Scientific Writing: Session 7

Dr. Nguyễn Huy Cường

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 Review: Session 6
• Practice activities:
– Reading & taking notes
– Summarizing
– Synthesizing
• Assignment Guidelines
– What makes up happiness?

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 Session 7
• Feedback on outline
• Preparation for Assignment 1
• Writing an abstract

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Feedback on outline

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Feedback on outline

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 Assignment 1
• Work in groups
• Write a synthesis essay (~ 1,000 words)
based on 4 sources, answering this question:
“What makes up happiness?”
• Deadline: 11:59 PM, Tuesday, March 19, 2023)

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 Submission guidelines
• A synthesis essay
– 4-5 paragraphs
– with in-text citations (direct & indirect, APA style)
• A group-work report (after the synthesis essay)
– contribution of each group member (in percentage)
– signatures of all group members
• Both included in ONE Word document

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Marking Rubrics

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 In-text citation
✓ World Happiness Rankings: Kyle Greenwalt (2016)
✓ Gross National Happiness: Lynn Fendler (2009)
✓ Top Five Regrets of the Dying: Bronnie Ware
(2012)
✓ What Makes a Good Life: TED (2016)

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 In-text citation
• According to Greenwalt (2016), …………………..
• According to Greenwalt (2016) and Ware (2012),
…………………..
• Greenwalt (2016) argued that …………………….
• Greenwalt (2016) and Ware (2012) argued that …..
• ………………………………… (Greenwalt, 2016).
• ………………………(Greenwalt, 2016; Ware, 2012)

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 Critical comments
• Greenwalt (2016) made a stronger argument
than Fendler (2009) by claiming that ………...
• Unlike Greenwalt (2016), Fendler (2009) and TED
(2016) contended that ………………….
• Greenwalt’s (2016) argument that …….. was
endorsed by both Fendler (2009) and TED (2016).
• While Ware (2012) said that ……., Fendler (2009)
argued that ……..

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 Abstract

• A research paper’s brief summary

• Helps the reader to do skimming
• The last section to be written
• Includes a main text + some key words

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Example 1

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Example 1

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Abstract sample 2

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 Structure of Abstract
• (Background/significance): 1 sentence
• Research problem: 1 sentence
• Methodology: 1-2 sentences
• Key findings: 1-2 sentences
• (Implications): 1 sentence
• (Limitations): 1 sentence

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 Word Limit
• 150-250 words
• ONE paragraph
• Possibly include some key words below the
main paragraph

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 Language Use
• (Background/significance): present
• Research problem: past/present
• Methodology: past/present
• Key findings: past/present
• (Implications): present
• (Limitations): past

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 Common Phrases:
Methodology
• This study examined …
• This study investigated …
• This study compared …
• The aim of this study was to ….

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 Common Phrases: Results
• The results showed that …
• The results indicated that …

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 Common Phrases: Implication
• The results indicate that …
• The results suggest that …

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THANK YOU

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