Unit 1. Learning to research In the library

INTRODUCTION

A future specialist is supposed to be able to develop the information he (she) has collected both in writing and in the form of public presentation. There are many forms of condensed writing, the principal ones are below:

· Annotation

· Summary

· Abstract

· Paper (including a synopsis, course or diploma paper).

These recommendations will help you to work with information including the information from the WEB to write a summary of an article or a book, to arrange your references correctly and to prepare for the presentation of your paper in English.

Moreover, we hope you find some helpful hints here while preparing for the Annual Students' Scientific Conference held in our university.

In the process of your work you are advised to use the Step-by-Step Approach:

Step 1 - Getting Started - preparing for the assignment and getting ready to choose f topic

Step 2 - Discovering and Choosing a Topic - reading to become informed

Step 3 - Looking for and Forming a Focus - exploring your topic

Step 4 - Gathering Information - which clarifies and supports your focus

Step 5 - Preparing to Write - analysing and organising your information and forming a thesis statement

Step 6 - Writing the Paper - writing, revising and finalising

Step 7 - Presenting Your Paper before the Audience - public speech

 

PART I. INFO SEARCH

Searching for information today is both easier and harder than it was when your only choice was the library and its massive card catalogue. More information is available than ever before, and you can access information from across the country or around the world. But finding what you want requires more skills on the part of the researcher, mainly because the human intermediaries - the reference librarian and the skilled cataloguer/indexer - are largely absent from cyberspace.

This means that you, the researcher, need to understand where information is most likely to be found, how it's organised and how to retrieve it effectively using computerised search tools. The reference librarian is an invaluable resource to help teach you and advise you, but won't be there when you're searching Yahoo at midnight on the weekend before your paper's due.

Unit 1, 2 have some resources to help you learn how to become a skilled researcher, both in the library and in cyberspace.

 

Find out how to search for journals and newspapers at your library.

Bibliography surfing

Web surfing is finding an interesting Web page and then using the hyperlinks on that page to jump to other pages. If you find the first page interesting, chances are you'll also be interested in the pages the author has chosen to link to.

Librarians and researchers have been doing this for a long time, in the print medium. It's a valuable tool for identifying sources on your chosen topic.

What you do is using the bibliography provided at the end of an encyclopaedia article, journal article or book that you've found particularly pertinent to your topic and follow the bibliographic references much as you would hyperlinks on the Web. Since you're locating items which influenced the author of the original article and to which he or she referred, they're likely to be " on point" to your topic. Then use the bibliography at the end of those cited articles to find even more items, and so on. Consult the reference librarian for advice

Questions to Unit 1:

a) Now to know your library? b) How to search the catalogue? c) What is bibliography surfing

Unit 3. Writing a summary

What is a summary?

A summary is a short version of a reading; it is a condensed version of a piece.

Why is summary writing useful?

Teachers use summary writing to test your understanding of reading material.

Summary writing helps you comprehend information as you attempt to pull out just the essential information from a reading.

Key points to remember:

· Write a summary in your words, not the author's.

· Avoid using quotes in a summary. Paraphrase key ideas. (If you use three or more words in the same order as the author, you must place them in quotes).

· Include only the most important information.

· Avoid detailed information of actions or events.

· A summary is rarely longer than a page.

Organisation of a summary

The 100-word summary consists of three parts:

· Introduction

· Body

· Conclusion

Introduction

The introduction of a summary is usually one paragraph long.

What to include in the introduction t

· Title of the reading

If it is an article, essay, or short story place the title in quotes. 

If it is a book, underline the title.

· Name of the author

· Purpose of reading or overall point the writer is trying to get across

Body of a summary

The body of a summary is generally one to three paragraphs long, dependent on the length of the reading.

What to include in the body

Important points of reading, such as main ideas, facts, and examples.

Other secondary points that are relevant to key ideas. Include specific details as needed to get the author's points across.

Paraphrase the information while maintaining the author's tone and attitude as much as possible.

Conclusion

The conclusion of a summary is generally one paragraph long.

What to include in the conclusion

Conclude by presenting the author's final comments or by bringing up the main point of the reading. Add your personal opinion of the reading.

