not have been
required to adopt an academic style before their arrival at university.
While their pre-university courses may have necessitated writing essays,
these will probably not have reflected the formal language, the formal
structure and the presentation of a logical argument in quite the same
way.
In addition, many people now start their university course after a
significant period of work and so they may not have written much at all
for the ten years prior to starting their course. This will obviously make
it hard for them to pick up on the style of writing that is needed in
higher education.
If you are reading this, you are likely to be a student in a college on an
undergraduate or post-graduate course. You may be a native speaker of
English or English may be an additional language for you. When
preparing your essays, you may have found difficulties with self-
expression, essay structure, paragraphing, referencing, writing a
bibliography and even punctuating correctly and this may have veiled
some of your good ideas. You may not have achieved the grades that
you hoped for. When your essays were marked you may have found
comments reflecting the marker’s uncertainty about precisely what you
were trying to say.
 You need to think more carefully about word
order.
 Check your punctuation in this paragraph.
 This sentence is not clear.
 This is not academic language.
 Is this relevant?
 Reference?
 Is this a new paragraph or a continuation of the
last one?
If you are in a college or university and you wish to improve your
academic writing, skills and achieve higher marks in your assignments,
you may need to work carefully on some or all of the following areas:
 your basic writing skills
 planning your writing
 paragraph writing
 structuring your writing
 run-together sentences

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 sentence fragments
 sentences, clauses and phrases
 making links in your writing
 writing in a formal style
 punctuation
 summarising and paraphrasing
 quoting, referencing and plagiarism
 parallelism and consistency
 preparing a bibliography.
If you wish to achieve high scores in your course, you will need to be
able to:
 plan your essay
 write a good introduction with a clear statement
of intent
 structure your essay clearly
 write paragraphs with clear topic sentences
 write grammatically coherent sentences
 use an appropriate academic style reflecting the
conventions of academic writing
 use appropriate academic vocabulary
 punctuate your essay correctly
 write a good conclusion.
Writing is necessary for all students in higher education. Academic
writing is clearly defined by having a clear purpose, either an exam
question to answer or a research project to report on. Most academic
writing in English is linear:
- It starts at the beginning and finishes at the end, with every part
contributing to the main line of argument, without digression or
repetition. What ever kind of writing your are producing, you, the writer,
is responsible for making your line of argument clear and presenting it in
an orderly fashion so that the reader can follow. Your written work
should have the following sections:
Preliminaries

Main text
End matter
The preliminaries and end matter will depend on the kind of text you are
writing. The main text will, however, generally contain an introduction, a
main body and a conclusion. The introduction will usually consist of
some background information, which will give the reason for the writing
and explain, to some extent, how this will be done. This must be closely
connected to the essay or research question. The main body will then
contain some data - either experimental, from ideas or from reading -
and some argument. This will then lead to the conclusion, which will
refer back to the introduction and show that the purpose has been
fulfilled. The actual form of the main body will depend on the type of
writing.
1.1 Features of Academic Writing
Academic writing in English is linear, which means it has one central
point or theme with every part contributing to the main line of
argument, without digressions or repetitions. Its objective is to inform
rather than entertain. As well as this it is in the standard written form of
the language.There are six main features of academic writing that are
often discussed. Academic writing is to some extent: complex, formal,
objective, explicit, hedged, and responsible.
1) Complexity
Written language is relatively more complex than spoken
language. Written language has longer words, it is lexically more
dense and it has a more varied vocabulary. It uses more noun-
based phrases than verb-based phrases. Written texts are shorter
and the language has more grammatical complexity, including
more subordinate clauses and more passives.
2) Formality
Academic writing is relatively formal. In general this means that in
an essay you should avoid colloquial words and expressions.
3) Objectivity

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Written language is in general objective rather than personal. It
therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader.
This means that the main emphasis should be on the information
that you want to give and the arguments you want to make,
rather than you.
4) Explicitness
Academic writing is explicit about the relationships int he text.
Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the writer in English to
make it clear to the reader how the various parts of the text are
related. These connections can be made explicit by the use of
different signalling words.
5) Hedging
In any kind of academic writing you do, it is necessary to make
decisions about your stance on a particular subject, or the
strength of the claims you are making. Different subjects prefer to
do this in different ways.
A technique common in certain kinds of academic writing is known
by linguists as a ‘hedge’.
6) Responsibility
In academic writing you must be responsible for, and must be able
to provide evidence and justification for, any claims you make.
You are also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of
any source texts you use.
The most common pieces of writing in the academic world are
essays, reports, and research papers.

CHAPTER 2
WRITING ESSAYS IN ENGLISH
Almost all students will at some time be expected to write an essay, or
some other kind of argument, e.g. a review or discussion section, in a
longer piece of writing. In English, an essay is a piece of argumentative
writing several paragraphs long written about one topic, usually based
on your reading. The aim of the essay should be deduced strictly from
the wording of the title or question, and needs to be defined at the
beginning. The purpose of an essay is for you to say something for
yourself using the ideas of the subject, for you to present ideas you
have learned in your own way. The emphasis should be on working with
other people’s ideas, rather than reproducing their words, but your own
voice should show clearly. The ideas and people that you refer to need
to made explicit by a system of referencing.
2.1 Essay Sections
An essay should have the following sections:
1.
Preliminaries
 Title page
2. Main text
 Introduction
 Main body
 Conclusion
3. End
matter
 References
1) Preliminaries
Before you start the main part of your essay or assignment, there
should be a title page. The title page should contain information to
enable your lecturer and departmental office to identify exactly what

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the piece of work is. It should include your name and course; the title
of the assignment and any references; the lecturer it is for etc. Check
with your department for clear information.
2) Main text
English essays are linear:
- They start at the beginning and finish at the end, with every part
contributing to the main line of argument, without digressions or
repetition. Writers are responsible for making their line of argument
clear and presenting it in an orderly fashion so that the reader can
follow. Each paragraph discusses one major point and each
paragraph should lead directly to the next. The paragraphs are tied
together with an introduction and a conclusion.
The main text of the essay has three main parts:
I. An introduction
II. A main body
III. A conclusion
I. The introduction.
The introduction consists of two parts:
a. It should include a few general statements about the
subject to provide a background to your essay and to
attract the reader’s attention. It should try to explain why
you are writing the essay. It may include a definition of
terms in the context of the essay, etc.
b. It should also include a statement of the specific
subdivisions of the topic and/or indication of how the
topic is going to be tackled in order to specifically address
the question.

It should introduce the central idea or the main purpose of the
writing.
II. The main body.
The main body consists of one or more paragraphs of ideas and
arguments. Each paragraph develops a subdivision of the topic. The
paragraphs of the essay contain the main ideas and arguments of the
essay together with illustrations or examples. The paragraphs are
linked in order to connect the ideas. The purpose of the essay must
be made clear and the reader must be able to follow its development.
III. The conclusion.
The conclusion includes the writer’s final points.
It should recall the issues raised in the introduction and draw
together the points made in the main body and explain the overall
significance of the conclusions.
It should clearly signal to the reader that the essay is finished and
leave a clear impression that the purpose of the essay has been
achieved.
I. INTRODUCTION
General Statement
Organisation Statement
II. MAIN BODY
A. Introductory Sentence
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
...
Concluding Sentence

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B. Introductory Sentence
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
...
Concluding Sentence
C. Introductory Sentence
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
...
Concluding Sentence
III. CONCLUSION
Recall issues in introduction;
draw together main points;
final comment.
3) End Matter
At the end of the essay, there should be a list of references. This
should give full information about the materials that you have used in
the assignment. (See Writing a List of References for more
information on the reference list).
2.2 The Process of Writing an Essay
The following procedure is useful when writing an extended essay or
assignment.
Task Skills Needed Product
1. Read the question and thinking Essay subject.

understand what you are
required to do. Think
about the subject, the
purpose and the
audience.
academically
2. Think about what you
know about the subject.
Write it down in some
way.
brainstorming Diagrams or
notes.
3. Go to the library and find
relevant books or
articles.
library/research skills Reading list.
4. Find the books on your
reading list and study
them.
reading skills:
skimming and
scanning
List of materials
studied.
5. Make notes on these
books and articles.
Record full details of the
materials you use.
reading in detail
selecting & note-
taking
paraphrasing/summa
rising
Notes.
6. Organise your
essay/assignment.
planning
organisation
Essay plan.
7. Type or write your first
draft.
writing from notes
synthesis
writing paragraphs
typing/word-
processing
First draft.

