ENG202 Booklet 2023-2024

ATILIM UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES
ENG202
ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES IV
COURSE BOOKLET
Spring, 2024
RESEARCH REPORT
WRITING AND
PRESENTATION
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Introduction to research report …………………………………………………....6
1.1. What is research? …………………………………………………………………………….7
1.1.1. A sign of intelligence ………………………………………………………………….7
1.1.2. Research in daily life …………………………………………………………………..7
1.1.3. What do we research? …………………………………………………………………8
1.1.4. What does research tell us? ……………………………………………………………8
1.1.5. What do we do with research? …………………………………………………….…...8
1.1.6. Knowledge, interpretation and sharing ………………………………………………..9
1.1.7. Standards of quality research ………………………………………………………….9
1.2. How to do research? ……………………………………………………………………...…11
Chapter 2: Fundamental principles of research report writing …………………………......13
2.1. Essays vs. reports – overview ……………………………………………………………….14
2.1.1. An essay ……………………………………………………………………………...14
2.1.2. A report ……………………………………………………………………………....15
2.2. Purpose of research report writing ……………………………………………………….....18
2.3. Types of research reports …………………………………………………………………...18
2.4. Initial guidelines for an expected research report in ENG202 course ………………………19
2.4.1. ENG202 research report procedure ………………………………………………….20
2.4.2. Topic selection ……………………………………………………………………….21
2.4.2.1. Deciding on a topic ………………………………………………………....21
2.4.2.2. Narrowing down a topic …………………………………………………....21
2.4.2.3. Doing research on a topic ………………………………………………….26
2.4.3. How to evaluate the quality of a website (reliable sources) ………………………...26
2.4.3.1. Authorship/sponsorship …………………………………………………....27
2.4.3.2. Purpose …………………………………………………………………….27
2.4.3.3. Content ………………………………………………………………….….28
2.4.3.4. Final checking of the quality of a website ………………………………....28
2.4.4. Writing the research question …………………………………………………………….28
2.4.4.1. How to develop a good research question ………………………………….29
2.4.5. Choosing an organizational pattern and writing the thesis statement ……………………..29
2.4.6. Preparing a detailed outline ……………………………………………………………….32
Chapter III: Citation techniques (Quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, APA Style) ……..33
3.1. Quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing ……………………………………………………34
3.1.1. What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing? ………...35
3.1.2. Why to use quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing? ………………………………35
3.2. Quoting ………………………………………………………………………………..……36
3.3. Paraphrasing:Write it in your own words ……………………………………………..……36
3.3.1. What is a paraphrase? ………………………………………………………….…..36
3.3.2. The importance of paraphrasing ………………………………………………...….36
3.3.3. Six steps to effective paraphrasing ……………………………………………...…..37
3.4. Summary ………………………………………………………………………………..…..38
3.4.1. When to summarize ……………………………………………………………..…39
3.4.2. Ten steps to effective summarizing ……………………………………………...….39
3.5. American Psychological Assosications (APA) 6th Edition ………………………….…...….42
3.5.1. In text citing: General notes …………………………………………………..…….42
3.5.2. End-of-text Citation Reference list: General notes …………………………….…..44
3.5.3. In-text citations …………………………………………………………………..…46
3.5.4. How to Write the References …………………………………………………….....51
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3.5.4.1 Scholarly articles …………………………………………….……………51
3.5.4.2 Magazine articles ……………………………..………………………..…52
3.5.4.3. Newspaper articles ……………………………………….…….………....53
3.5.4.4. Books and book chapters ……………………………………..…...….......53
3.5.4.5. Generic webpage …………………………………………….…………...57
3.5.4.6. Other resources ……………………………………………………….......58
3.5.5. Language and style in APA …………………………………………….……........62
3.5.5.1. Point of view and voice ………………………………………………...…..62
3.5.5.2. Clarity and conciseness ………………………………………………...…..62
3.5.5.3. Word choice ……………………………………………………………......62
3.5.5.4. Avoiding poetic language ……………………………………………...…..63
Chapter IV: Production of the research report ………………………………………………64

4.1. Identifying the audience of your research report ……………………………………………65
4.2. Components of a research report ……………………………………………………………66
4.2.1. Cover page …………………………………………………………………………...66
4.2.2. Table of contents ……………………………………………………………………..66
4.2.3. Writing the introduction ……………………………………………………………..67
4.2.3.1. Presentation of the topic.. ………………………………………………..…67
4.2.3.2. Background information……………………...…………………….............68
4.2.3.3. Purpose……………………………………………………………..............68
4.2.3.4. Scope…………………………………………………………………….....69
4.2.4. Writing the body part of your report ……………………………………..…..............73
4.2.5. Writing the conclusion ………………………………………………………………78
4.2.6. Writing the references ……………………………………………………………….79
4.2.7. Writing the appendices ………………………………………………………………80
4.2.8. Writing the abstract ………………………………………………………………….81
4.2.8.1. Steps for writing effective abstracts……………………...…………………82
Chapter V: Using figures & tables in reports ……………………………………...................84

5.1. Figures ……………………………………………………………………………………...85
5.1.1. How to use figures ……………………………………………………………………85
5.1.2. How to cite figures in the text of your paper ……………………………….................85
5.2. Tables ……………………………………………………………………….………………87
5.2.1. How to use tables …………………………………………………………………….88
5.2.2. How to cite tables in the text of your paper …………………………………………..88
5.3. In-text citation for your own figures and tables …………………………………………….90
Chapter VI: Oral presentation of a research report …………………………………………91

6.1. General introduction to presentation skills ………………………………………………….92
6.1.1. What makes a good presentation? ……………………………………………………93
6.1.2. Dealing with nervousness and developing self-confidence …………………………..94
6.1.2.1. Finding out reasons behind your fear ………………………………………...94
6.1.2.2. Preparing well ……………………………………………………………….95
6.1.2.3. Practicing before the presentation ……………………………………………96
6.1.2.4. Learning how to get relaxed ………………………………………………….96
6.1.2.5. Visualizing success ………………………………………………………….96
6.2. Presentation basics ………………………………………………………………………….96
The basics of presentation …………………………………………………………………...97
6.2.1. The audience …………………………………………………………………………97
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6.2.2. The presentation plan ………………………………………………………………...98
6.2.2.1 Content ……………………………………………………………………….98
6.2.2.2. Structure/Organization ………………………………………………………99
6.2.3. The delivery ………………………………………………………………………...100
6.2.3.1. Use of voice and body language ……………………………………………100
6.2.3.2. Use of note cards ……………………………………………………………102
6.2.3.3. Signposting or transition ……………………………………………………103
6.2.3.3.1. Where to use transitions ………………………………………...104
6.2.3.4. Dealing with questions ……………………………………………………..108
6.2.4. Visual and audio aids ……………………………………………………………….109
6.2.4.1. Visual aids ………………………………………………………………….109
6.2.4.2. Audio materials …………………………………………………………….113
6.3. Oral presentation of ENG202 research report ……………………………………………..115
6.3.1. Preparation of an oral report ………………………………………………………...115
6.3.1.1. Outlining your speech ………………………………………………………115
6.3.1.2. Introduction ………………………………………………………………...117
6.3.1.3. Body …………………………………………………………………………………...118
6.3.1.4. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………….118
References……………………………………………………………………………...……....121
Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………………123
1. Research report paper format ……………………………………………………………….124
2. Cover page …………………………………………………………………………………..124
3. Sample research report I (Nuclear energy: Is it friendly or hostile?)..……………..................126
4. Sample research report II (Dealing with stress in elite sports performance)………………….137
5. Sample research report III (Advantages and disadvantages of caesarean and normal
deliveries) ……………………………………………………………………………………...150
6. Sample research report IV (Globalization: Friend of foe?) …………………………………..164
7. Oral presentation of the research report (sample report III) Speech text ……………………..176
8. Oral presentation of the research report (sample report IV) Speech text ……………………..180
9. Language use in research reports …………………………………………………………….183
10. Outline format samples …………………………………………………………………….186
Problem-solution ………………………………………………………………...186
Advantage/Disadvantage………………………………………………………...187
Compare/Contrast ……………………………………………………………….188
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
REPORT
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1.1. WHAT IS RESEARCH?
The term research is defined as “careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field
of knowledge” by Webster’s New World College Dictionary (Agnes, 1999). As can be understood
by the definition, research is a systematic investigation to find answers to a particular problem.
Certain steps should be followed in a logical order such as understanding the nature of the problem
to be examined, reviewing the relevant literature to obtain the right information and reaching
conclusions. In this section, several features of research are described.
1.1.1. A sign of intelligence
Intelligence can be defined as the adaptation of an environment to suit needs, which is why humans
can be acknowledged as the most 'intelligent' of species. Humans observe, identify, plan and then
effect change. Humans have social gain through information as well as resource sharing. As apart
from any other species, humans have complex language structures and the written word to share
information from one person to another. Literate societies with well structured, permanent means
of communicating information have immense evolutionary advantage.
1.1.2. Research in daily life
Humans are 'intuitive' scientists who are always asking questions and testing theories about
themselves, others, events, the environment and the world around them. Research is about asking
a question and finding out the answer, so it is a part of our daily lives. It is about:
 looking into something.
 looking for something.
 comparing and contrasting things.
 finding out more information.
 being curious.
 finding out what people think and do.
 finding out what works or what doesn’t work.
 finding out what people want.
What research have you conducted recently?

As people, we use the reasons listed above to do research about a specific topic informally. Think
about the answers of the research questions below that we may use in our daily lives.
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 What decisions have you made today?
 What have influenced your decisions?
 What do you expect from this course?
 How are you going to reach these expectations?
We all engage in or do social research as we act on the basis and results of our own research and
theorising; therefore, what we think affects the way we behave.
1.1.3. What do we research?

We research people and their behaviour, opinions, attitudes, trends, patterns, politics, animals,
health and illness. Research can be conducted either informally for our own benefit, through
asking questions, watching, counting, and reading or formally for scientific or academic purposes,
for developing a marketing strategy, to inform and influence politics and policy. Research may be
carried out in our own lives, through the media, in our place of work, with our friends and family
or through reading the past research. Our views - personal, social, community and worldwide -
and our own identities are socially constructed through our own theorising.
1.1.4. What does research tell us?

Research gives us information about:
 Thoughts and opinions,
 Attitudes,
 Habits,
 Culture,
 Norms, and
 Scientific facts.
1.1.5. What do we do with research?

 Have it as an interesting fact.
 Use it to learn something new.
 Use it to persuade and influence others.
 Use it to affect change.
 Use it to change behaviour.
 Use it for better purposes.
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We research in order to understand society and social processes, as well as to test and or create
theories in order that we are better able to inform about social action and technical knowledge and
potentially ‘improve’ social and scientific conditions.
1.1.6. Knowledge, interpretation and sharing

Research involves gaining knowledge, interpreting data and sharing the findings.
Gathering data from direct and indirect sources:
 Books,
 Reliable online sources,
 Articles,
 Audios,
 Observations,
 Questionnaires,
 Interviews,
 Experiments, and
 Other research.
Processing data for interpretation numerically and/or verbally:

 Statistics, and
 Themes or perspectives.
Sharing the findings:

 Written reports,
 Presentations,
 Seminars,
 Conferences,
 Workshops, and
 Supply to media.
1.1.7. Standards for quality research
 systematic,
 consistent,
 non-discriminatory,
 open to criticism, and
 independent and free from direct and/or indirect censorship.
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In this regard, a research report is an extended essay in which you portray your own argument
based on a detailed academic investigation. While you are writing an essay, you write your
personal thoughts and existing knowledge about a particular issue. While you are writing a
research report, first you should investigate what experts reported previously about a particular
issue. In other words, you must review the literature in order to reach the key studies that you will
need for your purposes. There are a number of ways to reach information such as reviewing
articles or books; consulting authorities and interviewing with experts or observing experienced
colleagues and so on. Nonetheless, a research report is not a collection of various information
gathered from different sources. Whatever the type of research report you are expected to write,
you should back up your own argument and present your own interpretation by using academic
and reliable resources.
Every instructor or professor may have different guidelines they prefer. However, there are
general rules to follow while writing a research report. In this course, you are expected to organize
your research report simply as follows:
- Introduction (Background of the Topic, Thesis Statement, and Preview),

- Body Parts (Main Points Supported with Citations),
- Conclusion (Restatement of the Thesis Statement, Summary of Main Points and Final
Comments/Recommendations), and
- Presentation of the Research Report.
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1.2. HOW TO DO RESEARCH
Doing good research is the first step of writing a good research report and making a good
presentation. There are some different methods to do research and find sources to get prepared for
these. Although you can go to the library to search for hard copy books, you can also do online
research, which is both time and energy saving. While the Internet is a wonderful resource and
has all the information that you might need about every subject you are studying, it is also very
easy to spend a lot of time searching on the web and not finding what you are exactly looking for.
If you follow the steps below, you can be sure to avoid wasting too much of your valuable time.
For doing online research and accessing academically accepted and reliable sources, there are two
options: doing research on campus and accessing the databases and sources remotely through your
university ID.
Online sources could be examined under two titles:
 Electronic databases – available on your university library page
library.atilim.edu.tr
 Internet search engines
https://books.google.com/
https://scholar.google.com.tr/
As search engines mentioned above do not provide a free full access to the sources, using
databases could be a better idea for you. When you go to your library web page, you must click
on “Databases and Index” under the tab titled as “E-Resources” in order to see all the databases
provided for you. At this point, you must be careful about looking at the right database because
they could be field-based, source type based or general. Some of the databases and their source
types you could consult are listed as:
 EBSCO HOST – full articles
 EBSCO eBooks – full books
 JSTOR – journals, primary sources and books about mainly social sciences
 ProQuest – dissertations and theses
 ScienceDirect – scientific, technical and medical peer-reviewed journals, articles,
and book chapters
It is important to remember that accessing the sources mentioned above is both possible on campus
and anywhere else. However, if you prefer to do your research off campus, you must change the
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proxy settings of your computer. When you visit your university library website, you will see
“Outside Campus Access” on the right top of the page. If you click on it and follow the
instructions, you will have a free full access again.
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CHAPTER II
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF
RESEARCH REPORT WRITING
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CHAPTER II
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCH REPORT WRITING
Purpose: This chapter provides a general introduction to the purpose and principles of
research report writing, starting from the differences between essays (which have been
covered in earlier courses) and reports.
2.1. ESSAYS VS. REPORTS - Overview
There are some basic differences between a report and an essay in an academic setting. The format
of an essay and a report differs as well as the main purpose of each. First, we will discuss what an
essay is, and then continue to see what makes a report. In either way, your ideas should be easily
discerned and compelling enough so that the reader will continue to read.
While there are similarities and differences between an essay and report, it is essential to know
which format you are being asked to write. To begin with, an essay and a report are similar in that
they both need to be in a formal style, exhibit analytical thinking, and have a neat presentation as
well as an introduction, body, and conclusion. Usually, a reader reads an essay more thoroughly
compared to a report. Reports can include graphics and have short paragraphs along with
numbered headings and sub-headings. Also, a writer will often need to write an executive
summary after he/she has finished writing their full report. Such a summary is not necessary with
an essay.
Keep in mind that a report can be much longer than an essay, and report readers generally skim it
quickly to pick up its general idea.
2.1.1. An essay
An essay is a short piece of writing/composition written from a person’s point of view. In an

academic setting, in writing an essay, a topic will usually be a proposition or question and is
predominantly based on reading. Usually, its purpose is to have a well-expressed response to a
question and should also establish a proposition. Its style can be subjective, as long as it fits in an
academic setting.
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It is generally thought of as a well-organized collection of your ideas that is nicely written and
presented professionally. There is an introduction paragraph, body paragraphs (each containing
major ideas) and a concluding paragraph in an essay.
Introduction paragraph of an essay
 Describe the general field of your study.

 Clearly define the problem (Why have you specially chosen this topic?).
 Write a clear thesis statement that shows the purpose of your essay.
Body paragraphs of an essay
 Write separate paragraphs in your essay.

 Be sure that each paragraph has its own topic sentence.
 Be sure that in each paragraph the topic sentence is supported with major and minor ideas.
 Mention the sources that will be used to support these ideas (If you have completed your
research and found reliable articles, you are supposed to refer to them).
 Be sure that each body paragraph has its own concluding sentence.
Conclusion Paragraph of an Essay
 Clearly overview your body paragraphs and/or re-state your thesis and/or summarize your
essay.
 Write your comments that you make about the results of your research.
 Write any recommendation / warning / suggestion that you want to share with your
audience.
2.1.2. A report
A report is a specific formal document written on issues, events, or findings: that is, events
occurred in an organization or findings from research. The topics for reports sometimes consist of
a problem or case study with a hypothetical situation as well. The report should clearly and
sufficiently inform the reader of the topic you are writing about. While every lecturer or professor
may have different guidelines they prefer, there are general rules to follow in writing a report.
Unless otherwise requested, a report should consist of the following essential sections: cover page,
introduction, body, and conclusion. If you want to go a step further, include a letter of transmittal,
table of contents, list of abbreviations and/or a glossary, executive summary, recommendations,
bibliography, and appendices.
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The information for reports comes from readings, fieldwork, and practical work. The purpose of
a report is not only to investigate information, but also to present and analyse it extensively,
logically and objectively. Then, it aims to inform people, suggest alternatives, and recommend
actions to solve a problem. The audience will usually be those that are knowledgeable in the area
and can be clients or managers. A report needs to be objective and have an unbiased conclusion,
and it usually has independent sections which can sometimes include bullet points. In order for a
report to be successful, it needs to show that the writer has good research skills, and everything
presented is relevant to the topic investigated.
The style and presentation of a report are very important in order to be taken seriously and have
people want to read your full report. There are certain tips that you should follow to write a report
which leaves a great first impression:
 You will want to ensure that you use plenty of white space and that the different parts of
your report are easily recognized.
 Do not forget to use sub-headings with plenty of space between different sections.
 Graphs, illustrations, and maps are suggested to be used as they can clarify the information
you are trying to give.
 Number each page of the report with consistent formatting.
 Always use formal language.
On the other hand, there should be some special features in the report. The report:
 must be free from any inaccurate and conflicting information,
 should not contain any outdated data, or irrelevant statistics,
 should have separate facts and opinions,
 should not reveal any unsupported recommendations or conclusions, and
 should be complete only after careful proofreading.
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Task 1: Study Figure 1 with a partner to discuss how academic writing develops from paragraphs
or essays to reports.
The Academic The Essay The Report

Paragraph
Introduction
Introductory
paragraph
Introduction
Introduction
Body paragraph Section 1 Body

Conclusion
Body
Body paragraph
Introduction
Conclusion Section 2 Body
(CS+CC) Conclusion
Body paragraph
Introduction
Section 3 Body
Concluding Conclusion
paragraph
Conclusion
Figure 1. The relationship between a paragraph, an essay and a report.
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Task 2: Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between an essay and a report.
Similarities Differences
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
2.2. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH REPORT WRITING

Research reports communicate information which has been compiled as a result of research and
analysis of data and of issues. Reports can cover a wide range of topics, but usually focus on
conveying information with a clear purpose to a specific audience. Good reports are documents
that are accurate, objective and complete. They should also be well-written, clearly structured and
expressed in a way that holds the reader's attention and meets their expectations. The true value
of the research may be assessed through a report since the written report may be the "only tangible
product of hundreds of hours of work. Rightly or wrongly, the quality and worth of that work are
judged by the quality of the written report - its clarity, organization and content" (Blake & Bly,
1993, p. 119). Reports are often structured in a way that reflects the information finding process
and the writing up of the findings: that is, the summary of the contents, introduction or
background, methods, results, discussion, conclusion and recommendations. The inclusion of
recommendations is important, as the informed recommendations are useful for decision making.
The scope and style of reports vary widely. They depend on three key factors: the report's intended
audience, the report's purpose and the type of information to be communicated; for example,
technical reports communicate technical information, so the degree of technicality in the report
will depend on the reader's familiarity and understanding of technical concepts.
2.3. TYPES OF RESEARCH REPORTS

At university, you may be required to write several different types of reports.
 Technical and Business disciplines with an applied focus such as engineering, information
technology, commerce, accounting and finance will set report writing assignments that
simulate the process of report writing in industry. Assignments are set in the form of a
problem or a case study. The students do research on the problem and present the results
of the research in a report format to an imaginary client.
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 Field reports are common in disciplines such as law, industrial relations, psychology,
nursing, history, and education. These types of reports require the student to analyze his
or her observations of phenomena or events in the real world in the light of the theories
studied in the course. Examples of field reports are a court observation report, an
observation report of a child or a patient for developmental psychology or nursing, a
history site report, and a teaching observation report for education.
 Scientific reports (also called laboratory reports) are another kind of report. They are
common in all the sciences and social sciences. These reports use a standard scientific
report format describing methods, results and conclusions to report upon an empirical
investigation.
Reports are also widely written at work. In your professional life, you are supposed to write reports
from time to time to inform people about a certain topic, persuade people to adopt your ideas or
express your plans for a future study, or initiate a change in the way duties are carried out at work.
You might prepare annual, project or progress reports. A well-structured report that has clear
objectives will get more attention and is more likely to produce the intended results.
2.4. INITIAL GUIDELINES FOR AN EXPECTED RESEARCH REPORT IN ENG202

COURSE
As mentioned before, there are many different types of reports. The preferred type of report mostly
depends on several factors like the purpose of the report, your audience, time and source
limitations.
For ENG202 course, it is expected from you to choose a research report topic that you are most
interested in. You are also free to choose a research report topic related to your departments.
For many students, the report is perhaps the longest document they have ever written. It normally
involves some research since the information used in the report must be based on reliable sources.
Published sources found in the library, course books, magazines and reliable articles from the
Internet should be used while writing the report.
The length of the research report for ENG202 course must be around 9-10 pages, including the
cover page, table of contents, the abstract, the introduction, the body, the conclusion and the
references list. If you are working in groups, the length of your report must be around 11-13
pages. You do not need to do exhaustive research; for this course, it is expected that you get
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information from at least 2-3 sources to write a report. Considering the nature of this course, it is
necessary to use sources that are written in English.
While writing the research report, please consider the following:
(1) addressing a specific audience,

(2) using a clear and reader-friendly style, and
(3) having a well-structured organization.
In addition, the format and layout are of crucial importance. You are expected to use headings,
sub-headings, and correct fonts.
While choosing your research report topic, you have to be sure that you could reach a concrete
conclusion at the end of the report. One thing that you must consider throughout your research is
that your research question / thesis statement will have an answer or result that could be used in
your conclusion section.
2.4.1. ENG202 Research report procedure
 Choose a research topic that you are most interested in or is related to your department.
 Choose the sources directly related to your topic (at least 2-3 sources) from reliable sources
(for reliable sources, e.g. useful databases, check p. 19).
 Be sure that your research report has a separate cover page, table of contents page, an
abstract, introduction page, report (body), conclusion and recommendation page, and
references list.
To sum up, the research report that you are supposed to write this semester will involve the
following parts:
 Cover page,
 Abstract,
 Table of Contents,
 Introduction,
 Body,
 Conclusion,
 References, and
 Appendices (if any).
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2.4.2. Topic selection
Below you can find some information and tips about topic selection for your research report,
which will help and guide you.
2.4.2.1. Deciding on a topic
The first step that you have to take in the process of research report writing is to choose a topic
that you are most interested in. Choosing your own topic, rather than topics assigned by your
instructor, can be an excellent opportunity either to explore and research issues that are already
interesting you or to examine new interests. A well-chosen writing topic can lead to the types of
research questions that fuel your academic interests. At the very least, though, topics can be seen
as occasions for making your writing relevant and meaningful to your own personal and academic
concerns.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Topics of the sample reports included in this Booklet should not be
chosen to be studied throughout the semester.
2.4.2.2. Narrowing down a topic

It is important to examine the topic you choose to determine whether it is too broad (or, in some
instances, too narrow) for the writing assignment or not. Once you have decided that a topic is too
broad to be appropriate to your assignment (which is most often the case), you will need to come
up with ways to narrow it. You will also want to consider, when writing reports that require
research, how your research resources and limitations affect your choice of topics.
 Deciding when a topic is too broad*
A topic is too broad when you find that you have too many different (but often remotely
related) ideas about that topic. While you want to start the writing process with as many ideas
as possible, you will want to narrow down your focus at some point so that you are not
attempting to do too much in one report.
As far as research-based reports are concerned, your topic is too broad if you are able to find
thousands of sources when conducting a simple library or an Internet search. For example,
conducting a search on a topic such as "foreign language learning" will put you in trouble
because the topic has quite a large number of related ideas such as foreign language policies,
foreign language departments, cultural issues, and so on. When this happens, you can try
various narrowing strategies to determine what most interests you about your topic area and
what relates to your own life most readily. For instance, if you plan to study abroad, focusing
21
only on this aspect of foreign language learning will help you narrow down your topic to some
extent as in the case: "Contributions of Studying Abroad to Foreign Language Learning”.
(*adapted from an article by Kate Kiefer, English Professor)
 Deciding when a topic is too narrow*

