Foundations Of Academic Writing PDF

G5201 By user at 9:03 am, Aug 13, 2024 Chapter 7 focuses on descriptive writing. Although at university level descriptive texts will be unlikely to be useful by themselves - you will usually have to analyse and evaluate as well - there may be times when exa...

G5201 By user at 9:03 am, Aug 13, 2024 Chapter 7 focuses on descriptive writing. Although at university level descriptive texts will be unlikely to be useful by themselves - you will usually have to analyse and evaluate as well - there may be times when exam questions or assignments simply ask for descriptions. Questions might start with: What are... Define... Outline... Describe.... Descriptive writing includes defining a topic and describing an object, system or process. It also includes categorising and classifying. The chapter will also cover reporting past events, something which you did or something that happened. This chapter will cover: description - definition - description of objects - description of systems - description of processes - classifying/categorising - charts and diagrams reporting: If you want to dip into this section Page If you want to try the activities Page Introduction 'I'll!- 7:1 Writing dei'ini!iollS ·1·16 Defining '1'15 7.2 1-\dding clesc1·inrive cie!ail ·1 ·16 Describing !llings 'I "i7 7.3 Wriiing descriptions ·1·19 Describing pmcesses '120 7A- Describing how some·ihing wo1·1:s '120 Char!s and cliagrams '12"! 7.5 Describing processes ·122 Classifying/categorising '127 7.6 Describing an ope1·a.tion ·i2L!- Repor!ing '129 7.7 Describing cl1anges ("I) '127 Summary "133 7.8 Identifying classification '129 7.9 Descril:>ii1g cl1anges (2) ·129 7:10 Distinguishing between instructions anci descrip·iions '13'i 7:11 Reporting an experiment 132 7 Writing descriptively INTRODUCTION Students are asked to write many different kinds of texts. Depending on the subject you are studying, you could be asked to write an essay, a lab report, a case study, a book review, a reflective diary, a poster, a research proposal and so on. These are normally referred to as genres. These different genres, though, can be constructed from a small range of different text types. If, for example, you are asked to write an essay to answer the following question: Evaluate possible solutions to the problem of international brand manage- ment. You could answer it in the following way: You would probably start by defining brand management, saying what it is and giving an example. You might then explain why international brand management is a problem in business today, and support your explanation by evidence from your reading. After that you would describe some possible solutions to the problem of brand management, again supporting your suggestions with evidence from your reading. Next you would evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each of the poss- ible solutions. Finally, you would decide which solution you would prefer and give reasons. So in order to answer the question you need to be able to write texts that do the fol- lowing: define give an example explain why support your explanation with evidence describe a solution describe advantages and disadvantages evaluate choose. These texts can be categorised into four main types: 1 Descriptions - this can include defining a topic, describing an object, system, or a process. It also includes categorising and classifying. 2 Reports - this is description of a past activity, something you did or something that happened. 3 Explanations -this is why and how something happens or happened. It includes giving reasons and explanations and writing about cause and effect. 4 Arguments- this includes giving opinions or holding positions for and against an issue or advantages and disadvantages. It involves giving evidence to support an argument as well as making decisions or recommendations and justifying the action.· 114  Defining While this chapter looks at descriptive texts and reports, Chapter 8 will look at argu- mentative writing and analytical and evaluative texts. DEFINING In academic writing , it is usually necessary to define your terms. This is especially valuable at the beginning of an assignment or when you are answering an exam question. Many words or phrases have several meanings and in your subject they may be used in very specific ways. It is important to show how you understand the terms that you are using and exactly the sense with which you are using them. Read the following texts. In the first text 'advertising' is being defined. Notice how the definition is organised and what language is used. Advertising is defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor. (Kotler eta/. 2008: 737) Here 'mortgage' is defined. A mortgage is a form of loan that is secured on an asset, typically land. Financial institu- tions such as banks, insurance businesses and pension funds are often prepared to lend to businesses on this basis. The mortgage may be over a long period. (Mclaney and Atrill, 2008: 578) Two typical ways of writing definitions that you might like to use are: A mortgage is a form of loan that is secured on an asset. or A form of loan that is secured on an asset is called a mortgage. You will notice that these are written in the form: X is a Y that... A Y that... is X. Other language that you will find useful in writing definitions is: X is... X is called... X is known as... X may be defined as... X is a type of Y that/which... A type of Y which... is X. 115 7 Writing descriptively Activity 7. 