structuring academic texts - macquarie university

Learning Skills Structuring academic texts

Overview of this workshop

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This module will focus on: 1.  Comparing structures of essays and business

reports 2.  Writing case studies 3.  Analysing IMRD journal article structure

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1] Comparing structures: essays and business reports

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Different types of academic assignments e.g., essays, business reports, case studies, critical reviews Differences and similarities in terms of: •  purpose •  structure •  language use •  layout See the handout for a comparison of essays and business reports writing


Task 1: Look at the following table and identify the similarities and differences in how to write and structure essays and business reports. Tick the boxes in the table that contain any information which is new to you.


2] Writing case studies What is a case study? A case study is a documented study of a real life situation or imagined scenarios. It is often used as a tool for training in the field of business. A case study may involve an in-depth analysis of an event, a process or a person.

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Case study assignments usually require you: •  to understand a particular case •  Identify problems •  apply theories to analyse major problems •  suggest solutions


You may be asked to recommend the best solution(s) and suggest how to implement solutions. (Check assignment instructions: some require just analysis)


Example: Business and economics: The task may be to examine a company’s management policy, or marketing strategies or other aspects with which a company is experiencing difficulties or undergoing changes. Social work: The task may involve identifying the effects of drug addiction on a person.


Purpose: What can we learn from this case? Skills: Case study assignments require you to demonstrate your skills in observations, analysis, problem solving and should be written in formal and professional language style. Structure: See Task 2 for the structure of a case study.


Task 2: Match the description with its section and write the appropriate number in the spaces provided.


3] Analysing IMRD journal article structure

What are the different types of journal articles? What is the function of the title of a research article? What is the function of the abstract of a research article?


Task 3: Read Bourke and Burgman (2010) and answer the following questions. 1.  Does the title contain any sub-title? Does the title tell the main purpose of the research? 2. Could you identify the following parts in the abstract? a. research problem b. aims of study c. research method d. implications of study


Abstract

Little research has been published investigating the experiences of physical and emotional support for children with disabilities in the Australian school context. (research problem) The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore how children with disabilities experienced support when they were bullied at school. (aim of study)


Qualitative interviews with 10 children, aged 8–10 years, were analysed. The children had a range of disabilities, including physical, visual and hearing impairments. (research method) The four themes that emerged were: (1)  bullying experiences; (2) coping with bullying; (2) (3) importance of friends; (4) adult responses to (3) bullying.(main findings)


The implications of the contributions to this study for bullying research specific to the lives of children with disabilities are discussed, such as providing educational and health professionals with a knowledge of the support that children with disabilities draw on when they experience bullying. (Implications of study)


What does ‘IMRD’ stand for? I – introduction M – method R – results D – discussion (Many articles that report on empirical studies may follow this IMRD structure but some do not e.g., literature review papers or papers on theories)


Introduc4on

Method

Findings

Discussion & conclusion

References

Appendices

Structure of a journal article


Introduction

Introduction has 4 stages: 1.  General statements about the topic to provide a setting (Why is the research area important?) 2. Specific statements about the problem, laying foundation of information already known 3. Identifying a research gap 4. Aims of study and research questions / hypotheses (Cargill & O’Connor, 2009)


Method section: •  research methods: participants, instruments, procedures

(justifications?) •  data analysis methods Results section: •  presenting research findings


Discussion •  Summary of main findings •  Interpretation of findings •  Implications of study

Conclusion •  Limitations of research •  Suggestions for future research


Task 4: Read Bourke and Burgman (2010) and answer the following questions. 1.  Does the article follow IMRD structure? 2.  Can you find all the four stages in the ‘introduction’ section? 3.  How did the authors organise the ‘results’ section? 4.  Look at the last three sections of the paper. What are they called? What do the author write in these sections?


structuring academic texts - macquarie university

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