14 Science Research Writing this idea; they discuss it, describe it, defi ne it in more detail, argue about it, give examples of it, rephrase it, etc. When the 'topic' or idea moves too far away from the fi rst sentence, the writer usually begins a new paragraph. You can therefore get a good idea of the various topics covered in an article — or in a chapter of a book — by reading the fi rst sentence of each paragraph. And because it is a conventional way of writing paragraphs, it is a safe way for you to write paragraphs too. Th e more aware you are of the way other writers structure paragraphs, the easier it will be for you to do it yourself. As you know, paragraphs are marked either by indentation (starting fi ve spaces in) or by a double space between lines. Over the years, you have developed a very strong response to these visual signals. Th is means that each time you begin a new paragraph, this conditioned response in your brain prepares for a change or shift of some kind. 1. READ THE TITLE and try to predict the type of information you expect to see 2. LOOK AT THE NAME OF THE AUTHOR What you know about the writer will help you predict and evaluate the content. 3. CHECK THE DATE and use it to help you assess the content. 4. READ THE ABSTRACT to fi nd out what the researchers did and/or what they found 5. LOOK QUICKLY AT THE FIRST PARAGRAPH without trying to understand all the words. 6. LOOK QUICKLY AT THE FIRST SENTENCE OF EACH PARAGRAPH without trying to understand all the words 7. LOOK QUICKLY AT EACH FIGURE/TABLE AND READ ITS TITLE to try and fi nd out what type of visual data is included 8. READ THE LAST PARAGRAPH especially if it has a subtitle like 'Summary' or 'Conclusion'
Introduction — Writing Task 15 Correct paragraphing is essential, but it is easy to get into poor paragraphing habits, either through laziness or carelessness. If you oft en write one-sentence paragraphs or your paragraphs seem to be very long or you're not sure when to start a new paragraph, you are making writing harder for yourself. When you are planning your paper, write down each idea/concept that you want to talk about, checking that they are in a logical order and then listing what you want to say about each, using bullet points. Th is will help you create paragraphs that have a logical and coherent structure. 1.3 Writing Task 1.3.1 Building a model You are now ready to begin building a model of Introductions by writing a short description of what the writer is doing in each sentence in the space provided. Th is may be hard, because it is the fi rst time you are doing it, so read the guidelines below before you start. Th e Key is on the next page. Once you have tried to produce your own model you can use the Key to help you write this section of a research article when you eventually do it on your own. GUIDELINES: You should spend 30–45 minutes on this task. If you can't think of a good description of the fi rst sentence, choose an easier one, for example, Sentence 7, and start with that. Remember that your model is only useful if it can be transferred to other Introductions, so don't include content words such as polymer or you won't be able to use your model to generate Introductions in your own fi eld. One way to fi nd out what the writer is doing in a sentence — rather than what s/he is saying — is to imagine that your computer has accidentally deleted it. What is diff erent for you as a reader when it disappears? If you press another key on the computer and the sentence comes back, how does that aff ect the way you respond to the information? Another way to fi gure out what the writer is doing in a sentence is to look at the grammar and vocabulary clues. What is the tense of the main verb? What is that tense normally used for? Is it the same tense as in the previous sentence? If not, why has the writer changed the tense? What words has the writer chosen to use? Don't expect to produce a perfect model. You will modify your model when you look at the Key, and perhaps again when you compare it to the way Introductions work in your target articles. : Build a Model