Entry #13 -Abstracts-

 

If you clickHEREandHEREyou will have access to two texts that refer to abstracts. They include what they are, what are the elements to take into account when writing one, and what its structure is, as well as a guide to help you not forget anything. Here is a graphic organizer that summarizes and briefly explains the most important issues:

Metacognitive Analysis

After having worked on different types of essays, having learned to use a wide amount of tools, and finding many ways of showing our works, I may say an abstract is the most proper way of summarizing all this material and content. All these months we were having access to original material which helped us to understand the details to take into account when we had to reflect on something we had learned so that now it is the turn of knowing how to support a paper with an abstract. This genre is very important because it will catch the reader's attention if it is well written because they might have access to the main idea of a paper so that the readers decide to read the whole paper or not. 

In this opportunity, we have used an online tool named padlet which we have learned to use in a previous entry but now we have posted the information in a different way by doing a timeline. This way of showing what we have read about abstracts is really useful because they are in order of importance so the reader can understand what to include in this genre from the most important characteristics to the less. Portfolio n 13 is a matching of a valuable genre with an original free online tool.

Entry #12 -Articles

  Articles

If you click  HERE, you will have access to a short text that refers to articles. It includes what they are, what are the elements to take into account when writing one, and what is its structure. Here is a presentation that summarizes and briefly explains the most important issues:

Metacognitive Analysis Like any piece of writing, an article has its own structure and the writer should know how to organize it as well as to know what to include and what to avoid. Besides, one of the main elements that will show if the article is attractive or not is its title. First, it has to be not so long so that the reader will not get bored. On the contrary, it has to be brief and engaging. Second, through the title, the reader has to understand the main idea of what it is going to be about. Finally, on those few words used for the title, there has to be any keyword related to the topic the writer will develop in the article. To sum up, a strategy to consider by the writer would be to develop the ideas considered to the reader as an important and fundamental part of the success of the future reading of this. In this opportunity, we learned how to transform an URL into a Link, which makes it more formal and in order to show and share the information, we used the Genially platform, which has interesting kinds of presentations that allow us to put important data in a creative manner. 

Entry #11 Writing strategies: Hedging and boosting

The importance of hedging 

Hedging → Used when we want to soften what we are saying. 

Ex: Students arrive late for Monday morning classes. (overgeneralization)

      Students tend to arrive late for Monday morning classes. (to limit claim)

     Generally speaking, students arrive late…..

     Students are likely to arrive late ……..

Examples from the video

1. Categorical: The issues highlighted in this study are applicable to all participating institutions.
   Hedged claim: The issues highlighted in this study may be applicable to many participating institutions.
   
   

2. Categorical: Government support will assure the spread of knowledge and the skills necessary to use the internet to thousands of people in rural areas.
   Hedged claim: Government support may help with the spread of knowledge and the skills necessary to use the internet to thousands of people in rural areas.

3. Categorical: The study proves the link between smoking and lung disease.
   Hedged claim: The study indicates/suggests (a possible) link between smoking and lung disease.

4. Categorical: The number of unemployed people will continue to raise as the poor economic situation exists.
   Hedged claim: The number of unemployed people will probably continue to raise as the poor economic situation exists.

5. Categorical: This (and subsequent) studies led to the conclusion that the GTP itself must be the elusive base and therefore the proposal of the GTP-as-base- mechanism.
   Hedged claim: This (and subsequent) studies led to the conclusion that the GTP itself may be the elusive base and therefore the proposal of the GTP-as-base- mechanism.

In the previous pairs of sentences, we have categorical claims (a) and hedged claims (b). We can note how the degree of certainty in the "b" versions descends, as the enunciator takes a prudent distance from the statement. This can be done through the use of certain verbs, adverbs, or modal verbs, as the examples show.

Hedging and boosting

BOOSTING

It’s the opposite of hedging. It strengths a statement to present a strong point of view.

Ex of words: clearly, show, definite, undoubtedly, always, never.

More on Hedging

• Definition of hedging
• Definition of boosting
• Piece of advice: Why should an academic text writer have these two characteristics in mind?

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