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8. Discuss your first draft
informally with friends,
other members of your
class and your lecturer if
possible.
speaking skills
listening skills
discussion skills
List of
revisions/
changes.
9. Revise your first draft,
bearing in mind any
comments that were
made in your
discussions.
Go back to 2. if
necessary
Produce your second
draft.
use of dictionaries &
reference books
writing introduction
& conclusion
quoting/writing a list
of references
Second draft.
10. Proofread your draft. checking for spelling
mistakes
checking
punctuation and
grammar
checking vocabulary
use
checking style
checking
organisation,
references etc.
checking for
plagiarism
Assignment
with changes
marked.
11. Produce a final typed
version.
typing/word-
processing
Final
assignment.

writing title/contents
page
12. Check everything. final check Hand in.
2.3 Writing in a Formal Style
Essays are formal entities, and the language we use should reflect that.
The style of an academic essay should be appropriate and consistent.
This is very different from an informal piece of writing.
When we speak, or write informally, we often use multi-word verbs but
this is not appropriate in formal writing. Here are some examples of
multi-word verbs:
call up
call off
give in
catch on
turn up
set up
find out
live down
bring up
look up
take in (deceive)
call on (visit)
look at
go into (a problem)
come by (a book)
ask for
believe in
care for
deal with
long for
object to
part with

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One of the differences between some of these verbs is that some of
them can have an item inserted before the preposition:
he ran down the man - he ran the man down
he took on the challenge - he took the challenge on
the fire set back their plans - the fire set their plans back
In contrast, other verbs cannot have an item inserted before the
preposition.
ask for a number ? ask a number for
believe in a theory ? believe a theory in
part with a lot of money ? part a lot of money with
Multi-word verbs are very common in spoken English as they are less
formal than single verbs. In contrast, single verbs can sometimes sound
quite pompous in everyday speech. Compare:
I asked for another appointment.
I requested another appointment.
Now compare these pairs of verbs:
Informal More formal
He checked up on his accountant.
They put up with their neighbours.
She caught on very quickly.
She made up for it with
an early night.
He went down with a fever.
The cost of living went up.
He investigated his accountant.
They tolerated their neighbours.
She understood very quickly.
She compensatedfor it with an
early night.
He contracted a fever.
The cost of living increased.

In formal writing, we use single verbs. This is an important element in
achieving the correct style in academic writing. An essay with good
ideas might well be marked down if the style is inappropriately informal.
Using single word verbs instead of multi-word verbs is not the only way
to achieve a more academic style. Here are some further points that you
may find useful.
In academic writing, you often find that actions, processes and events are
written in the form of a noun. This produces a more formal style. For
example:
The compound was discovered ….The discovery of the compound was….
They invaded the island and ….. The invasion of the island was …..
He achieved his goal and …… The achievement of his goal was…….
-Avoid addressing the reader with the general you. This is informal and
inappropriate. Look at this example:
As soon as you start to look carefully at children's home, you frequently
find evidence of abuse.
The sentence can be rephrased in different ways to avoid the use of
you.
Evidence of child abuse becomes apparent once careful investigative
work is carried out.
Careful investigation frequently leads to the discovery of child abuse.
- Do not use contractions in essays. They are inappropriate in academic
work. For example:
can't, won't, shouldn't, haven't, hasn't, couldn't
- State meaning very clearly. The reader can read the essay but not the
mind of the writer so do not use etc and expressions like and so on. Use
clear explanations and make a coherent argument.
The invasion of the island resulted in misery, starvation, destitution etc.

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- Make sure every sentence makes sense. It is helpful to ask a friend or
relative to read your draft essay to ensure that it is clear. Avoid
ambiguous or confusing sentences. This proposal creates a way for
raising awareness in the UK of effective approaches to combat poverty
practised by overseas partners. We can take a guess at what the writer is
trying to say, but there is no doubt that the sentence is unclear.
- Do not overstate the argument that is being made in the essay by using
expressions like this:
It is obvious that …
It is clear that …
The evidence proves …
Anybody can clearly see that …
- Always comment upon your own conclusions in a quietly confident
manner, without attempting to claim too much. If a writer tries to claim
that the study proves something, you might find a later researcher
taking great pleasure in disproving the findings! Instead, use a less
strident and a more detached academic tone. This is called hedging.
Subsequent research may suggest other theories or produce results that
conflict with your own, but by describing your findings as we have done
below, your work can be seen as a further step in the academic road
rather than a barrier that other people can knock down.
The data reflect the fact that … (note: the word data is strictly speaking
plural but often used as an uncountable or mass noun)
These findings support this writer's view that …
The results suggest that …
The chart supports the theory that …
- Avoid the use of expressions such as I think/I believe unless your
own views have been specifically asked for, and use expression like
these:
It is believed…

Many researchers have noted…
Some writers have stated..
The research suggests…
The evidence indicates...
- Use link words and expressions (however, nevertheless, as a result, in
contrast, despite this) as well as link words like firstly, secondly …………
finally quite regularly throughout your writing as these help to guide the
reader
- The passive form is often avoided in other written texts but you will
probably use more examples of the passive form in academic writing as
these tend to sound more detached and formal.
Active: They often found evidence of child abuse in rural areas.
Passive: Evidence of child abuse was often found in rural areas.
Active: The researchers have proposed a variety of solutions.
Passive: A variety of solutions have been proposed.
2.4 Planning and structuring your writing
Before you start writing you will need to ensure that you understand
very clearly what the question is asking you to do. Once you've done
that, you can start your planning. Remember that your plan need not be
slavishly followed as your ideas may well change to some degree as you
write your essay. As you read more widely or discover unexpectedly rich
sources of information, you can modify your plan. This might happen
several times before the essay is ready to hand in.
It is often very helpful to brainstorm ideas before you build a structure
into your essay. Brainstorming involves writing down all the ideas that
you have in your mind concerning one particular topic. They should be
written down in any order, just as they come into your mind. Many
students find it helpful to brainstorm by writing the topic in the centre of

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a large piece of paper and then placing around this central
word/theme/topic a list of words/topics that they believe might be
appropriate. This is a task that you will do at the very early stages of
your writing and while some of the ideas you note down at this stage
will be central to the essay, others may be discarded at an early stage.
This is quite natural, and a part of the whole process of brainstorming.
Having gathered together as many points as you can, your next task is
to link them where possible, and provisionally order them into a
coherent structure.
2.5 The essay plan
Having put together as many relevant ideas as possible, the next stage
is ordering these points in an appropriate way. The important thing is to
try to build up a coherent picture of your essay so that you can use it as
the foundation for your writing. Your plan may be modified and
developed as you proceed but the important thing at each stage is to
focus precisely on the essay question and try to ensure that your essay
plan provides a logical response to the needs of the task.
An academic essay is likely to be divided into three main sections:
 an introduction
 the body of the essay
(a number of paragraphs exploring the topic)
 a conclusion
The introduction and the conclusion are likely to be moderately short,
while the main paragraphs in the body of the essay are likely to be
similar in length. There might, for example, be two or three paragraphs
to a page. If one paragraph is noticeably longer or shorter than others,
it would be well worth re-examining this paragraph. It may need to be
divided in two if it is too long, or expanded if it is too short. It would be
very unusual for a paragraph to be only two sentences. A paragraph
should never be merely one sentence in an academic essay.
It's very important to make your plan before you start to write. Try to
express each point in your plan simply and clearly in note form. This will
help you during the writing process. Look at this example:

Topic: The pros and cons of tourism in Thailand
Thesis Statement: Tourism in Thailand is valuable, but only if it is
properly regulated and monitored by the central government.
Paragraph 1: A brief outline of Thailand's history.
a) Sukhothai Period
b) Ayuthaya Period
c) Thonburi Period
i) Rattanakosin Period
Paragraph 2: Tourism in Thailand.
a) General situation
b) Tourist attractions
i) Numbers of tourists
ii) Services
iii) Accommodation
iii) Attitudes of local people
c) Competition with neighboring countries
Paragraph 3: Economic reform brings about change.
a) The growth of private enterprise
b) The availability of foreign exchange
i) National funds

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ii) International funds e.g. IMF
c) The expansion in foreign direct investment
i) Foreign funds
ii) Foreign companies
d) An increase in collaborative ventures
Paragraph 4: The growth of tourism has brought some benefits
to Thailand.
a) Foreign exchange
b) Employment
c) Opportunity
d) Reduced isolation
Paragraph 5: The growth of tourism has had a negative impact
on Thailand in some ways.
a) The growth of unsuitable hotels
i) Cultural clashes
ii) Limited local employment
b) A small increase in local jobs
i) Low skilled
ii) Poorly paid
c) An increase in exploitation; pandering to western needs
d) Additional damage in the public parks
e) A low percentage of tourist costs being paid in Thailand