1 Writing definitions Define the following terms using the phrases suggested above. Use a dictionary if necessary: accrued expense brand contingency fee fixed cost renewable energy retailer small claims track. Make sure that you define rather than just describe or give examples. For example, in the following text, the writer has failed to define and is simply giving an example of what a mentor does. The mentor supports and helps you with any school based problems. (Davies, 2006: 8) Sometimes, these definition sentences are followed by more detail. In these cases, the short definitions often form topic sentences and are often followed by more descriptive detail as in the following example: Hire purchase is a form of credit that is used to acquire an asset. Under the terms of a hire purchase (HP) agreement a customer pays for an asset by instalments over an agreed period. Normally, the customer will pay an initial deposit (downpayment) and then make instalment payments at regular intervals (perhaps monthly) until the balance outstanding has been paid. The customer will usually take possession of the asset after payment of the initial deposit, although legal ownership of the asset will not be transferred until the final instalment has been paid. (Mclaney and Atrill, 2008: 582) 1iii1 Remember definitions of difficult terms in your subject. Activity 7.2 Adding descriptive detail Add more descriptive detail to this definition of banding. Banding is the placing of pupils within a class into ability groupings. 116  Describing things DESCRIBING THINGS In your writing, you will often have to describe something: an object, a system, an organisation or a process. Read this description of the brain from a psychology textbook. Notice the way that the description is organised and the language that is used. You will see that if you were writing about the brain, you could describe: what the brain looks like how much it weighs how important it is what it consists of. The description is written in the present tense (looks, contains) as it is something that is generally true. The brain looks like a lump of porridge and has the consistency of blancmange. This organ, weighing an average 1400g in an adult human, is the most important part of the body. It contains an estimated 10 to 100 billion nerve cells and about as many supporting cells, which take care of important support and 'housekeeping' functions. The brain contains many different types of nerve cell which differ in shape, size and the kinds of chemicals they produce. (Martin et a/., 2007: 120) The following text continues describing the brain by describing its function, what it does. You would start by describing the number of functions it has and then give some detail about each function. The brain has two roles: controlling the movements of the muscles and regulating the physiological functions of the body. The first role looks outwards towards the environment and the second looks inwards. The outward-looking role includes several functions: per- ceiving events in the environment, learning about them, making plans, and acting. The inward-looking role requires the brain to measure and regulate internal characteristics such as body temperature, blood pressure and nutrient levels. (Martin et at., 2007: 146) If you are writing a description of an object, you might include, for example: physical description colour shape weight structure properties size material function. As well as describing simple objects, you may need to describe an organisation or a system. The following description of the European Commission, from a law text- book, gives you an example of how you could do this. Notice that the paragraph describes: how the commission is made up what its function is. 117 7 Writing descriptively The Commission is composed of 27 members, called Commissioners, who are each appointed by the member states for five years. They must be nationals of a member state, and in practice there tend to be two each from the largest states - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK - and one each from the rest. However, the Commissioners do not rep- resent their own countries: they are independent, and their role is to represent the interests of the EU overall. The idea is that the Commission's commitment to furthering EU interests balances the role of the Council, whose members represent national interests. In addition to its part in making EU legislation, the Commission is responsible for ensuring that member states uphold EU law, and has powers to investigate breaches by member states and, where necessary, bring them before the Court of Justice. It also plays an important role in the relationship of the EU with the rest of the world, negotiating trade agreements and the accession of new members, and draws up the annual draft budget for the EU. It is assisted in all these functions by an administrative staff, which has a similar role to that of the civil service in the UK. (Elliott and Quinn, 2008: 76-7) So when you are describing objects, systems or organisations, you might want to describe physical characteristics, such as: Position opposite on the right of B. For example: diagonally above A is vertically below The pivot is vertically above the base. between Band C. equidistant from Structure connected is to y by z. attached For example: X consists of The brain contains many different contains Y and Z. types of nerve cell. includes Size and weight long. high. For example: X is 6cm wide. The voltmeter is 4 em wide and in length. 12 em long. in height. For example: weighs X 10 kg. The adult brain weighs approxi- has a weight of mately 1400 grams. 