UNIT 1

Academic writing is generally quite formal, objective (impersonal) and technical. It is formal
by avoiding casual or conversational language, such as contractions or informal vocabulary.
It is impersonal and objective by avoiding direct reference to people or feelings, and instead
emphasising objects, facts and ideas. It is technical by using vocabulary specific to the
discipline.

Different disciplines also have different styles and structures of writing. For example,
some disciplines, such as in the humanities, expect longer paragraphs, which include topic
sentences to show how your argument is structured. Other disciplines, for example in the
sciences, expect short paragraphs, with no topic sentences, which are denser in factual
information.
To be a good academic writer, you will need to learn the specific styles and structures for
your discipline, as well as for each individual writing task. Some ways to do this are to:
 ask for more information from your lecturer/supervisor/tutor
 study the writing style of the academic articles in the most prestigious journals in your
discipline
 look at the successful writing by other students in your subject area.

Formal language
You can make your writing more formal through the vocabulary that you use. For academic
writing:
choose formal instead of informal vocabulary. For example, ‘somewhat’ is more formal than
‘a bit’, ‘insufficient’ is more formal than ‘not enough’.
avoid contractions. For example, use ‘did not’ rather than ‘didn’t’.
avoid emotional language. For example, instead of strong words such as ‘wonderful’ or
‘terrible’, use more moderate words such as ‘helpful’ or ‘problematic’.
instead of using absolute positives and negatives, such as ‘proof’ or ‘wrong’, use more
cautious evaluations, such as ‘strong evidence’ or ‘less convincing’.

Objective language
Although academic writing usually requires you to be objective and impersonal (not
mentioning personal feelings), often you may still have to present your opinion. For example,
you may need to:
interpret findings
evaluate a theory
develop an argument
critique the work of others.
To express your point of view and still write in an objective style, you can use the following
strategies.

Move information around in the sentence to emphasise things and ideas, instead of
people and feelings. For example, instead of writing ‘I believe the model is valid, based on
these findings’, write ‘These findings indicate that the model is valid’.
Avoid evaluative words that are based on non-technical judgements and feelings. For
example, use ‘valid’ or ‘did not demonstrate’
Avoid intense or emotional evaluative language. For example, instead of writing
‘Parents who smoke are obviously abusing their children’, write ‘Secondhand smoke has
some harmful effects on children’s health’.
 Use modality to show caution about your views, or to allow room for others to
disagree. For example, instead of writing ‘I think second hand smoke causes cancer’, write
‘There is evidence to support the possibility that secondhand smoke increases the risk of
cancer’.

Find authoritative sources, such as authors, researchers and theorists in books or

articles, who support your point of view, and refer to them in your writing. For example,
instead of writing ‘Language is, in my view, clearly something social’, write ‘As Halliday
(1973) argues, language is intrinsically social’.

Different disciplines often have quite different expectations about how objective or
subjective your writing can be. For example, in some fields it is fine to use first person, such
as 'my view is that...', while in other fields this is not acceptable. You should look at the
convention used in published articles in your discipline area, and check with your lecturer.

Technical language
As well as using formal language, you also need to write technically. This means that
you need to develop a large vocabulary for the concepts specific to the discipline or
specialisation you’re writing for. To do this, take note of terminology used by your lecturer
and tutor, as well as in your readings.
Be careful about the meaning of technical terms. Often the same word has a different
meaning in another discipline. For example, ‘discourse’ is a technical term used in multiple
disciplines with different meanings.
Make sure you also understand and use the key categories and relationships in your
discipline, that is, the way information and ideas are organised into groups. For example, in
the discipline of Law, law is separated into two types: common law and statute law. Knowing
these distinctions will help you structure your writing and make it more technical and
analytical.

Types of academic writing

The four main types of academic writing are descriptive, analytical, persuasive and
critical. Each of these types of writing has specific language features and purposes. In many
academic texts you will need to use more than one type. For example, in an empirical thesis:
you will use critical writing in the literature review to show where there is a gap or
opportunity in the existing research the methods section will be mostly descriptive to
summarise the methods used to collect and analyse information the results section will be
mostly descriptive and analytical as you report on the data you collected the discussion
section is more analytical, as you relate your findings back to your research questions, and
also persuasive, as you propose your interpretations of the findings.

Descriptive
The simplest type of academic writing is descriptive. Its purpose is to provide facts or
information. An example would be a summary of an article or a report of the results of an
experiment.
The kinds of instructions for a purely descriptive assignment include: 'identify', 'report',
'record', 'summarise' and 'define'.

Analytical
It’s rare for a university-level text to be purely descriptive. Most academic writing is also
analytical. Analytical writing includes descriptive writing, but also requires you to re-
organise the facts and information you describe into categories, groups, parts, types or
relationships.
Sometimes, these categories or relationships are already part of the discipline, while in other
cases you will create them specifically for your text. If you’re comparing two theories, you
might break your comparison into several parts, for example: how each theory deals with
social context, how each theory deals with language learning, and how each theory can be
used in practice. The kinds of instructions for an analytical assignment include: 'analyse',
'compare', 'contrast', 'relate', and 'examine'.

To make your writing more analytical:

 spend plenty of time planning. Brainstorm the facts and ideas, and try different ways
of grouping them, according to patterns, parts, similarities and differences. You could
use colour-coding, flow charts, tree diagrams or tables.
 create a name for the relationships and categories you find. For example, advantages
and disadvantages.
 build each section and paragraph around one of the analytical categories.
 make the structure of your paper clear to your reader, by using topic sentences and a
clear introduction.

Persuasive
In most academic writing, you are required to go at least one step further than
analytical writing, to persuasive writing. Persuasive writing has all the features of analytical
writing (that is, information plus re-organising the information), with the addition of your
own point of view. Most essays are persuasive, and there is a persuasive element in at least
the discussion and conclusion of a research article.

Points of view in academic writing can include an argument, recommendation,

interpretation of findings or evaluation of the work of others. In persuasive writing, each
claim you make needs to be supported by some evidence, for example a reference to research
findings or published sources.

The kinds of instructions for a persuasive assignment include:

 'argue', 'evaluate', 'discuss', and 'take a position'.
 To help reach your own point of view on the facts or ideas: read some other
researchers' points of view on the topic.
 Who do you feel is the most convincing? look for patterns in the data or references.
 Where is the evidence strongest? list several different interpretations.
 What are the real-life implications of each one?
 Which ones are likely to be most useful or beneficial? Which ones have some
problems?
 discuss the facts and ideas with someone else. Do you agree with their point of view?

To develop your argument:

 list the different reasons for your point of view
 think about the different types and sources of evidence which you can use to support
your point of view
 consider different ways that your point of view is similar to, and different from, the
points of view of other researchers
  look for various ways to break your point of view into parts. For example, cost
effectiveness, environmental sustainability, scope of real-world application.
To present your argument, make sure:
 your text develops a coherent argument where all the individual claims work together
to support your overall point of view
 your reasoning for each claim is clear to the reader
 your assumptions are valid
 you have evidence for every claim you make
 you use evidence that is convincing and directly relevant.

Critical
Critical writing is common for research, postgraduate and advanced undergraduate writing. It
has all the features of persuasive writing, with the added feature of at least one other point of
view. While persuasive writing requires you to have your own point of view on an issue or
topic, critical writing requires you to consider at least two points of view, including your
own.

For example, you may explain a researcher's interpretation or argument and then evaluate the
merits of the argument, or give your own alternative interpretation.
Examples of critical writing assignments include a critique of a journal article, or a literature
review that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of existing research. The kinds of
instructions for critical writing include: 'critique', 'debate', 'disagree' and 'evaluate'.
You need to:
 accurately summarise all or part of the work. This could include identifying the main
interpretations, assumptions or methodology.
 have an opinion about the work. Appropriate types of opinion could include pointing
out some problems with it, proposing an alternative approach that would be better,
and/or defending the work against the critiques of others.
 provide evidence for your point of view. Depending on the specific assignment and
the discipline, different types of evidence may be appropriate, such as logical
reasoning, reference to authoritative sources and/or research data.

Critical writing requires strong writing skills. You need to thoroughly understand the topic
and the issues. You need to develop an essay structure and paragraph structure that allows
you to analyse different interpretations and develop your own argument, supported by
evidence.

Planning your writing

There are two main approaches to organising and analysing information for academic
writing.
The planning approach: spend a lot of time on different types of planning before you begin
writing. Only start writing when you know what you will write in each paragraph.