Conclusion: Tourism needs to be fully exploited in Thailand but it can
only bring significant benefits to the country is if is carefully regulated by
the government. Unless this is done, the tourists will exploit Thailand,
and then move on to new pastures, leaving a poorer country behind.
Task : Now write the essay from the outline above.
2.6 Essay Samples
Sample I
Why Buddhism As A National Religion In The New Constitution.
Dhirawit Pinyonatthagarn, Ph.D.
Suranaree University of Technology
Nakhon Ratchasima 30000 Thailand
(Written in response to the drafting of Thailand’s new
Constitution, sent to The Nation and Bangkok Post)
The new 2007 Constitution has now sparked off controversies as to
whether Buddhism should be stated as a state or national religion of the
Kingdom of Thailand. Most Buddhists, both monastic and lay people,
agree that the new constitution must clearly state Buddhism as a
national religion, whereas, some non-Buddhists feel that doing so would
lead to religious conflicts and downgrading people of other religions to
second and third grade citizens, and that, in turn, would undermine the
national security and reconciliatory attempts now underway, especially
in the 3 provinces of southern Thailand.
Whether or not should or must we include Buddhism as a national
religion in the new constitution, historical, cultural, and educational
landscapes of Thailand are some of the essential factors for Constitution
Drafting Committee (CDC) to carefully scrutinize before deciding to do or
not to do something about Buddhism.
Historically, Thailand has been practically a Buddhist state since
Sukhothai period, about 900 years ago, as evidenced in the King
Ramkhamhaeng’s Stone Inscription: King Ramkhamhaeng and His
people of all social strata have firm faiths in Buddhism; everyone
observes Buddhist precepts, especially during Buddhist Rain Retreat. In
the Ayudhya period, when King Luis XIV tried to convert Thai leaders
into Christianity, King Narai the Great expressed His strong opinion that:
This is a very significant matter for us because we and our ancestors
have long been embracing Buddhism, any attempt to convert us into

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other religions would be an uphill task, and if God really created the sky,
the earth, and wished everyone should be a Christian, He should have
done so through his supernatural power. In the Thonburi period, King
Taksin the Great once declared: I am determined to promote, praise,
and protect Buddhism, my country, and my people. Down to the present
Rattanakosin period, King Mongkut, wrote in some of His literary works:
Buddhism is our national religion, our nation and religion cannot be
separated; therefore, it is essential that we all Thais maintain unflinching
faiths in Buddhism which is our national religion(special emphasis),
and preserve the Thai unique identities as we did in the past for many
generations.
Culturally, more than 90% of Thai people have been in one way or
another influenced by the teachings of Lord Buddha, the great founder
of Buddhism. Their minds, identities, and characteristics manifest
Buddhist ways of life: Loving kindness, compassion, neutrality,
sacrifices, honesty, self-detachment, and religious tolerance, under the
umbrella philosophy of “Do good, come good” or “What goes
around comes around” in the western way of thinking. The famous
sentence: Thailand is a smiling country, is inherently a result of the
Bwddhist teachings from generation to generation in the long but unified
history of Thailand.
Educationally, since ancient times, Thai people have received their
education under the cares of knowledgeable Buddhist monks and
scholars. Buddhist monasteries have served as a learning institution for
Thai children for a long long time, up until now, even though the
momentum or significance has to some extend reduced because of the
western model of education that penetrated every part of the world
under the globalization banner. The universal Buddhist philosophy of
educational training: Sila, Smadhi, and Panna (Good behaviors,
Concentration of Mind, and Wisdom), still plays a pivotal role in the Thai
educational system, be it elementary, secondary, or tertiary. Thus, it is
not at all an exaggerating to say that Buddhism has been an integral
part of the Thai ways of thinking and doing.
Now comes the most important question for CDC to answer and act on:
Should Buddhism be stated as a national religion in the new 2007
Constitution? This question will definitely encourage CDC members to do
some serious thinking about a place of Buddhism in the new
constitution.
As you may already know, most western or European constitutions do
not mention anything about a state or national religion because they

believe in the strict separation of state and religion, which is deeply
rooted in the fears of increasing influence and power of the religion,
including some Asian countries, such as, China, India, and Japan.
However, most Buddhist countries inn Asia state the undeniable
importance of Buddhism in their constitutions, for instances, Sri Lanka,
Bhutan, Sikkhim, Kamphuchea. The two very clear examples of
countries in Asia that state their national religions are Malaysia and
Indonesia. Article 3, Section 1 of Malaysian constitution states “Islam is
the religion of the Federation but other religions may be
practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation”,
and Article 29, Sections 1 and 2 of Indonesian constitution mentions
diplomatically, “ 1. The State shall be based upon belief in one god 2.
The State shall guarantee freedom to every resident to adhere to their
respective religion and to perform their religious duties in
accordance with their religion and that faith.”
In conclusion, to do or not to do something about Buddhism in the new
Thailand’ 18th
‘permanent’ constitution is up to all the CDC(Constitution
Drafting Committee) and NLA(National Legislative Assembly) members,
but to accept it or not in the coming popular referendum is up
to all the Thai people, particularly all Buddhists who constitute
more than 90% of the whole population in the country (around
57 millions out of 62 millions).
Sample II
Strategies for Promoting University-Industry – Government
Linkages
Muang Nakhon Ratchasima 30000
Thailand
(Adapted from the paper presented in Poland, 1999)
Introduction
In the present age of globalization, the university system needs to
become more responsive to society and produce graduates with a higher
degree of responsibility and relevance to the needs of the country. It
must improve its capacity to cater more proactively to the increasing
demands of the economy and society and to strengthen it’s core mission
as society’s think tank or intellectual lighthouse. Likewise, the industrial
sector needs to play a more active role in supporting and interfacing
with universities for mutual benefits and integration of knowledge and

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experiences.
General Strategies
These are the broad strategies and related actions recommended to
achieve the above-mentioned goals:
1. Build More Public Understanding and Awareness
The notion of university-industry-government linkages must be
incorporated into the mission of the universities. All public and private
universities should be encouraged to develop their own strategic
university-industry-government linkage plans which clearly set out
definitions, guidelines, structures, and procedures to govern and guide
the institution’s interface with society in general, and industry in
particular. The strategic plan must fit perfectly into the overall policy
goals of working towards increased self-sufficiency and supporting
industrial competitiveness. While building on a common theme and
concepts, each university’s plan must be appropriately based on the
resources, environment, strengths, and future development vision of the
relevant institution. Once the strategy plan has been complete,
universities should make more efforts to make known the details of the
plan both to university faculty and to outside which have a stake in the
relationship.
2. Have Commitment and Vision
Commitment and vision are the most essential factor that will determine
the success of university-industry-government linkage implementation.
These two components must prevail on three sides: university, industry
and government. What must be kept in mind is that commitment
without vision is blind and vision without commitment is useless. The
two elements should exist harmoniously together and complement each
other.
3. Stimulate Concerted Efforts to Meet New Demands
As things stand, the educational needs of society are shifting and there
is a clear path towards the provision of “life-long learning” and ongoing
and continual education, especially in the science and technology areas.
So, as universities move to meet these new demands and needs, the
importance of searching for mechanisms which more explicitly involve

the productive sector as a core component of the eventual solution must
be stressed. On the government side, tax incentives to support the
establishment of private industry retraining centers should focus mainly
on supporting initiatives which involve university-industry-government
collaboration.
4. Include Co-operative Education or Practice School as Part of
the University Curriculum.
In the world of work, they do not require just graduates with a degree.
They need more than that; they need working knowledge, hands-on
experience, the ability to work and cooperate with others, good
personality, and initiatives. In short, graduate’s employability is the
heart of the matter. To cope with this new demand, Suranaree
University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand introduced
Cooperative Education into its curriculum since its first year of operation,
1993. It has been regarded as the first autonomous and innovative
university in Thailand.
5. Promote Appropriate Mechanisms and Activities.
Relevant measures need to be put in place to support the development
of linkage activities and mechanisms. Existing measures and programs
that could relate to such activities should be refocused and redefined to
offer special consideration to university-industry-government linkage. A
number of these involve elements that could be modified slightly in
terms of emphasis to give particular support to initiatives. These
programs include the linkage development of the BOI(Board of
Investment), the research and technical assistance programs of
NSTDA(National Science and Technology Development Agency), the
industry support activities of the MOI(Ministry of Industries, and the
umbrella activities of NSDP(National Supplier Development Program).
6. Improve the Flow of Communications and Information
Technology
Communication is a key element of successful activities and measures
to be taken to strengthen the mechanisms to facilitate communications.
Liberalization in the telecommunications sector will finally deliver fruit
as the additional two million lines in Bangkok and one million lines in the
regional areas are coming on line. However, there remains the need to
remove other obstacles such as the outdated Telecom Act of 1923. In
addition to simply facilitating general communications and exchange of

