Guiding the Reader: Title, Abstract and Introduction

Guiding the reader: Title, Abstract
and Introduction
Prof. Dr. Ron Martinez
PRPPG7000 - Academic Writing in English

Syllabus outline
• 15/08 - Introduction
• 22/08 - IMRaD, Most common errors,
electronic tools
• 29/08 - Strategic planning for your article:
CARS and other approaches
• 05/09 - Title, Abstract e Introduction
• 12/09 - Writing your Introduction
• 19/09 - Coherence, cohesion and clarity, and
use of authorial voice
• 26/09 - (Introduction due) The Results
section
• 03/10- The Discussion section
• 10/10 - Discussing and Concluding
• 17/10 - Writing (no class)
• 24/10 - Students exchange articles (no class)
• 31/10 - (peer feedback due) Plagiarism, the
submission process
• 07/11 - Special guest speaker on journal
trends

“Zeum” press release:
"Although the name Zeum sounded fun, it didn't
provide parents with any clues about what they
and their children would experience.”

Today:
1. Review key concepts from last week
2. Explore the importance of titles and the structure of abstracts
3. Introduce concept of “Problem-Solution”
4. Look ahead to starting your Introduction section

“Seus dados já têm história para contar?”
“Até o momento, a história que meus dados contam é de que 30
espécies da biodiversidade brasileira já estão inseridas no mercado de
óleos essenciais. Entretanto, ainda estou em fase de coleta de dados.”

Another example:
“Meus resultados ainda estão sendo gerados, então ainda não
possuem uma história para contar. A história somente irá surgir com
todos os resultados em mãos.”

“Qual seria seu ‘número 2’ em CARS?”
“Pouco se sabe do real impacto econômico das helmintoses em
bovinos. Existem poucos autores que realmente se importaram com
esse aspecto e realizaram cálculos interessantes.”

Another example:
“Seria que pouco se sabe sobre os impactos ambientais e sobre o
desempenho térmico do CLT (cross laminated timber) aplicado à
edificações no Brasil.”

"They Say, I Say"
• "(A) writer needs to indicate not only
what his or her thesis is, but also what
larger conversation that thesis is
responding to." (p. 20)
• "(W)hen is comes to constructing an
argument […], remember that you are
entering a conversation and therefore
need to start with 'what others are
saying'…" (p. 20)

“Qual é o ‘they say’ da sua pesquisa?”
“Tem-se falado muito sobre recusa alimentar, seletividade alimentar, e
existem fatores que já estão descritos na literatura que podem
interferir. Meu trabalho pretende mostrar/verificar por meio de um
acompanhamento (estudo de coorte), de forma mais abrangente tais
fatores.”

Another example:
“Eles dizem que as helmintoses em bovinos não geram perdas
econômicas significativas, visto que a maior parte dessas
enfermidades são subclínicas. No entanto, eu digo que elas têm, e irei
calcular o tamanho deste prejuízo em escalas regionais e estaduais
(após início de minha pesquisa).”

“Um dos pontos da minha pesquisa que um ‘naysayer’ iria questionar
seria a escolha aleatória dos pacientes participantes. Os pacientes
eram selecionados aleatoriamente no Ambulatório da hematologia
pediatrica, porém um naysayer poderia questionar se o médico que
encaminhou o paciente nao observou alguma alteração oftalmológico e
depois disso encaminhou-o para o Ambulatório de Oftalmologia.”

"Após conversar com minha orientadora, chegamos
a conclusão que pontos como a aleatoriedade na
seleção da amostra e força do cálculo amostral
podem ser questões em que os críticos se
concentram, podendo duvidar quanto ao número
suficiente de sujeitos para afirmar possivel
resultado. Dessa forma, teremos que estar atentos
a estes detalhes."

Can you hear the Naysayer?
1. “There has been no research on this topic so far in the literature.”
2. “The importance of this subject has already been well established.”
3. “The results of this research conclusively prove that the
participants improved.”

