Language Conventions

1) Presenting the results of your research in the form of tables and figures use the present tense (active or passive) to locate your data in a figure.

Examples.

Results of the t-tests are presented in Table 1.

Table 4 summarizes the test scores of control and experimental groups.

The findings for the sample are summed by sex and by socioeconomic level in Table 1.

2) Reporting your findings, use the past tense.

Examples.

As a group, divorced mothers spent over twice as much time in employment as married mothers (Figure 2).

The coefficient of correlationwas found to be significant at the .001 level.

3) When commenting on the findings, it is conventional to use the present tense or modal auxiliaries or tentative verbs.

Examples.

This is consistent with earlier findings suggesting that personal characteristics are not related to attrition and teaching.

These findings accord with those from a larger study carried by...

Up to this point, these results are consistent with those of Chapman and Hutcheson (1982).

Hyperactive children may be generally responsive to amphetamines.

These results suggest that children who display learning problems are depending on only one cerebral hemisphere.

6.3. Write with Style: Using Nonsexist Language

Cultural awareness is becoming one of the key issues in learning foreign languages. One of the most serious changes in the cultural attitudes and behavior in recent years has manifested in what is generally called Political Correctness. Language usually follows changes in culture, and is supposed to be bias-free. Concern about the use of sexist language is part of our awareness that the perceived meanings of some words have changed in response to the changing roles of men and women. A case in point is today's shift away from sexist language in business, scholarly and technical writing—indeed, in all writing and speaking. The change reflects the increasing number of women entering previously male-dominated professions such as engi­neering, management, journalism, law and others. It also reflects the fact that many men have taken previously female-dominated positions.

This section on style defines sexist and nonsexist language, and suggests ways to avoid using gender-offensive language in your writing. The points to be taken into account are mainly based on recommendations advanced by Pfeiffer (1994).

Language is considered sexist when pronouns indicate only one sex when both are intended. For many years, it was perfectly appropriate to use "he," "his," "him," or other masculine words in a generic meaning in sentences such as these:

• Every physician was asked to renew his membership in the medical association before next month.

• Each new student at the military academy was asked to leave most of his personal possessions in the front hallway of the administration building.

The masculine pronoun was understood to be an indefinite representation for any person—male or female. That seems simple enough, and many people still wonder why such usage came under criticism. Yet there are two good reasons for attacks on such usage:

1. As already mentioned, the entry of many more women into formerly male-dominated professions has called attention to the inappropriate generic use of masculine pronouns.

2. Many people believe that the use of masculine pronouns in a context that could include both genders constrains women from achieving equal status in the professions and, generally, in the culture. That is, the use of masculine pronouns becomes a subtle but pervasive way of continuing sexism in society as a whole.

Either point supplies a good enough reason to avoid drawing attention to your style with sexist language. If you fail to rid your writing of sexist language, you take the risk of drawing negative attention toward your style and away from your ideas. Common sense argues for following some basic style tech­niques to avoid sexist language:

1. Avoid Personal Pronouns Altogether.

2. Use Plural Pronouns Instead of Singular.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 806