Though students most often face the challenge of limiting a topic that is too broad, they
occasionally have to recognize that they have chosen a topic that is too narrow or that they
have narrowed a workable topic too much. A topic is too narrow if you cannot find any
information about it. For example, “Nuclear Energy Policy of Hawaiian Islands” might be a
very narrow topic if Hawaiian Islands do not have a specific policy about nuclear energy at
all. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you do certain amount of research on the topic
before you start writing about it. This will prevent you from getting stuck about what to write
in your report.
(*adapted from an article by Steve Reid, English Professor)
 Ways to narrow down a topic

Most students will have to narrow down their topic at least a little. You can neither properly
discuss "war" in 1,000 words, nor talk about orange rinds for 12 pages. Preliminary research
also helps you determine whether or not you will even need to refine your topic.
The other great guide is the significance and appropriateness of the subject area or topic itself.
Consider how significant your topic is with the general public or if it fits the expectations from
a university student.
The following steps may help you greatly while narrowing down your topic. Follow these
steps:
1. First, start out with a general topic. Take the topic and break it down into categories by
asking the five W’s and H.
i. Who? (American Space Exploration)
ii. What? (Manned Space Missions)
iii. Where? (Moon Exploration)
iv. When? (Space exploration in the 1960's)
v. Why? (Quest to leave Earth)
vi. How? (Rocket to the Moon: Space exploration)
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2. Now consider the following question areas to generate specific ideas to narrow down your
topic.
i. Problems faced? (Sustaining life in space: Problems with space exploration)
ii. Problems to overcome? (Effects of zero gravity on astronauts)
iii. Motives/reasons? (Beating the Russians: Planning a moon mission)
iv. Effects on a group? (Renewing faith in science: aftershock of the Moon mission)
v. Member group? (Designing a moon lander: NASA engineers behind Apollo 11)
vi. Group affected? (From test pilots to astronauts: The new heroes of the Air Force)
vii. Group benefited? (Corporations that made money from the American Space
Program)
viii. Group responsible for/paid for _____ (The billion-dollar bill: Taxpayer reaction
to the cost of sending men to the moon)
Task 3: Study Figure 2 to see the process of narrowing down in writing a report and then apply it
to your topic. Besides, do not forget to examine the samples of narrowed down topics in the same
part.
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This is where you will be after writing the report.
SUBTOPICS
TITLES
TOPIC of REPORT
i.e. The advantages of
the renewable energy
sources over the fossil
fuel based sources
SUBJECT
i.e.: Energy Sources
FIELD of the STUDY

i.e.: Environmental Engineering
This is where you are before writing the report
Figure 2. Narrowing down a topic
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Task 4: Examine the process of narrowing down below.
Example 1:
Field of study: Media
Subject: TV commercials
Topic of report: How TV commercials manipulate their audience
Example 2:
Field of study: New Technologies
Subject: Open source
Topic of report: The rise of open source and its benefits
Example 3:
Field of study: Social structures
Subject: Social networking
Topic of report: Analysis of social networking sites for inappropriate behavior
Task 5: Evaluate and match each of the topics in Column A with the descriptions given in Column
B.
Column A Column B
____ 1. The best way to lose weight a. too general

____ 2. Musical instruments b. contains more than one idea
____ 3. The history of Hawaii and Alaska c. not achievable in a brief
____ 4. How to build your car’s engine report
____ 5. Life saving uses of snake venom
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2.4.2.3. Doing research on the topic
Writing a report which is based on research not only deepens your knowledge about the subject
matter you are interested in but also gives you a chance to evaluate information and draw
conclusions out of it. There are some steps to conduct research about the subject that you are
investigating:
Main Guidelines for Your Research:
1. Use the university library or other local libraries. Moreover, get informed about various
online databases and electronic sources that are available to you.
2. Look through the articles in general information resources such as newspapers or
encyclopedias to familiarize yourself with important names, events, or dates.
3. Work on the articles in periodicals and specialized journals. Take notes of the readings
you have done.
4. Form a tentative thesis: What is the main point that you want your readers to get? What
perspective can you bring in to the topic special to yourself?
5. Go on with your reading. Revise your thesis if there is a need.
6. Develop a plan or general outline to start writing the paper.
2.4.3. How to evaluate the quality of a website (reliable sources)?
Many of you have learnt how to search for materials on the Internet during your academic life.
However, in some cases you cannot be sure whether the material you have found is reliable or not.
Many websites provide inaccurate, biased, and out-dated information that may be more dangerous
than being beneficial to the users. It is an important factor to evaluate the reliability of the websites
that would be used as a source in projects or reports assigned in university. In order to evaluate
the quality of an Internet source, examine the source according to the following categories:
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2.4.3.1. Authorship/sponsorship
 Find out what person(s) or organization is responsible for the information on the website.Who
wrote the information?
 What qualifications does this person have on the topic?
 Do other researchers cite information from this author or organization?
 A good way to get information about the author or sponsorship of material on the Internet is
to:
 Look for links on the site you found to other documents or information about the
author.
 Enter the author’s or organization’s name, enclosed in quotation marks, in one of
the search engines like www.google.com, www.altavista.com, www.yahoo.com,
www.excite.com, or www.vlib.org
 Use meta-search engines like www.askjeeves.com, www.dogpile.com,
www.metacrawler.com, or www.mamma.com if you want to research several
search engines at the same time. This is a faster way to access more relevant links
and find information about uncommon or obscure topics.
 Analyze what you find: If the author or organization is credible, then the
information can be used as accurate information. If you cannot find any
information about the author or the organization, or if the information you have
found has no author or sponsor, you have to avoid using the information on that
link!
2.4.3.2. Purpose
Try to find the purpose behind this information on the Internet.

 Is it written to provide information?
 Is it written to persuade?
 Is it written to sell something?
 Is it written for political or religious propaganda?
27
Decide if the information is objective or biased. If you find it objective and without any hidden
purpose, you can use it. 2.4.3.3. Content
Analyze the information provided by the website.

 Is there bibliographic information or other documentation? If at the end of a website there
is a reference list, it can be an indicator to show the accuracy of that information.
 Is the information current? In some sites there is no date or the date of some articles is very
old. In academic arena, out-dated information is not valid. Therefore, condiser excluding
information that has no date or is not current.
 Does this site contain grammar and spelling mistakes? Grammatical or spelling mistakes in
a website tell the user not to rely on the information on that site.
2.4.3.4. Final checking of the quality of a website
If the source on the Internet…
 has an author or sponsor,

 provides link to other sites,
 is objective,
 has no hidden purpose,
 is updated, and
 is free of spelling and grammatical mistakes,
it can be chosen as a reliable source to be used in academic projects or reports.
2.4.4. Writing the research question
A research question is a big question that includes many smaller, related questions. The research
question clearly presents what you want to discover about your topic. The answer to the research
question requires you to create a plan or course of action, or requires you to make a decision. It is
never a simple answer, and it is always your own unique answer.
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2.4.4.1 How to develop a good research question
 Researchers should begin by identifying a broader subject of interest that lends itself to
investigation. For example, a researcher may be interested in childhood obesity.
 The next step is to do preliminary research on the general topic to find out what research
has already been done and what literature already exists. For example, a researcher can
ask “how much research has been done on childhood obesity, and what types of studies
they are” when he/she wants to write a report on childhood obesity.
 Then, begin to narrow the topic by asking open-ended "how" and "why" questions. For
example, the researcher may want to consider the factors that are contributing to childhood
obesity or the success rate of intervention programs. Create a list of potential questions
for consideration and choose one that interests you and provides an opportunity for
exploration.
 Finally, evaluate the question by using the following list of guidelines:
 Is the research question one that is of interest to the researcher and potentially to
others? Is it a new issue or problem that needs to be solved or is it attempting to
shed light on a previously researched topic.
 Is the research question researchable? Consider the available time frame and the
required resources.
 Is the research question measureable?
 Is the research question too broad or too narrow?
2.4.5. Choosing an organizational pattern and writing the thesis statement
Writing a preliminary thesis statement before you start writing the basic components of your
research report will help you clearly see the perspective that you will adopt in your report. It
controls you in the sense that you avoid losing your standing by moving towards unrelated or
irrelevant details about the subject that you are exploring.
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In order to form your thesis statement in an academic report, it is advised to bear in mind that
there are specific patterns which can lead you while you are trying to create your thesis statement.
These patterns can also be considered as the organization pattern that you can use while writing
your research report.
In research report writing, you can use many different organization patterns. The most
popular organization patterns are given below:
a) Problem-solution: This pattern can be used when you want to write about a specific problem
and alternative solutions for that. Mostly, when people hear the word “problem”, they consider it
as something negative. However, it can also refer to a positive situation such as choosing a career.
In this pattern, there should be three body sections (three solutions) and each body section should
include two supports. The pattern will be as follows:
I. INTRODUCTION
II. SOLUTION 1
2.1 Support for solution 1
III. SOLUTION 2
IV. SOLUTION 3
V. CONCLUSION (Choose the best solution and discuss why?)
b) Advantage-disadvantage: In this pattern, both positive and negative aspects of a topic are
discussed in two different body sections and finally the last section will show the position of the
writer about that topic that is mentioned in the thesis statement. If the writer believes that the
disadvantages of nuclear energy outnumber its advantages, two advantages and three
disadvantages should be discussed in the report. For this kind of a stand, the pattern will be as
follows:
I. INTRODUCTION
II. ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
2.1 Support for the advantages of nuclear energy
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2.2 Support for the advantages of nuclear energy
III. DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
3.1 Support for the disadvantages of nuclear energy
IV. CONCLUSION (How and why the disadvantages of nuclear energy overweigh the
advantages?)
c) Compare-contrast: Here, after presenting two different issues of a specific topic, the writer
should take a stand and choose the best one and state why he/she has chosen that one. For instance,
in a research report comparing normal birth and caesarean delivery, if the writer believes that the
normal birth is advantageous, in the body section discussing the normal birth, three advantages
and two disadvantages should be discussed. The pattern will be as follows:
I. INTRODUCTION
II. CAESAREAN DELIVERY
2.1 Advantages of caesarean delivery
2.1.1 Support for the advantages of caesarean delivery
2.1.2 Support for the advantages of caesarean delivery
2.2 Disadvantages of caesarean delivery
2.2.1 Support for the disadvantages of caesarean delivery
2.2.2 Support for the disadvantages of caesarean delivery
III. NORMAL BIRTH
3.1 Advantages of normal birth
3.1.1 Support for the advantages of normal birth
3.2 Disadvantages of normal birth
3.2.1 Support for the disadvantages of normal birth
3.2.2 Support for the disadvantages of normal birth
IV. CONCLUSION (Discuss why, compared with caesarean delivery, normal birth is
advantageous?)
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IMPORTANT NOTE: In ENG202, the most preferred organizational style is advantage-
disadvantage because when this pattern is used, it becomes easier for students to reach a
conclusion in their report.
2.4.6. Preparing a detailed outline
Once you have conducted your research, written your research questions, and formed your thesis
statement, the next step is preparing your outline. Writing your thesis statement and an outline can
make the writing process much easier. They will guide your note taking by organizing the main
points of your topic. Your outline might be tentative at first. When you read on, you may come
across with new ideas and may want to revise it to a certain extent. A carefully planned outline
will be the road map of your report, showing you the way out.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is not a good idea to prepare an outline without checking whether there
are relevant/direct sources that can be connected to your potential titles/subtitles.
Task 6: Study the sample outline and discuss it with a partner.
SAMPLE OUTLINE
Research Question: IS NUCLEAR ENERGY FRIENDLY OR HOSTILE?
Thesis statement: Although nuclear energy has some benefits, its disadvantages overweigh its
advantages to a great extent.
I. INTRODUCTION
2.1 Zero emission
2.2 Ease of finding raw material
3.1 Risk of nuclear radiation accidents
3.2 Requiring a large capital
3.3 Difficulties in getting rid of nuclear wastes
IV. CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
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CHAPTER III
CITATION TECHNIQUES
QUOTING
PARAPHRASING
SUMMARIZING
APA CITATION
33
CHAPTER III
CITATION TECHNIQUES: QUOTING, PARAPHRASING AND SUMMARIZING
Purpose: This chapter introduces you three techniques of citation: quoting, paraphrasing,
and summarizing. It will also provide the rules for in-text and end-of-text citation by using
APA style.
Citation is a formal and academic reference to a published, printed or unprinted source in your
writing so that your paper is intellectually honest and ethical. One should cite whatever he/she has
taken or borrowed from someone else in order to prevent plagiarism. In other words,
In order to avoid plagiarism, you must give references when you:
 use another person's ideas, opinions, or theories,

 use facts, statistics, graphics, drawings, music, etc., or any other type of information that
does not comprise of common knowledge,
 use quotations from another person's spoken or written word, and
 paraphrase another person's spoken or written word.
Pay attention to the following reminders:
 Begin the writing process by stating your ideas and then go back to the author's original
work.
 Use quotation marks and credit the source (author) when you copy the exact wording.
 Use your own words (paraphrase) instead of copying directly when possible.
 Even when you paraphrase another author's writings, you have to give reference to that
author.
 If the form of citation and reference is not correct, the attribution to the original author is
likely to be incomplete. Therefore, the improper use of style can result in plagiarism. Get
an APA style manual and use it.
3.1. QUOTING, PARAPHRASING, AND SUMMARIZING
Quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing are three different ways of using somebody else’s ideas
in your writing with the proper reference to the original writer. This section will help you develop
34
necessary citation skills to become more comfortable with the uses and distinctions regarding
quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. It compares and contrasts the three techniques, gives
some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills.
3.1.1. What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing?
These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to
the closeness of your writing to the source writing.
 Quotation is a narrow segment of the source. The quoted sentence(s) must match the
source document word for word, be in quotation marks and must be attributed to the
original author.
 Paraphrasing involves expressing a text from source material in your own words. A
paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. The paraphrased material might
be shorter than the original passage.
 Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the
main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute the summarized ideas to the original
source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of
the source material.
3.1.2. Why to use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries?
Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve for many purposes. You might use them to:
 provide support for claims or add credibility and special value to your writing,
 refer to the work that leads up to the work you are now doing,
 give the examples of several points of view on a subject,
 call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with,
 highlight a particularly striking phrase, sentence, or passage by quoting the original,
 distance yourself from the original by quoting it in order to guide readers that the words
are not your own, and
 expand the breadth or depth of your writing.
35
3.2. QUOTING
Quoting, as clear from the word “quotation”, is the easiest technique of citing information. The
only thing to be done is to use quotation marks “…” and write the selected parts word by word
without forgetting to refer to the author.
3.3. PARAPHRASE: WRITE IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS
Paraphrasing is one way to use a text in your own writing without directly quoting the source
material. Anytime you are taking information from a source that is not your own, you need to
specify where you got that information from. In this section, the nature of paraphrasing and how
a good paraphrase can be written will be explained.
3.3.1. What is a paraphrase?

A paraphrase is:
 Your own version of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented
in a new form.
 One legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a

source.
 A more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main
idea.
3.3.2. The importance of paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because:
 It is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.
 It helps you control the temptation to quote too much.
 The mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full
meaning of the original.
Writers frequently intertwine quotations, paraphrases and summaries to cite information. As part
of a summary of an article, a chapter, or a book, a writer might include the paraphrases of various
key points blended with the quotations of striking or suggestive phrases.
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3.3.3. Six steps to effective paraphrasing
By following the steps below, you can write effective paraphrases:
1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
2. Set the original aside and write your paraphrase on a note card.
3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using
this material. At the top of a card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of
your paraphrase.
4. Check your paraphrased version with the original to make sure that your version accurately
expresses all the essential information in a new form.
5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed
exactly from the source.
6. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if
you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.
Task 7: Read the following paragraphs in the first column carefully and see how they have been
paraphrased. The sample is only given to show how to paraphrase, so the citation is not included.
The original passage: A legitimate paraphrase:
1. The twenties were the years when drinking During the 1920s, the law did not allow people
was against the law, and the law was a bad joke to drink alcohol but to no avail because people
because everyone knew of a local bar where did not obey the rule. These years were also
liquor could be drunk. They were the years when marked by the cities where organized crime was
organized crime ruled the cities, and the police more powerful than the police. Classical music
seemed powerless to do anything against it. was set aside while jazz music became popular.
Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong and Count
throughout the land, and men like Bix Basie were the guys that young people admired
Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie wholeheartedly. The “flapper”, i.e. fashionable
became the heroes of the young. The flapper was young women, who had short hair style and wore
born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair short skirts, also came into the scene these years.
and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more Such women were the most important proof of
37
than anyone or anything else, America's break the fact that America had now nothing to do with
with the past (Yancey, 1989, 25). the past.
2. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each Each year more than 1000 bicycling deaths
year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. occur and three-fourths of them are because of
Half of those killed are school-age children. One head injuries. School-age children constitute half
study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can of the deaths. According to one study, if a cyclist
reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In wears a bike helmet, the possibility of head
an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and injury decreases by 85 percent. A bike helmet
cushions the head (Bike Helmets: Unused also reduces the effect of the shock during the
Lifesavers, 1990, p. 348). accident and protects the head.
3. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest There are really good reasons that explain why
achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's the Sears Tower is the greatest success in
unlikely that architects and engineers have skyscraper engineering so far. However, it is true
abandoned the quest for the world's tallest that architects and engineers are still looking for
building. The question is: Just how high can a the ways to build the world’s tallest building.
building go? Structural engineer William They try to give the answer to the question that
LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly asks the utmost length of a building. With that
one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears motivation while William LeMessurier,
Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that structural engineer, has already designed a
existing technology could produce a 500-story skyscraper twice taller than Sears Tower, and
building (Bachman, 1990, p. 15). Rober Sobel, an architect, asserted that today’s
facilities could even construct taller buildings.
Task 8: Choose an article that you are planning to use in your report. Then, paraphrase one part
of it.
3.4. SUMMARY
A summary is an overview of a text. When you summarize a text, the main idea is given, but
details, examples and formalities are left out because the aim of summarizing is to reduce or
condense a text to its most important ideas. To summarize an essay, article, or book, you should
38
not include your own thoughts on the matter, but describe it as objectively as possible even if you
do not agree with it. Therefore, a summary is intended to highlight objectively the main points of
another writer's work. Although written in your own words, the summary does not include your
opinions of the piece you are considering. Since the summary eliminates those details that are not
needed to convey the major points, it is naturally shorter than the original.
3.4.1. When to summarize

Summarizing is necessary for the following purposes:
 To summarize the long sections of a work like a long paragraph, page, or chapter.
 To outline the main points of someone else's work in your own words without the details
or examples.
 To include an author's ideas using fewer words than the original text.
 To briefly give the examples of several differing points of view on a topic.
 To support claims in or provide evidence for your writing.
3.4.2. Ten steps to effective summarizing
When you summarize, you might try to follow these steps:
1. Firstly, read the text to understand it.

2. Before you begin to write, annotate (devices of effective reading like asterisks,
underlining, highlighting, making notes etc.) the text by underlining the topic sentences
and key words.
3. Make an outline of the original text to follow in your summary.
4. Put the original text out of sight and then write notes on what you have understood.
5. Begin the summary with the identifying information. (Title of the work, the author’s name,
and the main idea of the work)
6. Write all the major supporting ideas. Do not include any details.
7. Check your summary to be sure you have been objective.
8. Do not add any personal ideas of yours to the summary.
9. The length of the summary cannot be longer than the original text.
10. Try to write your summary in one paragraph.
39
Task 9: Read the essay and practice quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing as your instructor
guides you. The sample summary is only given to show you the method, not the style and the
format. The citation also is not included.
Music Downloading
by Sandy Green
Music industry is one of the largest and oldest entertainment industries. In contrast, the Internet is
a developing tool and resource we have only been familiar with for the past two decades, but now
the Internet affects the lives of billions of people. Even though music has been on the Internet just
for five or so years, it has created a big controversy among people. While some people believe
that music should freely be downloaded through the Internet, others oppose to this
idea. Simplistically, the issue of Internet music distribution concerns three groups of people: The
Internet users who download music, the organizations and individuals who distribute music
through websites, and lastly the artists and their record companies.
As the Internet users generally argue, Internet music distribution has numerous advantages. One
of the advantages of using music download on the Internet is that the distribution of it has become
extremely simple, and with the advances in audio formats together with increasing Internet speed,
it is now possible to download not only songs but entire albums. For example, you want to listen
to one of the albums of Britney Spears, just in a few minutes you can download the album
completely.
Furthermore, the Internet downloaders also argue that this way is cheaper than buying CDs or
cassettes. They claim that the prices of CDs are very high and on some occasions they may, for
example, want to buy two or three albums at the same time; however, it is difficult to afford it.
Also, the Internet downloads provide people with the opportunity to listen to a song before the
decision to purchase it.
The website owners, believe that since there is a global economic crisis and people cannot freely
be able to purchase or access to their favorite albums, they try to be a helping sector that both
helps the listeners and the artists. Furthermore, in this way even the less famous artists can find a
channel to expose their music to the public. There are many new singers who cannot make an
album because of lack of economic situations. Therefore, they can distribute their songs via the
Internet easily without spending excessive money.
40
On the other hand, as the famous artists and their loyal defenders are arguing, this form of music
distribution has plenty of disadvantages. It has been estimated that over eighty percent of all music
download is done so illegally. Unfortunately, as it seems, illegal downloading of songs from the
Internet has turned into a type of crime. Moreover, there is a legal punishment not only for the
people or organizations that provide music downloads but also the people who download music
illegally. The music manufacturers say, “If you download music without authorization from the
artist or its defenders, it is like to steal the money belonging to someone else, so even though you
have access to download freely, you should avoid doing it.”
If I were asked to give an opinion, I would say that in a perfect world all music should be free.
The reality of this situation is that Internet music is making music in general more popular, and
figures have proven that there has been no decline in music sales at all.
Summary of the text:

In the article “Music Downloading” written by Sandy Green it is stated that there is a debate on
the issue of whether downloading music via Internet should be free or not. In this debate three
different categories of people are involved: Internet users, the directors or managers of the
websites, and the artists and their music manufacturers. Firstly, the Internet users believe that as
a result of the development in audio formats and the Internet speed one can simply download not
only the single songs but also the complete albums of the singers. Green also stresses that music
downloaders prefer Internet downloading since this is not as expensive as buying the original
albums and also you may be able to listen to the album to decide whether to buy it or not.
Secondly, the website directors or owners argue that music download on the Internet is
advantageous in the hard economic conditions of the world because people do not have enough
money to buy the albums they want easily. Also, the organizers of these website claim that due to
this contribution, the new singers can find a chance to be listened to by public. Finally, the
opposition comes from the artists and their music companies. They claim that downloading music
via the Internet is mostly illegal, and both downloaders and music distributors will be punished
by the law. Green concludes that music downloading should be free since it increases the
popularity of music and there is no evidence on the decrease in the sales.
41
Task 10: Please write down the main components that form up a complete report.
I. IV.
II. V.
III. VI.
3.5. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) 6TH EDITION
APA style is an author-date citation style. It was developed mainly to be used in psychology, but
has also been adopted by other disciplines.
There are two major components to the APA author-date style – the in-text author-date citation
at the appropriate place within the text of the document, e.g. (Smith, 2010), and the detailed
reference list at the end of the document. All in-text citations must have a corresponding reference
list entry, and the converse applies for reference list entries.
Use the following instructions and examples as guide for your own referencing using the
APA style. This guide is based on more detailed information in:
• American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (6th ed.). American Psychological Association: Washington
D.C.
3.5.1. In text citing: General notes

 Insert an in-text citation:
- when your work has been influenced by someone else’s work, for example:
when you directly quote someone else’s work, or
when you paraphrase and summarise someone else’s work
 The in-text citation consists of:
- author surname(s) (in the order that they appear on the actual publication),
followed by the year of publication of the source that you are citing.
- Include page numbers for direct quotes, and for paraphrasing/summarising
where appropriate. In case page numbers are not available in reliable sources,
42
paragraph numbers can be used. The researcher has to write page / paragraph
numbers when he/she writes quotation. In summary and paraphrase, he/she does
not have to. However, ENG202 students should write page or paragraph numbers
for all citation techniques such as the following examples (Smiths, 2016, p. 3) or
(Jones, 2014, para. 4).
 The in-text citation must be placed immediately after the sentence which refers
to the source being cited.
 If quoting or citing a source which is cited within another, secondary reference,
mention the source with the secondary reference details such as the following
example Smith (2010) (as quoted in Jones, 2010). Only the secondary reference
should be included in the reference list.
 There are two ways for writing in-text citations. In the signal format, the name of
the author is included in the statement while the year of publication and page number
are written in parenthesis. For example:
- Richardson (1985) reports that … (p. 124).
In the parenthetical format, the name of the author, year of publication and page
number are included in parenthesis. For example:
- It is reported that … (Richardson, 1985, p. 124).
 Quotations that are 40 or more words are considered block/long quotations and are
formatted differently than regular quotations. They should be offset from the main text
and do not include quotation marks. The block quote is introduced on a new line and the
entire quote is indented ½ inch or 5-7 spaces. The block quote may be single-spaced.
For example:
- Richardson (1985) states that:
While security has been a major topic of interest, reliability is a much bigger
concern. Cloud computing is based on Internet access, so a fast and constant
Internet connection is critical to cloud computing solutions. Therefore, it is
imperative to ensure the enterprise’s connectivity to the Internet is well-
established and that there are backup connections in case of connectivity
failure. (p. 124)
43
3.5.2. End-of-text Citation Reference list: General notes
• Begin your reference list on a new page and title it ‘References.’ Centre the title on
the page.
• Double-space your reference list and have a hanging indent*.
* A hanging indent is where the first line of each reference is fully left justified
while subsequent lines are indented to the right. The width of the hanging indent
should be 5-7 spaces or 1.25 cm. Hanging indents and double spacing are set by
the word processors
 All of the references in the reference list must also be cited in the text.
 All references cited in the text must also be included in the reference list (exceptions are
unpublished items such as correspondence).
 The references should be listed in alphabetical order by author surname/family name.
 When there are two works by the same author, references should be listed in order of year
of publication (earliest first)
 When there are two articles with the same authors and date, order the references
alphabetically by article title and add a letter suffix to the year of publication (e.g.,
2003a, 2003b…).
 Provide organization names in full, unless they are obviously recognizable as
abbreviations (e.g., APA for American Psychological Association).
 Do not add full stops to URLs (e.g. http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/).
 Check the reference details against the actual source – you are indicating that you have
read a source when you cite it.
 Be consistent with your referencing style across the document.
Author layout guidance
Where a publication List authors in the reference list as:

has:
one author Author, A. A.
two authors Author, A. A., & Author B. B.
three to seven Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author,
authors E. E., Author, F. F., & Author, G. G.
44
eight or more authors Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author,
– list first six authors, add E. E., Author, F. F.,…Author, Z. Z.
three ellipses
and the last author
no author Transfer the title to the author space
a corporate or group of Give the name of the organization/institution/etc.
authors
Digital Object Identification (doi) and URLs:
• The digital object identifier (doi) is a unique identifier, and should be provided in the
reference where it is available. This alphanumeric string is usually located on the first
page with other referencing elements in both print and electronic articles. If no doi is
available for an electronic article, provide the URL information in the reference.
• Some other resources, such as books, may also have dois, which should be used
where available.
Example of doi location
45
3.5.3. In-text citations
Example In-text citation
...This was seen in an Australian study (Conger, 1979, p. 28).