The drafting approach: start writing early, while you are still developing your ideas. Write
many drafts and gradually re-organise your text until your ideas are clear and your paragraphs
are well structured. Both of these approaches can be successful. However, if your writing
needs to be more logical, clear or analytical, focus more on your planning. Creating a good
plan is a very positive early step towards writing a good assignment.
Know what’s expected
While some types of written work are the same in many disciplines, such as essays, there are
also some kinds that only belong to a particular discipline. Sometimes even in the same
discipline area, different lecturers will have different expectations about a particular type of
assignment.
It’s therefore important you understand exactly what type of assignment you’re expected to
write. For example, it could be an essay, report, case study, reflection or critical review.
You can find out what is expected by looking at key sources of information including:
 written assignment instructions
 advice from your lecturer or tutor
 the unit of study outline
 discussion with other students
 general assignment guidelines prepared by some schools, departments or faculties
model assignments.
Make a task list
You should identify all the things you need to do to write your paper. This could include:
 a library database search and catalogue search to find relevant journal articles or
books
 reading and note-taking
 brainstorming
 analysing data
 planning the structure of your assignment
 drafting
 discussion
 editing and proofreading.
 Estimate the time you need for each task and make a realistic plan based on how you
work. Some people spend longer reading and analysing before they start writing,
while others start writing earlier and write several drafts.
 Find out ways to manage your time.

Early planning
Initially capture as many ideas as possible, without worrying about structure. For example:

 carefully read and think about the assignment or task, and its purpose
 brainstorm lists of key words and topics, to give direction to your reading and
research
 draw mindmaps, diagrams and flowcharts
 discuss your ideas with someone else
 list all the readings you could use
 read the abstracts for the relevant sources and make notes on how each article could
be useful
 for a large task like a thesis or dissertation,
 use EndNote, or similar software, to save your references and notes.
 After this initial planning, you can start working out the structure of your assignment.
How to arrive at good research Questions? Identifying an area of research a topic, deciding
on a problem, and formulating it in to a researchable question are the most important first
steps of the research process.
This is a very difficult stage in the whole research process, partly because most of the
beginning researchers have to undergo this phase at a time when they are not highly aware of
the process of research. This step nevertheless cannot be lightly taken, because success of
further steps depends on selecting an appropriate problem. Good answers will be called for
only by good questions.

Research:
A Reflective process Research is re-searching the knowledge. It is seeking and making of
new knowledge, going beyond what is already known, up-dating and renewing it. The whole
process is directed to the end - extension of the boundaries of knowledge. In order to extent
the boundaries of knowledge one has to possess some amount of knowledge, and possess
verified and vivified experience in the area of exploration. Research is a dialogical encounter
between what one already possesses as experience or knowledge and the thought process,
which illuminates the gap in the existing level of experience. Hence, research is a reflection
on already existing knowledge and experience, in order to renew it, extend it, and improve it.
Identifying a research problem

There is no standard source or an established method for identification of a problem for

research. Few books on research methodology elaborates the various process involved in
problem selection and clarification. A good problem, a researchable and answerable one, is
again a result of a reflective act.

It results from a dialogical encounter between:

 Rationality and creativity 
 Existing theoretical knowledge and difficulties that arise when one put to the theory
practice 
 Experts in the field and the scholar who does the research 
 Practitioners of the knowledge in an area and those who try to build up the area
through research, and
 Logical left hemisphere and creative right hemisphere of the brain.

Identifying the problem is a rational activity. It involves judging one’s own strengths,
collecting, organizing and relating the existing knowledge through reviews and having
intellectual discourses with experts and practitioners in the field. It is a creative activity, too.
It involves being able to extent the knowledge to practical life, seeing the implications of a
field of knowledge to community life, being able to foresee the ways in which changes is
other fields of knowledge affects one’s own field, being imaginative to see the future life of
the society, and its implication for the field of human enterprise where one wish to explore
further. All these requires abilities such as analysis, logical thinking, sequential, systematic
and orderly arrangement of ideas, formal methodical way of attacking problems, verbal and
linear modes of thought, and such other tasks performed by left brain.

In addition a researcher needs to be intuitive, spontaneous, random, diffuse, informal holistic,

imaginative with an eye to see the unseen; in other words, he has to rely on the creative
abilities of right brains as well. This dialogical encounter between what is known and what is
new and unknown in arriving at and clarifying problem progress through three broad phases.
They are 1) Selection of a research topic, 2) Identifying the problem, and 3) Stating and
clarifying the problem by formulating the research questions.

Selection of research topic It is researcher’s prerogative than responsibility to select one’s

research topic. This is a very difficult stage in research, a phase when the scholars frequently
depend on supervising teachers. This is a phase where researcher has to rely more on the
expertise than creativity. A review of the research areas of their discipline using research
abstracts and review journals will help in this phase.

The criteria for selecting a topic are personal as well as academic. The area of research
selected must be interesting to the scholar personally. One has to be aware that research
involves heavy investment in terms of time, effort, dedication, money and many other
personal comforts. This will be possible only if the area is interesting to oneself. Further, it
must be an area that arouses the intellectual curiosity of the researcher.

The interest in the topic should not be a fad anyone can feel towards a newfound piece of
knowledge. It is better if the selected topic is one in which the researcher had some previous
experience, a topic in which one had some training. Further, different areas need different
temperaments. The topic being selected and the work being required must be judged in terms
of the personal characteristics, and weakness of the researcher.

One must also consider the time, effort and money that need to be put into, in order to
successfully complete the project and the personal capacity in these regards. The area must
also be suitable to the vocational and career aspirations of the researcher. The possibility of
further work in the area after the completion of the research must be taken in to account, such
that the researcher can continue to work in the area, as researcher or expert, without
necessitating a shift between academic pursuits and future vocational needs.

Academically, the topic selected needs to be novel, not a redundant one. It must be a
significant area of research in the given discipline. The sources of date, the magnitude of
work, researchability and ethical issues that may arise must also be thought of. The working
conditions, amenities of the research centre will also influence the topic of your research.
Anyhow, the topic must not be too ambitious, too broad or too small, or a mere duplication of
an already done work, must not lad to closed alleys and a topic beyond one’s resources and
talents.

Identifying the problem

After fixing on a broad topic of research, the researcher needs an in-depth review of the area,
for being familiarized with the theoretical and practical dimensions of the new topic. Reading
professional literature, identifying the gaps being pointed out by experts, and an alert mind
that see the already done researches and their suggestions, etc will help build up expertise on
the topic.

After gaining sufficient understanding of the area, one can have useful discussions with
peers, faculty members and other experts. This can be done through techniques such as
Brainstorming and Delphi technique. Based on these Relevance Trees, a Notebook of ideas or
Concept Maps may be developed. This will help the researcher to gain deeper insights
regarding the concepts involved in the area, to gain a holistic picture of the topic and help
relate seemingly unrelated ideas, in new ways.
Development of such visual themes will enhance the creative aspect of problem
identification. In order to come out with an original idea, a novel problem the following
suggestions can be considered:
 Take your own time to brood on the area, at times going through the visual representation
of the topic and then relaxing the mind to incubate.

Never race with the time. Take your own time to review, develop pictures, and then think.
 Think effortlessly. Avoid frequently tread paths and adopt new links.
 Avoid thinking in terms of methods. Problems will help you identify methods than selecting
a problem, which could be warped into the mould of fixed method.
 Never hesitate to come up with ideas that are outside the common logic.  Try to associate
seemingly remote and unconnected ideas. Try to redefine the concepts, their relations tools in
the field, in new ways.
 Be sensitive to the problems around you, the deficiencies that are often overlooked because
they have become part of our life.
 Never discard an idea, which seems to be ambiguous at first glance. Let it be in your
thought for some more time.

After having fixed a problem, try to define all the terms precisely. If need be, conduct a pilot
study to test your assumptions regarding the area. The final problem statement needs to be
clear, concise and permitting identification of the key factors. Formulating the research
questions

After having stated the problem, try to raise the problem as a set of questions. Any problem
needs to be amenable to modification into one or two contributory questions (optional), a
main research question, and a few subsidiary questions. Attempting to raise question will
help researcher to focus the thought. Being asked a question is being challenged. One
becomes answerable. Therefore, refinement of questions leads to the operationalization of the
research problem.

