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Data commentary in science writing: Using a small, specialized corpus for formative self-assessment practices

Nordrum, Lene LU and Eriksson, Andreas (2015) 70. p.59-84
Abstract
Data commentary, the verbal comment on visual material, is a complex area in science writing; yet, few studies in academic writing focus on it, and teaching material is often too generic to be of use for students. This chapter presents an approach to addressing the teaching and learning of data commentary in ESP writing courses within the science disciplines involving direct application of a small, specialized corpus of data commentaries drawn from published research articles and master theses, all annotated for rhetorical moves. We exemplify how formative self-assessment practices of data commentaries can be developed from corpus-informed computer-assisted learning activities combining bottom-up corpus analysis with top-down discourse... (More)
Data commentary, the verbal comment on visual material, is a complex area in science writing; yet, few studies in academic writing focus on it, and teaching material is often too generic to be of use for students. This chapter presents an approach to addressing the teaching and learning of data commentary in ESP writing courses within the science disciplines involving direct application of a small, specialized corpus of data commentaries drawn from published research articles and master theses, all annotated for rhetorical moves. We exemplify how formative self-assessment practices of data commentaries can be developed from corpus-informed computer-assisted learning activities combining bottom-up corpus analysis with top-down discourse analysis, and outline a methodology for self-assessment practices involving three general types of exercises. Our approach serves to illustrate how a small, specialized corpus and purposefully crafted learning activities can be designed to assist students in pursing ownership of task requirements and monitoring their learning through continuous self-assessment. Such facilitation is of crucial value today as pedagogical and curricular developments in science education increasingly emphasize students’ awareness of communicative practices. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
data commentary, corpus-based genre pedagogy, self-assessment, multi-modality
categories
Higher Education
host publication
Learner Corpora in Language Testing and Assessment [SCL 70]
editor
Callies, Marcus and Götz, Sandra
volume
70
pages
59 - 84
publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company
external identifiers
  • scopus:85043229743
ISBN
9789027203786
project
Agency in academic writing
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
401c5e1c-a145-418a-89bd-c221d0afa632 (old id 5038387)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:30:10
date last changed
2022-04-16 03:32:17
@inbook{401c5e1c-a145-418a-89bd-c221d0afa632,
  abstract     = {{Data commentary, the verbal comment on visual material, is a complex area in science writing; yet, few studies in academic writing focus on it, and teaching material is often too generic to be of use for students. This chapter presents an approach to addressing the teaching and learning of data commentary in ESP writing courses within the science disciplines involving direct application of a small, specialized corpus of data commentaries drawn from published research articles and master theses, all annotated for rhetorical moves. We exemplify how formative self-assessment practices of data commentaries can be developed from corpus-informed computer-assisted learning activities combining bottom-up corpus analysis with top-down discourse analysis, and outline a methodology for self-assessment practices involving three general types of exercises. Our approach serves to illustrate how a small, specialized corpus and purposefully crafted learning activities can be designed to assist students in pursing ownership of task requirements and monitoring their learning through continuous self-assessment. Such facilitation is of crucial value today as pedagogical and curricular developments in science education increasingly emphasize students’ awareness of communicative practices.}},
  author       = {{Nordrum, Lene and Eriksson, Andreas}},
  booktitle    = {{Learner Corpora in Language Testing and Assessment [SCL 70]}},
  editor       = {{Callies, Marcus and Götz, Sandra}},
  isbn         = {{9789027203786}},
  keywords     = {{data commentary; corpus-based genre pedagogy; self-assessment; multi-modality}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{59--84}},
  publisher    = {{John Benjamins Publishing Company}},
  title        = {{Data commentary in science writing: Using a small, specialized corpus for formative self-assessment practices}},
  volume       = {{70}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}