Checking your summary:

· Read it out loud closely.

· Do you have at least three paragraphs?

· Examine each part (introduction, Body, and Conclusion).

· Check spelling and style of your summary

· Make sure your information is accurate!

· Remember that a good summary must be precise and clear.

Is your summary good?

Have a friend who hasn't read the piece and read your summary to him.

Someone who has not read the piece should be able to get a clear picture of the ideas and the tone of {he actual writing from reading your summary.

Benefits of summary writing

Summary writing helps you understand and remember information, improves your writing skills. The more summaries you write, the better you will get at using language effectively.

Other benefits

Consider writing summaries for all your readings; it will help you " know what you know" and do better on mid-term and final exams.

Questions to Unit 3: 1) What is a summery? 2) What is a summery structure? 3) How can you check your summary? 4) What arc the benefits of summary writing?

 

Introduction

1.    Citation: Write a sentence that contains the information for a proper citation of " What's Your Favourite Class? "

2. Topic: What is the general subject matter or focus of " What's Your Favourite Cluss? "

3. Thesis: What is the major assertion that the author is making about the topic? Incorporate this into a clear one-sentence thesis statement.

Body

4. Re-read Paragraph #4 of " What's Your Favourite Class? " Identify its main idea.

5. Re-read Paragraph #5 of " What's Your Favourite Class? " Identify the main idea.

6. Re-read Paragraph #6 of " What's Your Favourite Class? " Identify two key ideas in that paragraph.

7. Re-read Paragraph #7 of " Wnat's Your Favourite Class? " Identify the main idea.

Conclusion

8.Write a sentence where you agree or disagree with the author Give your reasons,

Task 3.2c. Write a three-paragraph summary of " What's Your Favourite Class? "

Task 3.3a. Read the article " No catastrophe, but death by a thousand mouse clicks " for the purpose of writing a summary of the article:

Fill the Reply form.

The information Revolution

Presented by CTC

September 1999

Bath, UK             

Many countries face similar problems of excessive demand on their transportation infrastructure with out dated, inefficient road and insufficient road and rail networks failing to meet the requirements of the users. The associated problems of congestion, pollution and traffic accidents have increased beyond acceptable levels, all of which have a tangible economic effect upon trade as well as upon the quality of life of most transportation network users- commuters, pedestrians, cyclists, travellers and drivers. Many see that there are two simple answers to the current problems

· Build greater networks- unfortunately, this answer is nether cost effective nor desirable as the relationship between capacity and travelling times is not one.

· Reduce the number of vehicles- the road vehicle, especially the car, has' become an intrinsic part of modern society in many countries. However, the socio-political forces acting against even minor restrictions in freedom cultivate great hostility in those affected.

Another solution is to improve the efficiency of present networks. This will not only reduce the pressure on planners and politicians for action, allowing them time to consider the long term alternatives, but will also enable future networks to be designed with high levels of efficiency in mind, a quality that must be exploited in all developments in order to achieve maximum economic viability.

The Conference and Technology Centre (CTC) is pleased to present its first International Conference on transportation issues. The Conference will provide an ideal opportunity to bring together exciting and novel ideas, state-of-the-art research and fundamental information to enable the challenging issues being faced to be discussed and fundamental information to enable the challenging issues being faced to be discussed and reviewed in depth. The result of such meeting can only be the focussing of research goals toward achievable and acceptable solutions to he growing public concern for the urban environment.

Call for Papers. An abstract of no more than 500 words (3 pages) should be submitted to the Conference Administrator before 15 February 1999. lease ensure that the abstract title, the author's affiliation and up to four keywords are included with each submission. All abstracts and subsequent final papers will be subject to review by the Conference Advisory Committee. Reviewed and accepted papers being presented at the Conference will be published in the Conference Proceedings.