Refinement of question goes on until the researcher feels that he can manage to find out the
answer. This will help in concluding the research, putting forth your theses in a
comprehendible and hence useful way. Conclusion Raising the research problems partly
being a creative activity cannot be done in a prescriptive fashion. Every research problem has
its own unique way of origination. It is the task of the researcher to attempt a sufficiently
creative effort based on a broad base of experiences to go deep in the ocean of knowledge
and pick up a new pearl that he can claim one’s own.

Evaluate Sources With the Big 5 Criteria

The Big 5 Criteria can help you evaluate your sources for credibility:
 Currency: Check the publication date and determine whether it is sufficiently current
for your topic. 
 Coverage (relevance): Consider whether the source is relevant to your research and
whether it covers the topic adequately for your needs.
 Authority: Discover the credentials of the authors of the source and determine their
level of expertise and knowledge about the subject. 
 Accuracy: Consider whether the source presents accurate information and whether
you can verify that information.
  Objectivity (purpose):Think about the author's purpose in creating the source and
consider how that affects its usefulness to your research.
Domains
In general, websites are hosted in domains that tell you what type of site it is.
 .com = commercial
 .net = network provider
 .org = organization
 .edu = education
 .mil = military
 .gov = government 

Create a Working Bibliography

A working bibliography, or list of potential sources, helps you track your information.

 Keep a list and add sources as you find them.

 Include sources from your background reading, Search It, library catalog, library
databases, or the web.
 Include all citation information for sources.
Record URLs and dates of access for online sources.

Read Sources and Take Notes

Read sources you didn't get to yet and re-read sources if needed.
Taking notes helps you manage your sources and identify information you want to use in the
paper. Use the system that works best for you.

The system you choose for taking notes is critical to help you track your use of sources and
avoid plagiarism. Even professional writers have run into problems in this step of the process,
so be careful. Remember these tips:
 Note clearly whether you quoted, paraphrased, or summarized the source
Track the page numbers for the information in the source

Now that you've read your sources and, if needed, adjusted the focus of your paper, you're
ready to identify how you will support the main ideas of your paper.
 Synthesize (combine parts to make a whole) the information from your sources.
 Add to the information or draw conclusions from the information to make your own
contribution to the coversation about this topic.
 Resist the temptation to use one source exclusively to support each main idea of your
paper.

The amount of support your main ideas need depends on the length of your paper and how
new or controversial a stance your paper is taking. In general, each idea should have at least a
few pieces of evidence to support it.

Structuring your manuscript

 Once you have completed your experiments it is time write it up into a coherent and concise
paper which tells the story of your research. Researchers are busy people and so it is
imperative that research articles are quick and easy to read. For this reason papers generally
follow a standard structure which allows readers to easily find the information they are
looking for. In the next part of the course we will discuss the standard structure and what to
include in each section.

Overview of IMRaD structure

IMRaD refers to the standard structure of the body of research manuscripts (after the Title
and Abstract):
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion and Conclusions
Not all journals use these section titles in this order, but most published articles have a
structure similar to IMRaD. This standard structure:
 Gives a logical flow to the content
 Makes journal manuscripts consistent and easy to read
 Provides a “map” so that readers can quickly find content of interest in any manuscript
 Reminds authors what content should be included in an article
Provides all content needed for the work to be replicated and reproduced

Although the sections of the journal manuscript are published in the order: Title, Abstract,
Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion, this is not the best
order for writing the sections of a manuscript. One recommended strategy is to write your
manuscript in the following order:
1. Materials and Methods
2. Results
These can be written first, as you are doing your experiments and collecting the results.
3. Introduction
4. Discussion
5. Conclusion

Write these sections next, once you have had a chance to analyse your results, have a sense of
their impact and have decided on the journal you think best suits the work
6. Title
7. Abstract
Write your Title and Abstract last as these are based on all the other sections.
Following this order will help you write a logical and consistent manuscript.

Use the different sections of a manuscript to ‘tell a story’ about your research and its
implications.
Title, Abstract and Keywords
The Importance of Titles
The title of your manuscript is usually the first introduction readers (and reviewers) have to
your work. Therefore, you must select a title that grabs attention, accurately describes the
contents of your manuscript, and makes people want to read further.
An effective title should:
 Convey the main topics of the study
 Highlight the importance of the research
 Be concise
 Attract readers
Writing a good title for your manuscript can be challenging. First, list the topics covered by
the manuscript. Try to put all of the topics together in the title using as few words as possible.
A title that is too long will seem clumsy, annoy readers, and probably not meet journal
requirements.

Example:
Does Vaccinating Children and Adolescents with Inactivated Influenza Virus Inhibit the
Spread of Influenza in Unimmunized Residents of Rural Communities?
This title has too many unnecessary words.

Influenza Vaccination of Children: A Randomized Trial

This title doesn’t give enough information about what makes the manuscript
interesting.
Effect of Child Influenza Vaccination on Infection Rates in Rural Communities: A
Randomized Trial
This is an effective title. It is short, easy to understand, and conveys the important
aspects of the research.

Think about why your research will be of interest to other scientists. This should be related to
the reason you decided to study the topic. If your title makes this clear, it will likely attract
more readers to your manuscript.
TIP: Write down a few possible titles, and then select the best to refine further. Ask your
colleagues their opinion. Spending the time needed to do this will result in a better title.
Abstract and Keywords
The Abstract is:
 A summary of the content of the journal manuscript
 A time-saving shortcut for busy researchers
 A guide to the most important parts of your manuscript’s written content
Many readers will only read the Abstract of your manuscript. Therefore, it has to be able
to stand alone. In most cases the abstract is the only part of your article that appears in
indexing databases such as Web of Science or PubMed and so will be the most accessed part
of your article; making a good impression will encourage researchers to read your full paper.
A well written abstract can also help speed up the peer-review process. During peer review,
referees are usually only sent the abstract when invited to review the paper. Therefore, the
abstract needs to contain enough information about the paper to allow referees to make a
judgement as to whether they have enough expertise to review the paper and be engaging
enough for them to want to review it.
Your Abstract should answer these questions about your manuscript:
 What was done?
 Why did you do it?
 What did you find?
 Why are these findings useful and important?
Answering these questions lets readers know the most important points about your study, and
helps them decide whether they want to read the rest of the paper. Make sure you follow the
proper journal manuscript formatting guidelines when preparing your abstract.
 TIP: Journals often set a maximum word count for Abstracts, often 250 words, and no
citations. This is to ensure that the full Abstract appears in indexing services.

Keywords are a tool to help indexers and search engines find relevant papers. If database
search engines can find your journal manuscript, readers will be able to find it too. This will
increase the number of people reading your manuscript, and likely lead to more citations.
However, to be effective, Keywords must be chosen carefully. They should:
 Represent the content of your manuscript
 Be specific to your field or sub-field

Examples:
Manuscript title: Direct observation of nonlinear optics in an isolated carbon nanotube
Poor keywords: molecule, optics, lasers, energy lifetime
Better keywords: single-molecule interaction, Kerr effect, carbon nanotubes, energy level
structure

Manuscript title: Region-specific neuronal degeneration after okadaic acid administration

Poor keywords: neuron, brain, OA (an abbreviation), regional-specific neuronal
degeneration, signaling
Better keywords: neurodegenerative diseases; CA1 region, hippocampal; okadaic acid;
neurotoxins; MAP kinase signaling system; cell death

Manuscript title: Increases in levels of sediment transport at former glacial-interglacial

transitions
Poor keywords: climate change, erosion, plant effects
Better keywords: quaternary climate change, soil erosion, bioturbation

Types of journal articles

It is helpful to familiarise yourself with the different types of articles published by journals.
Although it may appear there are a large number of types of articles published due to the
wide variety of names they are published under, most articles published are one of the
following types; Original Research, Review Articles, Short reports or Letters, Case Studies,
Methodologies.
Original Research:
This is the most common type of journal manuscript used to publish full reports of data from
research. It may be called an Original Article, Research Article, Research, or
just Article, depending on the journal. The Original Research format is suitable for many
different fields and different types of studies. It includes full Introduction, Methods, Results,
and Discussion sections.
Short reports or Letters:
These papers communicate brief reports of data from original research that editors believe
will be interesting to many researchers, and that will likely stimulate further research in the
field. As they are relatively short the format is useful for scientists with results that are time
sensitive (for example, those in highly competitive or quickly-changing disciplines). This
format often has strict length limits, so some experimental details may not be published until
the authors write a full Original Research manuscript. These papers are also sometimes
called Brief communications.
Review Articles:
Review Articles provide a comprehensive summary of research on a certain topic, and a
perspective on the state of the field and where it is heading. They are often written by leaders
in a particular discipline after invitation from the editors of a journal. Reviews are often
widely read (for example, by researchers looking for a full introduction to a field) and highly
cited. Reviews commonly cite approximately 100 primary research articles.
TIP: If you would like to write a Review but have not been invited by a journal, be sure to
check the journal website as some journals to not consider unsolicited Reviews. If the website
does not mention whether Reviews are commissioned it is wise to send a pre-submission
enquiry letter to the journal editor to propose your Review manuscript before you spend time
writing it.  
Case Studies:
These articles report specific instances of interesting phenomena. A goal of Case Studies is to
make other researchers aware of the possibility that a specific phenomenon might occur. This
type of study is often used in medicine to report the occurrence of previously unknown or
emerging pathologies.
Methodologies or Methods
These articles present a new experimental method, test or procedure. The method described
may either be completely new, or may offer a better version of an existing method. The
article should describe a demonstrable advance on what is currently available.