Not aware of Naysayer
1. “There has been no research
on this topic so far in the
literature.”
Aware of Naysayer
To the best of our knowledge,
there is little or no research on
this topic...

literature.”
2. “The importance has already
been well established.”
Aware of Naysayer
this topic…
The importance has already been
well established (2-11).

literature.”
2. “The importance has already
been well established.”
3. “The results of this research
conclusively prove that the
participants improved.”
Aware of Naysayer
this topic…
The importance has already been
well established (2-11).
The results of this research
provide compelling evidence that
participants improved.

DISCUSSION
INTRODUCTION
METHOD
RESULT
S
I.M.R.aD.

C.A.R.S. (Swales, 1990)
• Create
• A
• Research
• Space
INTRODUÇÃO

12
Prof. Dr. Ron Martinez - UFPR

C.A.R.S. and IMRaD in Abstracts

I
M
R
D

"C.A.R.S." framework
• Establish “territory”: Mention importance,
what the “conversation” is.
• Establish “niche”: Mention the “gap.”
• Occupy niche: Say how that gap will be
filled.
1
2
3

Example:
Abstract
There is a growing concern that people are not getting enough sleep.
Moreover, there is increasing evidence of an association between sleep
and adult health. However, there is still little research on how much
sleep older adults (>65) need. This retrospective cohort study
examined reported sleep duration and possible associations with health
concerns. Results show that older adults generally require less sleep
than younger adults.

Example:
Abstract
examined reported sleep duration among the elderlyand possible
associations with health concerns. Results show that older adults
generally require less sleep than younger adults.

Example:
Abstract
examined reported sleep duration among the elderly and possible
associations with health concerns. Results show that older adults
generally require less sleep than younger adults.

Common problem: No
“Space” created
• Establish “territory”: Mention importance,
what the “conversation” is.
• Establish “niche”: Mention the “gap.”
• Occupy niche: Say how that gap will be
filled.
1
2
3

DISCUSSION
INTRODUCTION
METHOD
RESULT
S
I.M.R.aD.
TITLE

Abstract
There is a popular belief that alcohol consumption can help someone
speak a foreign language more fluently. However, there is no evidence
in the current literature to support this idea. This study aimed to
investigate the effect of drinking alcoholic beverages on how adult
learners of English perceive themselves (self-ratings), and how they are
perceived by others (peer-ratings). Results of show that consuming
alcohol drinks positively affected perception of fluency.

Which title do you like most?
A. Can drinking alcohol make you speak a foreign language more
fluently? Evidence from a quasi-experimental study
B. Ethyl alcohol (ethanol C2H5OH) consumption by human adults in
distilled form: effects on neuromuscular verbal articulation in a
foreign language
C. Drinking alcohol positively affects fluency in a foreign language
D. The effects of consuming alcoholic beverages on foreign language
fluency

Different types of titles
1. Transparent
2. Finding
3. Implication/Application
4. Method-focused
5. Question
6. Effect
7. Elaboration
8. Quote

Transparent
A importância de andar com
guardachuva em Curitiba

Finding
Sair de casa sem guardachuva
aumenta probabilidade de chuvas
Resumo
Das últimas décadas, fala-se muito sobre a
necessidade de se sentir protegido da chuva.

Implication/Application
Reduzindo as chances de
esquecer o guardachuva

Question
Sair de casa sem
guardachuva provoca a chuva?

Effect
Efeito de porte de guardachuva
na precipitação de Curitiba

Elaboration
Animais que precisam ser
tirados da chuva: o caso do
cavalinho

8. Quote
"De novo perdi o guardachuva":
causas de esquecimento de
dispositivos anti-pluviais
na Região Metropolitana de
Curitiba

Don't make your title too long!

