(stronger to weaker)
Unsound policies of IMF_____ the financial crisis
caused
lead to
were one of the causes of
contributed to
were probably a major cause of
may have contributed to
might have been a small factor in
(not sure)
Structure of data commentary
(1). location elements and/or summary statements
e.g. Table 5 shows the most common sources of infecter for U.S. businesses
(2). Highlighting statements
e.g. As can be seen, in a great majority of cases, the entry point of the virus infection can be detected, with e-mail attachments being responsible for nearly 9 out of 10 viruses
(3). Discussions f implications, problems, exceptions, recommendations etc.
e.g. This very high percentage is increasingly alarming....
1.Location elements and summaries
Active :
| Location Element | Summary |
|---|---|
| Table 5 shows | The points of entry of computer virius for U.S. businesses |
| Table 2 provides | details of the fertilizer used. |
| Figure 2 plots | the two series for the last five years |
| Figure 4.2 gives | the results of the second experiments |
passives:
| Summary | Location Element | |
|---|---|---|
| The points of entry of computer virius for U.S. business | are shown in table 5 | |
| Details of the fertilizer used | are provided in table 2 | |
| The two series ofr the last five years | are plotted in figure 2 | |
| The results of the second experiments | are given in figure 4.2 |
The above statement are indicative, which only indicate what kind of research has been done. In comparison, the informative way additionally give the main results.
e.g.
Table 5 shows that e-mail attachments are the main entry for computer viruses.
Table 2 gives the active ingredients in the fertilizer
Figure 4.2 suggests that the experimental results confirm the hypothesis.
Language Focus: verbs in indicative and informative summaries.
Used in both types:
show:
e.g. Fig 5 shows the time course of DARPP-32 phosphorylation after calcium increase. (indicative)
Fig 5 shows that DARPP-32 phosphorylation peaks at 5 minutes after calcium increases. (informative)
Used for 'indicative':
provide: (can not be used to lead 'that' clause)
Table 5 provide the kinetic data used in this model.
The pollowing table provides a summary of those verbs and their functions.
| words | indicative | informative |
|---|---|---|
| show | y | y |
| sumarize | y | y |
| provide | y | n |
| give | y | n |
| present | y | y |
| illustrate | y | n |
| display | y | n |
| reveal | n | y |
| demonstrate | n | y |
| indicate | n | y |
| suggest | n | y |
Active verbs following reference to a visual:
| words | reference to figure | reference to table | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| shows | 31 | 15 | 46 |
| presents | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| illustrates | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| summarizes | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| demonstrates | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| contains | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| provides | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| depicts* | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| lists | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| reports | 0 | 2 | 2 |
* depict: the show or present something in a picrue or a story
Passive verbs in references to a Visual
| words | reference to figure | ref to table |
|---|---|---|
| shown in | 21 | 23 |
| illustrated in | 29 | 5 |
| presented in | 2 | 10 |
| given in | 2 | 4 |
| listed in | 0 | 6 |
| seen in | 3 | 1 |
| provided in | 1 | 3 |
| summarized in | 1 | 3 |
| seen from | 3 | 0 |
Language Focus:Linking as-clauses
For introducing informative:
e.g.
As shown in Fig. 1, the companies used in this survey varied significant in geographical location, size and method of operation.
As can be seen in Table 5, the overall rate of recall, showed considerable variation.
When 'as' is used as passive linking clause, not for representing reason (like 'same' and 'because'), there should be NO subjects.
e.g. As has been proved, the theory may have practical importance.
(As clause serves to suggest that the practical importance of the theory has been established)
e.g. As it has been proved, the theory may have practical importance.
(Because the theory has been proved, it may have practical importance.)
The prepositions with this type of linking statement
As shown in Table 1, ......
As predicted by the model, ......
As described on the previous page, ......
Exercise: (fill in preposition)
As can be seen in Figure 4,
As revealed in Figure 2, (by?)
As described in the previous section, (by?)
As defined in section 1,
As described in the previous unit, (by?)