Statement of Purpose (SOP)

What is SOP?
An SOP is a long essay required by universities abroad and nowadays some of the Indian
universities during the application process. As the full form of SOP reveals, a Statement of
Purpose is an essay stating the purpose of applying to a particular course in a particular
university. This essay consists of a gist of who you are, who you want to become, and how
ready you are to pursue a certain course in an institution.

The document seeks to understand the candidate’s life, the motivations for the chosen career
path and his/her goals. Hence, you should discuss the past incidents that have influenced your
career path in a specific domain wherein you aspire to grow by joining a course/college.

Why is SOP important?

A well-written SOP is extremely critical to your admission. Needless to say, there are many
aspects of a candidate’s application that are inspected before finalising a decision. While the
academic record and other exam scorecards/academic transcripts and backlog certificates are
essentially objective in nature, an SOP is the only truly subjective aspect of your application.
It is the only document in your application that gives you the opportunity to prove that you
have something unique that makes you stand out from the crowd. As such, it is the document
of your application docket that can hugely determine your admission.

What is the General Statement of Purpose Format?

Most universities across the globe have a standard format/template that is acceptable.

In a traditional SOP, you do not need to write your name or course details anywhere in the
document. The SOP is a part of your application/student profile, thus, it will have your name
and course details by default. However, there might be some universities or schools that
specify whether they require your name and course details in the SOP. These universities will
provide you with specific instructions on how and where to write your personal details in a
document. Thus, you need to follow their instructions thoroughly.

While drafting your SOP, you need to keep in mind that the admission committee will be
reviewing thousands of applications for the same course. Thus, not only your SOP needs to
be crisp and precise, but it should also highlight the uniqueness in your profile. Here are a
few things that the college review committee generally look for in a student’s SOP:

• Your writing capability is reflected in your SOP. Your SOP should be free from
grammatical errors. The language should be lucid enough for them to comprehend yet should
have a good vocabulary. Make sure not to use too many heavy words as sometimes too much
rich vocabulary makes the sentence redundant and it fails to communicate the meaning.
• What makes you stand out from the rest of the crowd? Highlight your unique
side/unique personality. The Adcom should be able to recognize you an as individual through
your SOP. Your interests and goals will help them know you on a personal basis.
• With your talent, previous experiences and interest, how and what can you contribute
to the department and college/university, as a whole? Think of it as a two-way process. If you
receive an admit, your career will get a kick-start and through your efforts and participation,
the department/college can receive benefits. You need to mention how you will be able to
contribute to their community, be it through sports, community services, societies or clubs,
and so on.
• Being familiar with the university facilities and curriculum will help you a great deal.
You need to be aware of the student programmes, faculty, internship opportunities, student
facilities and societies, traditions etc that sets the university apart from others. The Adcom
should be convinced that you know about the department and college/university thoroughly
and thus, you are applying in it and not applying randomly.
• Your motivation or inspiration to study a selected course should be clear, evident and
justified. Adcom does not approve of bragging sentences in the SOP. So keep it original, real,
and free from any overbearing or arrogant statements.

Statement of Purpose should be 1-2 pages long, ideally wrapped in 800-1000 words.
However, the length of this document may vary as per university-specific requirements.
It is generally easy to write a story of your life explaining the importance of each incident in
shaping or moulding your character. However, when it comes to defining your SOP within
the communicated word limit by some universities, the challenge is to portray your best
within limited words. In such cases, it is better to mention the major achievements from every
place you have been to such as school, college, office, etc.
Some abroad universities do not require SOP, they rather give you Essay Prompts along with
a word limit. In order to learn the importance of word limit in an SOP, you may refer to this
Importance of Word Limit in Essay.

What to Include in an SOP?

There are many elements to an SOP. Universities could ask question-based essays or simply a
general statement of purpose. Until and unless categorically asked, an SOP must include your
goals and the career path you have taken up so far as well as your academic progress. Other
elements that are further important to the SOP are also the personal motivations that lead you
to choose the university/course you have applied to as well as how you intend to use that
experience to achieve that goal.
While understanding how to write an SOP, we come across various questions. To sum up
your entire life and career in 100 words can be a tiresome exercise. With the word constraints
rather important, what is important to understand at the onset is what to include in your SOP?

What not to include in an SOP?

Remember that there is no exhaustive list of what you can include in an SOP. What you need
to remember is that in such a case, it becomes equally important to understand what you must
not include in your SOP. For instance, should you talk about your family? What about your
school life? Every organization I have ever worked with? All my extracurricular
achievements? How to know the most important question – what not to include in your SOP?

Strategies to Write a Powerful and Convincing SOP

Whether applying for undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate programmes, the strategy of
writing a powerful statement of purpose would be to sound focused throughout. Starting from
your academic and professional background to your career aspirations, you need to carefully
connect all the dots between reaching your goals through your choice of school and course.
The essay should always go in a flow covering your past experience, present involvements,
and future plans. An important point to remember while writing your SOP would be to divide
it into paragraphs that cover all the pointers. Here is a look at how you may write the SOP
presenting your profile strongly:

Introduction of SOP: 1st Paragraph

This paragraph is often confused with self-introduction. It should not introduce you but
should discuss what you are about to discuss in your SOP. There are multiple approaches you
may adopt to go about this paragraph:
• Discuss your long-term goal and connect it with your idea of pursuing the course you
are applying to
• Present your understanding of the chosen field and write how you want to contribute
to that field
• Explain your background in 2-3 lines and connect it with your future goals
• Write about an anecdote that helped you realise your professional interest in the
chosen field

Students often make the mistake of introducing themselves or their childhood in the first
paragraph. In some cases, students tend to forget about the purpose behind writing an SOP.

SOP 2nd and 3rd Paragraphs: Academic Background and Professional Experience
This comprises of your academic background: what you have done so far, what you are
currently pursuing, your academic strengths and projects, industrial exposure you have
attained, etc. If you have any professional experience it should be discussed in the upcoming
paragraphs. This helps in establishing your career progression.

SOP 4th Paragraph: Why This Course?

In this paragraph, you should discuss why you want to join a course and what modules would
you tap during this course. It should also cover the skills you would acquire in this duration
along with the exposure that would help in developing the skills desired to realise your goals.

SOP 5th Paragraph: Career Goals

This is the most important paragraph, where you should discuss your short and long-term
goals. Your immediate goal would be where you would want to work right after completing
this course. You should be able to name some companies within India along with the
designation you see yourself working at. This should explain the kind of job profile you
would be working on.
Then comes your long-term goal, wherein you should mention where you see yourself from
10-12 or 15 years down the line. This may include your desire of working at the
CEO/CFO/CTO level or maybe establish a firm that you own. It may also include your dream
of expanding your existing family business overseas. You may also be interested in further
studies like a PhD which can be included here.

More in this section may include your desire of becoming a professor or researcher. In any
case, it is suggested that you discuss your business aim, principles, and core values or how
you would influence the young aspirants of this industry. You should be able to portray 'how
you wish to make a difference in the industry keeping in mind the current industrial scenarios
and emerging trends'.

SOP 6th Paragraph: Why This University?

This is a specific paragraph wherein you can convince a university as in how they are suitable
for your profile and you are an ideal candidate for their university. You should discuss the
course curriculum, research work, faculty names, as well as the university-specific activities
that would help you in enhancing your profile.

