Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
1. Coherent
Headings Functional structure Sections, subsections and paragraphs Fluent presentation of research
Paragraphs
Practice
Figure 2. Write a research paragraph
Write a short paragraph using the three extracts as research support. You will need to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Read carefully to decide the topic. Write an introductory sentence explaining the paragraph topic. Highlight information in the extracts that you wish to use. Use paraphrase and/or quotation to discuss this information. Write a concluding sentence (So what? sentence). Give full citations and references in author/date style.
From page 105 of Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace by Iris Varner and Linda Beamer, published 2010 by Pearson Education, London:
Television commercials offer insights into cultural priorities not so much in the products they advertise as in the values suggested by the appeals the commercials make to the viewers. Whereas convenience is the central appeal in certain breakfast cereal advertisements to young single working people in the United States, family membership is the central appeal in advertisements for the same breakfast cereal in Mexico. One Southeast Asian country has advertised its airlines for years by showing attractive young women attentively serving male customers. In North America and Europe, this approach has offended some who see this as gender bias.
From page 25 of the 1974 article How Culture Affects Advertising Expression and Communication Style by Stephen Unwin in the print version of the Journal of Advertising, volume 3, issue number 2 on pages 15 to 26:
Intercultural distinctions in advertising expression make the pre-testing of finished advertisements, for example, through focus groups, an important step in international campaign planning procedure. Lesson Seven Research Writing
Different cultures understand the symbols and images used in advertising differently. According to Belch and Baker, this can cause problems with the meanings used by advertisers in their messages. For example, the thumbs-up sign, which has positive meanings in America, is offensive in Russia and Poland (2009, p. 660). Furthermore, Varner and Beamer explain that cultural priorities mean that television commercials for the same product will have different focus in different countries. Citing the example of breakfast cereal, Varner and Beamer explain how this is seen as convenient, fast food in America but a family orientated meal in Mexico (2010, p. 105). Therefore, as there are many potential problems facing international advertisers, research is very important and so Unwin emphasizes the importance of pre-testing advertisements through methods such as focus groups (1974, p. 25). If advertisers wish to successfully reach audiences in different cultures they must research the culture and adapt their messages appropriately.
References Belch, G. & Baker, M. (2009). Advertising and Promotion (8th ed.). New York: McGrawHill. Unwin, S. (1974). How Culture Affects Advertising Expression and Communication Style. Journal of Advertising, 3(2), 15-26. Varner, I. & Beamer, L. (2010). Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace. London: Pearson Education.
Lesson Seven Research Writing
2. Complete
Evidence of research:
Questionnaire Survey results Interview transcripts Focus group record Completed consent forms
3. Concise
Avoid unnecessary details Use simple, specific language Write clear objectives
issue/problem
4. Considerate Reader friendly Non-offensive Non-discriminatory Discuss how these statements could be made more considerate:
1. A designer should think carefully about his audience. Designers should think carefully about their audiences. 2. The toilets were designed for handicaps.
The toilets were designed for the disabled. 3. The furniture consists of manmade materials. The furniture consists of synthetic materials.
Lesson Seven Research Writing
A subculture is sort of like a culture but different according to my research. According to Wood (2006, p. 164) a subculture is a group that is distinct from a dominant or mainstream culture, for example, the Chinese community in Indonesia.
6. Correct
Presentation and format: Follow sample Register: Use formal language Grammar: Keep sentences short. Have your writing proofread Spelling: Use consistent, standard style Punctuation: Capitalise, Space and highlight quotes Referencing: Use Author-Date style only
Example B
One of the strengths of Brown and Raymond's 1998 article in the Journal of Nursing is its organisation and layout. The organisation of the article into numerous separate sections transforms a reasonably lengthy article into a series of small, easily readable sections. These enable the reader to browse through the article and quickly find important pieces of information. These pieces of information are also easily located because the article's introductory paragraph gives a brief yet highly detailed outline of the content. Another of its strengths is the extensive use of evidence such as references and statistical data to give validity to the authors' claims. An example of their evidence use through referencing is the authors' use of numerous examples and references to justify their claim that current nursing literature emphasises client involvement (Brown & Raymond, 1998, pp. 66-67). An example of evidencing through the inclusion of statistical data is their rebuttal to previous claims by researchers such as Foley that clients are submissive (1997, p. 732). The authors validate their position through the inclusion of statistical data from their own study. The large size of their sample population adds to the validity of these results. In contrast to these strengths, however, the article contains several weaknesses. One minor weakness is the authors' use of a number of references that are outdated in comparison to the publication date of their article. Of greater concern, however, is the authors' obvious bias against hospitalisation as a treatment alternative indicated by the inclusion of such emotive terms as personal crisis, distressed and separation from society to describe the experience of patients who had undergone this treatment. List of References Brown, WP & Raymond, X 1998, 'Patients and their involvement in decisions about care', Journal of Nursing, Vol. 33, pp. 53 - 71. Foley, RS 1997, Nursing and Client Management, Juniper Publications, London.
Lesson Seven Research Writing
Report Writing
2. 3. 4. 5.
Word Count
Supplementary Section
Lesson Seven Research Writing
Report Writing: Preliminary section List of Figures: Provide figure number & description with illustrations in Introduction & Main Body Reference in brackets preceded by Source: Refer to the figure in the text!
1. INTRODUCTION
Introduce the client and the issue Who are you working for? What do they do? What does the brand/organization represent? What issue/problem is your research concerned with? How does this relate to the client? What background is important? Give sources.
2. METHODOLOGY
How exactly did you do your research? Primary/Secondary? Quantitative/Qualitative? How did you sample? What problems did you encounter, if any?
Fig. 2 Survey question 3. 61.54% of respondents said a better paying job would be the key factor in making them happier. 23% said finding a wealthy husband would make them happier.
4. CONCLUSIONS
So what? What does your research tell you? No new data here
5. RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on conclusions Solve the problems that made writing the report necessary Brief feasible/practical statements: 5.1 Change to organic cotton 5.2 Use celebrity endorsement to build brand prestige
* if necessary