For further information on this Conference please contact:

The Conference & Technology Centre, 2 Moorland Close, Dibden Purlieu, Hants, SO45 SSH, UK

Tel: 44(0) 1703 841551           Fax: 44(0) 1703 841478               Email:

CTCentre@tcp.co.uk

Replyform

Title__________________ Initials_________________Surname______________

Organisation_______________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________

Telephone_______________________ Fax: ______________________

Email __________________________________

The Future of Transport

• Automated Debiting Systems
• Vehicle Propulsion  
• Travel Time Predictions   
• Vehicle Adaptebility
• Smart Vehicles - (Automation, Al, Neural Nets)

Transport Management

• Traffic Signalling and Control Traffic Management and Co-ordination Travel Derrand Management (TDM) Public Transportation
• Infrastructure Development Sttategifcs
• Congestion and Incident Management
• Transportation System Modelling
• Road Transport Systems
• Rail Networks

Social Aspects

• Analysis of Driver Behaviour
• •     Mobility Issues
• Road Safety Systems
• Travel Pattern Analysis
• Driver Stress

Infrastructure Planning

• Travel within the Community
• Future Transport Systems
• Future Transportation Systems
• The Waterways
• Regulation

PART II. PRESENTATION

 

NBI: Organizing information

A paragraph is a group of related sentences that develop an idea. In nearly every paragraph, there is one idea that is more important than all the others. The main idea of the paragraph is usually found at the beginning.

Sample paragraph 1:

All computers, whether large or small, have the same basic capabilities. They have circuits for performing' arithmetic operations. They all have a way of communicating with the person(s) using them. They also have circuits for making decisions.

All main idea sentences have a topic and say something about the topic. In some of your reading, finding main ideas may serve your needs but, in much I of your studying, you need to understand details. It is sometimes more difficult to understand details than main ideas. You will find it helpful if you think of details as growing out of the main idea.

A major detail often has minor details growing out of it. These minor details tell more about a major detail, just as major details tell more about a main idea. In studying, you often find a paragraph that has many small details that you must understand and remember. Breaking up a paragraph of this kind into its three components: the main idea, major details, and minor details will help you to understand and remember what it is about.

Sample paragraph 2:

it is the incredible speed of computers, along with their memory capacity, which makes them so useful and valuable. Computers can solve problems in a fraction of the time it takes men. For this reason, businesses use them to keep their accounts, and airline, railway, and bus companies use them to control ticket sales. As for memory, modem computers can store information with high accuracy and reliability. A computer can put data into its memory and retrieve It again in a few millionths of a second. It also has a storage capacity for as many as a million items

If you were to organize this paragraph into its three components, it would look like below:

 

Main idea

It is the incredible speed of computers, along with their memory

capacity, which makes them so useful and valuable.

Computers can solve

Modern computers

Major  details

problems much faster than

can store information

humans .

with high accuracy

and reliability.

Businesses

Transport

A

It also has

use them to

companies

computer

a storage

keep

use them to

can put

eapacity,

accounts.

keep of

data into its

for as many

ticket sales.

memory

track as a

Minor details

and

million

retrieve it

items.

again in a

few

mil Months

Of of of a

second.

In making a block diagram you don't have to write every word in the main idea sentence or in each of the detail sentences.

Task 2.3. Practice finding the main idea, major details, and minors by completing the block diagram after reading the following paragraph:

The computer has changed the production of copy in the newspaper industry. There are three steps involved in the process; input, correction, and output. First, the computer numbers each story, counts words, end gives a listing of the length of each story. Then, a page is made up, adveitisements are placed in, the copy is shifted or deleted, end corrections are made. Finally, the computer hyphenates words, end the result of all this is a newspaper page.

  

The computer has changed the production of copy in the newspaper industry

Main idea      

Major details

Minor details

 

Task 2.4. Practice finding the main idea, major details, and minors by completing the diagram after reading the following paragraph..

Railway companies use large computer systems to control ticket reservations and to give immediate information on the status of their trains. The computer system is connected by private telephone lines to terminals in major train stations, and ticket reservations for customers are made through these phone lines. The passenger's name, type of accommodation, and the train schedule is put into the computer's memory. On a typical day, a railway's computer system gets thousands of telephone calls about reservations, space on other railways, and requests for arrivals and departures. A big advantage of the railway computer ticket reservation system is its rapidity because a cancelled booking can be sold anywhere in the system just a few seconds later. Railway computer systems are not used for reservations alone. They are used for a variety of other jobs including train schedules, planning, freight and cargo loading, meal.

. Mam idea

Major details

 

Minor details