Closing Paragraph of SOP

In this paragraph should conclude your desire and readiness towards joining the chosen
course. Since this is the closing paragraph, you should sound focused and prepared for all the
challenges that came your way. It should also show that you have the zest in you to succeed
and with the help of the chosen course and university you will definitely make a difference in
the industry on a global perspective.

Statement of Purpose vs Personal Statement: Know the Difference

Apart from a few aspects, a Personal Statement seems similar to a Statement of Purpose.
While SOP includes a two-page essay about your motivation, goals, experience,
extracurricular activities and so on. On the other hand, a Personal Statement is a crisp one-
page essay about your motivation, inspiration, goals and achievements. A Personal Statement
is more personal than an SOP so a Personal Statement should be elaborate about your
aspirations and motivations. An SOP is a much more detailed version of the Personal
Statement.

SOP vs Letter of Motivation or Motivational Letter

A Letter of Motivation is a letter directly addressed to the admission committee/department
faculty explaining your objectives, motivation and goals related to the course. The SOP is not
addressed to any specific person or department, it is drafted in an essay format, whereas, the
motivational letter is always addressed to a professor or department under whose guidance
you will be studying.

Plagiarism
 Plagiarism is the representation of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or
expressions as one's own original work. In educational contexts, there are differing
definitions of plagiarism depending on the institution Plagiarism is considered a violation of
academic integrity such as truth and knowledge through intellectual and personal honesty in
learning, teaching, research, fairness, respect and responsibility, and a breach of journalistic
ethics. It is subject to sanctions such as penalties, suspension, expulsion from school or work,
substantial fines and even imprisonment

Generally, plagiarism is not in itself a crime, but like counterfeiting, fraud can be
punished in a court for prejudices caused by copyright infringement violation of moral
rights. In academia and industry, it is a serious ethical offense
In academia
Within academia, plagiarism by students, professors, or researchers is considered academic
dishonesty or academic fraud, and offenders are subject to academic censure, up to and
including expulsion. Some institutions use plagiarism detection software to uncover potential
plagiarism and to deter students from plagiarizing. However, plagiarism detection software
does not always yield accurate results and there are loopholes in these systems. Some
universities address the issue of academic integrity by providing students with thorough
orientations. The orientation required writing courses, and clearly articulated honor codes.

Indeed, there is a virtually uniform understanding among college students that plagiarism is
wrong. Nevertheless, each year students are brought before their institutions' disciplinary
boards on charges that they have misused sources in their schoolwork. However, the practice
of plagiarizing by use of sufficient word substitutions to elude detection software, known as
rogeting. Rogetting has rapidly evolved as students and unethical academics seek to stay
ahead of detection software]

An extreme form of plagiarism, known as "contract cheating", involves students paying

someone else, such as an essay mill, to do their work for them.[29] The student enters into an
agreement with a contract cheating provider because very few parts of the world have
legislation that prohibits the operation or the promotion of contract cheating services

One form of academic plagiarism involves appropriating a published article and modifying it
slightly to avoid suspicion.
No universally adopted definition of academic plagiarism exists. However, this section
provides several definitions to exemplify the most common characteristics of academic
plagiarism. It has been called, "The use of ideas, concepts, words, or structures without
appropriately acknowledging the source to benefit in a setting where originality is expected."
This is an abridged version of Teddi Fishman's definition of plagiarism, which proposed five
elements characteristic of plagiarism. According to Fishman, plagiarism occurs when
someone:
• Uses words, ideas, or work products
• Attributable to another identifiable person or source
• Without attributing the work to the source from which it was obtained
• In a situation in which there is a legitimate expectation of original authorship
• In order to obtain some benefit, credit, or gain which need not be monetary

Furthermore, plagiarism is defined differently among institutions of higher learning and

universities:
• Stanford defines plagiarism as the "use, without giving reasonable and appropriate
credit to or acknowledging the author or source, of another person's original work, whether
such work is made up of code, formulas, ideas, language, research, strategies, writing or other
form".
• Yale views plagiarism as the "... use of another's work, words, or ideas without
attribution", which includes "... using a source's language without quoting, using information
from a source without attribution, and paraphrasing a source in a form that stays too close to
the original".
• Princeton describes plagiarism as the "deliberate" use of "someone else's language,
ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its
source".[60]
• Oxford College of Emory University characterizes plagiarism as the use of "a writer's
ideas or phraseology without giving due credit".
• Brown defines plagiarism as "... appropriating another person's ideas or words
(spoken or written) without attributing those word or ideas to their true source".

For example, a 2015 survey of teachers and professors by Turnitin, identified 10 main forms
of plagiarism that students commit:
• Submitting someone's work as their own.
• Taking passages from their own previous work without adding citations (self-
plagiarism).
• Re-writing someone's work without properly citing sources.
• Using quotations but not citing the source.
• Interweaving various sources together in the work without citing.
• Citing some, but not all, passages that should be cited.
• Melding together cited and uncited sections of the piece.
• Providing proper citations, but failing to change the structure and wording of the
borrowed ideas enough (close paraphrasing).
• Inaccurately citing a source.
• Relying too heavily on other people's work, failing to bring original thought into the
text.

A 2019 systematic literature review on academic plagiarism detection[65] deductively

derived a technically oriented typology of academic plagiarism from the linguistic model of
language consisting of lexis, syntax, and semantics extended by a fourth layer to capture the
plagiarism of ideas and structures. The typology categorizes plagiarism forms according to
the layer of the model they affect:
• Characters-preserving plagiarism
o Verbatim copying without proper citation
• Syntax-preserving plagiarism
o Synonym substitution
o Technical disguise (e.g. using identically looking glyphs from another alphabet)
• Semantics-preserving plagiarism
o Translation
o Paraphrase
• Idea-preserving plagiarism
o Appropriation of ideas or concepts
o Reusing text structure
• Ghostwriting
o Collusion (typically among students)
o Contract cheating

Sanctions for student plagiarism

In the academic world, plagiarism by students is usually considered a very serious offense
that can result in punishments such as a failing grade on the particular assignment, the entire
course, or even being expelled from the institution. The seriousness with which academic
institutions address student plagiarism may be tempered by a recognition that students may
not fully understand what plagiarism is. A 2015 study showed that students who were new to
university study did not have a good understanding of even the basic requirements of how to
attribute sources in written academic work, yet students were very confident that they
understood what referencing and plagiarism are.[66] The same students also had a lenient
view of how plagiarism should be penalised.

However, to impose sanctions, plagiarism needs to be detected. Strategies faculty members

use to detect plagiarism include carefully reading students work and making note of
inconsistencies in student writing, citation errors and providing plagiarism prevention
education to students. It has been found that a significant share of (university) teachers do not
use detection methods such as using text-matching software

Plagiarism education
Given the serious consequences that plagiarism has for students, there has been a call for a
greater emphasis on learning in order to help students avoid committing plagiarism. This is
especially important when students move to a new institution that may have a different view
of the concept when compared with the view previously developed by the student.[71]
Indeed, given the seriousness of plagiarism accusations for a student's future, the pedagogy of
plagiarism education may need to be considered ahead of the pedagogy of the discipline
being studied. The need for plagiarism education extends to academic staff, who may not
completely understand what is expected of their students or the consequences of misconduct.
Actions to reduce plagiarism include coordinating teaching activities to decrease student
load; reducing memorization, increasing individual practical activities; and promoting
positive reinforcement over punishment.

Factors influencing students' decisions to plagiarize

 Several studies investigated factors that influence the decision to plagiarize. For
example, a panel study with students from German universities found that academic
procrastination predicts the frequency plagiarism conducted within six months
followed the measurement of academic procrastination.
 It has been argued that by plagiarizing, students cope with the negative consequences
that result from academic procrastination such as poor grades.
 Another study found that plagiarism is more frequent if students perceive plagiarism
as beneficial and if they have the opportunity to plagiarize.
 When students had expected higher sanctions and when they had internalized social
norms that define plagiarism as very objectionable, plagiarism was less likely to
occur. Another study found that students resorted to plagiarism in order to cope with
heavy workloads imposed by teachers.
 On the other hand, in that study, some teachers also thought that plagiarism is a
consequence of their own failure to propose creative tasks and activities.
 The reuse of significant, identical, or nearly identical portions of one's own work
without acknowledging that one is doing so or citing the original work is sometimes
described as "self-plagiarism"; the term "recycling fraud" has also been used to describe this
practice. Articles of this nature are often referred to as duplicate or multiple publication. In
addition there can be a copyright issue if copyright of the prior work has been transferred to
another entity. Self-plagiarism is considered a serious ethical issue in settings where someone
asserts that a publication consists of new material, such as in publishing or factual
documentation. It does not apply to public-interest texts, such as social, professional, and
cultural opinions usually published in newspapers and magazines.

