English for Academic and Professional Purposes

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Understanding Research Skills

Week 0012: Understanding Research

Skills
Developing research skills involves a better understanding of
published materials. Research requires writers to glean from
other sources and incorporate the information to your ideas.
This is important as you need to show that you have understood
the materials that you have studied and that you can use their ideas
and findings in your own way. In fact, this is an essential skill that
needs to be developed by every student. Firstly, this module will
discuss quotation as a means of citing sources. When we use
someone else’s exact words, we quote the original author, and we
show this by using quotation marks. But as much as we are free to
quote, use quotation sparingly and carefully. Your paper should not
present a collection of quotation because you are not reproducing
the ideas of others but should add something to the point you are
making.
Secondly, lesson 2 of this module will focus on the Future
Tense.

Objectives:
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
a. construct a well –developed essay using direct
quotation correctly;
b. construct sentences using future tense;
c. use future continuous tense;
d. determine the uses of different future aspect.

Citing Sources Using Direct Quotation

Direct quotation is using an author’s exact words to
support your claim. Quotations must match the source
document word for word and must be attributed to the
original author.

Ways of Using Quotation:

Direct Quotations should be used sparingly. They should
be significant to your argument. You may quote a whole
sentence or just a few words. Quotation marks are used
around the quotation.

Course Module
Examples:

a) Dr. Tim Sung, chairperson of the engineering

department, said that the budget cuts were a “disaster
for the university. Our department will not be able to
compete for the best new faculty.”

b) Psychologists reveal the following reasons why people

fall in love: couples believe that they are created for
one another; they believe that they find a perfect
partner to raise babies together; they want to extend
their domain and increase their effectiveness as
individuals; they find chemistry in a romantic
relationship and; they are deeply attracted to one
another. Simply put, Albert Enstein once said, “
Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in
love.”

2. You may quote a whole sentence or just a few words.

Example:

Pippa Longstocking, one critic complained, is not a

girl at all “but a boy in disguised.”

3. If it helps you make your point, you may quote an entire

passage.

 In quoting more than five lines, start the quote on a

new line after double-spacing and indenting ten
spaces.
 Single –space the quotation.
 No quotation marks are used around the quote – its
block form identifies it as a quotation.

Example:

When asked what her first job in this country was like,
Mrs. Lynch started to laugh:

Oh, it was terrible. I worked for a rich family – in the

kitchen, you know. I was the cook’s assistant. That
meant I did all the chopping , all the stirring, and all
the clearing up. I scrubbed that kitchen until my
hands bled. I lasted almost a year, but I quit to marry
Joe. That’s when I started my own catering business
in my kitchen.
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Understanding Research Skills

In using direct quotation, you must:

a. Choose quotation that fits smoothly into y our writing.

b. Discuss it.
c. Use active verbs to introduce it. (refer to table 1 below)
d. Put it in the most strategic place in the composition.
e. Sometimes, leave out some words to condense the
quote.
f. Use parenthetical documentation or in-text citation to
avoid plagiarism.

Table 1 Most frequent reporting verbs

Discipline Most frequent verbs

Philosophy say, suggest, argue, claim, propose

Sociology argue, suggest, describe, discuss,

note
Applied suggest, argue, show, explain, point
Linguistics out
Marketing suggest, argue, demonstrate,
propose
Electrical show, propose, use, report, describe
Engineering
Mechanical show, report, describe, discuss
Engineering
Biology describe, find, report, show, observe

Physics develop, report, study

When to use Direct Quotation

a. When the writer wants to show that an authority supports his

idea most especially in research.
b. When the author wants to present a position or argument to
evaluate or comment.
c. When the quote has symbolic language historically.
d. When a quote’s meaning distorted when summarized or
paraphrased.
____________________________________________________________________________
Quote if you use another person's words. You must not use another
person's words as your own; do not quote if the information is
well-known in your subject area. Please note, that some
subjects, for example chemistry, hardly ever use direct quotation.
__________________________________________________________________________

Course Module
Aspects of the Future Tense:

The Simple Future Tense; The Future Continuous Tense; and

The Future Perfect Tense
Setting the Context

Read the passage and underline all verbs.

Family Life in the 21st Century

What are photos of a family gathering in 2050 going to look like?