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information, the progressive introduction of information technologies will
also be able to contribute greatly to broadening the range of many
cooperation initiatives in all areas.
7. Promote University-Industry-Government Linkage as a Tool
for Development
Regional Thai universities, such as Suranaree University of Technology
Chiang Mai University, Khon Kaen University, and Prince of Songkhla
University, were established with the intention of supporting regional
development. They should play a critical role as a local knowledge base
and a window into world knowledge depositories for local industries.
Therefore, the linkage development for regional universities should be
given special priority as an explicit policy measure to compensate for
weaknesses in the level of knowledge infrastructure in the regional
areas as compared to what is available in Bangkok. The establishment of
interface mechanisms of all types can serve to supply services to the
private sector in the area as well as compensating to some extent for
the high communications costs of always having to go to Bangkok for
such services. Special technical and financial support should be given to
the regional universities in this respect.
8. Provide and Enhance Incentives and Support for Other
Cooperation
Currently, the tax laws of Thailand provide little incentive for charitable
donations. To facilitate the flow of resources, companies and individuals
to aid university development in the forms of scholarships, endowments,
professorial chairs, etc., full tax deductions should be provided.
Furthermore, a mentality of supporting educational institutions should
be encouraged through better organized alumni activities and specific
find-raising campaigns. To enhance the relevancy of university
education, more feedback should be encouraged, party through the
increased private sector participation in universities at all levels,
particularly in curricula development.
9. Establish a Proper Co-ordinating Center for the University–
Industry-Government Linkages.
A center for coordinating the activities and mechanisms for the linkages
between the university, industry, and government should be established
to implement plans and activities, and enhance productive relationship
among them. However, it has to be a real focal point with qualified

personnel and up-to date facilities, not just a premise without
knowledgeable staff and modern facilities.
10. Be a Member of Professional Organizations.
It is necessary, in the present day, to be a part of each other to
coordinate, cooperate, communicate, and compete. Together, we
develop and prosper. So, partnership of the stakeholders should be
considered an important step towards more sustainable progress in the
implementation of university-industry-government linkages. Professional
associations should be encouraged to play a bigger role in the
development and accreditation of university programs.
Conclusion
All the ten strategies mentioned above, if followed appropriately, can
contribute to the sustainability and progress of the linkages among the
university, industry, and government in Thailand as well as in other
countries. They should constitute a common ground for the tripartite
linkages and serve as “Ten Commandments” for mutual advantages and
recognition. The ten strategies can be, nevertheless, summarized in just
three words: Actions, More Actions, and More and More Actions.
Sample III
The Impact of Science and Technology on Society
(Adapted from the paper presented in Singapore, 1998)
Abstract
As we prepare to enter the twenty-first century, civilization is in its
greatest age of technological change. Society is in the midst of the
massive task of absorbing science and technology on a scale never
before experienced. Modern technology has given society new powers
but also the responsibility to use science and technology in a way that
enhances the quality of life. Throughout history, science and technology
has been pressed onward like a glacier, overturning everything in its
way and grinding all opposition into dust. Though the Industrial

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Revolution created new and serious human problems for some people in
society, it was a great advance in the history of civilization. Technology
continues to grow because of people themselves. Human beings, have
tested the fruit of knowledge, cannot suppress their desire for it. They
forever to expand knowledge of their environment, probably because of
the excitement of learning and their belief that more knowledge will help
them control their environment. This paper takes a closer look at how
science and technology enhance or affect society as a whole with the
main focus on Thailand.
1. Introduction
To begin with, we must acknowledge the innumerable blessings
bestowed on us by science and technology. That is, nobody will dispute
the enormous value that science and technology provide. If we look
around at communications in the present day, we see radio, telephone,
fax machines, television, video, satellites and so on, all of which have
arisen from scientific and technological advances. Other obvious areas of
development are in the medical world, where so many contagious
diseases have now been virtually eradicated. Cholera is now quite rare,
in Asia it is almost extinct. Bubonic plague no longer exists. Smallpox
has all but vanished. We no longer have to fear these infectious
diseases. Even brain operations are getting easier. Sophisticated
examination and agnosis are more and more accessible. Then we have
electricity and countless labor-saving devices. The field of biology has
seen the development of genetic engineering, which may produce a new
or specially adapted species of plants and animals. In short, it is almost
impossible to list all those technological advances we have with us
today.
2. Benefit-Creating Technology Or Benefit-Seeking Technology
That application of science which effects the changes in the natural
world, changing it into a so-called artificial world, is that which we call
‘technology’. However, technology is dependent for its existence on the
knowledge obtained through science. Technology is the tool, or channel,
through which humanity has worked to manipulate nature in the pursuit
of material comfort, but at the same time, the dangers which threaten
humanity are also contingent on this technology. Technology is thus
both an instrument for finding happiness and a catalyst for danger.
If we can constrain ourselves to creating benefit, the repercussions
arising will be few and far between. But whenever technology is used to

seek benefit, problems arise, as we can see in the present time.
Therefore we must clearly distinguish between technology for the
creation of benefit and that which is used to seek benefit.
All in all, the benefits created by science appear to the mass of people
through their technological manifestations. Humanity must, however,
learn to choose between technology for creating benefit and technology
for seeking benefit. ?(Bhikkhu P.A. Payutto, 1993: 9-17)
3. Features of Technology
The dominant features of technology are change then more change.
Technology forces change on people whether they are prepared for it or
not. In modern society it has brought so much change that it creates
what is called future shock, which means that change comes so fast and
furiously that it approaches the limits of human tolerance and people
lose their ability to cope with it successfully. Although technology is not
the only cause of change, it is the primary cause. It is either directly or
indirectly involved in most changes that occur in society
Another feature of technology is that its effects are widespread,
reaching for beyond the immediate point of technological impact.
Technology ripples through society until every community is affected by
it. The shock waves push their way into even the most isolated places.
People cannot escape it.
An additional feature of technology is that it is self-reinforcing. As stated
by Toffler, : “Technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more
technology possible.”( Toffler, 1971:26)
4. Phases of Technology and The Social Systems They Create
Looking at technology in very general way, five broad phases of
technology have developed. One phase at a time tends to dominate the
work of a nation, and in so doing it has a major influence on that nation
and creates its own distinct type of social system. In history, nations
have tended to move sequentially through each phase, beginning with
the lowest technology and moving higher with each step, so the five
phases of technology roughly and moving higher with each step, so the
five phases of technology roughly represent the progress of civilization
throughout history. Although one phase of technology tends to
dominate a nation’s activities at a particular time, other phases often will
be practiced at the same time. The five phases are these:

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1) Nomadic Society
2) Agrarian Society
3) Industrial Society
4) Service Society
5) Knowledge Society
5. Technology As a Social Force
Throughout history, technology has been pressed onward like a glacier,
overturning everything in its way and grinding all opposition into dust.
In early nineteenth century England for example, a band of unhappy
workers known as Luddites challenged the Industrial Revolution by
roaming the countryside smashing machinery and burning factories.
From their narrow viewpoint, machines were enemies taking away jobs
and freedom and harming people. But the Luddites were soon overcome
by the benefits brought by the same machinery they opposed. Their
movement failed, much the same as their more modern successors did,
such as the glassblower who opposed glassmaking machinery. We know
now that they were largely mistaken about the broader significance of
industrial technology. Though the Industrial Revolution created new and
serious human problems for some people in society, it was a grate
advance in the history of civilization.
Technology continues to grow because of people themselves. Human
beings, have tested the fruit of knowledge, cannot suppress their desire
for it. They forever to expand knowledge of their environment, probably
because of the excitement of learning and their belief that more
knowledge will help them control their environment.
6. Social Consequences of Technological Change
Technological advances bring both benefits and costs to society over
long historical epochs, civilization has been carried to supreme heights
of material progress and accomplishment by technology and science.

Economic growth-driven by the engine of technological progress-has
conferred wide benefits on humankind: supporting large populations at
higher levels of living, extending expected life spans, and expanding a
whole range of human potentialities that were the subject of science
fiction novels not too ago.
1) Social Costs
In the same way that a lifesaving engineering gene may have side
effects, technology also has had social side effects, when they are
negative, the become social costs. While a nation’s political
infrastructure lacks the capability to monitor and pass judgment
on the overall good or bad impact of every scientific advancement,
society values many provide mechanisms that evaluate new
technologies. On the political front, courts and legislatures can
regulate the use of certain was banned by technologies. When
coupled with a mobilization of public constituencies, similar
political forces have checked and curbed the use of technology in
business.
There are other social costs to technology as well. Pollution,
congestion, depleted natural resources, overpopulation, and the
use of technology in settings such as developing nations where
conditions for safe use may not exist all raise serious questions
about the balance between technology and society. Business is an
important actor in creating and resolving these dilemmas.
Production marketing, and strategic planning decisions should not
be made in a vacuum that ignores such social costs. The
responsibility of business to current and future stakeholders in
society requires careful attention to these costs.
2) Biotechnology-A New Frontier
Another good example of the problems associated with new
scientific and technological breakthroughs is the modern era of
genetic engineering, also called biotechnology. Genetic
engineering has a history over a century old, rooted in agriculture.
In the nineteenth century the botanist, Gregor Mendel, pioneered
the science of genetics. Ever since, genetic scientists have clones
and propagated crops that have helped farmers produce more
food per acre that is of better quality and less labor-intensive.
The new era of genetic engineering includes new techniques that
enable scientists to combine knowledge from various areas of