In academic fields, self-plagiarism occurs when an author reuses portions of their own
published and copyrighted work in subsequent publications, but without attributing the
previous publication.[85][86] Identifying self-plagiarism is often difficult because limited
reuse of material is accepted both legally (as fair use) and ethically.[87] Many people
(mostly, but not limited to critics of copyright and "intellectual property") do not believe it is
possible to plagiarize oneself.[88] Critics of the concepts of plagiarism and copyright may
use the idea of self-plagiarism as a reductio ad absurdum argument.

PARAPHRASING
A paraphrase is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term
itself is derived via Latin paraphrasis, from Ancient Greek παράφρασις (paráphrasis)
'additional manner of expression'. The act of paraphrasing is also called paraphrasis.

A paraphrase typically explains or clarifies the text that is being paraphrased. For
example, "The signal was red" might be paraphrased as "The train was not allowed to pass
because the signal was red". A paraphrase is usually introduced with verbum dicendi—a
declaratory expression to signal the transition to the paraphrase. For example, in "The signal
was red, that is, the train was not allowed to proceed," the that is signals the paraphrase that
follows.

A paraphrase does not need to accompany a direct quotation. The paraphrase typically
serves to put the source's statement into perspective or to clarify the context in which it
appeared. A paraphrase is typically more detailed than a summary. One should add the source
at the end of the sentence: When the light was red, trains could not go

A paraphrase may attempt to preserve the essential meaning of the material being
paraphrased. Thus, the (intentional or otherwise) reinterpretation of a source to infer a
meaning that is not explicitly evident in the source itself qualifies as "original research," and
not a paraphrase.

Unlike a metaphrase, which represents a "formal equivalent" of the source, a

paraphrase represents a "dynamic equivalent" thereof. While a metaphrase attempts to
translate a text literally, a paraphrase conveys the essential thought expressed in a source text
—if necessary, at the expense of literality. For details, see dynamic and formal equivalence.

Primarily, two things. First, that many people—most, in fact—are deeply interested in
psychology. They view it as a source of fascinating and potentially useful information about
themselves and other persons, and as a source of valuable help with their personal problems.
Second, these experiences also remind me that not everyone shares these views. On the
contrary, the group I label “skeptics” have serious doubts about the value and usefulness of
psychology.

Using Quotations

The focus of your essay should be on your understanding of the topic. If you include too
much
quotation in your essay, you will crowd out your own ideas. Consider quoting a passage from
one of your sources if any of the following conditions holds:
1. The language of the passage is particularly elegant or powerful or memorable.
2. You wish to confirm the credibility of your argument by enlisting the support of an
authority on
your topic.
3. The passage is worthy of further analysis.
4. You wish to argue with someone else’s position in considerable detail.

Condition 3 is especially useful in essays for literature courses.

If an argument or a factual account from one of your sources is particularly relevant to your
paper
but does not deserve to be quoted verbatim, consider
• paraphrasing the passage if you wish to convey the points in the passage at roughly the
same
level of detail as in the original
• summarizing the relevant passage if you wish to sketch only the most essential points in the
passage
Note that most scientific writing relies on summary rather than quotation. The same is true of
writing in
those social sciences—such as experimental psychology—that rely on controlled studies and
emphasize
quantifiable results. (Almost all of the examples in this handout follow the MLA system of
citation,
which is widely used in the humanities and in those social sciences with a less quantitative
approach.)
Why is it important to identify my sources?
Quotations come from somewhere, and your reader will want to know where. Don’t just
parachute
quotations into your essay without providing at least some indication of who your source is.
Letting your
reader know exactly which authorities you rely on is an advantage: it shows that you have
done your
research and that you are well acquainted with the literature on your topic.
In the following passage, the parenthetical reference to the author does not adequately
identify the
source:
The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify wars that were waged outside the walls of the
city state.
“Hence we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war, together with
the first
notion that there are just and unjust wars” (Arendt 12). Yet the Roman conception of a just
war differs
sharply from more modern conceptions.
When you are making decisions about how to integrate quotations into your essay, you might
imagine
that you are reading the essay out loud to an audience. You would not read the parenthetical
note.
Without some sort of introduction, your audience would not even know that the statement
about Roman
antiquity was a quotation, let alone where the quotation came from.
How do I introduce a short quotation?
The following offers just one way of introducing the above quotation:
The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify wars that were waged outside the walls of the
city state.
As Hannah Arendt points out in On Revolution, “we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the
first
justification of war, together with the first notion that there are just and unjust wars” (12). Yet
the
Roman conception of a just war differs sharply from more modern conceptions.
Since the quotation is relatively short, the brief introduction works.
You could, however, strengthen your analysis by demonstrating the significance of the
passage
within your own argument.

Introducing your quotation with a full sentence would help you assert greater
control over the material:
The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify wars that were waged outside the walls of the
city state.
In On Revolution, Hannah Arendt points to the role the Romans played in laying the
foundation for later
thinking about the ethics of waging war: “we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first
justification
of war, together with the first notion that there are just and unjust wars” (12).

