English for Doctoral Students : Study Guide

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation 
Kazan National Research Technological University 
L. Gazizulina
ENGLISH FOR DOCTORAL 
STUDENTS
Study Guide 
Kazan 
KNRTU Press 
2022 

UDK 811.111.001.816(07) 
Published by the decision of the Editorial Review Board 
of the Kazan National Research Technological University 
Reviewers: 
PhD in Linguistics, Professor E. Semushina  
PhD in Linguistics, Professor N. Khayrullina 
Gazizulina L. 
English for Doctoral Students : Study Guide / L. Gazizulina; The Ministry 
of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Kazan National Research Technological University. – Kazan : KNRTU Press, 2022. – 108 p. 
ISBN 978-5-7882-3244-7 
The Study Guide contains texts, grammar materials and exercises aimed to 
expand skills of oral and written communication in academic environment. 
It also aims to help doctoral students get prepared for the candidate 
examination in English. 
The Study Guide is developed at the Foreign Languages for Professional 
Communication Department. 
UDK 811.111.001.816(07) 
ISBN 978-5-7882-3244-7 
© L. Gazizulina, 2022 
© Kazan National Research Technological 
University, 2022 
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C O N T E N T S
Introduction 
......................................................................................... 4 
Unit 1. CHOOSING A TOPIC OF A RESEARCH ........................... 5 
Unit 2. A RESEARCH DESIGN 
...................................................... 12 
Unit 3. RELEVANCE OF YOUR DISSERTATION TOPIC 
.......... 19 
Unit 4. LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................... 26 
Unit 5. METHODS OF RESEARCH 
............................................... 35 
Unit 6. EXPERIMENTS 
................................................................... 44 
Unit 7. RESULTS 
............................................................................. 53 
Unit 8. ACADEMIC WRITING 
....................................................... 63 
Unit 9. WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER 
...................................... 72 
Unit 10. HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT .................................. 81 
Tests 
.................................................................................................. 89 
Glossary .......................................................................................... 102 
Reference ........................................................................................ 107 
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
The role of the English language in the global academic environment 
has changed due to the global changes in the social, political, economic life 
of society. English has become a means of achieving professional growth 
and personal development. However, the need to quickly obtain relevant information, effectively use foreign sources of information may be a real challenge for doctoral students and young researchers. Studying English allows 
to solve the challenge and also gives young researchers the opportunity 
to participate in various forms of international academic communication: 
share the latest achievements in the field of science and practice (conferences, symposia, seminars, exhibitions; publication of scientific articles and 
abstracts in foreign journals). 
This Study Guide aims to develop the skills of using grammar and 
special vocabulary in professional communication. The complex of exercises 
consists of linguistic and communicative tasks with a special lexical 
and grammar focus. The content of the Study Guide is divided into ten units 
presenting the principal parts of scientific research. The topics of the texts 
are relevant for those who are getting started with a research project. The authentic texts provide brief but valuable information on the structure of a research process, relevance, research design, academic writing etc. Each unit 
also includes some basic information on grammar with examples and exercises. The lexical composition of the exercises is selected considering the future qualification of doctoral students – «Researcher. Lecturer-researcher» 
and is a fairly large volume of basic academic vocabulary. The Study Guide 
is supplemented with two appendices: the first appendix is a set of tests on 