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science, such as biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, and
ecology. Scientists can now identify and manipulate molecules in
genetic material with revolutionary applications in agriculture,
medicine, and industry.
One of the biggest worries surrounding biotechnology and genetic
engineering is the uncontrolled escape of synthetically developed
materials. For example, and engineered bacterium intended to
build disease into a plant might also accidentally kill off a
beneficial insect.
7. Business Applies Technology
As soon as new knowledge exists, people want to apply it in order to
reap its benefits. At this point business become important, because
business is the principle institution that translates discovery into
application for public use. Printing manufacturing, housing, education,
and television are all dependent on business activities to make them
work productively. Society depends on business to keep the stream of
discovery flowing into useful goods and services for all people. Less
developed nations have learned that scientific discoveries mean very
little to them unless they have competent business systems to produce
for their people what science has discovered. In a similar manner,
developed nations have learned that an innovative business system
helps translate technological developments into useful goods and
services for their people.
8. Some Economic Effects of Technology
1) Higher Productivity
2) More Emphasis on Research and Development
3) Upgraded Job Skills
4) More Scientific and Professional Workers
5) Greater Capital Requirements
9. Business Responsibility for Technological Change

In one important sense, business has only responded to expressed or
potential public demands for more and better technology, in a private
enterprise society, people register their wants through the marketplace,
voting with their purchasing dollars. These free market demands have
encouraged business to push greater technological growth through the
introduction of new products and services. The enormous popularity and
demand for today’s many electronic inventions-whether video games,
videocassettes, pocket calculators, laptop computers, or digital
recordings- illustrate the powerful dynamics of combining modern
technology with a private enterprise system.
The idea of a broad institutional partnership for humane technological
advance belongs in the thinking of business leaders, as well as in the
minds action of all those in society who have a stake in the technological
future (Frederick, Post, and Davis, 1992)
10. Restraints on Technological Growth
1) Pollution
Pollution is an unavoidable consequence of industrial production
since waste by-products are produced along with useful things. In
addition, many useful consumer products (e.g., automobiles) are
themselves responsible for much pollution; and sooner or later, all
manufactured goods wear out and are discarded as useless. The
biosphere-the land, air, water, and natural conditions on which all
life on earth depends-can absorb and break down many of these
industrial contaminants without harm to people, animals, or plants.
But the biosphere is not an infinite sponge, and the buildup of
harmful chemicals in the ecosystem poses a threat all life and the
planet itself.
2) The Industrial Resources Base
A second, closely related factor limiting technological growth is the
possible depletion of the world’s industrial resource base. This base
is composed mainly of minerals, various forms of energy, water
supplies, a skilled labor force, and human knowledge. Some studies
have questioned whether the globe’s supplies of reasonably priced
minerals, energy, and water are sufficient to support unlimited
industrial and technological expansion.

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3) Social Institution
A third factor limiting technology is social values and institutions
that many be inconsistent with the full productive potential that is
present in technology. Many societies, perhaps most of those adopt
modern technology, encounter similar but less dramatic problems in
arriving at a fit between their traditional social institutions and the
new trends of technological development.
11. Science and Technology In Thailand: Then And Now
Archeological evidence confirms the realities of life of the prehistoric
people who inhabited the region known as Thailand today, and their
level of technological development. Artifacts dating as far back as 3000
BC found at Ban Chiang in the Northeast of Thailand show that Thai
people used sophisticated methods of rice agriculture, metallurgy and
pottery-making. David Wyatt observed in Thailand: a Short History that
Southeast Asian people had long known, among other things, how to
make articles from bronze and copper.
After World War 2, various ideological and political forces prompted
governments to implement policies for the pursuit of what has been
widely referred to as “development.” Initial schools of thought
envisioned a linear and single path to development, or modernization,
that involved the mass adoption of Western science and technology. It
presumed that Western technology was appropriate for developing
countries and that once adopted, those countries would proceed along
the same path as Western countries. However, this notion was not
always true; it was evident that even though many countries adopted
Western technology they persisted in an underdeveloped state by
Western standards. Moreover, it did not explain why some countries
developed while others did not. As a result, reactionary schools of
thought emerged to assert that technology from the West is
inappropriate for developing countries, and that such countries should
rather build up an indigenous capability. Yet again, there are examples
of countries that followed these inward-looking policies that were not
successful in achieving development dictated by Western standards.
However, recent experience suggests that countries require a balance of
technologies but also calls into question the notion of development as
being defined by Western standards. This may be viewed as part of the
globalisation phenomena. In academic circles this has given rise to the

questioning of the right of Western intellectuals to speak for humanity.
It has also allowed for the emergence of genuine questions about global
culture. Ultimately, the globalisation phenomena gives developing
countries the opportunity to search out their own goals and definitions
of development that derive from their own cultural and social values and
norms. Within this global environment, it may be possible for some real
“universal” goals of development to emerge that are based not only on
Western experiences but which also consider the experiences of non-
Western countries(Yuthavong and Wojcik, 1997).
12. Thailand as Part of the “Global Village”
It is clear that Thai society is changing rapidly. While several sources of
this change are internal, an important part of the change comes from
external sources. Internally, change has resulted from such factors as
the increase in population, the changing characteristics of employment,
and urban migration. External sources may have either direct influence
on the society or intermingle with the internal sources to cause a major
change. An important factor is the global trend for increased interaction
among societies, caused on the one hand by the trends towards freer
trade resulting from multilateral trade agreements, and on the other
hand by easier communication resulting from advances in
telecommunication and information technology, and transportation in
general. The external factors are the same all over the world, and
therefore the changes in Thai society are in many ways typical of those
taking place in other societies that are open by nature. The openness of
the Thai society, combined with traditional advantages in low labour
cost and natural resources have attracted outside investment, which is
significantly spurring the growth in the economy, but at the same time
fueling the rapid changes which are occurring at an increasingly greater
pace.
The changes in the mode of production and services in the Thai
economy are paralleled by perhaps even greater changes, at the
individual level, on the Thai people as consumers. Always receptive to
external influence, the Thai people are rapidly and deeply affected by
the new waves of change, to the extent that such change may wipe out
traditional cultures and unique characteristics of the society. Will the
society be transformed from one shaped by its unique history and
position in the world, into one with a “universal” culture, monotonously
common in the global village? Will a positive situation emerge, whereby
the unique society is maintained, but constantly evolving to reap the
benefits of globalisation without losing its identity? Science and
technology, with both their universal and location-specific

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characteristics, will have a large role to play in the future transformation
of Thailand.
13. The Good and Bad Effects of Science and Technology in
Thai Society
The trends of change in the Thai society resulting from science and
technology have both desirable and undesirable components. Some of
the consequences of the development and application of science and
technology are direct, as for example optical fibre links, while others are
indirect and result from interactions with other aspects of the society, as
in human migration resulting from industrialization. In the attempt to
fulfil the vision for Thailand’s future, measures should be taken that
would as much as possible allow the desirable components to be
realized, while at the same time thwart the undesirable components. It
may not be possible to achieve the goals completely: some changes will
bring both good and bad news together.
For example, information technology will make available both new
educational tools and new tools for crime. It is therefore a matter of
creating a wholesome balance in development and in the use of science
and technology. In order to try to create such a wholesome balance, we
might compile a list of desirable and undesirable effects of science and
technology in some of the sectorial areas discussed in this book. The
tables below contain short lists for industry, agriculture, health and
communication. These are general effects for developing countries such
as Thailand only, and are subject to exceptions in many specific cases.
Nevertheless, they may show some important conclusions for us to set
the courses for optimal development.
14. The Place and Role of Science and Technology in Thai
Society
For a society to have the capability for the development and application
of science and technology, it should have a proper attitude towards
these important tools. Many people in non-Western countries such as
Thailand have the attitude that science and technology have their
origins in, and still belong to, the West. This attitude creates alienation
towards science and technology. We should look at the facts. The
content of science and technology as we know them today owe their
origins to the ancient Greeks and the Europeans of the Renaissance era,
but we should examine the origin of science and technology, not in

terms of content, but in terms of concept and system. In so doing, we
find that science and technology should be the heritage of all mankind,
because the essence of science and technology-use of reason, curiosity-
generated observation and experimentation, making of tools--are the
traits of every human society. Thailand, as well as other civilized
societies old and new, possesses this universal trait irrespective of
“modern” science and technology. Carl Sagan(1980) used to mention
that the scientific world view works so well, explains so much and
resonates so harmoniously with the most advanced parts of our brains
that in time....virtually every culture on the earth, left to its own devices,
would have discovered science.
Science and technology, therefore, do not belong to any particular
human society, but are the results of human evolution, especially that of
the brain, over more than a million years. The fact that some
civilizations made more advances than others in the past few thousand
years does not mean that they “invented” science and technology, but
simply that the civilizations reached that crucial stage of development.
The status of science and technology is in a real sense a major
indication of societal achievements. In the broad sense, therefore,
scientific culture -- defined as a culture of reason, of systematic
investigation, of thinking in conjunction with action, of readiness to be
proven wrong -- is a desirable culture for any society. Scientific culture
is not the same as science-oriented culture. While a scientific culture
has attributes akin to those of the scientific process in the broad sense,
a science-oriented culture implies aspirations towards scientific
achievements per se. A culture may therefore be scientific without
being science-oriented. The status of a scientific culture is much more
difficult to discern. This can perhaps be roughly assessed by the
reflections in various activities in the society.
As these indicators show, Thailand should not be considered a science-
oriented society. This has some serious implications concerning the
ability to compete in world trade, and measures should therefore be
taken to achieve more science orientation in the society. Even more
serious is the fact that the Thai society is still a long way from having a
scientific culture. Bhikkhu P.A. Payutto(1993), a modern authority on
Buddhism observes that Thailand only has a “technology-minded”
culture, not a “scientific” culture. It is more attracted by the products of
technology, rather than the process of thinking and learning. A re-
orientation in the Thai society is needed to achieve a balance, where
science and technology can have an suitable slot, both because of their
contributions to material wealth and their spiritual role in human culture.