Yet the Roman

conception of a just war differs sharply from more modern conceptions.
In these two examples, observe the forms of punctuation used to introduce the quotations.
When
you introduce a quotation with a full sentence, you should always place a colon at the end of
the
introductory sentence. When you introduce a quotation with an incomplete sentence, you
usually place a
comma after the introductory phrase. However, it has become grammatically acceptable to
use a colon
rather than a comma:
Arendt writes: “we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war . . .”
If you are blending the quotation into your own sentence using the conjuction that, do not use
any
punctuation at all:
Arendt writes that “we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war . . .”
If you are not sure whether to punctuate your introduction to a quotation, mentally remove
the quotation
marks, and ask yourself whether any punctuation is still required.
Finally, note that you can deviate from the common pattern of introduction followed by
quotation.
Weaving the phrases of others into your own prose offers a stylistically compelling way of
maintaining
control over your source material. Moreover, the technique of weaving can help you to
produce a tighter
argument. The following condenses twelve lines from Arendt’s essay to fewer than three:
What Arendt refers to as the “well-known realities of power politics” began to lose their
moral
legitimacy when the First World War unleashed “the horribly destructive” forces of warfare
“under
conditions of modern technology” (13).
What verbs and phrases can I use to introduce my quotations?
Familiarize yourself with the various verbs commonly used to introduce quotations. Here is a
partial
list:
argues writes points out concludes comments notes
maintains suggests insists observes counters assert
states claims demonstrates says explains reveals
Each verb has its own nuance. Make sure that the nuance matches your specific aims in
introducing the
quotation.
There are other ways to begin quotations. Here are three common phrasings:
In the words of X, . . .
According to X, . . .
In X’s view, . . .
Vary the way you introduce quotations to avoid sounding monotonous. But never sacrifice
precision of
phrasing for the sake of variety.
How do I introduce a long quotation?
If your quotation is lengthy, you should almost always introduce it with a full sentence that
helps
capture how it fits into your argument. If your quotation is longer than four lines, do not place
it in
quotation marks. Instead, set it off as a block quotation:
Although Dickens never shied away from the political controversies of his time, he never, in
Orwell’s
view, identified himself with any political program:
The truth is that Dickens’ criticism of society is almost exclusively moral. Hence his lack of
any
constructive suggestion anywhere in his work. He attacks the law, parliamentary government,
the
educational system and so forth, without ever clearly suggesting what he would put in their
places.
Of course it is not necessarily the business of a novelist, or a satirist, to make constructive
suggestions, but the point is that Dickens’ attitude is at bottom not even destructive. . . . For
in
reality his target is not so much society as human nature. (416)
The full-sentence introduction to a block quotation helps demonstrate your grasp of the
source material,
and it adds analytical depth to your essay. But the introduction alone is not enough. Long
quotations
almost invariably need to be followed by extended analysis. Never allow the quotation to do
your work
for you. Usually you will want to keep the quotation and your analysis together in the same
paragraph.
Hence it is a good idea to avoid ending a paragraph with a quotation. But if your analysis is
lengthy, you
may want to break it into several paragraphs, beginning afresh after the quotation.
Once in a while you can reverse the pattern of quotation followed by analysis. A felicitously
worded
or an authoritative quotation can, on occasion, nicely clinch an argument.
There is some flexibility in the rule that block quotations are for passages of four lines or
more: a
shorter passage can be represented as a block quotation if it is important enough to stand on
its own. For
example, when you are quoting two or more lines of poetry, you will probably want to
display the verse
as it appears on the page:
In the opening heroic couplet of The Rape of the Lock, Pope establishes the unheroic nature
of the poem’s
subject matter:
What dire offense from amorous causes springs,
What mighty contests rise from trivial things. (1-2)
If you choose to integrate verse into your own sentence, then use a slash surrounded by
spaces to
indicate line breaks:
In Eliot’s The Waste Land, the symbols of a mythic past lie buried in “A heap of broken
images, where the
sun beats, / And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief” (22-23).
How do I let my reader know I’ve altered my sources?
If you need to alter your quotations in any way, be sure to indicate just how you have done
so. If you
remove text, then replace the missing text with an ellipsis—three periods surrounded by
spaces:
In The Mirror and the Lamp, Abrams comments that the “diversity of aesthetic theories . . .
makes the
task of the historian a very difficult one” (5).
If the omitted text occurs between sentences, then put a space after the period at the end of
sentence, and
follow that by an ellipsis. In all, there will be four periods. (See Orwell on Dickens, above.)
Many people overuse ellipses at the beginning and end of quotations. Use an ellipsis in either
place
only when your reader might otherwise mistake an incomplete sentence for a complete one:
Abraham Lincoln begins “The Gettysburg Address” with a reminder of the act upon which
the United States
was founded: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a
new nation
. . .” (1).
Do not use an ellipsis if you are merely borrowing a phrase from the original:
In “The Gettysburg Address” Abraham Lincoln reminds his listeners of the principles that
had inspired the
creation of “a new nation” (1).
If you need to alter or replace text from the original, enclose the added text within square
brackets.
You may, for example, need to alter text to ensure that pronouns agree with their antecedents.
Do not
write,
Gertrude asks her son Hamlet to “cast your nighted colour off” (1.2.68).
Square brackets allow you to absorb Gertrude’s words into your own statement:
Gertrude asks her son Hamlet to “cast [his] nighted colour off” (1.2.68).
Alternatively, you can include Gertrude’s original phrasing in its entirety so long as the
introduction to
the quotation is not fully integrated with the quotation. The introduction can be an
independent clause:
Gertrude implores her son Hamlet to stop mourning the death of his father: “cast your nighted
colour off”
(I.ii.68).
Or it can be an incomplete sentence:
Gertrude implores her son Hamlet, “cast your nighted colour off” (1.2.68).
How is punctuation affected by quotation?
You must preserve the punctuation of a quoted passage, or else you must enclose in square
brackets
any punctuation marks that are your own.
There is, however, one important exception to this rule. You are free to alter the punctuation
just
before a closing quotation mark. You may need to do so to ensure that your sentences are
fully
grammatical. Do not worry about how the original sentence needs to be punctuated before
that quotation
mark; think about how your sentence needs to be punctuated. Note, for example, that if you
are using the
MLA system of referencing, a sentence always ends after the parenthetical reference. Do not
also
include a period before closing the quotation mark, even if there is a period there in the
original. For
example, do not write,
According to Schama, Louis XVI remained calm during his trial: “The Terror had no power
to frighten an
old man of seventy-two.” (822).
The period before the closing quotation mark must go:
According to Schama, Louis XVI remained calm during his trial: “The Terror had no power
to frighten an
old man of seventy-two” (822).
However, if you are using footnotes, the period remains inside the quotation mark, while the
footnote
number goes outside:
According to Schama, Louis XVI remained calm during his trial: “The Terror had no power
to frighten an
old man of seventy-two.”1
In Canada and the United States, commas and periods never go outside a quotation mark.
They are
always absorbed as part of the quotation, whether they belong to you or to the author you are
quoting:
“I am a man / more sinned against than sinning,” Lear pronounces in Act 3, Scene 2 (59-60).
However, stronger forms of punctuation such as question marks and exclamation marks go
inside the
quotation if they belong to the author, and outside if they do not:
Bewildered, Lear asks the fool, “Who is it that can tell me who I am?” (1.4.227).
Why is Lear so rash as to let his “two daughters’ dowers digest the third” (1.1.127)?
Finally, use single quotation marks for all quotations within quotations:
When Elizabeth reveals that her younger sister has eloped, Darcy drops his customary
reserve: “‘I am
grieved, indeed,’ cried Darcy, ‘grieved — shocked’” (Austen 295).
What is a Research Proposal?
A proposal is a request for support for sponsored research, instruction, or extension projects.
Good proposals quickly and easily answer the following questions:
• What do you want to do, and how do you plan to do it?
• How much will it cost, and how much time will it take?
• How does the proposed project relate to the sponsor's interests?
• What difference will the project make to: your university, your students, your
discipline, the state, the nation, or any other concerned parties?
• What has already been done in the area of your project? Why should you, rather than
someone else, do this project?
• How will the results be evaluated?
Certain questions will be emphasized over others depending on the nature of the proposed
project and the agency to which you are submitting the proposal. Most agencies provide
detailed instructions or guidelines concerning the preparation of proposals (and, in some
cases, forms on which proposals are to be typed).

Determining the Proposal Type

Solicited proposals
Proposals submitted in response to a specific call issued by a sponsor. Such solicitations,
typically called Request for Proposals (RFP), or Request for Quotations (RFQ), are usually
have specific requirements for format and technical content, and may specify certain award
terms and conditions. Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) are not considered formal
solicitations.
Unsolicited proposals
Proposals submitted to a sponsor that has not issued a specific solicitation but is believed by
the investigator to have an interest in the subject.
Preproposals
These are requested by a sponsor who wants to minimize an applicant's effort in preparing a
full proposal. Preproposals are usually in the form of a letter of intent or brief abstract. After
the preproposal is reviewed, the sponsor notifies the investigator if a full proposal is
warranted.
Continuation or non-competing proposals
These confirm the original proposal and funding requirements of a multi-year project which
the sponsor has already provided funding for an initial period (normally one year). Continued
support is usually dependent on satisfactory work progress and the availability of funds.
Renewal or competing proposals
Proposals which request continued support for an existing project that is about to end. These
requests--from the sponsor's viewpoint--generally have the same status as an unsolicited
proposal.

