Xiong Maolin
General Introduction to
Professional Paper Writing
Definition of Professional Papers
¬A professional paper is a formal printed document in which professionals present their views and research findings on any deliberately chosen topic.
Classification of Professional Papers
¬(1) report paper
¬ (2) research paper
¬ (3) course paper
¬ (4) thesis paper (dissertation).
1) Report Paper
¬The report paper summarizes and reports the findings of the author(s) on a particular subject. The author(s) may not give his/their own opinion on the issue, nor evaluates the findings, but merely catalogs them in a sensible sequence.
2) Research Paper
¬A research paper draws its material from many sources. Its aim is to assemble facts and ideas and by studying them to draw new conclusions as to facts or interpretations.
2) Research Paper
¬A complete research paper is usually composed of the following elements:
title, author, affiliation, abstract, keywords, introduction, theoretical analysis and /or experimental description, results and discussion or conclusion,
acknowledgments, references, etc.
3) Course Paper
¬A course paper mainly refers to the paper written after a specific course is learned or at the end of the term.
4) Thesis Paper (Dissertation)
¬A thesis paper is usually written and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MA or MS (or Ph. D) in a specific discipline.
Principles of Professional Papers Writing
¬1) Accuracy
¬2) Brevity
¬3) Clarity
1) Accuracy
¬a) The subjective words should avoid being used, such as perhaps, maybe, likely, suggest, it seems, possibly, and probably and so on.
¬b) The words describing degrees should not be used randomly, such as substantial, adequate, considerable, actually, really, quite, rather, fairly, extremely, mostly, relatively, comparatively, unduly, and so on.
¬c) You’d better to master the exact meanings of the words.
2) Brevity
¬Ex.
¬The quality of the half-tone reproduction depends both on the grade of paper used (the glossier the better) and on the fineness of the screen, in general the finer screens giving the better detail, but the limit is set by the absorbency of the paper and the quality of the printing, not every printer being equipped to reproduce half-tones with maximum clarity.
¬
2) Brevity
¬ The quality of the half-tone reproduction depends both on the grade of paper used and on the fineness of the screen. In general, glossy paper and finer screens give better detail, but the limit is set by the absorbency of the paper and the quality of the printing. Not every printer is equipped to reproduce half-tones with maximum clarity.
2) Brevity
3) Clarity
¬A professional paper can never be written in a random format, rather it should be written in a specific one. The format will make the paper an integrated whole from placing the title to the width of the margins, and to the notation used in acknowledging the material drawn from other sources or the help given by others.
3) Clarity
¬Figure and table can help readers understand the paper better.
Elements of
Professional Papers
Title
¬1) General Functions
¬ a) Generalizing the Text
¬ b) Attracting the Reader
¬ c) Facilitating the Retrieval
Title
¬2) Linguistic Features
¬a) Using More Nouns, Noun Phrases and Gerunds
¬b) Using an Incomplete Sentence
Title
¬3) Writing Requirements
¬ a) Be Brief and Concise
¬ b) Be Specific
¬ c) Avoid Question Titles
¬ d) Being Unified
¬ e) Being Standard
Title
¬Whether all the first letter of the principal words in a title should be capitalized or not, may depend upon the specific requirements set forth by the journal to which your manuscript is to be submitted.
Title
¬Useful expressions in English paper writing homework:
determination, radical, polymerization rate, MMA(methyl methacrylate)
Author/Affiliation
¬1) General Functions
¬a) Bearing Author’s Responsibility
Definitely, the author(s) must perform the entire work of paper and be responsible for the content of the paper. That means if any consequence should arise from the publication of the paper, the author(s) should take it, without affecting the other members of the research team or people other than the author(s).
Author/Affiliation
¬b) Facilitating Retrieval and Correspondence
The name of author(s) and institutional affiliations are usually used as author indexing. Readers can correspond with the author, according to the affiliation.
Author/Affiliation
¬c) Heightening Celebrity
The publication of a research paper is regarded as a norm for valuing the professional level of the researcher and /or the academic institution concerned. Therefore this section should be written clearly so as to publish the paper in a given international journal.
Author/Affiliation
¬2) Linguistic Features (Rules of Spelling)
¬ The name of a Chinese author is preferably spelt in accordance with the Chinese pinyin.
¬ All the letters of the family name are preferably capitalized so as to distinguish the family name from the given or personal name. Use no abbreviations in the section of affiliation. Give adequate postal address, including ZIP or other postal codes and the name of the country.
Author/Affiliation
¬3) Writing Requirements
¬a) Printing Format Unified
If a writer intends to send his paper to an international, he should prepare his name and affiliation according to the specific requirements of the journal.
Author/Affiliation
¬b) Number of Authors
In general, it is advised that the number of authors should not be over four. In case of real need, it is advisable to use “et al.” after the principal authors. Too many authors listed may lead to inconvenience in author indexing.
Author/Affiliation
¬c) Professional Title Omitted
The professional title, administrative rank or academic degree such as “Professor”, “President”, “Chief Manager”, “Doctor”, etc. are preferably omitted before the name of an author.
Author/Affiliation
¬d) Address
The institutional affiliation should be written from the smaller unit to the larger ones.
For multiple authors or multiple affiliations, follow the instructions given by the editor of the journal to which your paper is submitted.