118  Describing things Shape square For example: semi-circular X is in shape. The brain is roughly elliptical in hexagonal ell iptical shape. You might also want to describe the function of something or its purpose. Function function The purpose thermometer measure the temperature. A aim of the tripod is to hold the beaker. One objective brain role Activity 7.3 Writing descriptions Describe the tooth shown in Figure 7.1. Try to use some of the language presented above. -t---- Enamel -+-+----Dentin >----Root Figure 7.1 The anatomic parts of a tooth (Kozier et al., 2008: 276) 119 7 Writing descriptively Activity 7.4 Describing how something works Describe the operation of the wind turbine shown in Figure 7.2. Rotor brake Rotor blade L ~ ©=d{ JLD Gearbox Electrical controls Rotor hub ~ " Generator ~ Yaw system Tower n Connection to power grid I Foundations I I Figure 7.2 A wind turbine (Hughes, 2008: 812) DESCRIBING PROCESSES As well as describing objects and systems, it is often necessary to describe pro- cesses: how things are done or made. These could be products or laws, for example. Here is a description of the PDCA (Plan Do Check Act) problem-solving cycle. The PDCA cycle is a problem-solving technique often used in quality control. Notice that as the text is about the cycle and how it works, when you write about processes in this way the passive form of the verb (are resolved, is consolidated) is used. This is because in·this type of writing, the focus is usually on the process rather than on the 120  Describing processes people doing the work. In this case, the present tense is used as the procedure is still commonly made use of. The PDCA cycle Figure 7.3 Ia) the plan-do-check-act or 'Deming' improvement cycle, and lb) the define-measure-analyse-improve-control or DMAIC Six Sigma improvement cycle The PDCA cycle model is shown in Figure [7.3). It starts with the P (for plan) stage, which involves an examination of the current method or the problem area being studied. This involves collecting and analyzing data so as to formulate a plan of action which is intended to improve performance. Once a plan for improvement has been agreed, the next step is the D (for do) stage. This is the implementation stage during which the plan is tried out in the operation. This stage may itself involve a mini-PDCA cycle as the problems of implementation are resolved. Next comes the C (for check) stage where the new imple- mented solution is evaluated to see whether it has resulted in the expected performance improvement. Finally, at least for this cycle, comes the A (for act) stage. During this stage the change is consolidated or standardised if it has been successful. Alternatively, if the change has not been successful , the lessons learned from the 'trial ' are formalised before the cycle starts again. (Slack eta/., 2007: 597-8) The cycle consists of four clear stages, which are explicitly referred to with the fol- lowing phrases: It starts with... The next step... Next... Finally... The stages are also connected with linking words or phrases, which you can make use of, such as: Once a plan for improvement has been agreed,... This is the implementation stage during which... During this stage,.... 121 7 Writing descriptively Make sure that you keep the time sequence clear with words such as: firstly next subsequently. Instructions Make sure you describe how a process works rather than just give instructions. As a student, you will often need to read and understand instructions - for example in a laboratory manual or an assignment briefing sheet - but you will probably not need to write them very often. So make sure you distinguish between them in your writing. Instructions are telling someone how to do something and descriptions are describing how something happens or happened. Instructions can be given in many ways. A numbered list with the imperative form of the verb is one common way. Continuous text using the passive form of the verb with should is also common. Look at the following example of one method of giving instructions. Notice the highlighted language items: Cleaning The following steps should be followed when cleaning objects in a hospital. Rinse the article with cold water to remove organic material. Hot water coagulates the protein of organic material and tends to make it adhere. Examples of organic material are blood and pus. 2 Wash the article in hot water and soap. The emulsifying action of soap reduces surface tension and facilitates the removal of substances. Washing dislodges the emulsified substances. 3 Use an abrasive, such as a stiff-bristled brush, to clean equipment with grooves and corners. Friction helps dislodge foreign material. 4 Rinse the article well with warm to hot water. 5 Dry the article; it is now considered clean. 6 Clean the brush and sink. These are considered soiled until they are cleaned appropri- ately, usually with a disinfectant. (Kozier et a/., 2008: 214) liiiJ Make sure you describe when you should be describing. Do not just give instructions. Activity 7.5 Describing processes Rewrite the boxed paragraph above titled 'Cleaning' as a process description. 