Will families in urban areas across the world grow smaller? Will
the very poor in rural areas continue to have large number of
children? Will there be mostly older people in such a photo?
Probably. Why? Because people are living longer and staying
healthier, and people in economically rich societies are having
fewer children. For example, in the United States in 1980, people
over 65 made up only 11.3 percent of the total population. In
2050, people over 65 will make up over 22 percent of the total
population. Furthermore, in the 1950s, the average family had 4.8
children, while in the 1980s, it had 1.3 children. How many
children will be in an American family photograph in the year
2050? Will all the faces smiling at the digital camera be senior
citizens?
- Adapted from
Mosaic Grammar 1

The Simple future tense expresses intentions, and it can be used

to express requests, promises, offers, and predictions.

A. Uses of Simple Future Tense

1. Simple future with will is used for :

a. Future predictions : Hannah will be 8 years old next year.

b. Spontaneous decision: I’ll the phone.

2. Be going to is used for the following:

a. Future predictions ( more informal than will):

Hannah is going to be 8 years old next year.

b. Future intentions ( based on prior decisions):

Rudy and Ruby are going to get married in October.

c. Future certainly based on current condition or present

evidence: Pauline is going to have a baby.

3. Present progressive is used for the following:

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Understanding Research Skills

a. Future plans that have already been made: I am

marching in parade next week.

4. Simple present is used for the following:

a. Fixed scheduled events: We get paid next Friday.

If the train arrives, we’ll beat rush hour getting home.

 In using the simple present or present progressive

indicating future aspect, the simple present is more
formal and impersonal and is not very common
except with travel arrangements .

Ex. Ann arrives today.

 With present progressive and be going to –

 Present progressive is more common and emphasizes
that the arrangement have already been made.
 Be going to focuses on the speaker’s plans and intentions.

Examples:

I’m staying at Solaire. ( arrangement is already made)

I’m going to stay at Solaire. ( plan/ intention)

B- Simple Future Versus Future Progressive

 The future progressive is used for the possibility of change

with regard to some future event.

Example:
Simple Future: We will go to Everglades National Park on
our vacation. (definite plan)

Future Progressive: We will be going to Everglades National

Park on our vacation.
( less definite in that it allows for a change in plans)

C – Simple Future Versus Future Perfect

 The future perfect marks an event, an activity that is

complete before some other time in the future or some
other future event:
Course Module
 Example: By the year 2030, nanotechnology will have
become accessible to all.
Megan will have moved by the time she
completes her studies.

 Simple Future alone suggests that the event/ activity

begins with the time mentioned:

Example: Nanotechnology will become accessible to all by

the year 2030.
Megan will move when she completes her
studies.

____________________________________________________________________
Lessons in this module have provided you with the definition of
direct quotation and the ways of using quotation. Also, grammar
points highlighting the different aspects of Future Tense is added
to the lessons for language mastery. Remember the basic forms
of the different aspects of the future tense :

Simple future tense : will + verb (base form)

Be going to + verb (base form)

Future progressive tense : will be + verb (-ing form)

Be going to + verb (-ing form)
Future perfect tense: will have + verb (base form)

___________________________________________________________________________

Glossary
Direct Quotation - restatement of the author’s exact words. Uses
quotation marks around the quotation.

Quotation marks - with the symbol ( “ “ ) , are used to enclose all

parts of a direct quotation, quoted words and phrases within a
sentence, titles of short works of music and poetry, lectures,
technical terms in non-technical writing and well –known
expressions.

References
Books
Celce – Murcia, M. and Larsen Freeman, D. (200). An ESL/ EFL
Teacher’s Course. 2nd Edition. Singapore. Heinle .

Dapat, JR, O( 2013) Applied English for Academic and

Professional Services. Manila , Philippines. JFS Publishing
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Understanding Research Skills

Online Supplementary Reading Material

Using Evidence: Citing Sources Properly

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/citations
Online

How to Avoid Plagiarism: Citing Quotations

http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/quoting.php. Retrieved on
27 April 2017

Online Instructional Videos

Using & Crediting Sources: Citing Quotations

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/citations
#s-lg-box-10295051. Retrieved 27 July 2017

Using Quotations: Integrating Quotes Using "That" or a Comma

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/c.php?g=465757&p=403797
2. Retrieved 27 July 2017

Using Quotations: How to Cite a Quote

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/c.php?g=465757&p=403799
3. Retrieved 27 July 2017

Using Quotations: Shortening Quotes With Ellipses

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/c.php?g=465757&p=403799
2. Retrieved 27 July 2017

Course Module