Single author OR
Conger (1979) has argued that...(p. 28)
OR
... (Davidson
In 1979, & Harrington,
Conger conducted 2002,
a study 25-38).that…(p. 28)
pp.showed
which
Two authors OR
Davidson and Harrington (2002)...(pp. 25-38)
Cite all names and publication year the first time, thereafter only
the first name followed by et al.
The first time cited:
... (Brown, Smith & Jones, 1990, para. 2)
Three to five authors Brown, Smith, and Jones (1990) argue that …
(para. 2).
The second time cited:
… (Brown et al., 1990, para. 2)
Cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al. and the
year from the8first citation.
Six or more authors
(Jones et al., 2003). Jones et al. (2003)...
When cited together give the author's surname once followed by

the years of each publication, which are separated by a comma.
Multiple works
by same author
... (Stairs, 1992, 1993).
Stairs (1992, 1993)…
46
If there is more than one reference by an author in the same year,
suffixes (a, b, c, etc.) are added to the year.
Allocation of the suffixes is determined by the order of the
Multiple works references in the reference list.
by same author AND Suffixes are also included in the reference list, and these
same year references are listed alphabetically by title.

If cited together, list by suffix as shown below.
Stairs (1992b)... later in the text ... (Stairs, 1992a).

... (Stairs, 1992a, 1992b).
Use Anonymous as the author's name.

If author name is
given as
... (Anonymous, 1997).
'anonymous'
Unknown author Give the first few words of the title.

If the title is from an article or a chapter use double quotation marks. If
the title is from a periodical, book brochure or report then use italics.
...the worst election loss in the party's history ("This is the end," 1968).
47
Corporate or group of If organization is recognized by abbreviation, cite the first time as
authors follows:
... (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2005)
thereafter
... (AIHW, 2005).
If abbreviation not widely known, give the name in full every time:
... (Australian Research Council, 1996).
Multiple references List the citations in alphabetical order and separate with
semicolons.
... (Burst, 1995; Turner, 1982; Zane, 1976).
For a direct quote the page number(s) must be given. Indicate

page, chapter, figure, table, etc. as specifically as
possible. Use accepted abbreviations, i.e., p. for page, para. for
paragraph.
Citing specific
As one writer put it "the darkest days were still ahead" (Weston, 1988, p.
parts of a
45).
source
Weston (1988) argued that "the darkest days were still ahead" (p. 45).
This theory was put forward by Smith (2005, chap. 7)
48
Where page numbers are provided use signal or parenthetical format:
… (Smith, 2003, p. 12)
Quote from a reliable Smith (2003) argues that… (p. 12).
electronic
source Where page numbers are not provided use paragraph numbers.
... (Sturt, 2001, para. 2)
Personal communications are not included in the reference list.
Personal
communication ... (R. Smith, personal communication, January 28, 2002). R.
for email and other Smith (personal communication, January 28, 2002)...
'unrecoverable' data
When citing a secondary source, ONLY include the details of the

source you actually read - not the original source.
Citation of a
In the example below, the original source would be Farrow (1968),
secondary
which you saw cited in a paper by Ward and Decan (1988).
source (i.e. a source
referred to
... (Farrow, 1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988).
in another
Farrow (1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988) ...
publication)
Ward and Decan (1988) cited Farrow (1968) as finding...
49
When citing from a published dictionary or encyclopedia with an
author:
…(Graham, 2001, p. 123)

When citing from a published dictionary or encyclopedia with no
Citing from a
author:
dictionary or
(“Oxford Learners”, 2007, p. 301)
encyclopedia
When citing from an online dictionary or encyclopedia with no

author:
(“Empiricism”, 2007)
50
3.5.4. How to Write the References
3.5.4.1. Scholarly/Academic Articles
Type of article Reference list example
Where a doi is Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of article.
available Journal Title, volume number(issue number), page-page. doi:xxxx
Single author Mellers, B. A. (2000). Choice and the relative pleasure of consequences.
Psychological Bulletin, 126(6), 910-924. doi: 10.1037//0033-
2909.126.6.910
Two to seven authors Bechara, A., Damasio, H., & Damasio A. R. (2000). Emotion, decision
making and the orbitofrontal cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 10 (3), 295-
307. doi:10.1093/cercor/10.3.295
Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J., Coatsworth, D.,
More than eight Lengua, L., …Griffin, W. A. (2000). An experimental evaluation
authors of theory-based mother and mother-child programs for children of

divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(5),
843-856. doi:10.1037//0022-006X.68.5.843
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of article.

Where no doi is Journal Title, volume number(issue number), page-page.
available for an Retrieved from URL
online article Trankle, S. A. & Haw, J. (2009). Predicting Australian health behavior
Provide the URL from health beliefs. Electronic Journal of Applied Psychology,
of the journal 5(2), 9-17. Retrieved from
homepage. http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/
51
Where no doi is Author, A. A. (year of publication). Title of article. Journal Title, volume
available for a print number(issue number), page-page.
article Crowden, A. (2008). Professional boundaries and the ethics of dual and
multiple overlapping relationships in psychotherapy. Monash
Bioethics Review, 27(4), 10-27.
3.5.4.2. Magazine articles
Online Author, A. A. (year, month of publication). Title of article. Magazine

Title, volume(issue number), page-page. Retrieved from URL
Novotney, A. (2010, January). Integrated care is nothing new for these
psychologists. Monitor on Psychology, 41(1). Retrieved from
www.apa.org/monitor
Printed Author, A. A. (year, month of publication). Title of article. Magazine

Title, volume number(issue number), page-page.
Wilson, D. S., & Wilson, E. O. (2007, November 3). Survival of the
selfless. NewScientist, 196 (2628), 42-46.
52
3.5.4.3. Newspaper Articles
Online Author, A. A. (year, month date of publication). Title of article.

Newspaper Title. Retrieved from URL
Gadher, D. (2007, September 2). Leap in gambling addiction forecast.
The Sunday Times. Retrieved from
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
Printed Author, A. A. (year, month date of publication). Title of article.

Newspaper Title, page-page.
Packham, B. (2010, January 18). Bullies to show concern: schools to try
Euro method that lets thugs off the hook. Herald-Sun. p. 6.
3.5.4.4. Books and Book Chapters
Editions: No edition information is required for first editions.
Publication location: Publisher locations in the U.S.A. should include the city and the
abbreviated version of the state (e.g., NY for New York); elsewhere in the world, include the
city and country. Where more than one location is provided, use the first location listed.
Type of book Reference list example
Print book Author, A. A. (year of publication). Title of book. Location of

Publication: Publisher.
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of book
(edition). Location of Publication: Publisher.
Mook, D. (2004). Classic experiments in psychology. Westport, CT:
Greenwood.
53
Edited book: Editor, A. A. & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (year of publication). Title of book
Use the author rules (edition). Location of publication: Publisher.
as listed above.
Where there is an Williams, J. M. (Ed.). (2006). Applied sport psychology: personal
editor instead of an growth to peak performance (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
author, follow the
author rules, but also Lee-Chai, A. Y., & Bargh, J. A. (Eds.). (2001). The use and abuse of
include the power: Multiple perspectives on the causes of corruption. New
abbreviation ‘Ed.’ or York: Psychology Press.
‘Eds.’ in
parentheses
Electronic book:
following the editor Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of book
The
names:URL provided
e.g. Editor, (edition). Retrieved from URL or
should be the website
A. A., Editor, B. B. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of book
of the main publisher or
(Eds.). (edition). doi: xxxx
provider. If you accessed
the e-book Editor, A. A., & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (year of publication). Title of book
via the catalogue, check the (edition). Retrieved from URL or
catalogue record to find the
Editor, A. A., & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (year of publication). Title of book
publisher or provider
(edition). doi: xxxx
(where the full text is
available from).
Tip: conduct a web Bennett, P. (2006). Abnormal and clinical psychology: an introductory
search – provide a URL textbook (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com/
that your readers will be
able to find the book from,
Marlatt, G. A., & Witkiewitz, K. (Eds.). (2009). Addictive behaviors:
e.g. via
psycBOOKS: new readings on etiology, prevention, and treatment. Retrieved
http://www.apa.org/pub from http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/psycbooks/index.aspx
s/databases/psycbooks/
index.aspx
Googlebooks:
http://www.google.com.
au/
54
Chapter in a print Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of chapter. In
book A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx).
Location of Publication: Publisher.
Ramsey, J. K., & McGrew, W. C. (2005). Object play in great apes:

studies in nature and captivity. In A. D. Pellegrini & K. Smith
(Eds.), The nature of play: Great apes and humans (pp. 89-112).
New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of chapter. In A.

Editor B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Retrieved from URL or
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of chapter.
In A. Editor B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). doi:
xxxxBranch, S., Ramsay, S., & Barker, M. (2008). The bullied
boss: a conceptual exploration of upwards bullying. In A.
Chapter in an
Glendon, B. M. Thompson, B. Myors (Eds.), Advances in
electronic book
organizational psychology (pp. 93-112). Retrieved from
http://www.informit.com.au/humanities.html
55
Editor, A.A. (Ed.). (year). Title of the entry. Title of the reference work.
(No. Edition) (Vol. xx., pp. xxx-xxx). Location of publication:
Publisher.
Moore, C. (Ed.). (1991). Mass spectrometry. In Encyclopedia of chemical

technology (4th ed.) (Vol. 15, pp. 1071- 1094). New York, NY:
Wiley.
Dictionary or Author, A.A. (year). Title of the entry. Title of the reference work. (Vol.
encyclopedia entries xx., pp. xxx-xxx). Location of publication: Publisher.
Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The New Encyclopedia

Britannica. (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia
Britannica.
Title of the Entry. (year). Title of the reference work. Retrieved from
URL
Empiricism. (2013). In The Columbia encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://www.credoreference.com
56
3.5.4.5. Generic webpage
Notes:
• Use n.d. (no date) where no publication date is available.
• Where no author is available, transfer the organization behind the website, or the
title, to the author space.
Type of resource Reference list example
Author, A. A., Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of work.

Generic webpage
Retrieved from URL
Australian Psychological Society. (2010). Bushfire resources:

Webpage: no author
Psychological preparedness and recovery. Retrieved from
1) association as author
http://www.psychology. org.au/bushfires/
Bushfire resources: Psychological preparedness and recovery.

2) title if there is no
(2010). Retrieved from http://www.psychology.
author or association
org.au/bushfires/
Webpage: no date Smith, S. (n.d.). Home style. Retrieved from http://www.design.org
57
3.5.4.6. Other resources
Type of resource Reference list example
Audiovisual Producer, A. A. (Producer), Director, B. B. (Director). (Year of

(videos, publication). Title of work [type of material]. Location:
DVDs, Publisher/ Studio/ Label.
music
recordings) Cohen, A., Starbuck, S., Roberts, S., Schreuders, T., Heron, Z.
(Producers Directors) (2001). Brain story [videorecording].
U.K.: BBC.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [description of form].

Blog entry and Retrieved from URL
online Peele, S. (2010, January 10). The most important psychology article
discussion of the 21st century: the U.S. isn’t discovering how mental
boards and lists illness works, it’s spreading it worldwide [Web log post].
Retrieved from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-
society/201001/the-most-important-psychology-article-the-
21st-century
58
Conference Paper presentation or poster session:
proceedings Presenter, A. A. (Year, Month). Title of paper or poster. Paper or
(unpublished) poster session presented at the meeting of Organisation Name,
Location.
For Jodell, F., Russell, F., Tepper, K., Todd, P. Zahora, T. (2009,
published September). Joined at the hip: partnerships between librarians
conference and learning skills advisers. Poster session presented at the
proceedings: International Congress of Medical Librarianship, Brisbane.
Use book
chapter format
for one-off
publications.
Cite regular
publications as
per scholarly
journal articles.
Lecture notes Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of notes. Unpublished

manuscript, unit code, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia.
McGrath, B. (2007). Lecture 7: Arrays and matrices [PowerPoint

slides]. Unpublished manuscript, ENG1060, Monash University,
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
McGrath, B. (2007). Lecture 7: Arrays and matrices [PowerPoint

slides]. Retrieved from ENG1060, Monash University Studies
Online: http://muso.monash.edu.au
59
Podcast/ vodcast Producer, A. A. (Producer). (Year, Month Day). Title of podcast. [Audio
podcast]. Retrieved from URL
Png, V. Dharmarajah, J. (Presenters). (2008, October/ November).

Effective PowerPoint presentations. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved
from http://mpa.monash.edu.au/compass_online/podcast-
index.html
Technical report Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work (Report No. xxx).
Location: Publisher.
Tayama, T. (2006). Velocity influence on detection and prediction of
changes in color and motion direction (Report No. 38, 1-20).
Sapporo, Japan: Psychology Department, Hokkaido University.
Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community
Services and Indigenous Affairs. (2008). The road home: a
national approach to reducing homelessness. Retrieved from
http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/
sa/housing/progserv/homelessness/whitep
aper/Documents/default.htm
60
Thesis Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of thesis or dissertation
(Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis). Retrieved from Name of
database. (Accession or Order no.)
Bozeman, A. Jr. (2007). Age of onset as predictor of cognitive

performance in children with seizure disorders. (Doctoral
dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest Dissertations and Theses.
(UMI 3259752)
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of thesis or dissertation

(Unpublished Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis). Name of
Institution, Location.
Imber, A. (2003). Applicant reactions to graduate recruitment and

selection. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation.) Monash
University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
61
3.5.5. Language and Style in APA
3.5.5.1. Point of View and Voice

 When writing in APA Style, you rarely use the first-person point of view ("I studied ...").
First person is not often found in APA publications unless the writer is a senior scholar
who has earned some credibility to speak as an expert in the field.
 You should use the third person point of view (The study showed ...) unless you are co-
authoring a paper with at least one other person, in which case you can use "we" ("Our
finding included ..."). In general, you should foreground/emphasize/highlight the research
and not the researchers.
3.5.5.2. Clarity and Conciseness

 Clarity and conciseness in writing are important in conveying research in APA Style. You
do not want to misrepresent the details of a study or confuse your readers with wordiness
or unnecessarily complex sentences.
 For clarity, be specific rather than vague in descriptions and explanations. Unpack details
accurately to provide adequate information to your readers so they can follow the
development of your study.
Example 1: "It was predicted that marital conflict would predict behaviour problems in
school-aged children."
To clarify this vague hypothesis, use parallel structure to outline specific ideas:
"The first hypothesis stated that marital conflict would predict behaviour problems in school-
aged children. The second hypothesis stated that the effect would be stronger for girls than for
boys. The third hypothesis stated that older girls would be more affected by marital conflict
than younger girls."
 To be more concise, particularly in introductory material or abstracts, you should cut out
unnecessary words and condense information if and when you can.
3.5.5.3. Word choice

 You should even be careful in selecting certain words or terms. Within the social sciences,
commonly used words take on different meanings and can have a significant effect on
62
how your readers interpret your reported findings or claims. To increase clarity, avoid
bias, and control how your readers will receive your information, you should make certain
substitutions:
o Use phrases like "The evidence suggests ..." or "Our study indicates ..." rather than
referring to "proof" or "proves" because no single study can prove a theory or
hypothesis.
 As with the other stylistic suggestions here, you should study the discourse of your field
to see what terminology is most often used.
3.5.5.4. Avoiding poetic language
 Writing papers in APA Style is different from writing in more creative or literary styles
that draw on poetic expressions and figurative language. Such linguistic devices can
detract from conveying your information clearly and may come across to readers as forced
when it is inappropriately used to explain an issue or your findings.
Therefore, you should:

 minimize the amount of figurative language used in an APA paper, such as metaphors and
analogies unless they are helpful in conveying a complex idea
 avoid rhyming schemes, alliteration, or other poetic devices typically found in verse
 use simple, descriptive adjectives and plain language that does not risk confusing your
meaning
63
CHAPTER IV
PRODUCTION OF THE RESEARCH
REPORT
64
CHAPTER IV
PRODUCTION OF THE RESEARCH REPORT
Purpose: This chapter provides you with the step-by-step details of research report writing.
So far you have chosen your topic, written your research question, formulated your thesis,
outlined the report, carried out the necessary research, studied citation and gone through
the necessary practices. Now you will elaborate on the sections of a research report and start
producing your own reports. You will understand the sections of a research report and
study example reports.
4.1. IDENTIFYING THE AUDIENCE OF YOUR RESEARCH REPORT
Before we go into the details of what sections a report is made up of and what their features are
in detail, it is crucial to draw attention to the audience of your research report.
It is important to consider your audience before you begin to write your research report so that
your report will adequately communicate your ideas, research results and its significance to your
readers. For instance, if you do not consider your readers' needs, you might use a language that
they do not understand or you might explain the background of your work in too much or too little
detail. In this context, it is best to think of the audience for your report as peers in your immediate
discipline or in a discipline closely related to your subject. This is true even when you write a
report for a class that will be graded by an instructor rather than read by other researchers.
If you are writing a research report for an instructor, the greatest challenge you face in writing
your report is to write as though the professor is not your only reader. Imagine a broader audience
of your peers and colleagues who will not be grading your work. If you visualize an audience of
people with a similar background who are interested in your subject, but who do not know as
much about it as you do, this will likely make writing your report easier than if you visualize your
audience as a group of experts or someone uninterested in your subject.
Once you have an idea of who your audience is and why he/she might read your report, you can
more easily imagine what their needs as readers are and how you might meet these needs. You
should try to think about your research from the perspective of your audience and ask what you
would like to see in your report if you were reading about your particular research for the first
65
time. Thinking about your audience before you write your report can help you to determine the
level of detail (the scope) you need to include in your report and how to organize information.
4.2. COMPONENTS OF A RESEARCH REPORT
As indicated earlier, research reports are generally divided up into sections. Each section has a
specific purpose, and often there are specific guidelines for formatting each section. This part of
the chapter offers some general guidelines. It is always best to consult a style manual for your
discipline, to talk to other people in your discipline who have written reports, and to look at similar
reports that have been published in order to more fully understand the expectations for research
reports in your field.
4.2.1. Cover page
The cover page of a research-based report normally contains five main pieces of information: the
report title, the name of university and the department to which the report is submitted, the name
of the author, the name of the person to whom the report has been submitted, and the date at which
the report is submitted.
It is important to take your audience into account when developing a title for your research
report. It is a good idea to develop a "working title" for your report as you draft your report
initially, but be open to changing your title to accurately reflect your project after you have
finished writing. Be sure that your title is accurate, that is, it reflects the major emphasis of your
paper and prepares readers for the information you present. Also, develop a title that will be
interesting to readers and that will make them want to read the rest of your report (See sample
cover pages in Appendices).
4.2.2. Table of contents
Most reports will contain a table of contents that lists the report’s components and demonstrates
how the report has been organized. You should list each major section in your table of contents.
The outline of the research report that you have prepared for your essay can serve well for a table
of contents page. Add page numbers to the sections and sub-sections that you have identified for
your research report. Sometimes you may want to use additional descriptive headings throughout
your report and for your table of contents. Using descriptive headings can help readers to see how
your report is organized if the section headings are not clear enough.
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Task 11: Examine the sample table of contents page of the research report that you are going to
read.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................ii
I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................1
II. ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY.......................................................3
2.1 Zero emission……...........................................................................................3
2.2 Ease of finding raw material..........................................................................4
III. DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY................................................4
3.1 Risk of nuclear radiation accidents...............................................................5
3.2 Requiring a large capital................................................................................5
3.3 Difficulties in getting rid of nuclear wastes..................................................6
IV. CONCLUSION......................................................................................................7
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 8
4.2.3. Writing the introduction
The introduction prepares readers for the discussion that is followed by presenting the topic,
background information, purpose and scope of the research. The audience for your report largely
determines the length of the introduction and the amount of detail included in it. You should
include enough details so that someone not knowledgeable in your field can understand the
subject and your research.
You should begin your introduction at the top of a new page, preceded only by the report’s full
title on the page. The title is followed by the word “Introduction”, which can be either a centre or
side heading. Most introductions contain four parts to provide context for the research:
presentation of the topic, background information, purpose, and scope of the study. These parts
often overlap with one another.
4.2.3.1. Presentation of the topic: It includes facts and definitions that the reader must know in
order to understand the discussion that follows. If there is a need, it will also be practical to provide
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your readers with some basic terms about the topic to let them familiarize with your argument (if
needed, do not forget to give reference to the authors and original texts). This part serves as a
general introduction to the topic that is investigated. In this part, the author also focuses on the
significance of the topic. A topic which has limited or no significance may be uninteresting to
your readers.
4.2.3.2. Background information: Background information may include the details of previous
work and reports by other people on the problem or closely related problems. Therefore, in this
part, at least one citation must be used. You must keep in mind that in writing background
information, you have to remain loyal to the thesis statement. For example, if the topic of the
report is “Linux”, general background information about Linux is required. Giving background
information on the history of computers in very general terms would distance both the audience
and the writer from the thesis statement. In other words, a specific connection with the thesis
statement should be built in this part of the introduction.
In order to write your introduction appropriately, you may ask yourselves the following questions:
 What facts does the reader need to know in order to understand the discussion that
follows?
 What is the significance of this topic or issue?
 Who has done previous work on this problem?
 What theory or model informed your project?
 What facts are already known that support or don’t fit in the theory?
 What will the reader know about the subject already and what will you need to tell them
so they can understand the significance of your work?
4.2.3.2. Purpose: It is very important to consider the purpose of your research and your report
in the introduction. If you do not completely understand what the purpose is, there is little
possibility that the reader will understand your purpose, either. The following questions will help
you to think about the purpose of your research and your reason for writing a report. Discuss these
with your friends to clarify your purpose.
 What did your research discover or prove?

 What kind of problem did you work on?
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 Why did you work on this problem? If the problem was assigned, try to imagine why the
instructor assigned this particular problem and what you were supposed to learn from
working on it.
 Why are you writing this research report?
 What should the readers know or understand when they finish reading the report?
4.2.3.3. Scope: It refers to the ground/extent covered by the report and will outline the
components of investigation used in the project. Considering the scope of your project in the
introduction will help readers to understand the parameters of your research and report. It will
also help you to identify limiting factors on your research and acknowledge these early in the
report. For example, “if 18 methods for improving packaging are investigated in a project but
only 4 are discussed in the report, the scope indicates what factors (such as cost, delivery time,
and availability of space) limited the selection” (Blicq & Moretto, 2000, p. 165). Scope should
also include important parts of your research. As a result, the scope part of the introduction
includes three details, which are methods, limitations, and a preview of the content of the report.
These questions will help you to think about the scope of both your research and report. Discuss
them with your friends.
 How did you work on the research problem?