122  Describing processes Sequence Sequence, or order, is important in describing processes. The table below shows some common expressions that you can use to indicate sequence. Examples are based on Kotler et at. (2008: 51-2}. First, The first step is... To begin with ,... begins with... Initially,... commences with... Beforehand, Before this, At the same time, During... Secondly, Thirdly, etc. After this, Next, The next step is to... Subsequently, In the following stage, Later, Following this, Lastly,... finishes with... Finally,... concludes with... In the last stage, The last step is to... For example: The company first gains a full understanding of the marketplace. It sub- sequently designs a customer-driven marketing strategy. You may also want to explain how something is done:... slowly/carefully... with care/precision... in a careful way/manner... by researching... For example: The company first gains a full understanding of the market place by researching customer needs and managing marketing informat ion. 123 7 Writing descriptively or why something is done: So as to... So as not to... So that... In order to... In order not to... For example: It then designs a customer-driven marketing strategy in order to discover which customers they serve and how they can best be served. liiiJ Always check that your sequence of actions is clear. Activity 7.6 Describing an operation Describe the operation of a car braking system as illustrated in the diagram below. Foot pressure on brake pedal Pressure in pistons increased causing brake shoes to expand Figure 7.4 The car braking system INCLUDING CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS It is often useful when you are describing objects, systems or processes to include reference to tables and charts. Look at the text below. Notice how Figure 7.5 is explicitly referred to in the written text and a~so notice the language that is used there. For example, Figure 7.5 shows... 124  Including charts and diagrams 8000 7000 6000 Sales 5000 (£) 4000 3000 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year Figure 7.5 Soles of notebook computers per year Figure 7.5 shows sales of notebook computers per month. As can be seen , it covers the years 1998 to 2008 and shows that the sales of notebook computers increased steadily in the first two years, then remained steady from 2000 until 2004. The sales then rose steeply, throughout 2005 and 2006, with a rapid increase at the end of 2007, and reached a peak of 8000 in January 2007. A sharp fall followed in the first half of 2007 but sales levelled off at about 7000 per month in the middle of the year. Sales fluctuated slightly through the second half of 2007, and are now increasing again. The figures strongly indi- cate that we have recovered from the problems in early 2007 and are on target to improve on our February 2007 peak by the end of 2008. In such cases, you do not simply add the visual to the text: you usually include some pter s sort of comment or analysis as shown in the text. Typically, when you are referring to charts and diagrams, you will: make an explicit reference to the diagram or chart draw the reader's attention to the important features and describe them add some kind of comment which will depend on your purpose in including the diagram in your writing. Here is some language that you might find useful when you are referring to charts and diagrams. As can be seen Table 1, from It can be seen Figure 2,... in We can see Graph 3, Example: As can be seen from Figure 7.5, the sales of notebook computers increased steadily in the first two years. 125 7 Writing descriptively Table 1 seen Figure 2 concluded can shown From it be... figures may estimated the chart calculated diagram inferred Example: From Figure 7.5, it can be seen that the sales of notebook computers increased steadily in the first two years. The graph shows Figure 1 Example: Figure 7.5 shows sales of notebook computers per month. If you want to comment on trends and developments shown in graphs, the following phrases may also be of use: rise. increase. slight steady fluctuation. There was a (very) dramatic steep decline. reduction. drop. increased grew slightly. rose gradually. Sales steadily. Price markedly. Exports, declined dramatically. etc. dropped sharply. fell suddenly. liiil Do not forget to label your diagrams and make sure you refer to them clearly in your own text. 126  Classifying/ categorising Activity 7.7 Describing changes {1) Describe the changes in inflation between May 1999 and May 2001 as shown in Figure 7.6 below. Make sure you explicitly include a reference to the diagram in your description. 40% 30% 20% 10% 00~----~----~----~----~--~~--~----~----~- May Aug Nov Feb May Aug Nov Feb May 1999 2000 2001 Figure 7.6 Rate of inflation: May 1999- May 2001 CLASSIFYING/ CATEGORISING When you classify, you arrange things into groups according to certain criteria. For example, if you take the following list: Physics Chemistry Biology English History Art it is quite clear that all the words are school subjects but some are science subjects and some are arts subjects. As there are only arts subjects and science subjects it is simple to divide the list into two: Physics, Chemistry, Biology When you are classifying, you need to explain what you are classifying and on what basis you are making your classification - your criterion or criteria. In this case the school subjects are classified according to whether or not they are science subjects or arts subjects. 