12
3

HOEY’S PROBLEM-SOLUTION PATTERN

"SITUATION"

"SITUATION"
"PROBLEM"

"SITUATION"
"PROBLEM"
"RESPONSE"

Comparison
CARS
• MOVE 1: English is the language of
science, but many scientists are not
native speakers of English.
• MOVE 2: We know that non-native
speakers have difficulty, but we do
not know if that difficulty is greater
than in their first language.
• MOVE 3: We will quantify their
"burden" in each language.
PROBLEM-SOLUTION

Comparison
CARS
PROBLEM-SOLUTION
• SITUATION: English is the language of
science.
• PROBLEM: But many scientists are
not native speakers of English.
• SITUATION: We know that non-
native speakers have difficulty.
• PROBLEM: But we do not know if
that difficulty is greater than in their
first language.
• RESPONSE: We quantified their

A linguistic inside look
• Analyze the grammar used in each “move”
• Analyze vocabulary and phrases used
• Note and copy!

12
3
THEY SAY
I SAY

Careful with what you “claim”
An umbrella is a necessary item in Curitiba.
I recommend you buy an umbrella.

Careful with what you “claim”
An umbrella is a necessary item in Curitiba.
According to government weather data, there
was rainfall in 180 of 365 days in 2017.
I recommend you buy an umbrella.

ARGUMENT = "CLAIM" +
"WARRANTING"
• "(A)n argument is a claim backed up (warranted) by
evidence." (p.47*)
• "You can apply (this concept) to any length of text, from a
sentence to the whole of a dissertation or book." (p. 48*)
*Wallace, M. & Wray, A. (2011). Scholarly reading as a model for scholarly writing. In T.S. Rocco
& T. Hatcher (Eds.), The Handbook of Scholarly Writing and Publishing. San Francisco, Jossey-
Bass.

After you write, consider:
1. Am I making a claim?
2. If so, is the claim warranted?

2
3
CLAIM
WARRANTING
CLAIM

Every area has its
SPECIFICITIES!

But I have no data!
• Try to get some!
• Think of the article you produce for this class as a “template.”
• Best option: use your partial data.
• Good option: use unused data (adviser, lab, classmate...).
• Another option: Build on what you did before (TCC, dissertation, etc.)
• Worst case scenario: Consider a review article.
• You have no topic yet? Create one! (Use your adviser.)

ARTICLE
INTRODUCTION
• Don’t just copy
from your
dissertation/thesis

ARTICLE
INTRODUCTION
• Rewrite that story!

What tools do you have in your toolbox?

Focus on what you know...
• You’ve already thought about (2 levels of) objectives.
• You are familiar with the typical Introduction structure (e.g. CARS).
• You are aware of the “They say”, “Naysayer”, and your “Niche.”
• You know what you should and should not try to “copy.”
• You are aware of some typical grammar mistakes.
• You can be a "linguistic detective" using tools Google Scholar, Google
Translate, Grammarly, SKELL e AntConc, and a mentor text.

What’s left (perhaps)...
•Create a title.
•Find "mentor articles" (perhaps with your
adviser) and analyze the Introduction,
"plagiarizing" useful linguistic features.
•Write your Introduction!

CARS
PROBLEM-SOLUTION
science.
first language.

Create your own
CARS
PROBLEM-SOLUTION
science.
first language.

From last year:
Pela primeira vez, iniciei um artigo pela escrita em inglês, sem um
"esboço" em português. A escrita acabou fluindo, as ideias não fugiram
e percebi que podemos, sim, escrever com qualidade em inglês.
Utilizei o Google Tradutor em alguns momentos, o Google Acadêmico
e o AntConc para descobrir os termos mais utilizados, e o Grammarly
quando surgiam dúvidas. Após discutir a Introdução com a orientadora,
fizemos alguns ajustes teóricos e fechamos com um bom
desenvolvimento da atividade. Enfim excelente estímulo e
oportunidade para começar a escrever em inglês!

The next steps...
ASAP
• Create a (working) title and Intro
outline (CARS, Problem-Solution);
• Try to start (just a sentence or
two).
• Use your mentor text(s) to help!
BY NEXT CLASS
• Share title and outline with your
“orientador”.
• Write, write, write!
• Bring a printed version of your Intro
to class (“presencial”).
• “Virtual”: Find someone to share your
work with.
• Describe your experience in
Formative.

Guiding the Reader: Title, Abstract and Introduction

Guiding the Reader: Title, Abstract and Introduction

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