How to write a research article in English. Theory and practice = Как написать исследовательскую статью на английском языке. Теория и практика

С.В. Боголепова

HOW TO WRITE 
A RESEARCH ARTICLE 
IN ENGLISH

Theory and practice

КАК НАПИСАТЬ 
ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКУЮ СТАТЬЮ 
НА АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ

Теория и практика

Учебное пособие

Москва
Издательство «ФЛИНТА»
2022

УДК 811.111(075.8)
ББК 81.432.1я73
Б74

Ре це нзе нты:
Н.А. Гунина — канд. филол. наук, доцент, зав. кафедрой «Иностранные языки 
и профессиональная коммуникация» ФГБОУ ВО «Тамбовский государственный 
технический университет»;
Е.В. Шадрова — канд. пед. наук, доцент кафедры английского языка
ФГБОУ ВО «Вологодский государственный университет»
Авто р
Боголепова Светлана Викторовна — канд. филол. наук,
доцент Школы иностранных языков Национального исследовательского 
университета «Высшая школа экономики», автор более 40 статей в российских 
и международных рецензируемых журналах
Редактор
Дэвид Коннолли — консультант и редактор Центра академического письма 
Национального исследовательского университета «Высшая школа экономики», 
автор статей в международных рецензируемых журналах и пособий
по академическому письму

Б74 

Боголепова С.В.
How to write a research article in English. Theory and practice. = 
Как написать исследовательскую статью на английском языке. Теория и 
практика : учебное пособие / С.В. Боголепова ; под ред. Д. Коннолли. 
— Москва : ФЛИНТА, 2022. — 108 с. — ISBN 978-5-9765-4647-9. — 
Текст : электронный.

  Значительная часть зарубежных журналов и все больше российских изданий требуют, чтобы структура исследовательских статей соответствовала 
структуре IMRAD, т.е. чтобы статья содержала введение (возможно, с включением обзора литературы), описание методов исследования, анализ результатов исследования и их обсуждение. Каждый из перечисленных элементов 
исследовательской статьи подразумевает определенное содержание, структуру и использование определенного языка. Овладение ими позволяет ускорить 
и упростить работу над статьей. В пособии мы рассматриваем требования к 
содержанию и структуре отдельных элементов исследовательской статьи на 
английском языке. Мы анализируем язык, используемый для осуществления 
целей, диктуемых содержательными и структурными особенностями элементов статьи. Теоретическая информация изложена доступно и сопровождается 
примерами из исследовательских статей и практическими заданиями с ответами. Пособие может использоваться для самостоятельной работы.

УДК 811.111(075.8)
ББК 81.432.1я73

ISBN 978-5-9765-4647-9 
© Боголепова С.В., 2022
© Издательство «ФЛИНТА», 2022

Contents

Preface  ...............................................................................................................4

Academic English  .............................................................................................6

Academic Vocabulary  .....................................................................................11

Literature Review  ............................................................................................15

Materials and Methods  ....................................................................................32

Results  .............................................................................................................49

Discussion  .......................................................................................................58

Introduction and Conclusion  ...........................................................................75

Abstract and Title  ............................................................................................89

Closing Remarks  ...........................................................................................103

Resources  ......................................................................................................105

Appendix  .......................................................................................................106