 Why did you work on the problem the way you did?
 What were the limitations of your study?
 What ideas are integral to your research and how did you outline your ideas?
In summary, introductions serve as a place for you to catch your reader’s attention, and they also
help to place your project in its context (whether that context is background information or your
purpose in writing is up to you). Therefore, it is important to consider the approach you will take
to begin your introduction.
Beginning an introduction
Consider the following examples; they represent two extremes that writers may move toward in
beginning their introductions.
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Activity 1: What is the problem with the following sentence as an opening to an introduction?
The universe has been expanding from the very moment that it was born.
Answer: This sentence is very broad; the writer tries to establish a broad context for his/her work
but begins with too wide a field of vision. The introduction should not try to guide the reader with
respect to all of human history or the universe, but only the fundamentals of the immediate
problem.
One of the ways that the sentence above might be rewritten is:
Recent studies suggest that the universe will continue expanding forever and may pick up
speed over time.
The rewritten sentence establishes the report’s context within “recent studies” concerning a
specific theory related to universe expansion. This context is much more specific than that of the
original sentence.
Activity 2: What is the problem with the following sentence as an opening sentence to an
introduction?
The Fourier series representation of a period time signal creates a corresponding signal
in the “frequency domain” which relates information about energy contained at each
frequency of the signal.
Answer: The second example takes too narrow an approach because it plunges into the problem
immediately without contextualizing the topic for the readers or giving them important
background information. This opening statement assumes a reader who is already very familiar
with the topic, an assumption that may or may not be correct. It might take additional information
to rewrite this sentence so that it provides enough context for readers to familiarize themselves
with the topic.
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Activity 3: Consider the rewritten introduction and discuss it with your friends in terms of the
fact that it introduces the idea in four sentences instead of one:
Today's digital-signal-processing applications are pressing the throughout boundaries of the

available DSPs. System designs that use multiple processors to complete their tasks as quickly as
possible are commonplace, and a major portion of the signal-processing horsepower is required
to transform the data from the time domain to the frequency domain and back again. To best use
available processors, it is necessary to generate an efficient algorithm to transform data from the
time to the frequency domain. The most common method is the fast Fourier transform (FFT).
A good way to begin an introduction is to think of your audience and consider how you might
best guide them to your topic. State the problem as specifically as possible and contextualize the
project for them. Consider placing either the purpose of your project or the background
information first, and then move on to consider the scope after your topic has been introduced.
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Task 12: Examine the sample introduction below and in the light of the information, guidelines,
and samples, write out your introduction and submit it to your instructor.
SAMPLE INTRODUCTION
Introduction of the
For about fifty years, nuclear energy has been used efficiently and today it is the
topic
most popular energy source, but a lot of people argue about it. Some people claim
A. Presentation of
that by using nuclear energy source, lots of problems like global warming or
the topic, problem,
searching for raw materials can be solved. However, using nuclear energy has a
issue, etc.
lot of hazardous consequences such as nuclear accidents. In addition to this,
(Introducing the
nuclear wastes destroy the natural habitat. Also, nuclear energy requires a large
subject matter,
capital, and it is a crucial problem for poor countries. Therefore, nuclear energy
definitions,
should not be considered as a reasonable alternative to resolve the world’s energy
significance of the
needs as it constitutes serious threats.
topic)
The possibility of nuclear energy was recognized in the late 1930s or early 1940s;
it impressed scientists because it offers a very large amount of energy from a
Background
very small amount of material (Bodansky, 2004, p. 4). World War II atomic
B. Overview of the
program became a commercial for nuclear energy which showed that it was
topic
practical. Hence, governments started to invest a lot of money in nuclear energy
programs and the first nuclear energy reactor was built at Shippingport,
(Background of the
Pennsylvania and was put into operation at the end of 1957 (Bodansky, 2004, p.
study or a historical
5). After this development, lots of reactors were built in lots of different
overview)
countries. However, the Chernobyl Catastrophe proved that nuclear energy is too
risky.
This report aims to provide a direct comparison of the advantages and
disadvantages of nuclear energy in order to prove that there are too many vital
Purpose
things to sacrifice to use this type of energy. Despite its advantages, nuclear
energy can badly harm the humanity and the nature.
Scope
1. Method used in To support the contents of this report, some books, articles, and internet
conducting the resources have been used.
research
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2. Limitations of the This report is restricted with the comparison of advantages and disadvantages
study/report of nuclear energy in order to prove that the disadvantages of nuclear energy
overweigh its advantages.
3. Previewing the
The first part of the report focuses on the advantages of nuclear energy. The
content (details by
second part explains the disadvantages of nuclear energy. The conclusion
reference to separate
verifies why the disadvantages of nuclear energy overweigh the advantages.
chapters of the body)
IMPORTANT NOTE: The explanations on the left column were written in order to show the
students each item to be covered in the introduction of a research report. In the introduction part,
students will neither write such explanatory items nor will they frame their introductions in a
table.
4.2.4. Writing the body of your report
The body is usually the longest part of a research-based report, and it includes all of the evidence
and discussions that readers need to have in order to understand the subject. This evidence
includes details, data, results of tests, facts, and findings. Exactly what you include in the body
and how it is organized will be determined by the context in which you are writing.
In writing the body of the report, keep in mind three key elements:
Analysis. Classify the major issues of the study and provide a careful analysis of each in defence
of your thesis.
Presentation. Provide well-reasoned statements at the beginning of your paragraphs and supply
the evidence of support with proper documentation.
Paragraphs. Offer a variety of development to compare, show process, narrate the history of the
subject, show causes, and so forth.
You will usually organize the body of your research report by dividing it into relevant sections.
You should use a heading to identify the beginning of each of these sections, and make use of
sub-headings or subtitles to detail them. Be sure to develop a line of argument through your body
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paragraphs. While discussing, try to analyze, interpret, and evaluate the procedures, data, findings,
relationships, visual material, methodology, and results regarding the thesis that you have focused
on. These materials that you use should be combined and presented in a logical way, so that your
reader will be easily led towards a clear understanding. While discussing your points,
 organize the material logically,

 use clear and concise language,
 give concrete examples, and
 use a proper numbering system, annotations, and explanations for figures and
tables.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep in mind that in this section of your report, every subtitle/sub-
heading should be supported with a citation. Remember not to begin or end a paragraph with
a citation. You are required to write your claims/argument before the citations and you
should write some comments/interpretations after the citations.
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Task 13: Examine the sample body below and in the light of the information, guidelines, and
samples, write out your body and submit it to your instructor.
SAMPLE BODY:
Today, the world’s energy needs have been greatly increased due to technological
developments, while fossil fuel based and renewable energy sources are not able to supply all the
energy required. At this point nuclear energy appears. Some people claim that nuclear energy has
to be considered as a substitute for fossil fuel based energy because of its advantages. In this
section, the advantages of nuclear energy, especially, zero emission and ease of finding raw
material will be presented.
2.1 Zero emissions
Nowadays, global warming is the most common issue that people argue about. Global
warming is the rising of average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere due to the massive
increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (Maslin, 2007, p. 4). Hence, nuclear energy
sources have become more significant because nuclear plants do not produce greenhouse gases.
An example can be given for a better understanding. Today’s average coal-fired power station
produces 852 pounds carbon dioxide for producing 1 MW (megawatt) electricity and even with
the latest coal-fired technology, carbon dioxide emission per MWh (megawatt hour) would
decrease by 30% (Beck, 1994, p. 9). To make it simpler, even the latest fossil fuel based energy
technology emits enough carbon dioxide to damage atmosphere seriously. To conclude, nuclear
energy sources do not produce greenhouse gases; therefore, they do not pollute the air and damage
the atmosphere.
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Throughout the history, countries have faced lots of difficulties about finding raw
materials. They used challenging methods to find them. In the present day, petroleum companies
spend billions of dollars to extract unprocessed oil which is called crude oil. In fact, after some
time their spending will not serve the purpose because crude oil is going to be extinct. Comby
(1996) says that with respect to geological times, it seems that they will totally be exploited over
the few centuries (p. 2). However, the raw material for nuclear energy is uranium and it can be
found everywhere. Also, plenty of uranium ores exist. It is estimated that “4 billion tons of
uranium are located under the sea” (Comby, 1996, p. 5). In conclusion, it is easy to find raw
material for nuclear energy and this situation can affect energy producers positively.
Although nuclear energy has remarkable benefits, there is a big controversy over using
nuclear energy sources because of its disadvantages. Those disadvantages not only affect today’s
people but also affect future generations badly. Therefore, it is a critical issue and in the following
part the biggest disadvantages of nuclear energy will be introduced.
The majority of people who are against nuclear energy do not want nuclear energy because
of the risk of nuclear accidents. The ones who support nuclear energy claim that the new nuclear
plants have high security standards. However, it is technically impossible to build a plant which
is 100% secure. Just a small probability of accident will always exist and the probability can be
small, but the impact of an accident would be enormous. Incidents such as Chernobyl or Three
Mile Island showed how dangerous nuclear power plants can be (Greenier, 2005, p. 8). For
instance, at Chernobyl Accident, apart from 31 initial deaths, 28 firemen and plant personnel died
because of nuclear radiation contamination, but it is a small part of the consequences of Chernobyl
Accident (World Nuclear Association, 2009, para. 2). In the same article, it is indicated that during
1986-2002, about 4000 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed in children and adolescents (0-18
years). Also, the previous research shows that for about 600.000 people are affected by Chernobyl
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Accident (World Nuclear Association, 2009, para. 3). To sum up, it can be said that the more
nuclear power plants are built, the higher probability of nuclear accidents will be.
At the present time, many countries try to deal with economical problems and they struggle
to cut down on spending. For this reason, it is an important problem for them to use nuclear energy
because it requires a large capital. A nuclear energy plant costs 3 to 5 billion dollars just to build.
Also, the plants take a long time to plan and build, so this issue adds to the overall cost of nuclear
energy. In addition to this, enriching uranium costs about 300 million dollars per reactor
(Greenier, 2005, p. 4). Finally, maintenance and operating expenses require a huge amount of
money, too. When all these findings are taken into consideration, it is nearly impossible to use
nuclear energy for the countries which are dealing with economical problems due to the financial
burden to build a nuclear plant.
The last but not least the disadvantage of nuclear energy is the disposal of nuclear wastes.
Nuclear waste is produced at every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining and
enrichment to reactor operations. As Scarborough (2002) says “Even the workers’ clothing treated
as nuclear waste and it is considered contaminated, or made dangerous by radiation” (p. 18). The
countries that use nuclear energy invest large amounts of money for finding a suitable method for
nuclear waste disposal. Despite the investments, experts have failed to find a suitable way to get
rid of nuclear waste. They used different methods such as burying, putting into storage containers,
or surrounding with rocks, but none of them worked properly. All in all, currently there are no
options to isolate nuclear wastes from the environment; therefore, there are not any reliable
methods to protect today’s people and future generations.
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4.2.5. Writing the conclusion
The conclusion of a report is usually a short section that introduces no new ideas. The conclusion
is important because it is your last chance to convey the significance and meaning of your research
to your reader by concisely summarizing your findings and emphasising their importance. In this
part, you evaluate the nature of the research you have done in relation to the topic under discussion
and the outcomes of the research.
Once you have stated your conclusions clearly, you can move on to discuss the implications of
your conclusions. Be sure that you use proper language that distinguishes conclusions from
inferences. Use phrases like “This research demonstrates . . .” to present your conclusions, and
phrases like “This research suggests . . .” or “This research implies . . .” to discuss implications.
Make sure that readers can distinguish your conclusions from the implications of those
conclusions, and do not claim too much for your research in discussing implications. You can use
phrases such as “Under the following circumstances,” “In most instances,” or “In these
specific cases” to warn readers that they should not generalize your conclusions.
As the author of the research report, you are expected to state your stand clearly so that the
audience can understand your purpose in order to write this report. Make sure that you stick to
your thesis statement.
In the conclusion section, in a separate paragraph, it is also necessary to make recommendations

for future research that can reveal further facts about the topic that you have investigated from
different perspectives. This sub-section serves well in the cases when new issues arise from your
conclusions and when the limitations of your study do not let you provide more explorations. A
distinction can be drawn between your findings and recommendations for a future study by using
such expressions as: “This report revealed/suggested/focused on …. Further research would
help more to understand… in relation to this issue”.
Task 14: Examine the sample conclusion below and in the light of the information, guidelines,
and samples, write out your conclusion and send it to your instructor.
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IV. CONCLUSION
The findings of the report show that there are several advantages of nuclear energy that
cannot be ignored such as zero emission and ease of finding raw material. On the other hand,
there are crucial disadvantages of nuclear energy. Nuclear accidents and disposal of nuclear
wastes are serious disadvantages that can badly harm the humanity and the nature. In addition to
this, large capitals which are needed for nuclear energy can give important damages to the
countries’ economies. Hence, it is another disadvantage that affects people. Based on this
evidence, nuclear energy does not stand out as a well reasoned option to solve the world’s energy
problem since nuclear accidents might cause irremediable effects. Financial difficulties in
building a nuclear plant and potential risks of nuclear wastes disposal put the countries under
tremendous pressure. Thus, using nuclear energy must be avoided for the sake of next generations.
As a result, the disadvantages of nuclear energy have bigger impacts than its advantages, so the
disadvantages of nuclear energy overweigh its advantages.
When all these findings are taken into consideration, it could be recommended that people
be informed about the consequences of nuclear energy and government policies about using
nuclear energy could be altered. Also, future researchers are recommended to study the
interrelated technical, economic, environmental, and political challenges facing the world because
of a significant increase in global nuclear power utilization.
4.2.6. Writing the references
It is important and necessary to include a references section at the end of a report in which you
use other sources. Informal or short reports may not have a references section or only a short one
while more formal reports will likely have reference sections, sometimes very lengthy ones. If
you have included a section on the background of your research topic or discussed other theories
and models related to your research, you will need a references section.
Without references, readers will not be able to be certain about whether the information that you
present is credible, and they will not be able to find it for themselves. References section also
allows you to refer to other researchers’ work without reviewing that work in detail. You can refer
readers to your reference page for more information.
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You should include references that you cited directly in the report or that greatly informed your
research. You do not need to include secondary materials that are only slightly related to your
topic. Do not include references simply to make this section longer.
One of the most common reference styles used for research reports in the social sciences and some
other disciplines is that outlined by the American Psychological Association (APA). And for
ENG202 Course, this is the style that you have to use to write your references for your report.
It is best to compile your own reference list containing a variety of information. This will save
you from having to track down pieces of information you may have neglected to make note of if
they are specifically requested after you have filed a source, returned it to the library, or misplaced
it.
Task 15: Examine the sample references below and in the light of the information, guidelines,
and samples, write out your references part and submit it to your instructor.
REFERENCES
Beck, P. (1994). Prospects and strategies for nuclear power: Global boon or dangerous
diversion. London: Earthscan.
Bodansky, D. (2004). Nuclear energy: Principles, practises and prospects. New York: Springer-
Verlag.
Comby, B. (1996). The benefits of nuclear energy. Retrieved from www.ecolo.org/
documents/documents_in_english/BENEFITS-of-NUCLEAR.pdf.
Greenier, K. (2005). Nuclear energy: Not the energy for the future. Retrieved from
www.mtholyoke.edu/~kagreeni/Disadvantages.html.
Maslin, M. (2007). Global warming: Causes, effects and the future. St. Paul: MBI.
Scarborough, K. (2002). Nuclear waste. Mankato: Capstone.
World Nuclear Association. (2009). Chernobyl accident: Health impacts. Retrieved from
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Appendices
/Chernobyl-Accident---Appendix-2--Health-Impacts/
4.2.7. Writing the appendices
Appendices may or may not be included according to the nature of your report. You should place
information in an appendix that is relevant to your subject but needs to be kept separate from the
80
main body of the report to avoid interrupting the line of the development of the report. Anything
can be placed in an appendix as long as it is relevant and as long as you made reference to it in
the body of your report.
4.2.8. Writing the abstract
“An abstract is an accurate representation of the contents of a document in an abbreviated form”

(Porush, 1995, p. 75). An abstract can be the most difficult part of the research report to write
because in it, you must introduce your subject matter, tell what was done, and present selected
results, all in one short (about 150 words) paragraph. As a result, you should usually write the
abstract last.
You will need to write an abstract when your dissertation for a higher degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) is
accepted, when you submit an article for publication, or when your report is disseminated to an
audience that needs a summary of its contents. You will also have to write an abstract for the
report you prepare for this course to become familiar with the process of abstract writing, which
will guide you in your future researches.
The most common type of an abstract is the informative abstract. An informative abstract
summarizes the key information from every major section in the body of the report, and provides
the key facts and conclusions from the body of the report. A good way to develop an informative
abstract is to devote a sentence or two to each of the major parts of the report. If space permits,
you can provide contextual information such as the background of the problem and the
significance of the research, but you can also omit contextual information because the abstract is
not supposed to serve as an introduction to the subject matter of the report – your introduction
will serve that role. You can also omit citations for your sources in the abstract. If you summarize
information that you borrowed from other writers, you do not have to repeat the citation in the
informative abstract. You should, however, include key numerical facts to make the informative
abstract brief. Readers will not be surprised to see numerical data in an informative abstract. If
you are writing an informative abstract, be sure to summarize rather than describe your report.
Someone reading your informative abstract should have a clear, though limited, understanding of
the scope and nature of your research, as well as the conclusions you reach. Finally, you should
finalize your abstract by including the recommendations you have made.
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4.2.8.1. Steps for writing effective abstracts
To write an effective abstract, follow these steps:

 Reread the article, paper, or report with the goal of abstracting in mind.
 Look specifically for these main parts of the article, paper, or report: purpose, methods,
scope, results, conclusions, and recommendation.
 Use the headings, outline heads, and table of contents as a guide to write your abstract.
 If you are writing an abstract about another person's article, paper, or report, the
introduction and the executive summary might be good places to begin. These areas
generally cover what the article emphasizes.
 After you have finished rereading the article, paper, or report, write a rough draft without
looking back at what you are abstracting.
 Do not merely copy key sentences from the article, paper, or report, in this case you may
put in too much or too little information.
 Do not rely on the way material was phrased in the article, paper, or report: summarize
information in a new way.
 Revise your rough draft to
 correct weaknesses in organization,
 improve transitions from point to pointdrop unnecessary information,
 add important information you left out,
 eliminate wordiness, and
 fix errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
 Print your final copy and read it again to catch any mistakes that you have missed.
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Task 16: Examine the sample abstract on the next page and in the light of the information,
guidelines, and samples, write out your abstract and submit it to your instructor.
ABSTRACT
This report is an attempt to examine nuclear energy and it develops a comparative
evaluation between the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy. In the first part of the
report, the advantages of nuclear energy such as its zero emission and ease of finding raw material
are presented. In the second part, three major disadvantages of nuclear energy, which are the risk
of nuclear accidents, its requiring a large capital, and difficulties in getting rid of nuclear waste,
are introduced and the result of each disadvantage is explained. It is concluded that nuclear energy
should not be used for energy needs because if not used, the world will become a better place for
today’s people and future generations. Building upon findings of this research, future researchers
are recommended to study the interrelated technical, economic, environmental, and political
challenges facing a significant increase in global nuclear power utilization.
Important Note: To examine research report samples, please see the Appendices. The four
research reports that are included in this Course Booklet originally belong to the students who
took ENG202 before. The samples are provided as models; however, as you can guess, there may
be some mistakes and voids. In your research reports, you will be assessed against the announced
criteria.
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CHAPTER V
USING FIGURES & TABLES
IN REPORTS
84
CHAPTER V
USING FIGURES and TABLES IN REPORTS
Purpose: This chapter provides you with the guidelines and rules of using figures and tables
in research reports. It should be known that using figures and tables in reports is an optional
choice.
5.1. FIGURES
'Figures' is the technical term for graphs, charts, drawings and pictures. Sometimes adding a
chart or graph that you find can help support your report. Only use the chart or graph if the
information it gives is vital to your argument and cannot be summarized effectively. Also, you
must cite the source. Good figures should be simple and clear. They may be added in appropriate
places in the text.
5.1.1. How to use figures:

 A figure caption is placed below the figure on a continuous line.
 Type the word Figure and the number in Arabic numerals, italicized, and followed by a
period.
 Add an explanatory title which has only the first word and proper nouns capitalized.
 The title is also closed with a period.
 When using figures from another person's work, cite the title of the original figure as the
title of your work.
 Add your citation into the reference part of your report in accordance with the end-of-text
citation rules mentioned in the Citation Chapter of your booklet.
5.1.2. How to cite figures in the text of your paper:

 Refer to figures by their numbers (e.g. Figure 5 defines…, In Figure 2 you can find…).
 Describe what the reader should expect to see or look for in the figure before you add it.
Give some details or explanations about the figure after you cite it.
 Cite all figures in your report according to APA style in-text citation rules mentioned in
the following box.
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Material Type In-text Citation
For material reprinted from a journal article:
From "Best management practices by age" by D. Adams and B.

Figure from
Matthies, 2010, Journal of Management, 14(3), p. 62.
another print
source For material reprinted from a book:
From Management p. 11, by M. Adams, 2009, Paris: Cafe College Press.
Web source For material reprinted from a web source:
citation is the
same in Figures
Note. From International Merchandise Imports, (add the author’s name
and Tables
as in journals/books if possible), June 2009, www.uscensusbureau.org
Copyright 2000 by US Census Bureau.
Now, let’s look at the following examples for each of the citation styles clarified in the chart
above.
Example 1:
In Figure 1 it is apparently shown that television watch-time of the people between 24 and 30 has
the highest rate.
Figure 1. Bar graph showing hours of television watched per week by age group. From “Impact
of television on teenagers,” by A. B. Alphabet, 2010, Journal of Television, 4(1), p. 145. Reprinted
with permission.
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Example 2:
In Figure 2 Mortice deadlock can be seen. This deadlock is fitted in the door rather than
screwed to its surface.
Figure 2. Mortice deadlock. From Home Security p. 4, by V. Capel, 1994, Boston:

Butterworth- Heinemann Press.
Example 3:
Figure 3 is a schematic of a helmet. The best choice of liner material is that which absorbs
the most energy/unit volume, while limiting the load on the head to a less-than-damaging level.
Figure 3. A cycle helmet designed to maximize energy absorption while keeping the
deceleration of the skull below 300g. From Materials for Bicycle Helmets in Granta Design,
February 2015, from http://www.grantadesign.com/resources/materials/
casestudies/helmet.htm#references Copyright 2014 by Granta Design.
5.2. TABLES
Tables are used for the data that cannot be effectively presented in the body of the paper. A table
must allow the reader to quickly and accurately make important comparisons. Tables can present
both quantitative data and words. They are different and are labeled as Table 1, Table 2, etc. Each
table to be placed in a report must be given careful consideration. If there is a small amount of
data, keep the data in the text. Do not place a large number of tables in the report when there is a
small amount of text in it.
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5.2.1. How to use tables:
 All tables are numbered using Arabic numerals consecutively.
 Do not use suffix letters to label tables (e.g., do not use Table 4a, Table 4b, etc.).
Instead, number them consecutively as Table 4, Table 5, and so forth.
 Tables must be designed as such that they are easily interpreted. Each table must have
a brief and clear title. The data presented in the table must allow readers to quickly
and accurately make important comparisons. Each column of data in a table must have
a heading so the reader can identify the data beneath the heading.
 A table heading is typed flush left above the table on two lines. The second line (title)
is italicized, and the first and all significant words begin with capital letters. There is
no closing punctuation.
 In using a table from another's work, cite the title of the table as the title of your work.
 Add your citation into the reference part of your report in accordance with the end-of-
text citation rules mentioned in the Citation Chapter of your booklet.
5.2.2. How to cite tables in the text of your paper:
 Cite all tables in the text with the word Note (in italics) and close it with a period.
 Refer to tables by their numbers (e.g., Table 7 defines…, In Table 4 you can find…).
 Describe what the reader should expect to see or look for in the table before you add
it. Give some details or explanations about the table after you cite it.
 Cite all tables in your report according to APA style in-text citation rules mentioned
in the following box.
For material reprinted from a journal article:

Note. From "Best management practices by age" by D. Adams and B.
Matthies, 2010, Journal of Management, 14(3), p. 62.
Tables from For material reprinted from a book:
another print Note. From Management 101 p. 11, by M. Adams, 2009, Paris: Cafe College
source Press.
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Example 1:
In Table 7 you can see the differences between age of marriage of women in industrialized
and developing countries.
Table 7
Median Marriage age of Women in Selected Countries
Note. From “Emerging adulthood” by J.J. Arnett, 2000, American Psychological Association,
55(5), p. 478.
Example 2:
Table 2 provides information about the specified schools, including their locations, types of
institution and the approximate number of students that are admitted each year.
Table 2
Sample of Pharmacy Students
Note. From Stress and mental health of college students, by M. V. Landow, 2006, New York:
Nova Science Publishers.
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Example 3:
As shown in Table 4, vitamins/ mineral herbal supplements sales have increased in a year.
Table 4
Sales of Vitamins/Mineral Herbal Supplements
Note. From ACNielsen information digest by the Nielsen Company, 2011, New Zealand.
Reprinted with permission.
5.3. IN-TEXT CITATION FOR YOUR OWN FIGURES AND TABLES