the topics covered; the second appendix is a glossary which provides doctoral 
students with basic vocabulary necessary for academic communication. 
Thus, the vocabulary and grammar content of the Study Guide helps 
expand knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for doctoral students 
to carry out research work and defend a dissertation and also develops 
the skills of conducting professional and scientific activities in a foreign language environment. 
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U n i t  1 .  C H O O S I N G  A  T O P I C  O F  A  R E S E A R C H
A c t i v e  v o c a b u l a r y
Thesis 
Диссертация 
Topic 
Тема 
Field 
Поле, область 
Area 
Область, сфера 
To conduct 
Проводить 
Literature review 
Литературный обзор 
Relevant 
Актуальный 
Source 
Источник 
Identify (v) 
Определять 
Aim 
Цель 
Consider (v) 
Рассматривать, учитывать 
Check (v) 
Проверять 
Requirements 
Требования 
Availability 
Доступность 
Complete (v) 
Выполнить, завершить 
Access (v) 
Получить доступ 
Data 
Данные 
Thesis supervisor 
Научный руководитель 
Scientific 
Научный 
Determine (v) 
Определять 
Approve (v) 
Одобрять 
When you have to write a thesis or dissertation, it can be hard 
to know where to begin, but there are some clear steps you can follow. 
The research process often begins with a very broad idea for a topic you’d 
like to know more about.  
First you have to come up with some ideas. Your thesis or dissertation topic can start out very broad. Think about the general area or field 
you’re interested in.  
Conduct an initial literature review to begin gathering relevant 
sources. As you read, take notes and try to identify problems, questions, debates, contradictions and gaps. Your aim is to narrow down from a broad 
area of interest to a specific niche. 
Make sure to consider the practicalities: the requirements of your programme, the amount of time you have to complete the research, and how difficult it will be to access sources and data on the topic. Before moving onto 
the next stage, it’s a good idea to discuss the topic with your thesis supervisor. 
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Deciding on a topic for your thesis, dissertation or research project 
is the first step in your research. When choosing a topic, it’s important 
to consider: 
– Your institution and department’s requirements.
– Your areas of knowledge and interest.
– The scientific, social, or practical relevance.
– The availability of data and sources.
– The length and timeframe of your dissertation.
If you have no dissertation ideas yet, it can be hard to know where
to start. Follow these steps to begin narrowing down your ideas. 
Step 1. Check the requirements. 
Step 2. Choose a broad field of research. 
Step 3. Look for books and articles. 
Step 4. Find a niche. 
Step 5. Consider the type of research. 
Step 6. Determine the relevance. 
Step 7. Make sure it’s plausible. 
Step 8. Get your topic approved. 
(https://www.scribbr.com/category/research-process/) 
V o c a b u l a r y  e x e r c i s e s
Ex. 1. Translate from English into Russian: 
Thesis topic, the aim of the research, to conduct a research, scientific area, to determine the practical relevance, to access sources, to consider the requirements, to complete the research, the next stage, to identify 
problems, relevant sources, the availability of data, to discuss the topic with 
a thesis supervisor, get your topic approved, department’s requirements. 
Ex. 2. Translate from Russian into English: 
Научный руководитель, тема исследования, определить цель 
исследования, провести литературный обзор, собрать актуальные источники, делать заметки, широкая сфера интересов, учитывать практические вопросы, требования программы, выполнить исследование, получить доступ к источникам и данным, данные по теме исследования, 
следующий этап, важно рассмотреть, область знаний, научная актуальность, доступность данных, проверить требования, выбрать область исследования, искать книги и статьи, тема одобрена. 
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Ex. 3. Match the words from the columns to make up word combinations: 
To conduct 
the research 
To identify 
the aim 
To check 
the sources 
To determine 
the data 
To discuss 
the steps 
To find 
the topic 
To complete 
the problem 
To consider 
the requirements 
To access 
the practicalities 
To follow 
books and articles 
 