PREFACE

This book is for researchers planning to write research articles 
in English. It will make you aware of what is expected for each part 
of a research article in terms of content, structure and language. 
Through exposure to authentic texts, you will form an understanding 
of the features of English academic writing. You will use the tips and 
language to create your own arguments, paragraphs and texts.
The book is structured as follows. The fi rst two chapters, 
“Academic English” and “Academic Vocabulary”, raise the readers’ 
awareness of the specifi c features of academic writing in English. 
The chapters after these focus on each section of a research article: 
introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and 
abstract. In each of these chapters there are two parts: theory and 
practice. Theory explains what is expected of a particular section in 
terms of structure, content, and language. Examples and schematic 
representations are provided. Extracts from research articles 
published in peer-reviewed journals illustrate the paragraph structure 
and linguistic expectations. Practice starts with text analysis and 
drills. Then, tasks in which the learner is asked to come up with 
elements of their own article can be found. The learner is provided 
with functional phrases, which allow them to construct their own 
texts. These structures help writers to communicate their ideas 
accurately, concisely and clearly.
Every chapter has a linguistic focus related to the purpose of 
the relevant section of an article. For example, when describing 
the research methods, researchers are more likely to use the 
passive voice as the description centres on the object the research, 
the participants and the procedures, but not on the researchers 
themselves. Therefore, the use of passive structures is practised in 
the chapter, and the user of the book learns to effectively combine 
passive and active structures in their writing. For the “Literature 

Review” chapter reporting verbs and paraphrasing are the focus; 
hedging and tentative language are introduced in the “Discussion”.
Academic vocabulary is an integral part of English for Research 
Publication Purposes (ERPP). In each chapter you will practice the 
use of such vocabulary in authentic contexts. However, this may not 
be enough. Write out the vocabulary units you want to remember and 
try using them in your own writing. The circulation of core academic 
vocabulary throughout the book will aid its memorisation. Use 
the resources you can access via the provided links and go beyond 
the book to learn more about the meaning and the use of academic 
vocabulary and structures.

ACADEMIC ENGLISH

Academic English is a broad notion. It incorporates the language 
that is used by students from different disciplines when they write 
essays and dissertations, and it is also the language researchers use 
in their articles. It includes the language of the natural sciences and 
the humanities.
Why is it necessary to know the conventions of academic 
writing? When you write academic papers, you need to signal that 
you are part of the discourse community — a community of people 
sharing values and goals, and what is most important, language.
Academic language has several features that you should be 
aware of. Here they are outlined, and further detail is given in later 
chapters. Academic language is objective, not personal. It means you 
do not usually express your opinion. If you do, you do it cautiously 
with supporting evidence and examples.
Academic language is more complex than spoken language. It 
is characterised by longer words and sentences, and more complex 
structures, for example:

Quantitative analysis identifi ed a tendency that students who 
experienced online collaboration that was better than in-class also 
tended to feel that they learned more at home, with 52% of those 
who thought collaboration was better than in class reporting that 
they learned more at home, while 67% of those who thought the 
collaboration was less helpful than in class thought they learned less 
at home.
(DOI: 10.1080/1475939X.2020.1854337)

Formality means the avoidance of words and phrases you are 
likely to use when speaking informally. You use less frequent but 
more specifi c words. They allow the author to convey a meaning 
more precisely.

Table 1

Frequent vocabulary units and their less frequent equivalents

A frequent word
Less frequent, but more specifi c equivalents

to say
to announce, to maintain, to report, to state, to voice

little
insuffi cient, insignifi cant, limited

people
human beings, the public, community

The other features are precision and explicitness. In academic 
language, facts and numbers are given precisely. In an academic 
text, you need to explain in detail every step you take in your 
research. When you are writing in English, you are responsible for 
making everything clear for the reader. You show that all parts of 
your text are related and use special linguistic devices to show these 
connections.
Academic writing is clearly organised. Usually when you are 
writing an academic paper, you know what structure is expected 
of you and you follow it strictly. In an IMRAD article, each part 
answers a particular question. The backbone of an article are the 
research questions. The fl ow of your paper should be seamless and 
easy to follow.

Table 2

The parts of an IMRAD article and the questions they answer

Abstract
What are the background, the objective, the 
methods and the results?

Introduction
What is the context of the research?
What are the gaps and contradictions in 
previous research?
What are the research questions?

Why?

Table 2 (continued)

Methods
What did the authors do to answer the 
research questions?
How?

Results
What were the answers to each question?
How can the fi ndings be summarised in 
tables and fi gures?

What?

