Formulas of Scientific Communication

Establishing contacts   Agreeing   Disagreeing     Expressing surprise   Expressing uncertainty     Making contribution   Calling attention   Making assessment     Starting a conversation     Making remarks     Provoking arguments     Asking for details/ classification     Introducing opinions/ attitudes   Delaying an answer     Avoiding answering

I'm glad you've asked me that question.   Yes, indeed. I think you are entirely right. It appears to me to be true. I agree that.... That's just what I think   I am arguing against.... I would object just a little .... I object to.... I wish I could agree with you but....   It is rather surprising .... It is unbelievable .... I am puzzled by.... I wonder about.... I find it hard to believe that....   It seems unlikely that.... I have doubts about.... I am not at all sure about.... I am not yet certain... . I am doubtful whether.... I have been rather puzzled by.... I doubt it.   In connection with ... I would like to add ... . Let me add that ... . In addition, I would like to mention ... . I would add that ... .   I want to point out that ... . I would like to note ... . I would like to stress the importance of ... . It is worth pointing out that ... . I would like to draw your attention to ... . I would like to call attention to ... .   The paper raises an important question ... . This method is particularly important because ... The paper demonstrates how important it is to ... These results/data are of principal interest.   As far as I know... . What I have in mind is that....   I'd like to make a comment on.... I would like to comment on.... I have a point to make.   Would you agree with ... ? There seems to be some contradiction between your points of view. Does that mean you think ... ?     Could you be more specific about ... ? I am not clear about ... . Could you give us/me some more facts to back that up, please?   Well, I'd like to say that ... . What I think is ... .   Well, let me see ... . Well, now ... . That's a good question ... . Oh, let me think for a moment ... . It is rather difficult to answer this question ... . It's difficult to give you an exact answer, but ... . I'm not too sure, but ... . I've no idea, I'm afraid.     I have no particular theory for this fact, but.... I'm terribly sorry, I really don't know. Actually, I don't know.... I'd rather not answer that, if you don't mind.

D. Act out the situation.

Your paper has been accepted by the Organizing Committee. Today you are given the floor to present your research data. The time limit is six minutes. Make your presentation.

Make a presentation about your research work using questions below as a plan.

1. What Institute (faculty) did you graduate from?

2. When did you finish the University?

3. Did you carry out research work when you were a student?

4. What was the topic of your diploma?

5. What are you now? (a postgraduate or a competitor).

6. Why did you make up your mind to carry out research?

7. What field do you make your research in?

8. Who is your scientific adviser? Is he (she) a Doctor of Sciences or a Master of Sc. Ph. D.?

9. How did you come up with the topic of your thesis? What is it?

10. Why have you chosen this topic for your scientific work?

11. What is the aim of your investigations?

12. What questions are you going to consider in your thesis?

13. How much research work have you already done? ( collected the data, experiments, completed the theoretical / experimental section)

14. What is the subject- matter of your thesis?

15. Do you need to make experiments for your research?

16. How many chapters will your thesis contain?

17. What is the aim of your practical chapter?

18. What is the novelty of your research?

19. Have you already obtained any research results?

20. What method do you employ? Why?

21. Do the data/results allow you to come to any definite conclusion(s)?

22. Did you take part in any scientific conferences? Were the results of your research communicated to the conference?

23. Do you have any scientific articles published?

24. What informative periodicals do you use in your research (in Russian and in English)?

25. Do you keep in touch with other researchers in your field?

26. How often do you keep in touch with your scientific adviser?

27. Do you make reports on your research at your chair?

28. How many candidate degree exams have you already passed? How did you pass them?

29. When are you planning to defend your thesis?

30. Do you need the English language in your research work?

31. How are you going to use English in your life and work?

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS

Writing a research paper takes a lot of time and effort. It demands a thorough knowledge not only of the subject you are writing about, but also of the strategies for generating, verifying, substantiating and proving ideas. It is necessary to follow the structure, style, format and layout of the paper. The following guidelines will help you by providing a step-by-step explanation of the research-writing process.