If you have prepared your own figures or tables, you have to follow the same rules explained
above. In the chart below you can see an example both for figures and tables. Your own figures
and tables will not be included in the reference list.
Figure Figure#. Descriptive caption for figure.
e.g. Figure 4. Types of home security

Table Table #
A brief but clear explanatory title.
e.g. Table 9
Mula Company Sales Rates between 2011-2012
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CHAPTER VI
ORAL PRESENTATION OF A
RESEARCH REPORT
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CHAPTER VI
6.1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO PRESENTATION SKILLS
Presentation, in narrow sense, is a short talk that a person performs in front of a group of people
to introduce and/or describe a particular subject. In reality, presentations may be given by more
than one person, and are not necessarily short and are not necessarily a 'talk' since they may be by
video, or the Internet etc.
Speech communication or presentation skills can be regarded as one of the basic academic
subjects for all students around the world since the study of presentation will help improve
knowledge, self-confidence, organization of ideas, use of posture and voice, etc. Actually,
presentation is not only limited to the courses or seminars, but it is also in all areas throughout
one’s life. Success in administration, government, public relations, politics, education, and sales
depends on good communication skills.
Therefore, you should actively participate in the class if you want to improve your speaking and
presentation skills. You may be nervous about the idea of standing in front of a group of people
and making a speech; however, your fear will disappear as you progress through this course.
In this course, you will have many chances to speak. These will give you confidence and help you
improve your speeches, get over problem spots, and improve your presentation skills.
It should be realized that making a presentation is a learned skill. For most of us, it is not
something we can simply get up and do effectively without having at least some basic training.
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6.1.1 What makes a good presentation?
Activity
Let’s think of a memorable presentation you have seen and discuss on following questions.
 Was it a good one or a poor one?
 How interesting was the subject?
 Did the speaker have good communication skills?
 How effective was his/her body language?
 Did the speaker use any visual aids?
 Did he/she have a clear and simple message?
We will revisit many of these good presentation traits again throughout the term.
There are different expectations regarding presentations. Here are some examples of the key
components of an effective presentation:
 a clear story or argument in the text,

 understanding of the topic and the audience,
 a clear structure: a distinct beginning, middle and end,
 appropriate visual aids,
 evidence of your having practiced the talk/delivery, and
 appropriate timing/length.
All of these are important for a successful presentation, but depending on the message, some
components may be more important than others.
Many of us may have difficulty while we are expressing our ideas and feelings. We may feel
nervous or embarrassed when speaking in public or working through an idea in front of an
audience.
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Here are some typical reactions we found when we asked other students to respond to their
presentation experiences:
“I know exactly the point I want to make, but by the time I get the opportunity to
express myself … all that comes out is a confused babble.”
“I am afraid of sounding silly and being made fun of by my classmates.”
“English is not my first language and I lose confidence when I have to stand up in
front of my classmates… it is easier with strangers.”
“I find it difficult to organize my thoughts when speaking in front of a group or even

just to my supervisor … I feel I must read from my notes directly.”
Write how you have felt / would feel when you are presenting a speech?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
If you have ever felt like this, then you are certainly not alone – it is safe to say that we all feel
some degree of nervousness when giving a presentation. But this is natural, and without having
at least a little bit of anxiety, you may find yourself too relaxed. Keep in mind that a little tension
is helpful because it will bring about an adrenaline rush that will get you onto your feet and ready
to give your presentation.
6.1.2. Dealing with nervousness and developing self-confidence

In due course, hours or days before a presentation, it is natural that you are very anxious about
yourself, your audience, and your presentation. It is reported that most people have the fear of
public speaking and they become nervous, feel nauseated, begin to sweat, etc. However, there are
some techniques to both minimize anxiety and perform a good speech.
6.1.2.1. Finding out reasons behind your fear
First of all, you should be aware of the reasons for your fear and nervousness. Think of some
reasons why you have presentation anxiety. Some of them might be counted as:
 I’ll forget what I want to say.
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 I’m afraid no one will be interested in my topic.
 The audience is too large.
 I don’t know anyone in the audience.
 I don’t speak well in public.
 Everyone will see how nervous I am.
 I might not be prepared enough.
 My English isn’t good enough.
 Listeners won’t understand me.
 The audience won’t like me; they will reject me.
You can substitute positive beliefs for each fear you have stated to overcome your fear. To
illustrate:
Fear Positive Beliefs
The audience is too large, but the size of the group doesn’t
matter. People are listening one at a time.
a.________________________________ ______________________________
b.________________________________ ______________________________
c.________________________________ ______________________________
d.________________________________ ______________________________
e.________________________________ ______________________________
f.________________________________ ______________________________
6.1.2.2. Preparing well
Preparation is the key to success. Being prepared counts for everything. When you know how to
start, what to say, how to go through the details, how to complete your talk, and how to deal with
the questions following your speech, then automatically you get relaxed. In getting prepared,
effective planning, preparation and rehearsal are essential. Using helpful tip cards and visual aids
can ease your life during your speech and minimize your anxiety.
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6.1.2.3 Practicing before the presentation
Rehearse your speech in front of a mirror, a camera, your family or friends. Ask them for giving
feedback. You may even record yourself on your mobile phone and check the positive and
negative sides of it. This will help you feel more comfortable when you face your ‘real’ audience.
Rehearsal ensures that you can run the time allotted. It ensures that your word and sentence
structures are clear and consistent. It is also essential to check your pronunciation in order to avoid
confusion or misunderstandings.
6.1.2.4 Learning to get relaxed
Stretching or doing breathing exercises before you start your speech may help you reduce your
nervousness. You should breathe in deeply through the nose and exhale slowly through the mouth.
In addition, you may relax your facial muscles by opening your eyes and mouth widely and
closing them tightly.
6.1.2.5 Visualizing success

Visualize yourself as having completed your speech in a successful way. Then imagine the
audience who are violently applauding you. Try to feel the success and smile.
6.2. PRESENTATION BASICS
PRESENTATION BASICS
AUDIENCE PRESENTATION DELIVERY
PLAN
who? how many? Posture / gesture / mimic / eye contact
prior knowledge?
The Content The Structure The Visual Aids use of notes / use of voice
age / sex / backround / needs? movement
language
Topic Selection Introduction Body Conclusion
Narrowing Down Attention Getter / Main Points Restatement of the

Opener main idea
Gathering Information Thesis Sub-points Summary
Organising Preview Transition Memorable ending

Information
Transition
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The Basics of Presentation
As you can see in the chart above, a presentation consists of several parts. Primarily, you should
take into consideration the audience that you will perform for since you need to know what kind
of subject you should choose in order to leave an impact on them. Later you should create a plan
to see how you should organize your speech gradually, and finally you should prepare yourself
for delivering your speech. Thus, the following issues will be dealt with in this chapter:
2.1 Audience
2.2 Presentation Plan
2.3 Delivery
6.2.1. The audience
You should start preparing your presentation by getting as much information about your audience
as you can. This information will help you prepare a speech that is relevant and interesting to
them. The factors that you need to know about your audience in order to be able to do this are:
Age Range: What is the age range of your audience? What topics would interest
them? If they are young for example, an appropriate speech topic might be
‘choosing a career’. However, if they are middle-aged, a good topic might be
‘planning for retirement’.
Gender: What is the gender of your audience? If there are both men and women,
choose a topic that is interesting to both. On the other hand, if there are only men
or only women, you can choose a topic of specific interest to that group.
Occupation(s): Is your audience made up of college students? Or do they have

jobs? If they have jobs, where do they work? If members of your audience have
occupations in common, you could build your speech on this shared background.
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Economic Level(s): What is the financial position of your audience? You would
not, for example, try to inform the average college students about how to negotiate
the purchase of a luxury yacht. However, it might be a great topic for a group of
wealthy retirees.
General Background: What are the general backgrounds, attitudes, and religious
beliefs of your audience? It would not be appropriate, for example, to talk to
vegetarians about the best steak restaurants in Buenos Aires. Other questions
should also be considered in order to choose a topic that is of interest to everyone.
 Are your listeners married?
 Do they have children?
 What are their racial and ethnic backgrounds?
* Keep in mind that, in your case, your audience will be your friends and instructors.
6.2.2. The presentation plan
There are two important factors that you need to consider when planning your presentation. These
are:
2.2.1 Content
2.2.2 Structure/ Organization
6.2.2.1. Content
Since Choosing of the Subject is one of the most crucial parts of a presentation, the first question
that goes through your head should be “What do I want to inform my audience about?” You
should start preparing long ahead of time.
The content is the information you want to give in your presentation. Before you can decide on
how much information you need to give, you must research the subject of your presentation
thoroughly.
To decide on the content, you can ask these questions:
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 How long will my presentation be?
 What key information do I need to convey/give?
 What does the audience need to learn?
 How much do I know about my topic?
 On which subject(s) should I do research?
 What sources should I use?
 Tip
Once you know what you want to talk about, you can prepare an outline or rough draft first before
you write it all up.
6.2.2.2. Structure/ Organization
A good presentation will have a good structure or organization. This structure/format will help
the audience follow what the speaker is saying. Your presentation structure should have
 an introduction (the beginning),

 a body (the middle), and
 a conclusion (the end).
If the presentation is poorly organized, the message will not be effective and the audience will get
confused and stop listening. Thus, organization and structure are very important if you want the
audience to learn from your presentation. Having a structure will also give the presentation a
professional image.
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INTRODUCTION
Warm up your audience, state your

purpose and the sections of your talk
BODY
Step by step explain the details of your

research/findings
CONCLUSION
Restate the purpose of your talk and the subheadings,

and leave the audiece with some idea to think about
Figure 1. The structure of a presentation
6.2.3. The delivery
This is where you have to deliver or present your message to the audience. When you begin to
speak, the audience will listen carefully to what you say and watch closely how you perform. It
is necessary to remember that how you say something is just as important as what you say.
6.2.3.1. Use of voice and body language
The tone of voice and body language can account for 65% of the message. The body language
(body movements) will express the speaker’s attitudes and thoughts (how much he/she knows
his/her topic and how well he/she is prepared). Therefore, you should pay attention to the
following parts of your body:
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 Your voice
You should speak slowly so that everyone can follow; speak loudly so that everyone can hear;
speak clearly so that everyone can understand.
 Your face
You should smile to give the audience reassurance and try not to look confused, bored or scared.
You should try to be yourself and natural.
 Your eyes
You can build a good relationship with the audience by looking at them when you are
presenting your message. Looking at someone while talking to him/her is called ‘eye
contact’. A speaker should not read from his/her notes all the time.
 Your posture
You should stand up straight and not lean against objects.
Make sure you are not standing in the way of the visual aid.
Check that everyone can see the board.
 Your hands
You should not play with objects such as a pen in your hands and should not leave your hands in
your pockets when you are talking.
 Your feet
You should try not to walk up and down the room too much or tap your feet when you are talking.
 Your appearance
You should dress appropriately for the presentation – not too casual (e.g. jeans). You also should
remember to dress for the audience and not yourself. Furthermore, you should try to remember
not to wear flashy jewellery.
 Your attitude
You should be enthusiastic about the subject you are presenting and be confident. You also should
try to stay calm and be professional.
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6.2.3.2. Use of note cards
If you are worried about forgetting your presentation content, one thing you can do is to make
yourself a set of note cards which can be very useful and helpful. This is because they can serve
as a reminder of the presentation structure and help to keep it on track. Moreover, they can also
include reminders about the delivery such as when to ask for questions, when to pause, and when
to tell a joke.
Some DOs and DON’Ts of using note cards
Do keep the writing on your note cards to an absolute minimum. The cards should only be a
reminder of what you want to talk about next.
 Do use only one side of each note card.
Do make sure that you write on your cards clearly. If your handwriting is really bad, print or
type. It is also a good idea to use colour coding for different parts.
Do make sure that your cards are in the right order and number them carefully. That way, if
you accidentally drop your cards, at least you will be able to find your place again easily.
Don’t just talk to your cards. Remember that to keep the audience’s attention; you must
make frequent eye contact with them.
Don’t try to use too many cards.
Activity: Check the following note cards and explain why they are all PROBLEMATIC. Which
one can be corrected to be used?
In larger amounts, caffeine can cause you In larger amounts, caffeine can cause you CAUSES OF USING CAFFEINE:
to have headaches, feel restless and to have headaches, feel restless and
- headaches,
nervous, be unable to sleep, and even, in nervous, be unable to sleep, and even, in - feel restless and nervous,
very large quantities to have - be unable to sleep,
very large quantities to have
- have hallucinations.
hallucinations. (Don't try that at home!) hallucinations. (Don't try that at home!)
When larger amounts of caffeine (over OVER 600 MG PER DAY
When larger amounts of caffeine (over
600 mg per day) are used over long
600 mg per day) are used over long periods - sleep problems,
periods of time you can develop sleep - get depressed,
of time you can develop sleep problems, get
problems, get depressed and have - have problems with your
depressed and have problems with your
problems with your digestive system. digestive system.
digestive system. (1)
CHANGE THE SLIDE (1)
Change the slide (45)
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6.2.3.3. Signposting or transitions
While you are giving a presentation, how can your audience know where they are? How can they
know the structure of your presentation? How can they know what is coming next? They know
because you tell them and because you put up signposts for them in the beginning and all along
the route. This technique is called 'signposting' (or 'signalling').
In the introduction, you should tell your audience what the structure of the presentation will be.
You might say something like this:
"I'll start by describing the current position in Europe. Then I'll move on to some of the
achievements we've made in Asia. After that I'll consider the opportunities we see for further
expansion in Africa. Lastly, I'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."
The audience can now visualize the presentation like this:
 Welcome
Introduction  Explanation of structure (now)
 Europe
Body  Asia
 Africa
 Summing up
Conclusion  Recommendations
You will keep this image in your head during the presentation. You may even write it down.
Throughout the presentation, you will put up signposts telling the audience which points you have
reached and where you are going then.
When you finish Europe and want to start Asia, you might say:
 "That's all I have to say about Europe. Let's turn now to Asia."
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When you have finished Africa and want to sum up, you might say:
 "Well, we've looked at the three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. I'd like to sum up now."
And when you finish summing up and want to give some recommendations, you might say:
 "What does all this mean for us? Well, firstly I recommend..."
6.2.3.3.1. Where to use transitions
Transitions should be used

 before the introduction,
 after the introduction,
 within the body,
 before the conclusion, and
 after the conclusion.
Before you start your speech, you can welcome your audience, and if you do not know your
audience, optionally you can introduce yourself to them and welcome them.
For example: Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to my presentation. Today
I’m going to talk shortly about...
Welcome to my presentation. My name is .........and the subject of my presentation is...
Good morning/ Good afternoon, everybody! My name is .........In my presentation today, I’m
going to talk about/ explain why...
 Transition after the Introduction
Every speech needs a transition after the introduction. This transition should signal that the main
part of the speech is about to begin.
To illustrate: First, you’ll be pleased to learn about the comfortable cabins that will be your
rooms for the week.
If you have a tolerance for some risk, you might want to consider investing money in the
stock market.
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The example below shows the opening of a presentation about some famous British inventions.
What do you think the speaker says next? Write your ideas in the space provided:
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is John Rubin. In my presentation today,
I’m going to talk about some famous British inventors and the products that they developed.
Basically, I’ve divided this presentation into three parts. In the first part, I’ll talk about
Alexander Graham Bell and the invention of the telephone. Then, in the second part, I’ll
look at the work of John Logie Baird and his development of the television. And to finish
off, I’ll discuss Alexander Fleming and his research on the antibiotic we know as
penicillin.________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
 Transitions within the Body
Transitions are also needed between each section of the body. This kind of transition generally
consists of two separate sentences that provide two important functions:
 To review the information just presented

 To preview the next section
For instantce: Review: I have talked about how to analyze the audience.
We have seen all the places you can search for information about your topic.
Preview: Next, I will talk about how to choose a topic.

Now, let’s look at preparing visual aids.
Now, how do you choose a great topic? (in question form)
Next, how can you prepare effective visual aids? (in question form)
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Some linking phrases:
 Now I’d like to move on to the next part of my presentation, which is how Hitler got the
support of the German people.
 Next, I’d like to look at my second point today: some of the ways in which mobile phone
technology has developed.
 This leads us to my next point: suggestions for improving your English speaking.
 This brings us to the final part of my presentation today: what countries can do to reduce
their greenhouse gas emissions.
 Transition before the Conclusion
Every speech needs a transition before the conclusion. This last transition acts as a signal that the
speech is about to end.
For example: In conclusion, with all these great onboard activities, you might not even want
to leave the ship at all! You could always divide your funds between corporate bonds and one
of the other types of investments.
 Transition after the Conclusion
After you finish your speech, you have to ask your audience if they have any questions. After
answering the questions (if any) say ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ to your audience.
For instance: That concludes my presentation. Are there any questions?

That brings us to the end of my presentation today. Thank you very much for listening. Does
anyone have any questions?
Right then, as I hope to have shown this morning, it’s clear that Scotland has many
attractions for foreign tourists. Now, does anyone have any questions?
I hope you’ve enjoyed my presentation today. If anyone has any questions, I’ll do my best
to answer them…If there are no more questions, I’ll stop here. Thanks very much for your
attention.
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Keep in mind that it is useful to signpost the route through your presentation. Tell your audience
where you are going to and coming from through every part of your presentation. When you signal
where one part ends and a new one begins, it becomes easier for your audience to follow you.
The table on the next page lists useful expressions that you can use for signposting:
Function Language
Introducing the subject  I'd like to start by...

 Let's begin by...
 First of all, I'll...
 I'll begin by...
Finishing one subject  Well, I've told you about...

 That's all I have to say about...
 We've looked at...
Moving on to another issue  Now we'll move on to...

 Let me turn now to...
 I'd like now to discuss...
 Let's look now at...
Giving an example  For example...

 A good example of this is...
 As an illustration...
 To give you an example...
 To illustrate this point...
Ordering  Firstly...secondly...thirdly...lastly...
 First of all...then...next...after that...finally...
 To start with...later...to finish up...
Summarizing and concluding  In conclusion...

 Right, let's sum up, shall we?
 I'd like now to recap...
 Let's summarize briefly what we've looked at...
 Finally, let me remind you of some of the issues we've
covered...
 I am going to sum up the main points...
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Answering questions  We'll be examining this point in more detail later on...
 I'd like to deal with this question later, if I may...
 I think this is a good question. Thank you for asking.
 Perhaps you'd like to raise this point at the end...
6.2.3.4. Dealing with questions
At the end of the presentation, there may be questions addressing the speaker. You should be
aware that you do not have to answer all the questions –they may not be good questions!
When you get a question, you should comment on it first. This will give you some time to think.
Here are some useful expressions to help you do that:
 That's a very interesting question.

 I'm glad you've asked that question.
 A good question.
 I'm sorry but I don't have that information in hand.
 Can I get back to you about that?
 I'm afraid I can't answer that because.....
 I'm not in a position to comment on that as......
 As I said earlier, …
 I think I answered that when I said …
 I think that is a very different issue.
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6.2.4. Visual and audio aids
6.2.4.1. Visual aids
Activity
Write down briefly what you think about the way visual aids can be used for in a presentation.
Discussion
You can use visual aids to:

 illustrate your text with graphs, graphics or simply line drawings,
 clarify a point, or restate a point for added significance,
 summarize the structure or content of a section or topic,
 summarize key concepts or key areas,
 give instructions for an activity,
 add interest and variety,
 build up visuals to develop an idea, and
 help the audience recall a concept or idea, either from their own past or from the
content of your talk.
Visual aids add impact and interest to a presentation. They enable you to appeal to more than
one sense at the same time, thereby increasing the audience's understanding and retention
level. With pictures, the concepts or ideas you present are no longer simply words - but words
plus images.
These are the things you could use as visual aids:
 Wipe-board
 Flipchart
 PowerPoint presentation
 Video/camera
 Product samples
 Displays/Exhibition
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The primary aim of visual aids is to illustrate the key points that you need to make in your
presentation, so with this in mind, you need to make sure your visual aids do not have:
 too many points on any single slide – do not overload,

 images so shocking or distracting that you lose your audience, and
 complex ideas which cannot be explained to the majority in the time allocated.
The visual aids are there to illustrate your words (and to jog your memory) – not to tell the whole
story. If the aids begin to take over, you may well lose the audience's interest in what you are
saying as they simply wait for more images.
Ten key points to consider for visual aids:
 Keep them simple.

 Decide exactly what aids and equipment you are going to use.
 Organize the layout of your ‘stage’ yourself.
 Get into the room at least a quarter of an hour before you are due to speak.
 Visuals should not be too detailed.
 Visuals must be big enough for everyone to see.
 Visuals should include writings in the language you are doing your presentation.
 Be careful using pointers.
 Do not leave visuals up too long.
 Always be prepared for unexpected situations.
Besides, you should have some back-up plans. If your lap-top does not work, for instance, do you
have the hard copies of the slides in case everything else fails?
When thinking about what visual aids (VA) to use, you should ask yourself these questions:
 Will the VA improve my presentation?

 Have I used the VA before and is it easy to use?
 Will the VA help to maintain the audience’s attention?
 Will the audience be able to see the VA?
110
Top tips for slides:
 Check that the size of the print is large enough for the audience to see.
 Try to avoid more than four or five lines of text per slide.
 Choose a font size and style that is clear and simple (e.g. Arial or Times New Roman).
 Do not type all the text in capital letters as this makes it more difficult to read.
 Avoid putting your whole script on a slide and then reading it.
 Do not use long sentences – use phrases, bullet points and numbers to organize the key
points.
 Text simply copied onto acetate from the printed page often cannot be seen.
 Never scan the text from typed script – it is difficult to read on a slide.
 Use solid colour to highlight or emphasize text.
 For background colours and text, choose strong colours.
 Avoid red-green combinations for people who might be colour blind.
 Use cartoons or line drawings or good photographs.
 Keep slides to a minimum, perhaps eight to ten for a half-hour talk.
 Use a common style throughout the presentation.
 Try building up your slides with less content ‘growing’ into more content.
 Number slides and cross reference these to your text notes.
 Make sure that you have the same format in all the slides.
 Make sure that your slides are synchronized with the content of your presentation.
 Do not forget to refer to your slides while presenting your speech.
Analyze the following three examples of slides which have been prepared for a presentation, and
try to decide which is better, clearer, and easier to understand.
111
Figure 5. Example slides exploring a coach company's performance
112
Activity
How can you integrate a visual aid into your presentation in order to provide a fluent flow
without any digression in your speech?
Discussion
There are some signposts / transitions to help you introduce your visuals and some to help
you refer to your visual, as follows:
Introduce a visual
 I’ll just write that on the board for you.
 Have a look at this graph.
 I’d like to show you this diagram. / I’d like to share with you …
 I’ve got a table here to illustrate my point.
 Let me show you some slides / photos now.
 Please pass these handouts around.
 I’ll be using this model to demonstrate …
Refer to a visual
 This chart/diagram/table/figure illustrates/clarifies/shows my point.
 As you can see in this table/picture/photo, … / As you can see,…
 If we look at this second slight/graph, …
 This is a map/picture of…
 You will see from this table that…
 Here you’ll notice that … / Notice the vast difference
 At this point, my artistic drawing will help you understand…
 Let’s look at the results all together.
Drawing attention to key features
 I would like to draw your attention to …
 As you can see, the column on the left shows …
 The columns on the right clearly specify …
 The points in bold represent …
 As this data indicates, …
6.2.4.2. Audio Materials
In oral presentations, using visual aids can be effective as long as they are used appropriately.
However, visual materials like board, poster, video, charts, diagrams, and slides are not the only
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way to add influence to our speeches but also the audio materials can be used. The audio materials
that you can use while you are presenting your speech can be counted as songs, interviews, some
other speeches, some discussions, CDs, etc. You can use a great variety of both audio and visual
aid in your speeches.
Activity
What is the difference between writing an essay and presenting a speech?
Discussion
The language of a written text is usually different from the language used in a
presentation. The reason lies in the differences between the comprehension ability of
readers and listeners. A reader can easily re-read the portion of a text he/she has missed,
whereas a listener who loses the thread of a presentation, and he/she cannot go back to
the earlier section that he/she has missed. That is the major reason why an oral
presentation needs to be more listener-friendly and easier to understand than a written
text.
Written discourse Oral discourse
* Long words and sentences, complex, * Shorter words and sentences, simple structures,
and technical words. structures, and easily understandable
words.
* Passive voice (indirect speech) * Active voice (direct speech)

e.g. The outline will now be shown… e.g. Now, I would like to show you my
outline…
* Repetition unnecessary * Some repetition useful

e.g. As I mentioned earlier…
In other words,
To summarize…
* More formal * Less formal
e.g. No contractions used e.g. Some contractions may be used
Personal pronouns discouraged Personal pronouns welcomed
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6.3. ORAL PRESENTATION OF ENG202 RESEARCH REPORT
In ENG202 course, the students are expected to present their research report in whole. The time
allocated for normal report presentations is about 20 minutes; however, in this course the students
will have only 7-10 minutes to provide information about the process they followed while writing
the research report, and they will brief the audience on their purpose in writing the report as well
as the major points and the conclusions that they have come to.
6.3.1. Preparation of an oral report
The oral report should contain the following:

1.1.1. Introduction
a. Attention-getting opener
b. Background information about the topic
c. Thesis Statement
d. Preview
1.1.2. Body
1.1.3. Conclusion
a. A summary and restatement of the thesis statement
b. Memorable ending
Although these are the components of a speech, the process of the preparation of these should be
in an outline format as the first step.
6.3.1.1. Outlining your speech
Once you have decided on the topic, done research on it, gathered information, and specified the
points that you will present, it is time to decide on and develop the supporting ideas.
The thesis statement or the main idea/aim of your speech will be stated in the introduction part of
your speech. Afterwards, you will develop the major points that you have specified in the body
parts. Following the body where you have explained, supported, and given the details of your
topic, you will summarize what you have told in the conclusion part. In this case, you may build
a logical flow of your presentation of your report by using the information you have gathered.
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ATILIM UNIVERSITY
Department of Modern Languages (DML)
2018-2019 Spring
ENG202
Research Report Presentation Outline
RESEARCH QUESTION:
INTRODUCTION
A. Attention Getter:
B. Thesis Statement:
C. Preview:
a.
b.
c.
Transition:
BODY
PART A:
a.
b.
c.
Transition
PART B:
a.
b.
c.
Transition
CONCLUSION
A. Summary & Restatement of the Thesis Statement

B. Final comments
C. Memorable Ending
Transition: Thank you very much for listening. Do you have any questions or comments?
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6.3.1.2. Introduction
By answering the following questions, you can make up your introduction.
a. Why has the topic/problem been chosen?

b. What is the significance of the topic/problem?
c. Which sources have been used in writing the report? (State the name of the author, the
title of the article, and the type of the source)
a. Attention catching opener

At the beginning of your speech, you have to grab the attention of your audience and make them
interested in what you want to talk about. There are many ways to prepare an interesting
introduction for your research report presentation.
Many presenters use some interesting techniques to start their presentations. Some useful opening
strategies for effective presentations are listed below. Not all of these will work in every situation,
but by having some choices about how to start, we hope you will find a method which suits your
specific presentation.
 Question –anticipate the sort of questions your audience might want answered in connection with
your subject: ‘Are the days of a Great Britain finished forever?’ ‘Must we sacrifice the essential
quality of life if we are to take full advantage of the benefits that high technology can bestow?’
The audience instinctively tries to arrive at an answer, and you can go on to give yours.
 Quotation – perhaps the easiest method to use and often the most effective. The quotation should
be from a well-known person or author known to the audience and strictly relevant to your
subject.
 Facts and statistics- Most business or technical subjects offer many facts which will interest and
inform your audience. Choose them carefully, make sure they are accurate and keep them simple.
Contrasting facts can be particularly interesting: ‘Annually, during the 1970s, the average
number of working days lost through strikes was six million, yet the average lost through
industrial accidents and sickness was 300 million’. Do not be too detailed – no audience can take
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in numbers like 6,454,100, without plenty of time and reinforcement from visual aids. Even then,
rounded figures and percentages are easier to grasp.
 Joke – if your experience tells you that you can do this well, then it may be worth risking it. But
people's sense of humour differs radically, and if the joke falls flat, you are worse off than before.
Again, it must be well told, relevant and brief.
 Anecdote – must be well told, relevant to the subject, brief and, if possible, personal (the
willingness to laugh at yourself usually wins an audience over).
 Shock – not just the gimmicky opening, firing revolvers or letting off explosions, which can often
go wrong and is always difficult to sustain. Shock can be created through the effective use of
words: ‘training is a waste of time and money…’ pause to allow the shock to take effect, then:
‘unless it is aimed at developing the team rather than the individual.’
 Topical story – as opposed to the humorous story. Everyone likes a story – but only if it is skilfully
chosen and told. Ideally it should have an intriguing twist and must lead into the subject.
 Asking the audience to do something-If you believe that it would be better to start with something
that the audience do will help you to get their attention, this is your strategy for an effective start.
Before I start my presentation today, I’d like to carry out a small experiment. Can you stand up,
please, if you’ve had any junk food in the last week?
Good morning everyone. Before we get started, I have a little task for you. Can you stand up,
please, if you’ve had any junk food in the last week?
b. Background information
In this part of the introduction, you are supposed to provide us with the information regarding the
background of your topic. To specify this part, you can enlarge the background information that
you have written in your introduction part.
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c. Thesis statement
Thesis statement is the most important part of an oral production. In thesis statement, you declare
your purpose of writing the research report and clarify for the reader the aspects you have defined
in your report.
d. Preview
Preview is the part in which you explain in brief the major points (headings) that you have
elaborated in the body of your research report. It is advised to state them very clearly while
presenting them to your audience. Avoid adding any details to the preview part.
6.3.1.3. Body
Body is the part in which you present your audiences the details of your argument and it is the
place where you prove your thesis statement. Therefore, your body must be sufficient to contain
enough details and present them in an organized way.
6.3.1.4. Conclusion
Every speech needs an ending that leaves the audience thinking about and remembering what was
said. At the end of the speech, while you are concluding your speech, you have to summarize the
aspects that you have discussed in your report. You can use the following questions to make up
your concluding part.
 What is the result of your findings?
 How did you come to this conclusion?
 What is the evidence to support what you have concluded?
 Is there any recommendation/warning that you want to offer to your audience?
As you already know, every speech needs an ending that leaves the audience thinking about and
remembering what was said. Like attention-getting openers, memorable concluding remarks can
take the form of the rhetorical questions, stories, surprising facts, effective videos or quotations.
119
Example 1: Speech Text (7-10 Minutes)
INTRODUCTION
Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to my presentation. As you all
know I am Volkan Polat and today I am going to talk shortly about the disadvantages of
nuclear energy but first of all, I want to ask some questions about nuclear energy.
“Do you know anything about energy sources?” “How does nuclear energy impact the
environment and human health?” and "Does nuclear energy bring more harm than benefit?”. In
this research, I aim to answer these questions. Today, energy sources are among the most
significant problems of the modern life. The use of nuclear energy has become a controversial
issue since it became popular. A wide research on the topic has been done and some books written
by Beck (1994), Maslin (2007) and Searborough (2002) have been used. Apart from these, several
articles on the Internet by Comby (1996) and Greenier (2005) have been used.
Thesis Statement: The purpose of this report is to support the idea that nuclear energy can
badly harm the nature and humanity although it has some advantages.
OK. Firstly, I am going to talk about the benefits of nuclear energy, then I will explain
the disadvantages of nuclear energy and finally I will conclude and explain why the
Thus, here, I will cover two major areas:
I. Advantages of Nuclear Energy
II. Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
BODY
Now let me explain why nuclear energy is charming for people. The two advantages
that should be considered are:
a. Zero emission
b. Ease of finding raw material
On the other hand, the negative sides of nuclear energy can be defined as:
a. Risk of nuclear radiation accidents
b. Requiring a large capital
c. Difficulties in getting rid of nuclear wastes
Firstly, advantages of nuclear energy like zero emission and ease of finding raw material
should be explained. Nuclear plants do not emit greenhouse gases, so they do not pollute the air
and cause global warming. In addition to this, it is easy to find raw material for nuclear energy,
which is uranium, and this situation affects energy producers in a positive way.
120
Secondly, three major disadvantages of nuclear energy should be clarified. These are risk
of nuclear radiation accidents, requirement of a substantial capital in the establishment of nuclear
plants, and difficulties in getting rid of nuclear wastes. Nuclear radiation accidents which had
happened in the past showed how hazardous they can be. Undoubtedly, it is impossible to build a
nuclear plant which is 100% secure. Furthermore, the large capital which is needed to build
nuclear power plants can cause a huge financial burden to the countries. Also, nuclear waste
disposal is a significant issue since nuclear wastes can affect the world’s balance in a disastrous
way and today’s technology cannot provide a suitable solution to get rid of nuclear wastes.
CONCLUSION
Yes dear friends/teachers/ladies and gentlemen, so far we have talked about the
reasons why we should avoid using nuclear energy….
As I explained, nuclear energy should not be used for energy production. When the
negative sides of nuclear energy are taken into consideration, it becomes clear that it is not wise
to use it. In the light of all the researches and findings in this report, it is obvious that nuclear
energy has crucial disadvantages which can damage both humanity and nature seriously, so it is
wrong to consider nuclear energy as a solution to the world’s energy problem and it must be
avoided for our future generations. Therefore, it is recommended that national governments
should change their policies about nuclear energy consumption in order to make the world a better
place.
Now, I want to show you a very effective video about the danger of nuclear energy.
After this video, I hope I have convinced you why nuclear energy should not be a solution
to the world’s energy problem.
Well, this presentation was a new experience for me, and I am happy to share it with
you. I hope the information and recommendations that I provided can help you in your
further studies. Thank you very much for sparing time to listen to my speech. Are there any
questions or comments? (Wait for the questions and answer them; if there are no questions,
say ‘thank you’ and go back to your seat)
121
REFERENCES
Agnes, E. (1999). Webster's new world college dictionary. Cleveland, Ohio: Macmillan.
Bachman, R. (1990, May). Reaching for the sky. Dial, 15.
Blake, G. & Bly, R. (1993). The elements of technical writing. New York: Longman.
Blicq, R. & Moretto, L. A. (2001). Writing reports to get results: Quick, effective results using
ther pyramid method (3rd Ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Headstrong, B. (1990, May). Bike helmets: Unsused lifesavers. Consumer Report, 348.
Kiefer, K. (1993). Deciding when a topic is too broad. Retrieved from

https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/page.cfm?pageid=420&guideid=20
Reid, S. (1993). Deciding when a topic is too narrow. Retrieved from

https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/page.cfm?pageid=421&guideid=20
Yancey, C, (1989). English 102 Supplemental Guide.
122
APPENDICES
123
APPENDIX 1
ATILIM UNIVERSITY
DML
ENG202
ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES IV
RESEARCH-BASED REPORT PAPER FORMAT
Your RESEARCH REPORT will have the following page format:
1. Exactly Computer Typed! No hand-written reports will be accepted at all.

2. Text Font Size: Arial/Times New Roman 12.
3. Titles (I, II, III, etc.) : Arial/Times New Roman 14, BOLD, ALL CAPS
4. Subtitles (4.1, 2.1.1, 3.4, etc.) : Arial/Times New Roman 13, BOLD, NO CAPS
5. Page margins: Top-Bottom: 3 cm. / Left-Right: 2.5 cm.
6. Double line spacing between the lines.
7. Do not leave any free lines between paragraphs.
8. Page numbered. (at the bottom, centred, start with the introduction page)
9. No page number for the cover page.
10. Page numbers for the Abstract and Table of Contents should be: i, ii, iii, iv, etc.
11. Abstract, Table of Contents, and References will be written on separate pages.
12. Each main parts starting with I, II, III.. will be written on separate pages also.
13. Do not forget to provide a Cover Page.
14. Do not forget to staple your pages (cover page + report + references) and put them in a folder.
124
APPENDIX 2
COVER PAGE
Your cover page should:
1. be computer typed.
2. have these page margins: Top-Bottom: 3 cm. / Left-Right: 2.5 cm.
3. not include graphics, pictures or border decorations.
Sample Cover Page
ATILIM UNIVERSITY
(Arial/Times New
Roman 16, Bold)
Instructor:
Arial/Times New
Roman, 14
NUCLEAR ENERGY:
IS IT FRIENDLY OR HOSTILE?
Arial/Times New Roman 16, Bold,
Double Space
Student’s/Students’ Name(s) and Surname(s):

Arial/Times New Roman,
14
Faculty of…
Department of…
Arial/Times
New
Roman, 14
Ankara,
Spring, 2020
Arial/Times New Roman, 14
125
APPENDIX 3
SAMPLE RESEARCH REPORT I
ATILIM UNIVERSITY
Instructor: Sibel İZMİR
NUCLEAR ENERGY:
IS IT FRIENDLY OR HOSTILE?
Volkan POLAT
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial Engineering
Ankara,
Spring 2011
126
ABSTRACT
This report is an attempt to examine nuclear energy and it develops a comparative
evaluation between the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy. In the first part of the
report, advantages of nuclear energy like its zero emission and ease of finding raw material are
presented. In the second part, three major disadvantages of nuclear energy, which are the risk of
nuclear radiation accidents, its requiring a large capital and difficulties in getting rid of nuclear
waste, are introduced and the result of each disadvantage is explained. It is concluded that nuclear
energy should not be used for energy needs because if not used, the world will become a better
place for today’s people and future generations. Building upon findings of this research, future
researchers are recommended to study the interrelated technical, economic, environmental, and
political challenges facing a significant increase in global nuclear power utilization.
127
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................ii
I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................1
II. ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY.......................................................3
2.1 Zero emission…….......................................................................................... 3
2.2 Ease of finding raw material..........................................................................4
III. DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY................................................4
3.1 Risk of nuclear radiation accidents...............................................................5
3.2 Requiring a large capital................................................................................5
3.3 Difficulties in getting rid of nuclear wastes..................................................6
IV. CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................7
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 8
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I. INTRODUCTION
For about fifty years, nuclear energy has been used effectively and today it is the most
popular energy source, but a lot of people argue about it. Some people claim that by using nuclear
energy source, lots of problems like global warming or searching for raw materials can be solved.
However, using nuclear energy has a lot of hazardous consequences such as nuclear radiation
accidents. In addition to this, nuclear wastes destroy the natural habitat. Also, nuclear energy
requires a large capital and it is a crucial problem for poor countries. Therefore, nuclear energy
should not be considered as a reasonable alternative to resolve the world’s energy needs as it
constitutes serious threats.
The possibility of nuclear energy was recognized in the late 1930s or early 1940s; it
impressed scientists because it offers very large amount of energy from very small amount of
material (Bodansky, 2004, p. 4). World War II atomic program became a commercial for nuclear
energy which showed that it was practical. Hence, governments started to invest a lot of money
on nuclear energy programs and the first nuclear energy reactor was built at Shippingport,
Pennsylvania and was put into operation at the end of 1957 (Bodansky, 2004, p. 5). After this
development, lots of reactors were built in lots of different countries. However, the Chernobyl
Catastrophe showed that nuclear energy is too risky.
This report has been written to compare the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear
energy in order to prove that there are too many vital things to sacrifice in order to use nuclear
energy. Despite its advantages, nuclear energy can badly harm the humanity and the nature.
To support the contents of this report, some books, articles and internet resources have
been used. This scope of this report is restricted with the comparison of advantages and
disadvantages of nuclear energy in order to prove that the disadvantages of nuclear energy
overweigh its advantages. The first part of the report focuses on the advantages of nuclear energy.
129
The second part explains the disadvantages of nuclear energy. The conclusion verifies why the
disadvantages of nuclear energy overweigh the advantages.
130
Today, the world’s energy needs have greatly increased due to technological
developments, while fossil fuel based and renewable energy sources are not able to supply all the
energy required. At this point, nuclear energy appears. Some people claim that nuclear energy has
to be considered as a substitute to fossil fuel based energy because of its advantages. In this
section, advantages of nuclear energy, especially, zero emission and ease of finding raw material
will be presented.
2.1 Zero emissions
Nowadays, global warming is the most common issue that people argue about. Global
warming is the rising of average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere due to the massive
increase in greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide (Maslin, 2007, p. 4). Hence, nuclear energy
sources have become more significant because nuclear plants do not produce greenhouse gases.
An example can be given for a better understanding. Today’s average coal-fired power station
produces 852 pounds carbon dioxide for producing 1 MW (megawatt) electricity and even with
the latest coal-fired technology, carbon dioxide emission per MWh (megawatt hour) would
decrease by 30% (Beck, 1994, p. 9). To make it simpler, even the latest fossil fuel based energy
technology emits enough carbon dioxide to damage atmosphere seriously. To conclude, nuclear
energy sources do not produce greenhouse gases; therefore, they do not pollute the air and damage
atmosphere.
Throughout history, countries have faced lots of difficulties about finding raw materials.
They used challenging methods to find them. In the present day, petroleum companies spend
billions of dollars to extract unprocessed oil which is called crude oil. In fact, after some time
their spending will not serve the purpose because crude oil is going to be extinct. Comby (1996)
says that with respect to geological times, it seems that they will totally be exploited over the few
131
centuries (p. 2). However, the raw material for nuclear energy is uranium and it can be found
everywhere. Also, plenty of uranium ores exist. It is estimated that “4 billion tons of uranium are
located under the sea” (Comby, 1996, p. 5). In conclusion, it is easy to find raw material for
nuclear energy and this situation can affect energy producers positively.
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Although nuclear energy has remarkable benefits, there is a big controversy over using
nuclear energy sources because of its disadvantages. Those disadvantages not only affect today’s
people but also affect future generations badly. Therefore, it is a critical issue and in the following
part, the biggest disadvantages of nuclear energy will be introduced.
The majority of people who are against nuclear energy do not want nuclear energy because
of the risk of nuclear radiation accidents. The ones who support nuclear energy claim that the new
nuclear plants have high security standards. However, it is technically impossible to build a plant
which is 100% secure. Just a small probability of accident will always exist and the probability
can be small, but the impact of an accident would be enormous. Incidents such as Chernobyl or
Three Mile Island showed how dangerous nuclear power plants can be (Greenier, 2005, p. 8). For
instance, at Chernobyl Accident, apart from 31 initial deaths, 28 firemen and plant personnel died
because of nuclear radiation contamination, but it is a small part of the consequences of Chernobyl
Accident. During 1986-2002, about 4000 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed in children and
adolescents (0-18 years). Also researches show that for about 600.000 people are affected by
Chernobyl Accident (World Nuclear Association [WNA], 2009, para. 2). To sum up, it can be
said that the more nuclear power plants are built, the higher probability of nuclear radiation
accidents will be.
At the present time, lots of countries try to deal with economical problems and they
struggle to cut down on spending. For this reason, it is an important problem for them to use
nuclear energy because it requires a large capital. A nuclear energy plant costs 3 to 5 billion
dollars just to build. Also, the plants take a long time to plan and build, so this issue adds to the
overall cost of nuclear energy. In addition to this, enriching uranium costs about 300 million
133
dollars per reactor (Greenier, 2005, p. 10). Finally, maintenance and operating expenses require
a huge amount of money, too. When all these findings are taken into consideration, it is nearly
impossible to use nuclear energy for the countries which are dealing with economical problems
due to the financial burden to build a nuclear plant.
The last but not least disadvantage of nuclear energy is the disposal of nuclear wastes.
Nuclear waste is produced at every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining and
enrichment to reactor operations. As Scarborough (2002) says “Even the workers’ clothing treated
as nuclear waste and it is considered contaminated, or made dangerous by radiation” (p. 18). The
countries that use nuclear energy, invest large amounts of money for finding a suitable method
for nuclear waste disposal. Despite the investments, experts have failed to find a suitable way to
get rid of nuclear waste. They used different methods, such as burying, putting into storage
containers or surrounding with rocks, but none of them worked properly. All in all, currently there
are no options to isolate nuclear wastes from the environment; therefore, there are not any reliable
methods to protect today’s people and future generations.
134
IV. CONCLUSION
The findings of the report show that there are several advantages of nuclear energy that
cannot be ignored, like zero emission and ease of finding raw material. On the other hand, there
are crucial disadvantages of nuclear energy. Nuclear radiation accidents and disposal of nuclear
wastes are serious disadvantages that can badly harm the humanity and the nature. In addition to
this, large capitals which are needed for nuclear energy can give important damages to countries’
economies. Hence, it is another disadvantage that affects people. Based on this evidence, nuclear
energy does not stand out as a well reasoned option to solve the world’s energy problem since
nuclear radiation accidents might cause irremediable effects. Financial difficulties in building a
nuclear plant and potential risks of nuclear wastes disposal put the countries under tremendous
pressure. Thus, using nuclear energy must be avoided for the sake of our next generations. As a
result, the disadvantages of nuclear energy have bigger impacts than its advantages, so the
When all these findings are taken into consideration, it could be recommended that people
could be informed about the consequences of nuclear energy and government policies about using
nuclear energy could be altered. Also, future researchers are recommended to study the
interrelated technical, economic, environmental, and political challenges facing a significant
increase in global nuclear power utilization.
135
REFERENCES
Beck, P. (1994). Prospects and strategies for nuclear power: Global boon or dangerous
diversion. London: Earthscan.
Bodansky, D. (2004). Nuclear energy: Principles, practises and prospects. New York: Springer-
Verlag.
Comby, B. (1996). The benefits of nuclear energy. Retrieved from www.ecolo.org/
documents/documents_in_english/BENEFITS-of-NUCLEAR.pdf
Greenier, K. (2005). Nuclear energy: Not the energy for the future. Retrieved from
www.mtholyoke.edu/~kagreeni/Disadvantages.html
Maslin, M. (2007). Global warming: Causes, effects and the future. St. Paul: MBI.
Scarborough, K. (2002). Nuclear waste. Mankato: Capstone.
World Nuclear Association. (2009). Chernobyl accident: Health impacts. Retrieved from
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Appendices/
Chernobyl-Accident---Appendix-2--Health-Impacts/
136
APPENDIX 4
SAMPLE RESEARCH REPORT II
ATILIM UNIVERSITY
Instructor: Ayşe YETKİN
DEALING WITH STRESS IN ELITE SPORTS PERFORMANCE
Deniz PAYKOÇ
Faculty of Arts & Sciences