127 7 Writing descriptively The following text is classifying the different powers in governments. Notice how the powers are classified into three types, depending on who holds the power. The different powers are then described. The separation of powers One of the fundamental principles underlying our constitution is that of the separation of powers. According to this principle, developed by the eighteenth-century French philos- opher Montesquieu, all state power can be divided into three types: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive represents what we would call the Government and its servants, such as the police and civil servants; the legislative power is Parliament; and judicial auth- ority is exercised by the judges. (Elliott and Quinn, 2008: 2) In the next example, financial assets are divided into two groups, depending on whether they are short term or long term. The classification of assets Assets rnay be categorised as being either current or non-current. Current assets are basically assets that are held for the short term. Non-current assets (also called fixed assets) are simply assets that do not meet the defi- nition of current assets. Generally speaking, they are held for long-term operations. (Mclaney and Atrill, 2008: 49-50) liJll Make sure the basis of your classification is always clear, i.e. your criteria are clearly stated. The table below show some of the most common language that you can use in texts which have classification as their purpose. types : current and non-current. There are kinds. These are current and non-current. classes two of assets categories The sorts are current and non-current. varieties You can then follow this sentence with a description of the different groups. 128 Activity 7.8 lndentifying classification Read the following text and identify what is being classified and what the division is based on. Coastal landforms have often been classified to provide useful ways to help assess the dif- ' ferent forcing factors and controls such as sea-level history, geology, climate, waves and tides that lead to the great variety of coastal land forms we encounter (Bird, 2000). Most early classification schemes were based on the realisation that coastal landforms are I largely the product of sea-level variations. Such classifications distinguish between sub- merged and emerged coasts. Typical submerged coasts are drowned river and glacial valleys, often referred to as rias and fjords , respectively. Coastal plains are characteristic of emerged coasts. Another type of classification distinguishes between primary and sec- ondary coasts. Primary coasts have a configuration resulting mainly from non-marine processes and include drowned river valleys and deltaic coasts. Secondary coasts, on the other hand, are coasts that have a configuration resulting mainly from marine processes or marine organisms. Examples of such coasts are barrier coasts, coral reefs and mangrove coasts. (Holden, 2008: 481-2) Activity 7. 9 Describing changes (2) Look at the following table of changes that are made in the law. Using this infor- mation, write a paragraph describing the different kinds of change and give an example of each type. Changes in law - - -· Causes of change I Law needs to respond to Necessary to keep law in changes in society working order 1 I _E_x_a_m_p-le_s_o_f_c_h_a_n_g_e--~\Political , social and Complicated legal systems economic changes, must be kept in a neat and technological tidy condition, on a regular advancements and basis, essential repairs changing moral beliefs -· undertaken as necessary changes in the law In any writing you do, you might also have to report on how something came into being or how something was done. Read the following text , from a law textbook, and notice how the text is organised and the language that is used. You will notice that the text starts with a one-sentence introduction to put the narrative in context. 129 7 Writing descriptively It then provides a chronological (time-order) history of the formation of the European Union. It finishes with a prediction about the future. Before discussing the role of the EU in European law, the text provides a short history of the EU. The European Union (EU) currently comprises 27 western European countries. The original members- France, West Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy and The Netherlands -laid the foundations in 1951 , when they created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Six years later, they signed the Treaty of Rome, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The original six were joined by the UK, Ireland and Denmark in 1973, Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986 and , in the same year, the member countries signed the Single European Act, which developed free movement of goods and people within the Community (the single market), and greater political unity. Finland, Austria and Sweden joined in 1995. Following the Nice summit in 2004, the EU increased its membership from 15 to 27 in 2004, with most of the new members coming from eastern Europe. In 1993 the Maastricht Treaty renamed the European Economic Community the European Community and the European Economic Treaty was renamed the European Treaty. It also created the European Union (EU), which is likely to become the most important body in Europe and so will be the label that we will refer to in this book. (Elliott and Quinn, 2008: 74) When you write such a report you will normally organise your text chronologically and use the past tense (laid, created, signed,...). When you are writing about past events in this way, it is necessary to be explicit about the order in which things hap- pened. To make the order clear, you should mention dates and times, and also use various links and connections. Here are some phrases you can use to refer to time: In 1981,... During the 20th century,... Yesterday,... Twenty five years ago,... And here are some phrases you can use to make your sequence clear: Before this,... When... ,... X years later,... For the previous X years,... As soon as...,... After... Prior to this,... For the following X years,... Following this,... Previously,... While...,... Subsequently,... X years previously,... During this period ,... Soon/Shortly/Immediately Throughout this period... afterwards,... As with describing processes, make sure you distinguish between giving instruc- tions - that is, telling someone how to do something - and reporting - that is describing what you did or how something happened. 