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Conclusion
The rate of technological change-during the past century has been
greater than all of the technological advances made in the previous two
thousand years. As technology marches on into the twenty-first century,
society is presented with the opportCHAPTERy to capitalize on these
innovations and the challenge to utilize technology in a way that reflects
society’s moral standards. Society must weigh the benefits of technology
against its negative side effects to ensure that the mistakes of the past
are not repeated so that innovation will continue to improve the quality
of life.
However, since science and technology are a part of universal human
culture, and at the same time also have many local characteristics, Thai
society has a potential to grow its own science and technology, since it
is an open society with a tolerant religious and general outlook. Both
imported and indigenous science and technology can be important tools,
providing development options for all people in the society.
To reiterate here again, science and technology have contributed a
great deal to society as a whole. They have, so to say, tremendously
improved the quality of life and altered the ways we do things. There
are no disputes or doubts about the validity and usefulness of science
and technology for human consumption and inventions. However, we
must bear in mind that science and technology have some limits per si;
they can never answer all problems of human life; they can never reach
the bottom of the human mind; they can never go beyond the physical
world. In certain cases, science and technology can pose dangers to our
own existence and the existence of plants and animals, or even to the
universe. In other words, science and technology are not yet able to
correct their own handiwork. To quote Sir Arthur Eddington(1929,
p.282), “Science is incapable of leading mankind directly to the truth,
or reality as such, it can only leads him to a shadow world of symbols.”
Yet to quote Mack Plank(1984, p. 153), “Science cannot solve the
ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we
ourselves are part of nature, and, therefore, part of the mystery that we
are trying to solve.” So, in the final analysis, what we need is a kind of
science and technology that is moderate, appropriate, constructive, and
serves to develop understanding for the improvement of human being.

We perhaps must radically change our ways of thinking if we are to
survive on this planet.
Sample IV
Research Conduct from the Inside Out: Personal Account of a
Thai EFL Teacher
School of English
(Full paper presented at the 20th
Annual International TESOL
Conference Sofitel Hotel, Khon Kaen, Thailand 30-31 January
2004)
Abstract
Being a university teacher means having to cope with several things at
the same time. The two main tasks that are mandatory for us are to
teach and do research: We are expected to teach well and research
more in order to create a novel body of organised knowledge that will
benefit both students and community alike. However, it is not always
easy to carry out those two missions with equal successes; there are
some pains and pleasure involved throughout the teacher's research life.
As the saying goes, no pains, no gains. Therefore, in this short talk, I
will share my pains and gains experienced during the period of my
experiments with the truths on the assumption that genius is 1 %
inspiration and 99% perspiration.
Introduction
With the new trend of research in Thailand, under Thaksin
Government (2001-2006), Thai teachers in universities, colleges,
schools and researchers in general are forced to concentrate on
grassroots level integrated and interdisciplinary research aiming to
eradicate or reduce poverty of rural people, and gear the country
toward knowledge-based economy and learning society So, the research
approach recommended at present is “Outside In” that takes into

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consideration the needs and urgency of society on the very basic
assumption that research should serve the social needs, help solve
problems of the country, and lead the country to or beyond a new
frontier of knowledge and development. However, this does not mean
that “Inside Out” research is not encouraged. This “Inside Out”
approach is necessary in contexts that involve reflections and internal
investigations, such as Classroom Action Research and Case Studies.
Ultimately, and in my opinion, with the support of the 1994 National
Educational Reform Act of Thailand, the combination of “Inside
Out” and “Outside In” research should be a good answer to the
problem, depending on what, when, where, and how. My presentation
today follows the “Inside Out” approach. So, I will focus mainly on what
was and is happening in my mind that eventually led and lead to
research investigations.
Teacher as Researcher and Teaching as Research
In Thailand, traditionally, teachers and researchers were supposedly two
separate identities having their own things to do and look for. In the
absolute sense, they did not need to depend on or learn from each
other for their professional survival. But with the onset of globalization
that sweeps across the world making things faster and compact, every
sector has to adapt to changes and improve itself to catch up with new
facets of science and technology. Teachers are at the forefront to
immediately respond to the new change because they are primary
change agents in society. Traditional classroom has become learner-
centered, teachers have more autonomy and responsibility to manage
their students, and IT technology has been an essential part of the
learning-teaching process. Traditional teachers with the old style
teaching methods are to be replaced by progressive and IT oriented
ones.
Glenda Bissex (1986), in her exploration of teaching as research,
attempts to dispel some assumptions about the meaning of "research"
and how it relates to classroom teachers. She points out that a teacher-
researcher is an observer, a questioner, a learner. Teacher-researchers
focus on what is happening at hand; they try to understand the ongoing
events of their classrooms: I wonder how much students think about
reading outside of class? Teacher-researchers question their educational
assumptions; they're continually trying to make sense of their students'
interpretation of the tasks and activities they set them: I wonder if
children really have to learn to read before they can begin writing?
Problems become questions to investigate; new ways of teaching

become opportunities for learning: what would happen if I shared my
writing with my students? Teacher-researchers are learners; they don't
make a separation between those who "know" and those who "do"; they
begin to trust their own ability to find out.
Parsons (2004) stresses that traditional educational research has limited
usefulness for classroom teachers. It often requires the carrying out of
specific research projects to the exclusion of their teaching. When
educators talk about teacher research, or teaching as research they
envision teachers extending their role to include critical reflection upon
their teaching. Some examples of teaching as research include
educators who wish to undertake research in their classrooms or schools
for the purpose of improving teaching, to test educational theory, or to
evaluate and implement an educational plan. Teacher researchers have
adopted the label "action research" to describe their particular approach
to classroom research.
Kurt Lewin (1946) has been credited with the development of the idea
of action research. The evolution of an action research agenda within
education has been influenced by people such as Kemmis (1983),
Ebbutt (1985), Elliott (1991), Hopkins (1985) and others. Hopkins
(1985:pp 58-60) offers good advice on teacher research when he
advocates the development of teacher's professional expertise and
judgment. He provides a basis for the selection of classroom research by
teachers:
a) The teacher's primary role is to teach and any research
project must not interfere with or disrupt this commitment;
b) The method of data collection should not be too demanding
on the teacher's time;
c) The methodology used must be reliable enough to allow
teachers to formulate hypotheses confidently and develop
strategies applicable to the classroom situation;
d) The teacher should be committed to the research problem
under study;
e) The teachers must follow ethical procedures when carrying
out research; and classroom research where possible should
adopt a perspective where all members of a school
community build and share a common vision.
Often the hardest part in classroom research is deciding on a focus.
Teacher research does not require a precise hypothesis. In fact you do
not have to begin with a problem. Hopkins (1985:pg 63) suggests that "
All you need is a general idea that something should be

45
45
improved. Your general idea may stem from a promising new
idea or the recognition that existing practice falls short of
aspiration." Once the focus of the research has been decided, planning
for data collection, followed by actual data collection and analysis
occurs.
Now, how to get started on a project. Based on Hollingsworth (1994)
and Hopkins (1985) we can benefit from the following practical
suggestions for the teacher research process:
a) Decide on a focus
Start with autobiographical data by locating your best professional self.
Some questions you might ask - What are your broad interests in
teaching and learning? What are your specific interests? What are
manageable questions? Choose something you feel passionate about.
b) Justify that the project is your best solution to the problem.
c) Develop a plan to gain insights
Develop a time-line to gather evidence or data to examine what you are
trying to accomplish/resolve/do in light of "what you do not know yet".
d) Decide what evidence you want to collect.
Evidence includes such things as questionnaires/surveys, observations
(video or written notes), collaborations (i.e. video or audio tape of
meetings, peer coaching) interviews, tests and records, student work,
video and audio tape transcripts, personal journal, library readings, etc.
e) Analyze the data by looking for patterns, or themes across
the evidence
Keep logs and journals, periodically read over the evidence, code data
from themes and patterns, draw or chart patterns, try to summarize
what you have learned as you go, by noting images, metaphors, and
any new questions.
f) Check out your understandings by triangulating evidence
(same theme, code, pattern appears in more than two types of data),
and by talking to peers, students, friends.
g) Report on what you have learned to your colleagues, to parents,
at conferences, in journals.