Department of Psychology
Ankara
2017-2018
Spring
137
ABSTRACT
This report is written with the purpose of offering possible solutions to competition stress
and performance anxiety in elite sports performers. The first part of the report focuses on a basic
solution, which is understanding the competitive and organizational types of stressors, and the
cognitive and somatic symptoms. The second solution centers upon categorizing the competitive
performer and personalizing the treatment according to the sports performer’s gender or
experience. The third part of the report offers using stress management and anxiety reduction
skills, which serve as a precaution and as a self-treatment method that can be acquired through
training. It is concluded that as much as competitive stress is an important issue for the players, it
can be dealt with and the most practical way to solve this problem is to categorize the performer
and personalizing the treatment. Future studies can examine the importance of psychological
skills training to help elite sports performers cope with performance anxiety.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. ii
I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................1
II. UNDERSTANDING THE TYPE OF STRESSOR...........................................................3
2.1 Identifying whether the stressor is competitive or organizational .....................3
2.2 Identifying whether the symptoms are cognitive or somatic and treating them
accordingly .....................................................................................................................3
III. CATEGORIZING THE COMPETITIVE PERFORMER AND
PERSONALIZING THE TREATMENT ........................................................................5
3.1 Using different stress coping mechanisms according to gender ......................5
3.2 Using different types of treatments according to experience ...........................5
IV. USING STRESS MANAGEMENT AND ANXIETY REDUCTION SKILLS ............7
4.1 Cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) as a coping mechanism.. .7
4.2 Using the reduction approach as anxiety treatment .........................................7
V. CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................10
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I.INTRODUCTION
In sports, training and performance on the field are two very different things. In order to
understand this, we can think of the difference between talking to your friends about a specific
topic and giving a speech about it at a conference. The performance of professional sports players
is almost always affected, no matter how good they are at what they do. Gabriella Sabatini (1990
US Open Grand Slam Champion against Steffi Graf) told “When I got to match point in the final
I was afraid I’d be a little nervous, but I just said, you have to stay focused just think about what
you have to do.” As it can be understood from Gabriella Sabatini’s words, anxiety to perform
(performance stress) is a serious problem for most professional sports players.
The first time this problem was noticed and studied was in 1898 by Norman Triplett, but
Coleman Griffith is accepted as the founding father of sports psychology with his two books,
being “The Psychology of Coaching” and “The Psychology of Athletics” in 1926 and 1928
respectively (Danish, 2001). However, sports psychology emerged as an academic field only in
the late 1960s. Today, sports psychology is studied all over the world and it is recognized by
American Psychological Association (henceforth APA) as a proficiency gained after a doctoral
degree in one of the primary areas of psychology.
This report has been written to shed some light on the issue of performance anxiety and
offer possible solutions to remove or reduce its effects.
The research regarding writing this report included the examination of some articles
internet sources and a book.
This report is limited with stress professional sports players’ face during competitions and
some possible solutions. Other factors that might affect the player’s performance (i.e physical) or
other types of stress they might face in their personal lives are not included.
The problem of performance stress and its solutions are examined in three parts. Firstly,
understanding which elements cause stress and why is presented as a solution. Secondly,
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categorizing the performer and personalizing the treatment according to gender or experience is
offered as another solution. Finally, using stress management and anxiety reduction skills is
explained as the third solution. It is concluded that competitive stress can be best dealt by
categorizing the performer and personalizing the treatment because the sports performer’s gender
and experience require different methods to be implemented to eliminate the problem.
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II. UNDERSTANDING THE TYPE OF STRESSOR
In any process of solving a problem, the first step should always be to understand the
nature of problems. Therefore, further investigations will begin with identifying what is a stressor
to the sport performers. Ideally, high-level sports performer should be able to overcome these
stressors, but unfortunately it is easier said than done. In this part, the type of stressors and how
understanding them will be a solution is explained.
2.1 Identifying cognitive and somatic symptoms and using appropriate treatment
Before getting into more detailed information, we can identify competitive stressors as
being related to the majority of tournaments. For example, a tennis player would be more likely
to get affected by this kind of stressor in a Grand Slam compared to a smaller tournament.
Organizational stressors, on the other hand, could be identified as anything and everything related
to organization. According to some research, administration, overload, competition environment,
athletes and team atmosphere are the most frequently reported organizational stressors by players
(Levy, Nicholls, Marchant, & Polman, 2009, p. 32). Also, ten international sports performers
mentioned organizational stressors more than competitive stressors (Hanton, Fletcher &
Coughlan, 2005, p. 730). By identifying these stressors, it would be highly possible to eliminate
some of them, and find the appropriate coping mechanisms to deal with them.
2.2 Identifying whether the symptoms are cognitive or somatic and treating them
accordingly
Another issue that needs to be addressed is the difference between cognitive and somatic
symptoms. These two combined are usually referred to as symptoms of stress or anxiety.
Examples of cognitive symptoms of stress would be feelings of nervousness and worry. Examples
of somatic symptoms, on the other hand, would be the muscle tension and a feeling of butterflies
in the stomach. In other words, cognitive symptoms indicate a state of mind whereas somatic
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symptoms point to a physical state (Brewer, 2009, p. 31-32). We need to understand what kind of
symptoms we are dealing with in order to be able to find different treatments and coping
strategies, as each situation would require a different strategy.
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III. CATEGORIZING THE COMPETITIVE PERFORMER AND
PERSONALIZING THE TREATMENT
The aim of performance related psychological studies is to understand the problem in
general, find a solution and apply this general solution to specific cases. In order to understand
the problem in general, the nature of problem is investigated in the first part. In order to apply
the solution to specific cases, we need to understand our “specific case” being sports performer.
In this part, it will be investigated how gender and experience affect sports players’ reactions
towards stressors and the coping mechanism they would use.
3.1 Using different stress coping mechanisms according to gender
According to psychologists who support evolutionary perspective, male and female minds
are wired slightly differently because of their roles in a hunter gatherer society. In our case, it is
found out that females and males choose to cope with stressors in different ways. Females tend to
seek for social support from others when they face stressful situations (Crocker & Graham, 1995,
p. 325). This characteristic difference between the minds of female and male sports performers
requires different approaches when treating performance anxiety. A female, for example, would
not be able to benefit from efforts to help her performance anxiety problem if her needs for
emotional support were ignored. On the other hand, male athletes are more oriented towards
cognitive approaches.
3.2 Using different stress coping mechanisms according to experience
Just as there are differences between male and female performers based on their gender,
experience is another key factor that makes a performer distinguishable from others. We could
not simply expect a 14-16 years old performer to see things similarly with an experienced 30
years old professional. A young sports performer who is at the beginning of his career could be
facing the fear of being unable to be successful. A seasoned professional, on the other hand,
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probably does not fear falling at that point but he’s constantly expected to perform at a very high
level. This could result in a different kind of performance stress. Although there are many
strategies that can be used to cope with stress, athletes with different levels of experience will
tend to employ different coping mechanisms depending on their personal goals and past
experiences. For instance, strategies such as arousal control, time management and positive
reappraisal may work well in an experienced athlete, while a young and inexperienced athlete
might be more inclined to seek social support, increase effort and practice.
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IV. USING STRESS MANAGEMENT AND ANXIETY REDUCTION
SKILLS
At this point, it should be known what type of stressors people are dealing with and every
performer needs a unique treatment approach according to their personal qualities. In this part,
two ways of coping with stress and anxiety in elite sports performers will be given.
4.1 Cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) as a coping mechanism
It can be told that this type of coping mechanism is more of a precaution rather than a
treatment just like a flu shot. CBSM is basically a treatment which consists of several steps like
relaxation training, imagery and cognitive restructuring and found out to reduce stress and
depression alongside with fatigue and frequency of illness (Perna et al. 2003, p. 67). Cognitive
behavioral stress management focuses on how people’s thoughts affect their emotions and
behaviors. This preventive approach intends to influence a sports player’s irrational thoughts
while focusing directly on identifying and changing behaviors and thought patterns. Therefore, it
is an effective way to deal with possible anxiety-related performance issues.
4.2 Using the reduction approach as anxiety treatment
As it can be directly understood from its name, reduction approach is a set of skills and
techniques we can use in order to reduce anxiety symptoms. In this approach, performers start by
concentrating on specific muscle groups of their bodies and try to relax them in non-competitive
situations. The end goal is to automatize this relaxation as much as possible and apply it to
competitive situations (Brewer, 2009, p. 33). The reduction approach is especially effective
because it is a well-known fact that the human body is designed to deal with stress using a "fight
or flight" response, which helps to prepare your mind and body to either defend yourself or get
away from stressors. This treatment is a whole new way of looking at how anxiety can be
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regulated, and it seems useful not only because it helps with performance stress but also it
improves the quality of life in general by reducing stress and every other bad outcome with it.
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V. CONCLUSION
This report covers a three-step solution to the problem of competitive stress that elite
sports performers face. The first step serves more as a diagnostic. It is indicated that there are two
types of stressors: being competitive and organizational and two types of symptoms: being
cognitive and somatic. Before the treatment, the disease needs to be diagnosed and symptoms
that need to be eliminated should be determined. The second step sheds light on gender and
experience differences of sports performers. As there are several techniques for coping with
competitive stress, we need to find out which is the most efficient according to our performers’
qualities. Finally, the third step proposes two possible solutions to the problem, which are CBSM
approach and reduction approach. CBSM offers a chance to take precautions against these
stressors in the first place. Reduction approach, on the other hand, prepares our performer
beforehand in order to cope with these stressors accordingly during the competition.
To sum up, even though performance anxiety is a very common problem any elite sports
performer may face, there are ways to cope with it, if dealt with properly. The best of these
solutions is classifying athletes according to their gender and experience, which will help to
personalize the treatment according to their needs because performers in different categories will
need a tailor made treatment. As a result, future studies can examine the importance of
psychological skills training to help elite sports performers cope with performance anxiety.
148
REFERENCES
Brewer, B.W. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook of Sports Medicine and Science. Sport Psychology (1).
Retriewed from https://play.google.com/store/books/details/ of_Sports_ Medicine
Crocker, P. R. E. & Graham, T.R. (1995). Coping by Competitive Athletes with Performance
Stress: Gender Differences and Relationships with Affect. Human Kinetics Journals, 9(3),
325-338. https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/tsp.9.3.325
Danish, S. J. (2001). Sport psychology: Performance enhancement. International Encyclopedia
of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 14924-14928. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080430767013802
Hanton, S., Fletcher, D. & Coughlan, G. (2007). Stress in elite sport performers: A comparative
study of competitive and organizational stressors. Journal of Sports Sciences, 23(10),
1129-1141. https://tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640410500121480
Kristiansen, E., & Roberts, C.G. (2010). Young elite athletes and social support: coping with
competitive and organizational stress in “Olympic” competition. Scandinavian Journal
of Medicine & Science in Sports, 20(4), 686-695. doi/full/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.
Levy, A., Nicholls, A., Marchant, D.& Polman R. (2009). Organisational Stressors, Coping and
Coping Effectiveness: A Longitudinal Study with an Elite Coach. Sage Journals, 4(1),
31-45. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1260/1747-9541.4.1.31
Perna, F. M., Antoni, M. H., Baum, A., Gordon, P., & Schneiderman, N. (2003). Cognitive
behavioral stress management effects on injury and illness among competitive athletes:
A Randomized Clinical trial. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 25(1), 66-73. Retrieved
from https://academic.oup.com/abm/article-abstract/25/1/66/4631563
Sabatini, G. (2013). Sport Psychology Quotes. Retrieved from https://sportpsychquotes.
wordpress.com/tag/anxietyworry/page/2/
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APPENDIX 5
SAMPLE RESEARCH REPORT III
ATILIM UNIVERSITY
Instructor: Emine ŞENTÜRK
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CAESAREAN
AND NORMAL DELIVERIES
Nadire Eylül AKIN

Fulya KAHRAMAN
Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Department of Mathematics
Ankara
Fall, 2012
150
ABSTRACT
This report is an attempt to examine birth types. It develops a comparative
evaluation between caesarean delivery and normal birth. The topic is classified into three
main parts as the advantages and disadvantages of caesarean delivery, those of the normal
birth, and also conclusion. In the first part, the advantages and disadvantages of caesarean
delivery are presented, and in the second part, normal birth is studied with its advantages
and disadvantages for the mother and also the baby. Following this, it is concluded that
normal birth should be preferred in terms of its various advantages and low risks. It is
suggested that the government should integrate some amendments to its current education
programme to educate the future generations in terms of giving birth in a healthy way.
Further studies should be conducted on normal birth to display its importance for both
the mothers’ and babies’ health.
151
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii
I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1
II. CAESAREAN DELIVERY ............................................................................... 3
2.1 Advantages of caesarean delivery ....................................................... 3
2.1.1 Scheduled time ...................................................................... 3
2.1.2 Pain-free ................................................................................. 4
2.2 Disadvantages of caesarean delivery .................................................. 5
2.2.1 Post-operative recovery period of mother ......................... 5
2.2.2 Respiratory problems of the baby ....................................... 5
III. NORMAL BIRTH ............................................................................................. 7
3.1 Advantages of normal birth ................................................................ 7
3.1.1 Health of the child .................................................................... 7
3.1.2 Benefits for mother …………………………………………..