130  Reporting Activity 7. 10 Distinguishing between instructions and descriptions Read the following instructions that explain how to clean an object in hospital: you have seen these before. Rewrite them as a report - that is as something that you did - using the passive voice and keeping your sequence clear. Cleaning The following steps should be followed when cleaning objects in a hospital. Rinse the article with cold water to remove organic material. Hot water coagulates the protein of organic material and tends to make it adhere. Examples of organic material are blood and pus. 2 Wash the article in hot water and soap. The emulsifying action of soap reduces surface tension and facilitates the removal of substances. Washing dislodges the emulsified substances. 3 Use an abrasive, such as a stiff-bristled brush, to clean equipment with gr.ooves and corners. Friction helps dislodge foreign material. 4 Rinse the article well with warm to hot water. 5 Dry the article; it is now considered clean. 6 Clean the brush and sink. These are considered soiled until they are cleaned appropri- ately, usually with a disinfectant. (Kozier eta/., 2008: 214) The methods section of an experimental report (Gillett and Weetman, 2006) typically uses the passive voice (were taught, were selected, were excluded) as in the example below. Method Two groups of students in Higher Education on a one-year Pre-Masters English for Academic Purposes course, each comprising 50 students were taught academic writing by different methods and compared. In each group there were 50 students from five dif- ferent academic departments- computer science, business, engineering, life sciences and law - and four different countries - China, Japan, Korea and Thailand. The subjects were selected from the second semester of the University of Hertfordshire Pre-Masters Programme in the 2007-2008 academic year. The subjects were selected from the 250 students on the Pre-Masters Programme on the basis of performance at a satisfactory level in the Semester A examination. Students who had performed below the minimum level on the semester A examination were excluded. This criterion was employed to ensure competent understanding of the tasks and adequate motivation. One group - Group A - studied English.writing in the traditional way in a class with a teacher. This class met for 2 hours each week in a classroom for 12 weeks and was sup- plemented with written homework assignments given by the teacher each week. The second group - Group B - met together in a class with a teacher for one hour per week for 12 weeks and were assigned a homework task of spending one hour per week doing exer- cises from a website L---------------------------------------------------~~ 131 7 Writing descriptively Both groups A and B were given the same written examination at the end of the semester. The students took the examination under standard university examination con- ditions as part of their end of semester examination. The tests were marked using the following categories: task achievement, communicative quality, organisation, ideas, content and relevance and grammar and vocabulary, by two experienced writing exam- iners and moderated in the standard way to ensure reliability. In this way it was possible to see the relationship between the students' main academic subjects, and the improvement in their writing ability depending on the teaching method. liiil A/ways make sure your sequence is clear and that you are reporting, not giving instructions. Activity 7. 11 Reporting an experiment Read the following instructions for carrying out two short experiments in Physics. Assume now that you have carried out the experiments. Convert the instructions into a report. Make sure you clearly distinguish between these instructions and your report. Experiment 1 1 Take a thin flexible steel rod. 2 Bend the rod to feel how tough and springy it is. 3 Hold the rod in a Bunsen burner flame. 4 Heat the rod until the end is bright red and dip it very quickly into cold water. 5 Try to bend the rod as you did before. 6 Record your results. Experiment 2 1 Take a second rod and bend it to see how tough and springy it is. 2 Heat it until it is red hot. 3 Keep the rod in the heat for about 15 seconds after it has turned red. 4 Remove it from the heat very slowly and allow it to cool gradually. 5 Try to bend the rod when it has cooled sufficiently. 6 ·Record your results. 132  Summary SUMMARY In this chapter, we have looked at some of the text types t hat form the building blocks of longer student texts. These descriptive texts will be needed by most students in their writing, although they will probably not be enough in them- selves. We have divided the chapter into two main sections: descriptive writing and reporting. Description consists of defining and describing objects, systems and processes. This was followed by classifying and categorising and finally reporting. In Chapter 8, we will follow this up by looking at the kind of critical writing that is expected in higher education. References Gillett, A.J. and Weetman, C. (2006) 'Investigation of the use of a VLE group discussion facility by East Asian postgraduate students.' The East Asian Learner 2 (2). Available at http://www.brookes.ac.uklschools/education/eal Details of highlighted references can be found in the Introduction on page Jodi. 133