Author/Affiliation
¬4) Useful expressions in English paper writing homework:
¬College of materials science and engineering,
Keywords
¬1) Functions
¬a) General Functions
As the name implies, keywords are the most important words and phases representative of the theme of the paper, and frequently used in a paper. Reader can find out the theme of the paper by looking at the keywords.
Keywords
¬b) Easiness of Highlighting
The function of keywords is to facilitate the information retrieval and emphasize the gist of the paper.
Keywords
¬2) Linguistic Features
¬a) Nominalization
Keywords are usually used in the form of nouns, not verbs. For examples, “investigation” is used instead of “investigate”; “fabricate” should be replaced by “fabrication”; and “educate” ought to be replaced by “education.”
Keywords
¬b) Limited Number
The number of keywords for a paper should be limited. Four to six keywords are the average. In general, there should be at least 2 and at most 8.
Keywords
¬c) Designated Choice
The keywords of a paper usually come from the title and/or the abstract, where the key terms of words and phrases are usually contained.
Keywords
¬3) Writing Requirements
¬a) Placing in Right Location
Though keywords can be either above or below the abstract of a paper, they are yet, in most cases, placed below the abstract.
Keywords
¬b) Spacing the Keywords
Keywords are not necessarily all capitalized, except the first letter of keywords as a heading. Use comma (,) or semicolon(;) to separate the words. Larger space can also be used instead of punctuation. Do not use full stop(.) after the last keyword.
Keywords
¬c) Adopting Standard Abbreviations, etc.
¬ Standard abbreviations are preferred in the section of keywords. All abbreviated words should be in conformity with the ISO norms. Since the keywords are often used as indexing to retrieve the paper, they must be understood, at least, by professionals in the field.
Abstract
¬“The abstracts are short summaries of the original documents. They provide for the reader entry to the original literature, but they do not replace that literature. They are expected to be accurate, clear, concise and complete in essentials. They report the basic informational content of the original document. They are neither critical nor evaluative reviews. They are not meant to serve as laboratory manuals or chemistry handbooks. Their primary purpose is to provide accurately and quickly, sufficient information on the chemical content of the document abstracted to allow the searcher to determine whether it is necessary to consult the original publication for complete details.”
Abstract
¬ Linguistic Features of Abstract
¬An abstract is a miniature of the paper with a strictly limited number of words. Normally, 200 words should be a sensible maximum for a relatively long paper or report; 50-100 words may suffice for a short article. The length of an abstract greatly varies depending on the length of the paper. As a general rule, an abstract will be approximately 3-5% of the length of the paper.
Abstract
¬Categories of Abstracts
¬ Descriptive (Indicative) Abstracts
¬ Informational (Informative) Abstract
Abstract
¬Descriptive (Indicative) Abstracts
¬The effect of UV light, electron beam, γ-ray irradiation as well as ultrasonic irradiation, on structure and change in properties of commodity polymers were studied in hopes of gaining an innovative route to enhance their properties and bringing them possessing the properties possessed by some engineering plastics.
Abstract
¬Informational (Informative) Abstract
¬“The miscibility between chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) with ethylene propylene diene monomer/nylon resin (EPDM/PA) was studied. A compatibility mechanism is proposed based on TEM and SEM results, and is confirmed by DSC and DMA studies of the blends. The solubility characteristics of the blends in formic acid solution give an approximate idea about the amount of CPE reacted with PA. TEM shows that almost each dispersed particle is composed of two kinds of polymers inserted or anchored each other and between them there is a certain extent transitional interface, vulcanization makes matrix and dispersed particle crosslink each other, some particles whose shape is of micro-fiber are observed. SEM reveals that adhesion between the matrix and the dispersed particle is improved significantly through crosslinking. DSC shows that, while CPE is added to the blend, glass transition temperature (Tg) of PA decreases significantly, but Tg of EPDM remains stable. DMA shows that CPE is mainly blended into dispersed particle. It makes dispersed particle smaller and well distributed and thus significantly increase interaction between two phases. These investigations show that EPDM/PA/CPE blend system is a heterogeneous blending system. Extent of Tg (PA) decrease may be considered as a measure of compatibility. The permeation of CPE segments towards nylon substrate may be considered as a determinant for improvement of miscibility of this blending system.”
Abstract(Complete Content)
¬A Statement of the Problem
¬A Statement of the Approach to Solving the Problem
¬The Principal Result
¬Conclusions
Abstract (Formalized Structure )
¬Topic Sentence
¬● The purpose of this paper is …
¬● The primary goal of this research is …
¬● The intention of this paper is to survey …
¬● The overall objective of this study is …
¬● In this paper, we aim at …
¬● Our goal has been to provide …
¬● The chief aim of the present work is to investigate the features of …
¬● The authors are now initiating some experimental investigation to establish …
¬● The work presented in this paper focuses on several aspects of the following …
Abstract (Formalized Structure )
¬Topic Sentence
¬● The problem we have outlined deals largely with the study of …
¬● With his many years’ research, the author’s endeavor is to explain why …
¬● The primary object of this fundamental research will be to reveal the cause of …
¬● The main objective of our investigation has been to obtain some knowledge of …
¬● With recent research, the author intends to outline the framework of …
¬● The author attempted the set of experiments with a view to demonstrating certain phenomena …
¬● The experiment being made by our research group is aimed at obtaining the result of …