h) Summarize what you learned -- in an essay, narrative,
poster, video, etc.
k) Tell how the problem changed, did not change, or became
worse because of changes in your practice.
A key component of Action Research is sharing what you have
learned. A number of techniques ranging from videos to formal
presentations have been suggested, but the following can be your
potential audiences as well:
- Colleagues at a staff development day
- Parents and students
- Email discussion groups (see On-line Resources)
- Publications from professional organizations
- Journals such as "Teacher Research: The Journal of Classroom
Inquiry" - a journal by teachers, for teachers.
When teacher research is shared, it allows for further action on the part
of the teacher, or the broader educational community to continue. So,
If you have not undertaken teacher research in your classroom
now is the time to try!
My Struggle with Research Adventure and Misadventure
To keep up with the new trend and new challenges, I started out as a
serious researcher in 2000, after 5 years of teaching only at Suranaree
University of Technology, and after ten years of my Ph.D. completion.
To be frank and honest I became a dead wood in research for several
years, and it is extremely hard to get back on tract again. Personally, I
hated doing research because it is a tedious and arduous job taking up
so much of my time with little or no impact on society at all, except for
your own personal gains, such as academic promotion, salary increase,
and some small illusory fame. Most of the Thai teachers’ research works
have been lying on shelves in the library or at home with no social or
market values whatsoever. Then, I thought to myself, “What’s the
point of doing research?”. I have been thinking a long that line for
several years and I still survive in my teaching career. Then with the
new policy, rules, and regulations of the current Government and my
own workplace, Suranaree University of Technology, I have to
reengineer and rekindle myself: my ways of thinking, my teaching
practices, and my world views as a professional teacher. I forced myself
a lot to recover and wake up from academic complacency and inertia, if
not deep slumber or oblivion to the outside world. I began by reading a

47
47
lot of modern literature on research for language teachers focusing first
on action research and case studies, both in Thai and English. As you
know, old habits die hard. It took me a lot of efforts and time to turn
over a new leaf and become research minded. The next step, after
extensive literature reading and surveying, was to write up a good
proposal to get funds from my university. The first research I carried
out, after I received Ph.D. in 1991, about ten years after, was a case
study, a kind of classroom action research. The proper title of my
research was An Analysis of Discourse Features That Affect
Students' Communication of Written Texts In English V
Academic Writing Classes At SUT. The final step in my search of
academic excellence was to look for successful mentors and experts in
the field who would guide me through and help me see the light at the
end of the tunnel. Fortunately, Dr. Maneepen Abhibalsri, then Chair of
the School of English, managed to secure UMAP funding for me to be in
Australia for a few months. She even recommended one expert in the
EFL field to me. That expert is here with us today. You would not get
surprised if I mention her name because she is an internationally
established EFL research and teaching expert who has been actively
involved in TESOL conferences around the world. Well, I cannot hold
you back any more. She is Jill Burton, a Professor from the University
of South Australia.
Done with my research with Jill Burton, I attempted and finished two
pieces of research with Richard K. Coll, University of Waikato, New
Zealand, and my colleague, Isra Pramoolsook, who is now on his
doctoral study in England. Our research works are interdisciplinary in
nature involving something far away from my field of teaching, but
within the university mission. The proper tile of the two researches are
1) An Investigation of Thai Students Co-Op Placement
Experiences; and 2) Internationalization of Cooperative
Education From Thai Students' Viewpoints, respectively.
Then, in June 2003, I went to Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA,
as Visiting Professor, on the Government scholarship allocated
specifically for Graduate School instructors to develop their research and
teaching skills abroad. At NIU, I met with many professors and experts.
To name a few, they are Deborah Pierce, Doris Macdonald, Casey
Bozek, Michael Day, Grant Olson, John Hartmaan, Richard A. Orem. But
I had a lengthy discussion about my research project on language
awareness raising for Thai EFL students with and benefited a lot from
Dr. Karen Carrier, School of Education, NIU. She is an expert in bilingual
literacy and TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language). She also
introduced me to other professors in her field. Like Jill Burton, she

critically and carefully read my proposal and had good comments on it.
She also allowed me to sit through her graduate classes to learn and
observe how she teaches her graduate students from different countries
and ethnic groups and how they behave and interact in class. I learned
a lot from her and her students, and definitely enjoyed all the facilities:
library, office, computer, etc. at NIU throughout the period of my stay
there.
During the last week of my stay at NIU, I flew over (or down, I am not
so sure) to MIT in Boston, to meet with Alec Marantz, Professor of
Linguistics and Head of the Linguistics and Philosophy Department. We
discussed the possibilities of research cooperation but unluckily he is
more interested in pure linguistics and artificial intelligence about which
I know next to nothing. At MIT, I was also trying to meet with Noam
Chomsky, the Father of Modern Linguistics, to whom I owe so much in
the field of my study, Linguistics, but he was away in another country at
that time. Later on, he sent an e-mail to me saying “sorry” for being
unable to meet me at his own office. Somehow, his secretary allowed
me to sit in his chair and browse through several piles of his books and
monographs. I was tremendously impressed by his deep scholarship and
academic dedication and lifelong commitment to linguistics, world
peace, and American politics. I spent a big amount on his books at MIT
Press.
To make the best use of my time and learn more about American ways
of doing things in Boston, I also visited Harvard University during my
trip to MIT. I was overwhelmed with the atmosphere at the world class
campus and five star bookstore. I spent two days at Harvard doing what
I enjoy most: sipping at coffee and reading latest publications in
Linguistics and EFL/ESL in the Cozy Coffee Bar, second floor, of Harvard
Bookstore. Some American told me the special difference between
Harvard and Cambridge Universities: Cambridge thinks it is the
world but Harvard thinks it can change the world. There might be
some elements of truths in that statement but things can change upside
down. We can never be sure. Anyway, I bought a lot of good books
from that bookstore, some inside and some outside my field. But all of
them are very useful for me, my students, and my colleagues in
Thailand.
My Difficulties with Action Research
As pointed out by Newman (1987), the difficult thing about doing action
research is that you have to override most of what you've learned about

49
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research as an activity. In a traditional research culture you begin by
framing a question, setting up a situation which might provide some
information, collecting data which bears on the question, then writing up
results. Action research isn't like that at all. The research activity begins
in the middle of whatever it is you're doing — something happens that
you did not expect, and you begin wondering about what's going on.
Another dilemma in an action research is that you may not even realize
something interesting has occurred that you ought to think about unless
you are already in the habit of keeping a journal or reflective log.
Because teaching, like other activities which occur in and around
schools, is so complex, we are accustomed to coping with the many
things demanding our attention at once without really thinking about
them; we generally do not make a point of recording those moments
which surprise or perplex us or stand out for some other reason during
the course of the day.
However, as I experienced it myself, the hardest part of beginning an
action research project is developing the discipline to keep a written
account, of recording on a regular basis the details of what is
happening, particularly when you have no idea what you are looking for.
Unlike traditional research, action research begins not with a research
question but with the muddle of daily work, with the moments that
stand out from the general flow, and unless we record those moments
they vanish, unavailable as data for reflection, for discerning some
larger pattern of experience. So it's necessary to keep fairly detailed
notes. Whether it's a journal, a daily log, critical incidents jotted on
index cards, or more extensive field notes, without a written account,
the enterprise cannot proceed.
In addition, everything we do in the classroom is grounded on a set of
assumptions about learning and teaching, about knowledge, and about
what counts as legitimate reading and writing. That is, each of us
operates on the basis of what Chris Argyris (1976) calls our "action
theories." Our beliefs about learning and teaching are largely tacit. We
operate a good deal of the time from an intuitive sense of what is going
on without actively reflecting on what our intentions might be and what
our actions could be saying to students. Our beliefs about learning and
teaching can only be uncovered by engaging in systematic self-critical
analysis of our current instructional practices.
We use critical incidents as a way of finding out more about our current
beliefs and about the assumptions underlying what we are doing in the

classroom. We collect and share stories which contribute to our
understanding about language and learning and about our role as
teachers. Sometimes the incidents confirm what we believe; but more
often, we are forced to reappraise our assumptions. What these critical
incidents often reveal is a surprising gap between what we believe about
learning and teaching and what our actions are showing.
As a matter of fact, our learning opportunities come from many sources,
such as from comments made in passing, from a statement overheard,
from something a student might write in a journal, from something we
might read either because it confirms our experiences or because we
disagree and have to consider what we believe instead, or because it
opens possibilities we have not thought about before. We also realize
the learning remains hidden unless we have some reason for making it
explicit. Writing the stories down is important as it forces us to explain
the situation to ourselves. Engaging in this kind of analysis alone is not
easy. We need to ask more questions like:
Why was an incident memorable?
What made it significant?
What did we learn from it?
so as to see and understand the point of the story and to talk about the
underlying assumptions.
My other dilemma as a teacher is that I can not teach good judgement;
I can only create circumstances which make it possible for learners to
experience the consequences of their own decisions. My main role is to
structure conditions so that learners are willing to risk engaging in the
experience and exploring the unfamiliar things. And when my students
do not understand what is happening, when they encounter something
they are not sure how to handle, I need to be by their side to ask
questions, to give suggestions, and to provide moral support .
As we know, teaching and earning, therefore, involve a very complex
reciprocal relationship between student and teacher. In order for us to
provide the kind of learning environment that supports the development
of judgement, we have to face the fact that some of my own
interpretations and decisions are likely to be wrong. If I have learned
nothing else during my 15 years of teaching, I have learned that I can
not control how students interpret my intentions and actions. No matter