As can be seen in the comparison of the two tables, (on ?)
As has been demonstrated previously by materials in this type, small cracks pose a serious problem
As has been demonstrated by many experiments,
As shown in the line of best fie,
As explained in the above discussion,
2 Highlighting Statements
(show your intelligence)show:
- you can spot trends of regularities in the data
- you can separate more important findings from less important ones
- you can make claims of appropriate strength
NOT:
a. Probability- simply repeat all the details in words
- attempt to cover all the information
- claim more than is reasonable or defensible
strong to weaker:
It is certain that.....
It is almost certain that
it is very probable/highly likely that
it is possible that
it is unlikely that
it is very/highly unlikely that
strong to weaker
It is a definite possibility that
it is a strong possibility that
it is a good possibility that
it is a slight possibility that
it is little possibility that
b. distance
(1)Strong claim - weaker:
e.g.
The factory has benefited from the recent technology upgrade
The factory seems to have benefited from the recent technology upgrade
The factory appears to
It seems that hte factory has benefited...
it has been said that hte factory seems to have ...
(2)distance yourself from the data:
e.g.
Based on the limited data available, different employees react to the same situations differently
In the view of some experts,...
According to this preliminary study,....
Based on an informal survey of nine department managers, ....
c Generalization
(1)a classical verb: tend
Children live in poverty have a history of health problem
Children living in poverty tend to have a history of health problem
(2)qualify the subject
Many children living in poverty have....
A majority of children...
In most parts of the world children living in poverty have a history .....
(3)add exceptions
e.g.
With the exception of a small number of countries such as Japan, Sweden, and Thailand, student loan schemes are almost exclusively reserved for higher education.
Apart from
Except for
d weaker Verbs
(strong)
Unsound policies of the IMF lead to financial crisis.
(weaker)
Unsound policies of the IMF contributed to financial crisis.
Exercise, (find the weaker one in the sentences)
1. The research results indicate/establish there is a link between smoking and lung cancer. (indicate)
2. Table 9 shows/suggests that the articles written by non-native speakers will continue to increase. (suggests)
3. The latest series of studies question/challenge the conclusions of much previous researches. (challenge)
4. The results in figure 4. support/validates the second hypothesis. (support)
5. The quantities displayed in the table have been assumed/shown to be about 98% accurate. (assumed)
6, The test results create/suggest a basis for product modifications. (suggest)
7. Changes in ambient temperature may have influenced/ distorted the test results.(may have influenced)
8. In their early work, they failed/neglected to take ambient temperature into account. (neglected)
9. As shown in fig9, the new tax law has encouraged/stimulated industrial investment. (encouraged)
10. Figure12 depicts/clarifies the relationship between these two systems.(depicts)
e Combined Qualifications
e.g.
The use of seat belts prevents physical injuries in car accidents.
prevents -> reduces -> may reduce
injuries -> some kind of injuries
according to some stimulation studies, in some circumstances, the use of seat belts may reduce certain types of physical injuries in car accidents.
Exerciese (try to make the sentences less determined.)
1 Attractive people have more favourable personal attributes than unattractive people.
->
According to a research conducted in Cambridge University, attractive people seems to have more favourable personal attributes in certain area than unattractive people.
2 Economic sanctions are ineffective.
->
Apart from some trivial success, ecomonic sanctions are generally believed to be ineffective
3 Alcohol caused people to become violent
->
Alcohol may be one of the major causes contributed to violence
4 Passive smoking causes cancer
->
Passive smoking contributes to cancer with a certain amount of exposure time.
5 Recycling is the best solution to the waste disposal problem.
->
Recycling is one of the best and practical solution to the waste disposal problem according to current technology
6 Pysical exercise prevents depression.
->
Pysical exerciese may reduce certain degree of depression
7 Deep tunnels are safer and less vulnerable to earthquake.
->
Based on preliminary studies, deep tunnels are relatively safer and less vuinerable to certain degree of earthquakes.