Primary Components of a Research Proposal

Proposals for sponsored activities generally follow a similar format; variations depend upon
whether the proposer is seeking support for a research grant, a training grant, or a conference
or curriculum development project. The following outline covers the primary components of
a research proposal. Your proposal will be a variation on this basic theme.
1. Title Page: Most sponsoring agencies specify the format for the title page, and some
provide special forms to summarize basic administrative and fiscal data for the project. Titles
are brief but comprehensive enough to indicate the nature of the proposed work.
2. Abstract: The funder may use the abstract to make preliminary decisions about the
proposal. Therefore, an effective summary states the problem addressed by the applicant,
identifies the solution, and specifies the objectives and methods of the project. This summary
should also outline funding requirements and describe the applicant’s ability.
3. Table of Contents: Brief proposals with few sections usually do not need a table of
contents. Long and detailed proposals may require, in addition to a table of contents, a list of
illustrations (or figures) and a list of tables. If all of these sections are included, they should
follow the order mentioned, and each should be numbered with lower-case Roman numerals.
The table of contents lists all major parts and divisions, including the abstract.
4. Introduction (including Statement of Problem, Purpose of Research, and Significance
of Research): The introduction of a proposal begins with a capsule statement and then
proceeds to introduce the subject to a stranger. It should give enough background to enable an
informed lay person to place your particular research problem in a context of common
knowledge and should show how its solution will advance the field or be important for some
other work. The statement describes the significance of the problem(s), referring to
appropriate studies or statistics.
5. Background (including Literature Survey): Be sure to (1) make clear what the
research problem is and exactly what has been accomplished; (2) to give evidence of your
own competence in the field; and (3) to show why the previous work needs to be continued.
The literature review should be selective and critical. Discussions of work done by others
should lead the reader to a clear idea of how you will build upon past research and also how
your work differs from theirs.
6. Description of Proposed Research (including Method or Approach): The
comprehensive explanation of the proposed research is addressed to other specialists in your
field. This section is the heart of the proposal and is the primary concern of the technical
reviewers. Remember as you lay out the research design to:
• Be realistic about what can be accomplished.
• Be explicit about any assumptions or hypotheses the research method rests upon.
• Be clear about the focus of the research.
• Be as detailed as possible about the schedule of the proposed work.
• Be specific about the means of evaluating the data or the conclusions.
• Be certain that the connection between the research objectives and the research
method is evident.
• Spell out preliminary work developing an analytical method or laying groundwork as
Phase 1.
At the end of this phase you will be able to report that you have accomplished something and
are ready to undertake Phase 2.
7. Description of Relevant Institutional Resources: Generally this section details the
resources available to the proposed project and, if possible, shows why the sponsor should
select this University and this investigator for this particular research. Some relevant points
may be:
• the institution's demonstrated skill in the related research area
• its abundance of experts in related areas that may indirectly benefit the project
• its supportive services that will directly benefit the project
• and the institution's unique or unusual research facilities or resources available to the
project
8. List of References: The style of the bibliographical item itself depends on the
disciplinary field. The main consideration is consistency; whatever style is chosen should be
followed carefully throughout the proposal.
9. Personnel: This section usually consists of two parts: (1) an explanation of the
proposed personnel arrangements and (2) the biographical data sheets for each of the main
contributors to the project. The explanation should specify how many persons at what
percentage of time and in what academic categories will be participating in the project. If the
program is complex and involves people from other departments or colleges, make clear the
organization of the staff and the lines of responsibility. Any student participation, paid or
unpaid, should be mentioned, and the nature of the proposed contribution detailed. If any
persons must be hired for the project, say so, and explain why, unless the need for persons not
already available within the University is self-evident.
10. Budget: Sponsors customarily specify how budgets should be presented and what
costs are allowable. The budget lays out the costs to be met by the funding source, including
personnel, non-personnel, administrative, and overhead expenses. The budget also specifies
items paid for by other funding sources. Includes explanations for requested expenses.
some of the points to be kept in mind while writing a proposal. These are as follows:
• Give ample, credible evidence for all statements.
• Do not exaggerate.
• Provide examples, expert testimony and specific facts and figures to support your
statements.
• Use simple, straightforward and direct language preferring simple sentences and
active voice.
• Stress reader benefits. Remember that you are asking for something, usually a
commitment of money; let the reader know what he or she will get in return.

What is a Research Proposal?

A proposal is a request for support for sponsored research, instruction, or extension projects.

Good proposals quickly and easily answer the following questions:

 What do you want to do, and how do you plan to do it?

 How much will it cost, and how much time will it take?
 How does the proposed project relate to the sponsor's interests?
 What difference will the project make to: your university, your students, your
discipline, the state, the nation, or any other concerned parties?
 What has already been done in the area of your project? Why should you, rather than
someone else, do this project?
 How will the results be evaluated?

Certain questions will be emphasized over others depending on the nature of the proposed
project and the agency to which you are submitting the proposal. Most agencies provide
detailed instructions or guidelines concerning the preparation of proposals (and, in some
cases, forms on which proposals are to be typed).

Determining the Proposal Type

Solicited proposals
Proposals submitted in response to a specific call issued by a sponsor. Such solicitations,
typically called Request for Proposals (RFP), or Request for Quotations (RFQ), are usually
have specific requirements for format and technical content, and may specify certain award
terms and conditions. Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) are not considered formal
solicitations.
Unsolicited proposals
Proposals submitted to a sponsor that has not issued a specific solicitation but is believed by
the investigator to have an interest in the subject.
Preproposals
These are requested by a sponsor who wants to minimize an applicant's effort in preparing a
full proposal. Preproposals are usually in the form of a letter of intent or brief abstract. After
the preproposal is reviewed, the sponsor notifies the investigator if a full proposal is
warranted.
Continuation or non-competing proposals
These confirm the original proposal and funding requirements of a multi-year project which
the sponsor has already provided funding for an initial period (normally one year). Continued
support is usually dependent on satisfactory work progress and the availability of funds.
Renewal or competing proposals
Proposals which request continued support for an existing project that is about to end. These
requests--from the sponsor's viewpoint--generally have the same status as an unsolicited
proposal.

Primary Components of a Research Proposal

Proposals for sponsored activities generally follow a similar format; variations depend
upon whether the proposer is seeking support for a research grant, a training grant, or a
conference or curriculum development project. The following outline covers the primary
components of a research proposal. Your proposal will be a variation on this basic theme.

Title Page: Most sponsoring agencies specify the format for the title page, and some provide
special forms to summarize basic administrative and fiscal data for the project. Titles are
brief but comprehensive enough to indicate the nature of the proposed work.

Abstract: The funder may use the abstract to make preliminary decisions about the proposal.
Therefore, an effective summary states the problem addressed by the applicant, identifies the
solution, and specifies the objectives and methods of the project. This summary should also
outline funding requirements and describe the applicant’s ability.

Table of Contents: Brief proposals with few sections usually do not need a table of contents.
Long and detailed proposals may require, in addition to a table of contents, a list of
illustrations (or figures) and a list of tables. If all of these sections are included, they should
follow the order mentioned, and each should be numbered with lower-case Roman numerals.
The table of contents lists all major parts and divisions, including the abstract.

Introduction (including Statement of Problem, Purpose of Research, and Significance of

Research): The introduction of a proposal begins with a capsule statement and then proceeds
to introduce the subject to a stranger. It should give enough background to enable an
informed lay person to place your particular research problem in a context of common
knowledge and should show how its solution will advance the field or be important for some
other work. The statement describes the significance of the problem(s), referring to
appropriate studies or statistics.
Background (including Literature Survey): Be sure to (1) make clear what the research
problem is and exactly what has been accomplished; (2) to give evidence of your own
competence in the field; and (3) to show why the previous work needs to be continued. The
literature review should be selective and critical. Discussions of work done by others should
lead the reader to a clear idea of how you will build upon past research and also how your
work differs from theirs.

Description of Proposed Research (including Method or Approach): The comprehensive

explanation of the proposed research is addressed to other specialists in your field. This
section is the heart of the proposal and is the primary concern of the technical reviewers.
Remember as you lay out the research design to:

 Be realistic about what can be accomplished.

 Be explicit about any assumptions or hypotheses the research method rests upon.
 Be clear about the focus of the research.
 Be as detailed as possible about the schedule of the proposed work.
 Be specific about the means of evaluating the data or the conclusions.
 Be certain that the connection between the research objectives and the research
method is evident.
 Spell out preliminary work developing an analytical method or laying groundwork as
Phase 1.
 At the end of this phase you will be able to report that you have accomplished
something and are ready to undertake Phase 2.

Description of Relevant Institutional Resources: Generally this section details the

resources available to the proposed project and, if possible, shows why the sponsor should
select this University and this investigator for this particular research. Some relevant points
may be:

 the institution's demonstrated skill in the related research area

 its abundance of experts in related areas that may indirectly benefit the project
 its supportive services that will directly benefit the project
 and the institution's unique or unusual research facilities or resources available to the
project

List of References: The style of the bibliographical item itself depends on the disciplinary
field. The main consideration is consistency; whatever style is chosen should be followed
carefully throughout the proposal.

Personnel: This section usually consists of two parts: (1) an explanation of the proposed
personnel arrangements and (2) the biographical data sheets for each of the main contributors
to the project. The explanation should specify how many persons at what percentage of time
and in what academic categories will be participating in the project. If the program is
complex and involves people from other departments or colleges, make clear the organization
of the staff and the lines of responsibility. Any student participation, paid or unpaid, should
be mentioned, and the nature of the proposed contribution detailed. If any persons must be
hired for the project, say so, and explain why, unless the need for persons not already
available within the University is self-evident.
Budget: Sponsors customarily specify how budgets should be presented and what costs are
allowable. The budget lays out the costs to be met by the funding source, including personnel,
non-personnel, administrative, and overhead expenses. The budget also specifies items paid
for by other funding sources. Includes explanations for requested expenses.

Some of the main funding agencies for Research in Social Sciences include
Department of Education ( DOEd)
Science and Society Related Programmes
Science and Technology Application for Rural Development (STARD)
Science and Society Related Programmes
Science & Technology for Weaker Sections (STAWS).
Scheme for Young Scientific professionals Science and Society Related Programmes
(STARD)
WCP ( Women Component Plan)
Science and Society Related Programmes
Opportunities for Young Scientists
ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR)
ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO)
Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR)
NIPCCD
Indian Council of Social Science Research( ICSSR),