Chapter 1:Introduction 1
What is the purpose of the book? 1
Will this book be relevant for you? 4
The key terms explained 5
The ABC-ISP Framework 7
What is meant by “international standards”? 11
The author 15
Clarify who you are writing for,what you are writing about and why 17
Chapter 2:Analysing the writing situation 17
Identify the audience 18
Identify the purpose 19
Identify the topic 19
Chapter 3:Brainstorming, planning and drafting 20
Map the concepts to see how they relate 21
Outline the concepts to put them in sequence 22
Think of a working title 22
What is the difference between a resarch problem and a topic? 23
Select a key problem to investigate 23
List four or five key words 26
Define the most important terms 27
Draft the initial ideas:Start writing! 27
Chapter 4:Convincing others—Developing evidence-based arguments 28
Prepare your case 30
Hypothesis-driven reasoning 33
The importance of counter evidence 34
Exploring different interpretations 34
Present evidence to support each claim 35
How can you make sure that your evidence is strong? 37
Explain why the evidence can be trusted 39
Eliminate faulty logic (fallacies) 39
Test your ideas by discussing them with others 41
Chapter 5:Improving the clarity of the writing through revising and editing 42
Revise (make global changes) 43
Put new information in its right place 44
Draw attention to the main themes 44
Play with possibilities 44
Develop a weli-linked text 45
Connect your text to the larger context 53
Edit (make local changes) 53
Correct any errors 54
A case study:Developing a proposal outline 56
Chapter 6:Standardising the format 60
Align your work with national and international standards 60
How should a research proposal be set out? 61
How should a thesis be organised? 67
Is there a standard format for an abstract? 73
How is a research article normally structured? 74
How should sources be cited? 76
What is the best way to set out a list of references? 82
Chapter 7:Publishing means becoming a full member of a scholarly group 87
Acquire expert knowledge 89
Avoid plagiarism (theft) 89
Why is it so important to publish? 90
Submit your work for peer review 90
Conclusion 92
Exercises 94
1.Abstract 94
Exercise 1 94
Exercise 2 94
Exercise 3 95
2.Proposal 96
Exercise 4 96
3.Thesis 97
Exercise 5 97
Exercise 6 97
4.Research article 98
Exercise 7 98
References 100
Appendix A:Stages in developing the deseription of a research problem 104
Index 120