Ex. 4. Decide if the statements are true or false: 
1) You don’t need to have ideas before starting a research. 
2) You must think about a specific idea from the very beginning. 
3) You should gather relevant sources and data while conducting 
a literature review. 
4) It’s a good idea to take notes while reading. 
5) You don’t need to consider the requirements of your programme, 
and the amount of time to complete the research. 
6) You should discuss the topic with your thesis supervisor. 
7) You should consider your areas of knowledge and interest. 
8) It is easy to know where to start, even if you have no dissertation 
ideas yet. 
9) Getting your topic approved is another step to follow. 
10) There is no need to consider the type of research. 
 
Ex. 5. Answer the following questions: 
1) What is the topic of your research? 
2) What is the general area or field you’re interested in? 
3) Have you conducted an initial literature review? 
4) Have you got the access to sources and data on the topic? 
5) Have you discussed the topic with your thesis supervisor? 
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G r a m m a r  r e v i e w  
Verb tenses 
 
In English, verbs expressing actions and states can be used in the present, past and future tenses. Each of the tenses is divided into four subgroups: 
Simple (Simple), Continuous (Long), Perfect (Completed), Perfect Continuous (Long completed). 
Present Simple: I write – A common action that is repeated regularly. 
Present Continuous: I am writing – An action in progress, unfinished, happening at the moment. 
Present Perfect: I have written – An action in the past, result in the present. 
Perfect Continuous: I have been writing – А process has been going 
on for some period of time. 
Past Simple: I wrote – An action in the past that has nothing to do 
with the present. 
Past Continuous: I was writing – A developmental action that took 
place at a certain point in the past. 
Past Perfect: I had written – An action completed by a specific time 
in the past. 
Past Perfect Continuous: I had been writing – An action that started 
in the past and continued until a certain point in the past. 
Future Simple: I will write – An action that will happen in the future. 
Future Continuous: I will be writing – A developmental action taking 
place at a certain point in the future. 
Future Perfect: I will have written – An action that will be completed 
by some specific time in the future. 
Depending on the past tense forms (Past Simple and Participle II), 
English verbs are divided into regular and irregular. Regular verbs are 
those in which both of these forms are formed by adding the suffix -ed to 
the stem of the verb. Irregular verbs are verbs that form Past Simple and Participle II in other ways: by changing the root vowel, changing the root vowel, 
with the addition of the -en suffix for Participle II, changing final consonants, 
and in other ways. Forms of irregular verbs are often given in dictionaries 
and textbooks in the form of lists and are supposed to be learnt by heart. 
Interrogative sentences in English differ from narrative sentences 
in their construction. Most of them are characterized by inversion, that is, 
the reverse order of words. 
There are several types of questions, the most commonly used are 
general questions and special questions. The structure of the general question 
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is the basis for almost all other types. The answer to a general question is 
always the words «yes» or «no». 
Does she go to the lectures every week? – Ходит ли она на лекции 
каждую неделю? 
Has he already read this article? – Прочитал ли он уже эту статью? 
Special questions are used when you need to find out more specific 
information about an object or event. It is built as a general question, preceded by a question word (what, when, where, which, why, who, how). 
Where will you go tomorrow? – Куда Вы пойдете завтра? 
What are you doing? – Что Вы делаете? 
There is a special category of direct questions, questions to the subject, in which inversion (indirect word order) and auxiliary verbs are not 
used. These questions always start with «who» or «what» (for inanimate), 
followed by the usual direct word order. 
He teaches us Philosophy. – Who teaches us Philosophy? – Он преподает нам философию. – Кто преподает нам философию? 
An alternative question is needed when it is necessary to offer the alternate, two subjects to choose from. It is constructed in the same way as 
the general one, but its obligatory component is the conjunction «or», which 
separates two answer options.  
Do you study chemistry or physics? – Вы изучаете химию или физику? 
Did you use a classical or an innovative approach? – Вы использовали классический или инновационный подход? 
The tag question is used to clarify, to ask for confirmation of already 
known information. It is built like a regular affirmative sentence, at the end 
of which an interrogative phrase is added. 
She went to the conference yesterday, didn’t she? – Она уехала на 
конференцию вчера, не так ли? 
Interrogative phrases in English consist of an auxiliary verb in 
the form of the necessary tense and the subject of the original sentence. 
We have been working here for five years, haven’t we? – Мы работаем здесь в течение пяти лет, не так ли? 
One of the parts of the tag question must contain the word «not»: 
if the first part of the sentence contains a negative, then the interrogative 
phrase must be affirmative and vice versa. «Not» can only be used once, 
but must be used. 
Your colleagues go to London every year, don’t they? – Ваши коллеги ездят в Лондон каждый год, не так ли? 
Your colleagues don’t go to London every year, do they? – Ваши 
коллеги не ездят в Лондон каждый год, не так ли? 
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G r a m m a r  e x e r c i s e s  
Ex. 1. Translate the following sentences into Russian, determine 
the tense of the verb: 
1) We consider the requirements of our department. 
2) These are standard steps. 
3) The conference considered problems of theoretical and experimental research. 
4) Nils Bohr worked in the area of quantum mechanics. 
5) My paper will consist of several sections: an introduction, materials and methods, experimental results, and discussion.  
6) We are looking for more relevant books and articles. 
7) I am reading interesting scientific journals. 
8) I have lately been very busy writing my doctoral thesis. 
9) In recent years, electron microscopy has identified a lot of important data in the structure of microorganisms. 
10) Your aim is to narrow down from a broad area of interest 
to a specific niche. 
 
Ex. 2. Make the sentences from ex. 1 negative. 
Example: We consider the requirements of our department. – 
We don’t consider the requirements of our department. 
 
Ex. 3. Make the sentences from ex. 1 sentences interrogative. 
Example: We consider the requirements of our department. – What 
do we consider? 
 
Ex. 4. Complete the following sentences with information related 
to your research. 
Example: I study ... – I study oxidative phosphorylation. 
1) I conduct … 
2) I will complete …  
3) I am using … 
4) I am checking … 
5) I will … 
6) Recently I have … 
7) I have already … 
8) Last year I did … 
9) I found … 
10) I published my first paper … 
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