Discussion + 
Conclusion
What is the signifi cance of the results?
How does it fi t with other research on the 
topic?

So what?

References
How can the sources be found?

One more important feature of academic writing is that its main 
aim is to persuade the reader. In different parts of an article, you 
convince the reader that your research question is important and 
well-grounded, that the research methods have been chosen correctly, 
and that the conclusions you make are justifi ed. An important reason 
for articles being rejected by journals is poor argumentation and 
logical reasoning.
Read the statements about the features of scientifi c argumentation 
and tick those that are true. You will fi nd the answers at the end of 
the chapter.
1. Words like ‘very’ ‘extremely’ ‘strongly’ or ‘always’ indicate 
that you are trying to convince the reader of your position by 
using emotion rather than argument and evidence.
2. Emotional persuasion is acceptable in scientifi c writing.
3. You should state, not imply, important information.
4. Important information should be placed fi rst or last in a 
sentence.
5. Less important information should be discussed in depth as 
well.
6. Special verbal signals are often used to indicate important 
information.
7. The discussion is guided by the main fi ndings and their 
implications.

People from different cultures think and write differently. 
Russians, for example, tend to deviate from the main idea and add 
unrelated information (Kaplan, 1966). The image below illustrates 
the alleged thinking patterns of individuals pertaining to different 
cultures. To be successful in academic writing in English, you need 
to understand what conventions, or rules you need to follow. The socalled Anglo-Saxon academic writing style is straightforward: you 
have to develop an idea throughout the paper.

(https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1966.tb00804.x)

Knowing how to structure arguments is essential for successful 
academic writing. In an argument you make a claim, that is, you 
state an idea or an assumption and you provide proof for your claim. 
In some cases, you will outline the objections other people provide 
and refute them. You may also draw a conclusion summarising your 
claim and support.
The basic unit of academic writing — the paragraph — follows 
the argument structure. In a paragraph you have a topic sentence that 
states the claim, supporting sentences that provide proof, evidence, 
and examples, and, possibly but not obligatorily, a closing sentence, 
which echoes the claim. This structure resembles a hamburger.
Look at the example paragraph. The claim, given in bold in the 
topic sentence, is that in non-English-speaking countries researchers 
face diffi culties in publication activity. The proof is underlined: 
insuffi cient linguistic competence impedes understanding. Note that 
the evidence presented is referenced.

In non-Anglophone contexts other issues prevent publication 
activity. In academic environments where English is a non-native 
language, insuffi cient linguistic competence and unawareness 
of anglo-american academic conventions are believed to be the 
dominant issues (Frumina & West, 2012; Gea-Valor, Rey-Rocha, 
& Moreno, 2014; Min, 2014; Olsson, & Sheridan, 2012). Even 
researchers from European countries experience diffi culties on 
the levels of lexis, grammar and rhetoric (Perez-Llantada, Plo, 
& Ferguson, 2011). Academics are “linguistically constrained in 
writing their papers in English”, and this is felt as “burdensome” 
(ibid., p. 206); therefore, scholars “heavily rely on external help to 
cope with linguistic issues” (Fernandez, & Varela, 2009, p. 159). In 
humanities and social sciences, linguistic demands may be higher 
than in hard sciences (Gnutzmann, Rabe, 2014). There is a fear that 
the incorrect use of English can impede reviewers’ understanding of 
the main message (Min, 2014), which actually happens at times and 
leads to rejections.

(https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/books/emerging/chapter4.pdf)

To summarise, academic writing is diffi cult, even for native 
speakers, and should be purposefully mastered. It is different from 
the language we use on an everyday basis. Through academic 
writing, you engage in a dialogue with your readers without even 
knowing them. You need to provide clear argumentation and 
carefully organise your writing. You need to be precise and explicit 
to convince your reader. This involves not only writing but also 
thinking. Have I provided suffi cient argumentation to persuade you 
that you need to get the grasp of academic English?

Answers

True: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7.