8
3.1.2 Psychological effects of normal birth on mothers and babies
3.2 Disadvantages of normal birth ............................................................ 9
3.2.1 Long and painful process ....................................................... 10
3.2.2 Health risks ............................................................................. 10
IV. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 11
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 12
152
I. INTRODUCTION
In the last three decades, women have had two options of giving birth; normal birth and
caesarean delivery. Women have a deep instinct about birth and intuitively they know how to
deal with the labour. In some cases, (having a large baby, multiple pregnancy or other problems
with the genital organs) pregnant women and gynaecologists prefer caesarean delivery. However,
caesarean delivery is a surgical way of giving birth and it sabotages the nature’s plans. In this
context, both caesarean and normal deliveries have advantages and disadvantages for babies and
mothers. Although both types of delivery have their own benefits and harms, normal delivery
should be taken as a better choice for the health of the mother and the baby.
In the medieval times, according to “lex regia” (royal law), which had been introduced in
the eighth century BC, the burial of a dead pregnant was forbidden; therefore, it was compulsory
to remove the undelivered baby surgically (Blumenfeld-Kosinski, 1990, p. 145). The name
‘caesarean,’ however, was not actually applied to this surgical operation until François Rousset
in France in 1581 used the tautologous phrase, ‘section caesarienne’ (Trolle, 1982, p. 28, as cited
in Blumenfeld-Kosinski, 1990, p. 153). This term was accepted and soon spread widely
especially influenced by the fashionable biography of Julius Caesar (Mander, 2007, p. 5).
Besides, normal birth is still being trusted and preferred by a group of people who know the
advantages and disadvantages of both types of giving birth. By comparing these two, it can be
stated that normal, straightforward, intervention-free, healthy, natural birth is still the safest, most
practical and advantageous way for a baby to be born (Lowdon & Derrick, 2002, p. 3).
This report has been written to compare the advantages and disadvantages of normal birth
and caesarean delivery. To prove normal birth is more natural and healthy, caesarean delivery
has been criticized in terms of the recovery period of the mother and respiratory problems of the
baby.
153
To support the contents of this report, some books, articles and internet resources have
been used.
This report contains the comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of normal birth
and caesarean delivery to confirm that the disadvantages of caesarean delivery overweigh its
advantages, and also the advantages of normal birth overweigh its disadvantages.
First of all, this report concerns the harms and benefits of caesarean delivery. Secondly,
normal birth is explained in terms of its advantages and disadvantages. The conclusion confirms
why normal birth is a more appropriate way for a baby to be born than caesarean delivery.
154
II. CAESAREAN DELIVERY
Recently, people prefer caesarean delivery in order to avoid the disadvantages of normal
birth. However, it is still open to discussion whether caesarean delivery is more preferable, more
advantageous, more pain-free, and easier when it is compared to normal birth. In order to question
all these ideas, in this section, firstly the advantages of caesarean delivery especially scheduled
time and being pain-free will be covered, and then its disadvantages will be presented.
2.1 Advantages of caesarean delivery
In recent decades, time is so important and caesarean’s scheduled time seems so attractive
in that respect. In addition to that, pain-free labour is another desire of expectant mothers, who
have already been suffering for nine months. At this point, caesarean delivery appears. Therefore,
it seems advantageous for the pregnant women in terms of planning the time of birth and also the
possibility of having a pain-free birth.
2.1.1 Scheduled time
As the most significant advantage, it can be counted that caesarean delivery can be
scheduled. Without keeping the track of time, most of the people cannot coordinate the events of
an ordinary day. Human beings change the nature’s plan every day, they live the day in the night,
and they live the summer in the winter. So why do people not change the birth date of a child?
Time and planning are two significant terms for most of the people since they want to control
everything and also organise the flow of life. Therefore, caesarean has been preferred as it is
quick compared to normal delivery. Lowdon and Derrick (2002) emphasize all these points as
follows:
We live in an age, the quicker something can be achieved, the more advantageous
it is perceived to be whether this is making a cup of instant coffee, washing the
laundry, travelling from a to b, or sending a communication. In our society, time
is money. (p. 88)
Since time is money in the twenty-first century, people take care of the events, even the
unexpected ones. Giving birth is one of these unexpected events, and the request of the pregnant
155
patient is one of the priorities of the doctors, especially if the health of the baby or the mother is
at risk. To conclude, caesarean delivery is quick and can be scheduled: therefore, it is believed
to be advantageous.
2.1.2 Pain-free
Caesarean section (C-section) is being perceived as pain-free. Thanks to the modern
anesthesia, women do not suffer pain during the labour. There are 3 choices of anesthesia. These
are general, epidural and spinal anesthesia among which general anesthesia is not generally
preferred except emergency cases because it affects whole body. Instead of it, local anesthesia
methods (spinal or epidural) are preferred. In these methods, the analgesics are injected from
spinal cord so they do not affect the whole body. Therefore, mothers do not feel pain or anything
until they deliver their babies. To sum up, “The ‘wake me up when all it’s over’ scenario appeals
to many women” (Lowdon & Derrick, 2002, p. 88).
2.2 Disadvantages of caesarean delivery
Although there are advantages of caesarean delivery, considerable amount of people
suffers from its disadvantages. The most prominent ones are post-operative recovery period of
mother and respiratory problems of the baby.
2.2.1 Post-operative recovery period of mother
Even though caesarean delivery is pain-free, the post-operative recovery period is not.
After labour, mother should handle her baby, soothe it and do the housework if needed. As she
does these activities, she has to be careful and slow. There is also the scar; usually a horizontal
cut (of about 12-15 cms) is made in the operation. In caesarean delivery, mothers stay in hospital
longer, commonly around 3 days, which can be problematic in terms of separation from her
family and home. “Some unlucky caesarean mothers suffer post-operative infections. In UK
hospitals, around 20% of mothers end up with totally new infections – for caesarean mothers the
156
risk is even higher” (Lowdon & Derrick, 2002, p. 80). Therefore, not only the risky operation,
but also the post-operative period may be problematic if caesarean delivery is preferred.
2.2.2 Respiratory problems of the baby
Caesarean is not without risk to the baby either. Danish researchers claim that elective
caesareans lead to increased risk of respiratory problems in newborn babies since baby’s lungs
are very sensitive to hormonal and physiological changes (“Newborns’ respiratory problems”,
2007). Respiratory problems of the newborns are most likely seen in scheduled caesareans. It can
be clearly seen in a study in which 34.000 newborn babies at 37 to 41 weeks were analyzed.
2,687 of these babies were delivered by elective caesarean. The others were planned for normal
delivery and born on this method, or by emergency caesarean. It was found that in babies born
at 37 weeks, “the risk of respiratory problems was 3,9 times higher in those in the caesarean
group than those vaginal delivery group” (“Newborns’ respiratory problems”, 2007, para. 6). To
sum up, it is scientifically supported that respiratory problems are seen more in scheduled
caesarean delivery than in normal birth.
III. NORMAL BIRTH
157
Although caesarean delivery seems so attractive, “even the best caesarean can never hold a candle
to a good experience of giving birth to your baby yourself” (Lowdon & Derrick, 2002, p. 79).
Therefore, for both mother’s and baby’s health, normal birth can be a good choice.
3.1 Advantages of normal birth
Since the labour itself is an experience that strengthens the mother both physically and
emotionally, both the mother and the baby should feel and live it. In this part, the advantages of
normal birth, especially the health of the child and healing process will be touched upon.
3.1.1 Health of the child
Natural birth has several benefits for the health of the baby. First, “If labour starts
naturally, then you know that your child is ready to be born in that, its lungs and other major
developments have finished maturing and your baby is able to survive without any medical
interventions” (Buffardi, 2012, para. 3). In this context, the baby will not suffer respiratory
problems as a newborn or in his adult life.
When the baby moves down the birth canal, oxcytocin (a hormone that stimulates the
contractions during labour and then the production of milk) is released. This hormone helps the
baby get enough milk shortly after the labour. Although naturally born baby is nourished well,
the caesarean born baby cannot be fed enough because its mother’s hormone, and hence milk
may not come in time. Therefore, some infections cannot be prevented.
Finally, “The passage down the birth canal also gives a baby a wonderful all-over massage
that wakes up various systems in the body” (Lowdon & Derrick, 2002, p. 81). The researchers
also point out that the baby takes protective bacteria from the birth canal, which helps its immune
system later on.
3.1.2 Benefits for mother
158
Normal birth has advantages not only for the child, but also for the mother. First, recovery
period for a normal birth is much shorter than it is in a caesarean delivery. Within hours, you can
stand up, visit the bathroom and have shower unlike the case with the caesarean. A shorter
hospital stay means that mom and baby get to go back to the comfort and security of their own
home much earlier than those with a C-section delivery, which lowers the stress levels for the
entire family (Buffardi, 2012, p. 6). Secondly, in normal birth, the number of births does not
matter as in caesarean delivery. While there is a tearing risk of uterine scar in caesarean, there is
no risk in normal birth as there is no scar left after the labour (Lowdon & Derrick, 2002, p. 82).
When all these reasons are taken into consideration, it is clear that normal birth is great benefits
for mother’s well-being.
3.1.3. Psychologycal effects of normal birth on mothers and babies
Natural childbirth overall develops a deeper bond between the mother and child.
According to Perez (2017, p. 10), a mother will take on a better attitude towards motherhood if
she goes through the labor process drug free. This process is important fort he psychological
well-being of the mother because as it is asserted the mother “will grow more confident in her
abilities to handle any situation that she might face and more responsible for her own destiny”
(Perez, 2017, p. 12). This means that the mother will feel more comfortable taking on the
responsibilities of motherhood because she knows how hard she had to work for her baby to get
here. The mother would also understand how powerful her body is, just knowing that she was
able to bring a new life into the world using only what God gave her will give her a sense of
pride. Similarly, the research shows that through normal birth, a strong bond between mother and
baby is developed, which makes the baby feel comfortable and safe (Humenick, 2006, p. 1). As
the first bond between mother and the baby can be crucial for developing secure attachment, the
normal birth becomes indispensible.
3.2 Disadvantages of normal birth
159
Even though normal birth has some advantages for the baby and the mother, it has a few
disadvantages as well. The first disadvantage is the labour’s being painful and long. The second
one is the health risks of the labour for the baby and the mother.
3.2.1 Long and painful process
Natural birth is not pain-free; in contrast, it is agonizing for the mother. The mother tries
to push the baby by using her own power, but this hurts a bit. This pain during labour is caused
by the pressure on the cervix. Schmid (2011) explains the role of pain that it “has strangely
attracted and fascinated some women, but inculcated fear, if not horror, in others” (p. 3). The
fear of giving birth to her own child increases the pressure on woman and her psychological
preparedness for her child decreases. However, there are some opposite ideas which support the
feeling of pain during labour. To illustrate, Lothian (2000) claims that “It is important to
understand that the pain of the contractions in labour is valuable. It is an important way in which
nature actually helps women find their own ways of facilitating birth” (p. 1). Because each pain
and contraction sends a signal to the brain, the bodies of baby and mother are alert, and endorphin
and adrenaline are released to get rid of pain and the labour. If a mother can cope with the
increasing pain waves and can push hard, the process can end up well. But, still the fact of labour
pain is scary and deterrent for most of the women in the last years.
As another negative factor, natural birth takes place in front of strangers and this situation
can badly affect the mother’s tolerance. Normal birth can take a long time and it can sometimes
be quite unbearable. During the labour in which there is no pain management, mothers can find
themselves exhausted and feel no strength to continue. In this sense, mothers can stay in the
delivery room long to regain their strength and confidence, which is a struggle in itself.
3.2.2 Health risks
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Since there is no pain management and drugs in normal birth, blood loss can increase.
This can be fatal particularly in longer processes. Mothers can faint or can have complications
which would cause using more drugs and medications. In this section, mothers can end up the
process demanding caesarean or epidural anesthesia. Actually, health risks occur when the high
risk pregnant decides normal birth. In this context, medical equipments such as forceps and
vacuum extraction can be used and these can harm the baby. To sum up, if the mother and the
baby are not in the risk group, normal delivery would be a better choice in terms of health.
IV. CONCLUSION
161
This research demonstrates that there are several advantages of normal birth which cannot
be disregarded. For example, health ratio of the mother and baby is considerably higher in natural
birth. Benefits of this natural way overshadow both its own disadvantages and caesarean
delivery’s as well. If the mother and the baby are not in the risk group (having a large baby,
multiple pregnancies, problems with puerperal organs) normal birth is not risky. Additionally,
positive psychological effects of normal birth on both mothers and babies are inevitable. On the
other hand, caesarean delivery is criticized in terms of risks, which are respiratory problems and
post-operative recovery period. Respiratory problems can be prevented by choosing the natural
way of giving birth. Therefore, when the health issues are considered, it is an entirely reasonable
decision to prefer natural birth instead of caesarean delivery. In addition, if caesarean delivery
might put the baby’s life in danger, it is not acceptable to prefer it just because of its advantages
like scheduled time and being pain free.
Consequently, expectant mothers may choose the best way of giving birth if they know
advantages and disadvantages of both types. For this reason, not only the expectant mothers but
also the posterity should be educated about life, starting a family, giving birth and childbearing.
In this respect, some amendments should also be made in education system by the government.
Moreover, further studies should be conducted on normal birth to display its importance for both
the mothers’ and babies’ health.
REFERENCES
162
Blumenfeld-Kosinski, R. (1990). Not of woman born: Representations of caesarean birth in
medieval and Renaissance culture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Buffardi, D. (2012). Benefits of a vaginal Birth. Retrieved from http://www.american
pregnancy.org/pregnancyblog/2012/02/benefits-of-a-vaginal-birth/
Humenick, S. (2006). The life-changing significance of normal birth. The Journal of Perinat
Education, 15(4), 1-3.
Lothian, J. (2000). Why natural childbirth? The Journal of Perinatal Education Advancing
Normal Birth, 126(6), 44-46. doi:10.1624/105812400X87905. Retrieved from http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595040/#citeref1
Lowdon, G., & Derrick, D. C. (2002). Caesarean section or vaginal birth: What difference does it
make? The Journal of Birth, 14(1). Retrieved from http://www.aims.org.uk/ Journal/ Vol
14No1/cs difference.htm#2
Mander, R. (2007). Just another way of birth. New York: Routledge.
Newborns’ respiratory problems linked to caesareans. (2007). Retrieved from
http://www.gponline.com/newborns-respiratory-problems-linked-
caesareans/article/773085
Perez, P. (2017). Research and public policies help advance the benefits of breastfeeding and
natural childbirth. The Journal of Perinat Education, 10(1), 9-15.
Schmid, V. (2011). Birth pain: A guide for pregnant women. London: Fresh Heart.
Trolle, D. (1982). The history of caesarean section. C.A. Booksellers.
APPENDIX 6
SAMPLE RESEARCH REPORT IV
163
ATILIM UNIVERSITY
Instructor: Emine ŞENTÜRK
GLOBALIZATION:
FRIEND or FOE?
Ömer Kayhan
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Manufacturing Engineering
Ankara
Fall, 2012
ABSTRACT
164
This report is written to compare the advantages and the disadvantages of globalization.
In the first part, the advantages of globalization are underlined, which are gains from trade,
multiculturalism, and improvements in the health sector globally. In the second part, the
disadvantages of globalization are discussed and listed as economic inequalities between people
and countries and environmental distortions. Finally, the positive and negative consequences are
compared in order to reach a remarkable conclusion. Taking all these into consideration, it is
resulted that the advantages of globalization overweigh the disadvantages of it. More studies are
needed in order to comprehend different aspects of globalization; therefore, further studies can be
done on ecomonic, cultural, and technological impacts of globalization.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
165
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………...ii
I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1
II. ADVANTAGES of GLOBALIZATION ............................................................................ 3
2.1 Gains from trade ..................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Multiculturalism...................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Health ....................................................................................................................... 4
III. DISADVANTAGES of GLOBALIZATION ................................................................... 5
3.1 Economic inequalities between people and countries .......................................... 5
3.2 Environmental effects ............................................................................................. 6
V. CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................... 7
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 8
I. INTRODUCTION
166
Globalization is a very popular word that is heard frequently in many kinds of discussions.
As Larrson (2001) defines, globalization “is the process of world shrinkage, of distances getting
shorter, things moving closer” (p. 9). It is a concept started with human interactions, and
influenced many different fields such as economy, politics, culture, language, religion etc.
Humorously, it is the answer to the question of how a Turkish person wears a t-shirt produced in
China, and eats at a restaurant in Ankara which is a franchise of an American brand.
It is really hard to say when globalization exactly started since it has no such particular
date, but to say how it started is easier; with first interactions of people, who lived in the different
places of the world. Whipps (2008) says that, one can consider the start of trade as the exchange
of luxury goods in 3000 B.C. between Mesopotamia and Indus Valley. He asserts that a better
and more significant example is the discovery of the New World in the 15th century because a
trade connection between different continents started, and with this, people also carried their
culture, language and lifestyles across the world (p. 8). After the discovery of the New World,
globalization process accelerated and it is still spreading wider every day. Moreover, it does not
seem like it will have an end, at least in the short-term. It is inevitable that it will last longer with
some huge or slight changes; however, it is still open to discussion whether this is a good or a bad
thing for the people and for the world, as well.
Therefore, this report has been written to introduce and underline the advantages and
disadvantages of globalization and to indicate that even though globalization has some
disadvantages, it is unavoidable in today’s life conditions.
In order to support the contents of the report, some articles and online sources have been
used to give the historical background, and also to analyse the constructive and also destructive
sides of the changes in global terms.
This report is restricted with the comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of
globalization to show how the advantages are counted as superior to its disadvantages.
167
In the first part of the report, the advantages of globalization are explained. In the second
part, the disadvantages of globalization are studied in detail. Lastly, in the conclusion part, there
is a brief statement which explains why globalization should be seen as an advantage instead of a
disadvantage.
168
II. ADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION
Since globalization has many supporters, it is not surprising to list its many advantages.
Especially economists see globalization as a trigger for growth and development of nations. In
line with this, Mourdoukoutas (2011) says, “The good side of globalization is all about the
efficiencies and opportunities open markets create” (para. 3). Economic point of view is not the
only one while looking at the positive facts about globalization. There are also social sides; such
as multiculturalism and health. This chapter is dedicated to explain these facts.
2.1 Gains from trade
The first and maybe the most important advantage of globalization is its ability to
increase the welfare of the countries by encouraging trade in terms of their “comparative
advantage” (Smith, 1776, p. 458). Comparative advantage is a concept, first mentioned by Adam
Smith in his famous book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. When
a country has a comparative advantage in a product, it means that it produces the product cheaper
than the foreign country (A. Smith, 1776, p. 458). So, if the home country has an opportunity to
produce the product with a smaller cost when compared to a foreign country, it has comparative
advantage in producing that product. Smith is considered to be the father of economics, and he
came up with liberal ideas that support free trade among countries. Smith (1776) states that if a
foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, better
buy it of them with some part of the produce of our own industry, employed in a way in which
we have some advantage (p. 458). Therefore, it increases the welfare of the country.
This profitable trade became possible with globalization. While determining the start of
globalization, one can see that it is almost the same with the beginning of the early trade in around
3000 B.C. So, it is possible to conclude that both concepts gave birth to each other. When
countries choose to produce with respect to their comparative advantage, every country gains
from trade by buying some products cheaper than the ones in their home country, and selling
169
some products with higher prices than the price which consumers are willing to pay in their home
country. Therefore, globalization results in a situation of gains from trade among all countries
which engage in the trade.
2.2 Enhancing multiculturalism
As a second advantage of globalization, multiculturalism, or cultural diversity, is one of
the best consequences of it. To begin with, the idea of world citizenship arose. Being a world
citizen means not accepting the boundaries that people draw, and embody the traditions of all
societies. Ideas like “cosmopolitanism” - which is the understanding of all people among the
world should come together and share the same morality – are proposed. Also, by closing the gaps
between genders, races, nations, cultures, and classes and also “by raising consciousness about
the past, multiculturalism tries to restore a sense of wholeness” (Trotman, 2002, p. 9). Therefore,
multiculturalism stands out as an integral part of globalization.
Moreover, with the increase in communication among world, it became easy for cultures
to spread. For instance, a Turkish student who studies at Atılım University can understand an
American joke, because s/he is so familiar with such humour via television series s/he has
watched. Another example for it is the expansion of brands. With the decrease in transportation
costs of selling products in various parts of the world, most of the companies have chosen to
increase their sales by giving franchises in different countries. That’s why a girl in India and an
old man in Brazil can eat the same sandwich of the same brand, or shop at the different stores of
same brand.
2.3 Improving health
The last advantage of globalization that will be discussed in this report is its help on the
improvements of health sector around the world. With globalization, it became easy to reach all
over the world. As it is discussed in the economic perspective, there is a decrease in the
transportation costs and travelling from one place to another has become much easier. This
170
situation affected both health and trade positively. It became easy to find medicines. Globalization
also helped the spread of the knowledge in medicine and spread of the technology in the area of
medicine. Therefore, the global health has improved and the population of the world increased
dramatically. Changes in infant mortality rates in Turkey can be used to prove this fact. As it is
stated by the Turkish Statistical Institute (n.d.), the infant mortality rate decreased at a rate of
almost 71 percent between 1970 and 2000. In addition to that, to improve the global health many
worldwide organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, International
Institute for Global Health etc. were founded. Therefore, thanks to ease to access medicine and
increasing number of global organizations, overall life expectancy has increased.
171
III. DISADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION
Globalization has both some disadvantages and advantages. There are some negative
effects of it in terms of distribution of wealth between countries and people, and the damage of
the environment which will be covered in detail in the following part.
3.1 Economic inequalities among people and countries
It is obvious that globalization affects overall wealth in the world by looking at the increase
in the sum of all countries’ “gross domestic product” (GDP) which “is the monetary value of all
goods and services produced in a nation during a given time period, usually one year” (Brezina,
2012, p. 4). Although GDP is a notable indicator of the quality of life standards in a country, it
says nothing about the wealth’s distribution. Many countries suffer from income inequalities
resulted from globalization. In her article, Smith (2012) reminds a common saying that, with
globalization, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Holders of capital have a chance to invest
and increase their wealth but common people such as workers have the fear of losing their job,
because of the competitive labour market created by globalization and capitalism together.
Mobility of labour is so high that everybody, especially common workers, can become
unemployed easily. Furthermore, the situation is the same for countries. Some countries are
underdeveloped and poor, so it is quite impossible for them to catch up with the developed
countries. Developed ones have the technology and capital to invest and grow faster.
3.2 Environmental effects
Second significant disadvantage of globalization is its negative effects on the environment.
Globalization and capitalism have grown together and fed each other since they existed.
Capitalism requires using every resource to make profits until everything in the world becomes
scarce. Therefore, capitalists use every resource including the environment without caring about
the damage they are causing.
172
Globalization has helped capitalism to reach its aim in these terms. Globalization made it
easy to attain and use the natural resources. For instance, an American company prefers to open
its factory in an undeveloped country such as Ghana, because labour and land costs are cheaper.
More importantly, there are not enough rules and regulations to protect the environment such as
clean water or air. One should remind here that the costs of avoiding these environmental damages
are high. Therefore, firms produce in underdeveloped countries because they want to minimize
their costs, and in these underdeveloped countries, there are hardly any people that have the power
to fight for their environment.
173
IV. CONCLUSION
In this report, globalization has been discussed in terms of its advantages and
disadvantages. The most significant advantages of globalization are trade surpluses of countries
with open trade, multiculturalism and the improvements in the medicine. On the other hand, it has
some disadvantages such as the unequal distribution of wealth and destruction of nature.
Globalization is undeniable and inevitable. Even if it has some disadvantages, its advantages
overweigh the negative sides because the disadvantages of globalization can easily disappear by
means of some precautions or some changes. Globalisation must be accepted by all countries
instead of being rejected due to its negative effects. From music to foods, the process of
globalisation makes it possible for people to try different tastes from different cultures. By
globalisation, people have a better understanding of other nations and their traditions. Engaging
in international trade through globalisation brings prosperity to the countries. Moreover,
developments through globalisation contribute to global health.
The only need is a better moral standing of all societies about the environment,
governments’ control on the distribution of wealth, and protecting the working class and
worldwide organizations’ helping underdeveloped countries to grow. Hence, nations can cherish
positive features of globalization together. Moreover, in order to comprehend different aspects of
globalization more studies are needed; therefore, further studies can be done on economic,
cultural, and technological impacts of globalization.
174
REFERENCES
Brezina, C. (2012). Understanding the gross domestic product and the gross national product.
New York: Rosen.
Larrson, T. (2001). The race to the top: The real story of globalization. Washington, DC: Cato
Institute.
Mourdoukoutas, P. (2011). The good, the bad, and the ugly side of globalization. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2011/09/10/the-good-the-bad-and-
the-ugly-side-of-globalization/
Smith, A. (1776). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. Dublin:
Whitestone.
Smith, L. (2012). Globalization: Progress or profiteering? Retrieved from http://www.
investopedia.com/articles/07/globalization.asp#axzz2BLxPWSHN
Trotman, J.C. (2002). Multiculturalism: Roots and realities. Bloomington: Indiana U.P.
Turkish Statistical Institute (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/Start.do;jsessionid
=KX6WQ7pFnprTpmFyt7nxLbbgWY8LSyMkdnv1h6y9lylV73fSqJlc!1194361283
Whipps, H. (2008). How ancient trade changed the world. Retrieved from http://www.live
science.com/4823-ancient-trade-changed-world.html
175
APPENDIX 7
ORAL PRESENTATION OF THE RESEARCH REPORT (SAMPLE REPORT III)
SPEECH TEXT (7-10 Minutes)
INTRODUCTION
Transition: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our presentation. Today we are
going to try to explain you the details related to giving birth in two different ways: caesarean
delivery and normal birth.
According to you, which one is more advantageous for baby and mother; normal birth or
cesarean delivery? Our purpose is to answer these questions “Why should women choose normal
birth instead of cesarean delivery?” and “Why natural birth is so beneficial for baby and mother?”.
The major reason why we have chosen this topic is the fact that it interests all the people in one
moment of their lives and also because this is widely discussed among the professionals, the
mothers, and also the fathers, as well. There is a controversy as to whether normal delivery or
caesarean section is better for women. Concerning these questions, we have done a detailed
research, mostly on the Internet databases, and this research process has been surprising and
fruitful for both of us. We hope you will gain some valuable information from our presentation.
It may be interesting for you to hear that we have started with supporting the idea of caesarean
delivery, but then we have changed our minds.
176
Thesis Statement:
Our purpose in this presentation of our report is to explain and support the idea that normal birth
should be more preferable than caesarean delivery although both of them have their own positive
and negative features. Therefore, we will try to cover two major and four minor points:
Preview
These points that will be analyzed are caesarean and normal delivery as you may have easily
understood until now. These two points will have their own sub-divisions as the advantages and
the disadvantages from different aspects.
BODY
Transition: Firstly, I will inform you about the positive and the negative factors of caesarean
section, and then Fulya will continue with the same factors of normal birth.
This way of giving birth is also known as C-section, and it is a kind of surgical operation. The
reason why it is placed in our research is that it has been popular and more preferred by the women
and also by the medical professionals in the last few years.
Transition: Let me explain why caesarean delivery is preferred or should be preferred and why
it is not a good idea to be practiced.
After the researches that we have done and also by using our background information, the reason
why C-section has been so popular in the recent decades is the fact that people want to organize
everything and also want to control the timing. Therefore, this operation seems to be an
177
advantageous choice. In addition to that, the fear of pain is another factor because caesarean
delivery is pain-free thanks to the anesthesia. Mothers do not feel anything until they deliver their
babies. However, there is another side of the fact which is the post-operative recovery period of
mother and the respiratory problems of the baby. In caesarean delivery, recovery period is longer
and more difficult than in normal birth since it is a kind of operation, whereas normal birth is a
natural process. Also, respiratory problems of the newborns are seen more frequently in C-section.
Transition: Ok, up to now, I have talked about caesarean delivery and two opposite sides of it,
now Fulya will continue and try to define similar points about the normal birth which has been
practiced for centuries.
This way of giving birth is the natural process, and therefore, it has its own advantages. The major
benefit of this process for the baby is that the baby comes when it is ready, which is also crucial
for the struggle of the baby against the possible complications that may occur. Moreover, the baby
can be nourished well because milk of the mother is right in time due to the oxytocin level that is
released during the labour. Secondly, we investigated the advantages of normal birth for the
mother in two parts; recovery period and no future risks that may occur in the following
pregnancies. Although there are numerous advantages of normal birth, it still is not a flawless
process because it has a few negative effects like being a long and painful process and the health
risks. However, still it is supported that process of labour is valuable and worth experiencing. If
the mother and the baby are not in the risky group, there is no health risk to be encountered at all.
178
CONCLUSION
Transition: After explaining both caesarean and normal deliveries, it is time to discuss how
and why normal birth is more preferable than caesarean. Let’s wrap up our speech.
As we have explained, our report mainly supports the idea that normal birth should be preferred
as long as the baby and the mother are not under any threat of health problem. In the light of all
these researches and findings in this report, it is obvious that there are significant disadvantages
of caesarean birth which make normal birth more preferable. When the life threatening risks of
cesarean delivery are considered, it is out of question to prefer it solely because of its advantages.
In addition to this, the new generation should be informed and educated in terms of giving birth
and childbearing by the government.
Transition: Well, we hope the information and recommendations that we provided could help
you in your further studies. Thank you very much for sparing time to listen to our speech. Are
there any questions?
(Wait for the questions and answer them; if there are no questions, say ‘thank you’ and go
back to your seat)
179
APPENDIX 8
ORAL PRESENTATION OF THE RESEARCH REPORT (SAMPLE RESEARCH
REPORT IV)
SPEECH TEXT (7-10 Minutes)
INTRODUCTION
Transition: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to my presentation. Today I am
going to talk shortly about the good and the bad sides of globalisation.
Have you ever thought about these questions?; “In what ways does globalization affect
the world?” and Does globalisation bring more benefit than harm? In this research, I aim to answer
these questions. Today, globalisation is counted among the most significant changes in the
modern life. As a popular and fast growing concept, globalisation has been a controversial and
arguable issue in the last decades. There are numerous detailed studies, researches, and articles,
and I have used some of these to provide a strong content and structure for this report. Some of
the articles used in this study are written by Larrson, Whipps, Smith, and many other articles have
been used.
Thesis Statement:
The purpose of this report is to indicate that globalisation should be seen as a positive thing rather
than a negative one because of its useful consequences for the humanity. And now, I will cover
three major areas:
180
Preview
I. Advantages of Globalisation
II. Disadvantages of Globalisation
III. Conclusion
BODY
Transition: Firstly, I will explain the advantages of globalisation.
The main three positive things related to globalisation are gains from trade, multiculturalism, and
health. International trade is an economic activity that is mostly accepted by the economists, and
international trade would be impossible without globalisation. Furthermore, as for the social
advantages of globalisation, I have tried to indicate multiculturalism as one of the most tangible
consequences. With multiculturalism, it is possible to eat the same food or enjoy the same kind
of music at two different parts of the world. As the last advantage, health can be counted since
the access to all kinds of medicine or any medical procedure and also the knowledge in medicine
are easier and also wider by means of globalisation.
Transition: Ok, up to now, I talked about the advantages of globalisation. Now, it is time to talk
about the disadvantages of it.
Although the advantages are noteworthy, its disadvantages still should not be ignored like the
unfair distribution of wealth and the threat for the nature. From the economical aspect, the concept
of globalisation is similar to that of capitalism. The international trade, labour, and employment
lead to the mobility and also the possibility of unemployment for the workers, whereas all of these
mean huge opportunity for the big companies. As another negative side that is also parallel to
capitalism, the threatening effects of globalisation for the environment are remarkable. The
companies ignore the possible consequences of their factories or labour activities because they
181
only care their financial gains and profits. Therefore, it can be said that international circulation
of trade and also investments can result in environmental damages and losses especially in
underdeveloped countries.
Transition: After explaining both positive and negative sides of globalisation, it is time to
discuss how advantages of globalisation overweigh the disadvantages of it.
CONCLUSION:
Based on the findings, this report concludes that globalisation is a long term process and it has
both positive and negative consequences. When the negative sides of globalisation on the
economy and environment are taken into consideration, it seems that it is a disastrous thing for
the humankind; however, all these negativities can be turned into positive aspects by some minor
precautions. Therefore, all the countries must be aware of the fact that globalisation contributes a
great deal to global financial development, global health and enables deeper understanding of
other cultures. The responsibility here is mainly on the government and also the companies
because both of these power structures should be conscious enough to protect all people and the
world as well.
Transition: Well, I hope the information and recommendations that I provided could help you
in your further studies. Thank you very much for sparing time to listen to my speech. Are there
any questions?
(Wait for the questions and answer them; if there are no questions, say ‘thank you’ and go
back to your seat)
182
APPENDIX 9
LANGUAGE USE IN RESEARCH REPORTS
1. GENERAL LANGUAGE FEATURES IN RESEARCH REPORTS
Grammar
 Use of "I" is usually avoided. Reports present facts and opinions in impersonal or objective
language. Conclusions and recommendations are presented naturally following the
reported facts and opinions; they are not presented as the writer's personal opinions.
 Topic sentences should be related to the heading.
 The simple present tense is used throughout except for the past for providing (historical)
background.
Vocabulary
 Advanced academic vocabulary should be used relevant to the field of study.

 Repetition of the same words should be avoided (unless they are key words). Students
should be encouraged to use a wide range of vocabulary use.
Cohesion: (The way ideas are linked)
 Standard devices such as conjunctions, pronouns and repetition (of key words) should be
used.
 Unity is also achieved using a numbering system and/or headings and sub-headings.
Spelling
 Standard conventions should be followed for correct spelling.

 When mentioned for the first time, the full name must be written instead of using
acronyms.
Paralinguistic Features
 Each new section starts on a new page so that the report is reader friendly.
183
2. LANGUAGE PROMPTS FOR DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF A RESEARCH REPORT
Title Page
The Title can be written in several ways; e.g.
'A Report on ....'
'An Investigation into...'
'An Analysis of ...'
'A Comparison of ... and ...'
'An exploration of …'
Summary / Abstract
This study was carried out in order to ______________________
The investigation was done by analyzing ____________________
The main findings were that ______________________
It was concluded that ______________________
The recommendations are that _______ should be_______
1. Introduction
Purpose
This study aims at exploring …
The purpose of this study is to …
This report has been written in order to …
Objectives
The objectives of this report are to …
The main goal of this report is …
Scope
This report examines … It does not examine … because …
The scope of this report covers … It does not cover … since/as …
2. Literature Review
The area of investigation has been commented on by C … (year), H … (year), G … (year) and L
… (year), who are in agreement that …
Nevertheless …, they disagree about …
Because of the differences mentioned earlier, it was decided to study …
184
3. Methodology (also called method or procedure for experimental studies)
_____ respondents, chosen by the method of _____ were surveyed from (start date) to (end date).
Of these, _____ were invited for interview on (date).
The statistics were analysed using a _____ test because …
The significance of the results was _____
4. Findings
In general, the findings indicate that...
The major findings of the investigation are …
Furthermore /In addition,...
Interestingly /Surprisingly …, which was an unexpected consequence of …
5. Conclusions
The main conclusion is that …
The findings of the report display that …
As a result of the mentioned problems …
6. Recommendations
In the light of these conclusions, I recommend that _____ should be _____

In addition to the issues explained in this report, further study could be conducted on …
For further information please visit the following web site:
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/
185
APPENDIX 10
OUTLINE FORMAT SAMPLES
PROBLEM- SOLUTION
I. INTRODUCTION
Research Question: What are the possible solutions to the problem of animal
experimentation?
Thesis: Animal experimentation is a global problem, but it has also some influential
solutions which can be actualized by individuals.
II. SOLUTION 1: Joining organizations that offer promising solutions
2.1. European coalition to end animal experiments (ECEAE)
2.2. People for the ethical treatment of animals (PETA)
2.3. Coalition for consumer information on cosmetics (CCIC)
III. SOLUTION 2: Making your own non-animal tested household products
3.1. Using natural products like baking soda or vinegar to make cleaning products
3.2. Using natural oils to make moisturizers or make-up products
3.3. Using natural flower essences to make perfumes
IV. SOLUTION 3: Protesting the companies which use animals for testing their products
4.1. Joining street protests
4.2. Signing online petitions
4.3. Informing (persuading) people around regarding the negative influences of
animal testing
V. CONCLUSION
186
ADVANTAGE/DISADVANTAGE
I. INTRODUCTION
Research Question: Should animals be used in testing new drugs and procedures?
Thesis: Advantages of animal testing overweigh its disadvantages.
II. ADVANTAGES OF ANIMAL TESTING
2.1. Medical research
2.2. Similarity between human body and animal body
2.3. Financial impacts
III. DISADVANTAGES OF ANIMAL TESTING
3.1. Animal rights
3.2. Difference between human and animal reactions to the drugs or treatments
IV. CONCLUSION
187
COMPARE/ CONTRAST
I. INRODUCTION
Research Question: Why animals should be chosen in testing instead of humans?
Thesis: Testing on animals is more useful than testing on humans.
II. USING ANIMALS IN TESTS
2.1. Advantages
2.1.1. Having a chance to do more research
2.1.2. Less expensive
2.1.3 Finding cures for deadly diseases
2.2. Disadvantages
2.2.1. Animals’ suffering from excessive pain
2.2.1. Lack of reliability in the results
III. USING HUMANS IN TESTS
3.1. Advantages
3.1.1. More reliable results
3.1.2. Providing financial support to the family of the human volunteers
3.2. Disadvantages
3.2.1. Need for a longer time to see the results
3.2.2. Not ethical
IV. CONCLUSION
188

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ATILIM UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES IV

Chapter IV: Production of the research report ………………………………………………64

Chapter V: Using figures & tables in reports ……………………………………...................84

Chapter VI: Oral presentation of a research report …………………………………………91

1.1.1. A sign of intelligence

1.1.2. Research in daily life

What research have you conducted recently?

1.1.3. What do we research?

1.1.4. What does research tell us?

1.1.5. What do we do with research?

1.1.6. Knowledge, interpretation and sharing

Processing data for interpretation numerically and/or verbally:

Sharing the findings:

- Introduction (Background of the Topic, Thesis Statement, and Preview),

2.1. ESSAYS VS. REPORTS - Overview

An essay is a short piece of writing/composition written from a person’s point of view. In an

Introduction paragraph of an essay

 Describe the general field of your study.

Body paragraphs of an essay

 Write separate paragraphs in your essay.

Conclusion Paragraph of an Essay

The Academic The Essay The Report

Body paragraph Section 1 Body

Figure 1. The relationship between a paragraph, an essay and a report.

2.2. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH REPORT WRITING

2.3. TYPES OF RESEARCH REPORTS

2.4. INITIAL GUIDELINES FOR AN EXPECTED RESEARCH REPORT IN ENG202

While writing the research report, please consider the following:

(1) addressing a specific audience,

2.4.1. ENG202 Research report procedure

2.4.2.2. Narrowing down a topic

 Deciding when a topic is too narrow*

 Ways to narrow down a topic

i.e.: Energy Sources

FIELD of the STUDY

This is where you are before writing the report

Figure 2. Narrowing down a topic

____ 1. The best way to lose weight a. too general

Main Guidelines for Your Research:

2.4.3. How to evaluate the quality of a website (reliable sources)?

Try to find the purpose behind this information on the Internet.

Analyze the information provided by the website.

2.4.3.4. Final checking of the quality of a website

If the source on the Internet…

 has an author or sponsor,

it can be chosen as a reliable source to be used in academic projects or reports.

2.4.4. Writing the research question

 Finally, evaluate the question by using the following list of guidelines:

 Is the research question measureable?

 Is the research question too broad or too narrow?

2.4.5. Choosing an organizational pattern and writing the thesis statement

II. ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

2.1 Zero emission

2.2 Ease of finding raw material

III. DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

3.1 Risk of nuclear radiation accidents

3.2 Requiring a large capital

3.3 Difficulties in getting rid of nuclear wastes

CITATION TECHNIQUES: QUOTING, PARAPHRASING AND SUMMARIZING

In order to avoid plagiarism, you must give references when you:

 use another person's ideas, opinions, or theories,