8 Private schools provide a better education than to public schools.
->
Except the larger amount of tuition fee, private schools trend to privede a better education on some courses than to public shools.
f Organization
general to specific
Exercise (wrrting a small paragraph on Table13)
(my writting)
Table 13 summarize the factors that adolescents reported to be restricted on or interfered in, according to different genders. As can be seen, almost twice as many boys reported the restriction from their parents as girls, on the average level. In the only one exception being out late at night, close to twice as many girls are indicate to be restricted. According to the number of questionairs conducted, in general, girls gain more trust in using family facilities, and being on time to be back. It seems that Parents also give less pressure on girls for their plan for the future and their spending of self-earned money. These might be resulted from the fact that girls become mentally mature earlier than boys. And girl are generally more worried about their futures. From another point of view, these data might also indicate that boys are not as satisfied as girls with the opinions of their parents, and their will to have more freedom.
(Sample writing)
Table 13 shows the percentage of adolescents reporting parental restrinctions on their lives. As can be seen, boys tended to be more restricted than girls. Over the six categories, boys reported an average of 40% restriction but gilrs only 24%. In fact, boys are more restricted in 5 categories over 6, the only exception being going out at night. In this category, 56% of girls reported restrictions but onoy 3% of the boys did so.
Language Focus: Qualifying Comparisons
it is never a good idea to simply repeat the data in the words, it is actually bad to make a series of statement as following (as foolishly proving that hte audience can not read the graph):
e.g.
56% of girls reported restrictions on going out late at night as opposed to 35% of boys.
comparative statements like the following: (a lot better, however, more or less is very vague)
* More girls reported restriction on going out late night than boys
* Fewer boys reported
* Not as many boys reported
(a bit better, but fail to convey the full magnitude of the comparison)
* twenty-one percent more girls reported restriction on going out late at night than boys
(Good way to follow!)
* Almost exactly twice as many boys reported...
* A marginally smaller percentage of girls reported
* Slightly over twice as many boys reported
* Close to three times as many boys reported
* Boys exceeded girls in the times they reported... by a ratio of 2.5 to 1
Exercise (writing data commentary for table 14)
(my writing)
Table 14 represents the duration for completing a doctoral program at the university of Michigan, based on several different divisions. As indicated, the international students spent almost 1 year less, with slight variations, on every discipline than U.S. citizens or residents. The biggest difference comes from students studying Humanities and the arts, where international student spent 1.3 year less than home students. However, in the discipline of physics, there is only half a year difference in between. Although international students has disadvantages on their language and the inconveniences of life in a foreign country, but they worked much harder under pressure from their family's expectations. These data give the international students who is preparing to go abroad for study some confidence that language and being away from your familiar home will not prevent you from complete your study.
(example writing)
Table 14 shows the number of years to complete a doctoral program for both US and international students at the university of Michigan. As can be seen, international students on average complete doctoral degree in less time than U.S. students in all divisions. The difference in years to completion ranges from a relatively low 0.5 years in Physics and engineer to a high of 1.3 years in the humanity and arts. The consistent difference in time to degree is not fuly understood at present. However, one key factor may be motivation. Many international students have considerable external pressures, for example the sponsorship/scholarship restrictions, the family obligations, and the employer demands, which could influence the length of time it takes to earn a doctorate.
3 Concluding a commentary
- explanation and/or implications (usually required)
- unexpected results or unsatisfactory data (if necessary)
- possible further research or possible future predictions (if appropriate)
(my writing)
This figure shows how long a person can survive under a specific temperature of water with different type of clothing. First of all, almost with any condition of clothing, the warmer the temperature becomes, the longer people survives. However, the clothing has a influence on how long a person can survive. In naked condition, a person can survive less than half an hour. But with dry-suit and dry under-clothing, the duration is almost 10 times as long as being naked. This is because right type of cloth separates the human body from the cold environment and keep warmness within. This is also the reason that with ordinary cloth, or wet-suit can increase the chance of being alive to different degree.