51
51
what I do, it will be supportive for some but definitely disruptive for
others. The crucial thing for me as a good teacher is to discover when
and how my instruction creates barriers. Observing ourselves learning
can offer important insight into our students' behavior and help us think
about teaching that supports learning as opposed to teaching that
interferes, disrupt, or undermines. In teacher/action research,
understanding is often a retrospective enterprise; lots of
events/experiences make sense only some time later.
The Four Noble Truths as Guiding Principles for Research to
Nirvana
At this section, I do not mean to be religious but I intend to introduce
the principles that we, especially Thai teachers, are familiar with by their
upbringing and profession. I apologize to those who are not familiar
with what I am talking about at this point. The Four Noble Truths are
the heart of Buddhism and the Laws of Nature discovered, not invented,
by the Buddha more than 2500 years ago. They are, in simple terms,
Statement of Problem, Diagnosis of Its Causes, Prognosis of Its
Antidote, and Prescription of the Remedy (Phra Dhammapidok, 2003, pp
45-47). I always keep these noble and natural truths in mind when I
begin my research. Prasertsan(2002, p. 113), mentions that most
research works succeed only up to the first and second truths, which
are considered half way to solving the problem. In fact, the true success
in research lies in the third and fourth truths which involve
‘downstream management’ or the appropriate applications or
implementation of research findings to the real situations for more
sustainable outcomes. Moreover, good research must avoid at all cost
these biases: biases caused by love or desire, biases caused by hatred
or enmity, biases caused by delusion or stupidity, and biases caused by
fear. And by using the term ‘Nirvana’ here, I do not mean to be
sacrilegious, but to be a metaphor for research that aims ultimately to
get rid of a specific problem in the professional life. Originally. The term
Nirvana (or Nibbana in Pali) means the cessation of all suffering
which is the highest spiritual achievement in Buddhism through
practicing the Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Thought,
Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Efforts,
Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration (Phra Dhammapidok,
2003, pp 64-65). Nevertheless, I intentionally employ the term just to
mean cessation or end of a specific problem faced in performing our
duty and in developing our knowledge and skills. Let us be clear about
that, and I hope I have made myself clear enough on that point. Just to
be more explicit, I mean to assert that our research and its findings
should cover all four levels of the truths, not just being placed in shelves

and sadly forgotten, in order to really solve the problem and serve the
needs of our country in a more sustainable fashion.
Conclusion
Research is an on-going dynamic process. We have to renew and
rekindle our enthusiasm at every step of our way. If we stop pondering
or reflecting on research, we are academically brain dead. Somehow, we
have to keep going even though we may at times feel lonely, isolated,
and desperate. In the end, it will be rewarded and the joy will reign
supreme. But we must remember, as Kevin, my friend from Oxford
University always put it, success or failure is not the end of the world
yet. Keep walking until you find something worthwhile in your life, and
do not get discouraged if you cannot find what you are looking for. Take
control of your life and be responsible for its consequences. You are the
great architect of your life, so design and redesign your destiny. The
future is not tomorrow but now. As a professional teaching and
researching CEO (Chief Executive Officer) in our own rights, we should
try to learn new ways, new strategies, and new concepts that will
eventually shape up our successful life. However, my last words of
warning is: Research may be everything for all researchers but
not everything is researchable!
References:
Argyris, Chris. Increasing Leadership Effectiveness. New York:
Wiley & Sons, 1976.
Barnes, Douglas. From Communication to Curriculum.
Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1976.
Bissex, Glenda. "On Becoming Teacher Experts: What's a Teacher-
Researcher?" Language Arts, 63 (1986):482-484.
Burton, Jill. “Current Development in Language Curriculum Design: An
Australian Perspective.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics
(1998) 18, 287 – 303, 1998.
___________. “A Cross-Case Analysis of Teacher Involvement in
TESOL Research.” TESOL QUARTERLY, vol.32.No. 3 Autumn 1998.

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53
___________. “Learning from Teaching Practice: A Case Study
Approach.” Prospect: A Journal of Australian TESOL Special
Issue 2000.
Dhammapidok, Phra. Phoomdham Chao Put. Bangkok:
Bhuddadham Foundation, 2003.
MacDonald, Mary. "Looking For Answers." Language Arts, 63 (1986):
436-437.
McConaghy, June. "On Becoming Teacher Experts: Research as a Way
of Knowing." Language Arts, 63 (1986): 724-728.
Newman, Judith M. “Learning to teach uncovering our assumptions.”
Language Arts, 1987, 64(7): 727-737
Parsons, Sharon. Teacher Research.
www.accessexcellence.org/21st
/TL/AR, 2004.
PerI, Sondra, & Nancy Wilson. Through Teachers' Eyes. Portsmouth,
N.H.: Heinemann Educational Books, 1986.
Pinyonatthagarn, Dhirawit. “Writing Is Thinking: A Critical Step for
Effective Writing.” Suranaree Journal of Science and Technology.
5 : 101 – 104, 1998.
_____________________. Second or Foreign Language
Acquisition Theories: How Do They Fit into Thai Contexts. The
Seminar on “Can Learner Independence Be Taught?”jointly organised
by Suranaree University of Technology, The English Language Centre of
Australia, and Supervisory Unit Region 11 of Nakhon Ratchasima, at
Surasammanakhan Seminar Center, Suranaree University of Technology, on
Saturday 27 March 1999.
____________________. An Analysis Of Discourse Features That
Affect Students'Communication Of Written Texts In English V
Academic Writing Classes At SUT: Research Report, 2002.
Prasertsan, Suthira. (2002). Sappasing Luan Wichai. Bangkok:
Office of Thailand Research Funds.
Serebrin, Wayne. "A Writer and an Author Collaborate." Language

Arts, 63 (1986): 281-283.
Sukamolson, Suphat. “English Language Policy in Thailand.” In
Asian Englishes: An International Journal of the
Sociolinguistics of English in Asia/Pacific, pp.68 – 91. Tokyo: ALC,
1998.
Wongsothorn, Achara, et al. (1996). “National Profile of Language
Education: Thailand.” Paper presented at the 11th
World Congress of
Applied Linguistics, Finland, 5 –9 August.
1999 National Educational Reform Act.
Thai Government Policies, 2001.
Online Resources:
Action Research - Introduction
Teaching & Learning TEACHER RESEARCH. by Sharon Parsons San Jose
State University.
Introduction. ... Teacher research does not require a precise hypothesis.
...
www.accessexcellence.org/21st/TL/AR/ - 12k -
Teacher Research
Books, Papers and Conferences on Teacher Research. ... Papers. The
Nature and
Quality of Teacher Research by Jeff Northfield , Monash University; ...
educ.queensu.ca/~ar/teacherr.htm - 4k -
Teacher Research
Teacher Research Reports. The Maple Ridge Review of Special
Education. ... Changed
individual and organizational roles in teacher research. ...
www.bctf.bc.ca/inquirer/support/research.html - 6k -
ED355205 1993-03-00 Teacher-As-Researcher. ERIC Digest.
... developing policy. Teacher research has its roots in action research.
WHAT
IS ACTION RESEARCH? ... institution. WHY IS TEACHER RESEARCH
IMPORTANT? The ...
www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed355205.html - 19k -
Virtual Science Center
... Teacher Research Center. Chabot ... Background on the Teacher

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Research Center:
The key objectives of the Teacher Research Center are to: Provide ...
www.chabotspace.org/vsc/teacher/trc.asp - 16k – 19. 2004 -
Teacher Research
Teacher-Research at Deer Park School. ... To learn more about the
process of teacher
research, go to the Teacher Research web site
http://gse.gmu.edu/research/tr. ...
www.fcps.k12.va.us/DeerParkES/TR/tchrch.htm - 18k -
SAWP--Teacher Research
Facilitators: Sharon Miller and Carrie Brennan. The Teacher Research
and Inquiry
Institute, 2003-2004. ... Information Request Form For Teacher
Research and Inquiry: ...
info-center.ccit.arizona.edu/ ~sawp/teacher%20research.htm -
30k -

CHAPTER 3
WRITING REPORTS IN ENGLISH
Report is a part of academic writings. It requires skills and knowledge of
the subject matter. Many students and reseachers will at some time be
expected to write a report. The report should have the following
sections:
3.1 Report Sections
1. Preliminaries
Title page
Abstract
Contents
2. Main text
Introduction
Methodology
Findings/Results
Discussion
Conclusion
3. End matter
References
Appendices
1) Preliminaries
Before you start the main part of your report, there should be a title
page. The title page should contain information to enable your lecturer
and departmental office to identify exactly what the piece of work is. It
should include your name and course; the title of the assignment and
any references; the lecturer it is for etc. Check with your department for
clear information. A report should also normally include an abstract and
a contents page. The abstract should give some background
information, clearly state the principal purpose of the report, give some

ACADEMIC WRITING REVISED2012

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