Definition and Annotation
Hsc
LHA101Week6lecture-Ourfirstacademicsub-genreDefinitionspart2Auto-saved.pptxLHA 101 Introduction to Arts and the Humanities
Semester 2, 2020
Week 6 lecture:
Our first academic genre – Definitions
(part 2)
What we covered last time – in Definitions (part 1)
Developing reading, note taking and writing skills
3-part grammar lesson on:
noun/nominal groups,
verbal groups and relating verbs
voice (active and passive)
This week focuses on developing reading, note-taking and writing skills to assist you in organising information effectively so you can use it for writing your assignments. In the first part of the class we will read an article about how different academic disciplines are organised into the three larger cultures of the sciences, social sciences and humanities according to three different criteria – the substance, methodology and type of argumentation that is part of each culture. In the second part we will do a grammar lesson on noun groups, verbal groups and the passive voice. In the final part we explore the Definition (sub-genre), which you have to write for your first written assessment in LHA 101, by examining its structure and some key language features.
What we are covering this week – in Definitions (part 2)
Structure and staging of the sub-genre of definitions
Organisation of the key language features in different parts of Definitions
This week focuses on developing reading, note-taking and writing skills to assist you in organising information effectively so you can use it for writing your assignments. In the first part of the class we will read an article about how different academic disciplines are organised into the three larger cultures of the sciences, social sciences and humanities according to three different criteria – the substance, methodology and type of argumentation that is part of each culture. In the second part we will do a grammar lesson on noun groups, verbal groups and the passive voice. In the final part we explore the Definition (sub-genre), which you have to write for your first written assessment in LHA 101, by examining its structure and some key language features.
Writing and analysing Definitions
From page 65 in your workbook
What IS a Definition?
A text or part of a text which defines something eg a concept or term, field or discipline or….anything really?
Why Definitions?
You’re probably going to have to write one because you will need to define your terms
You’re likely going to have to embed one in a longer essay
Sometimes you get a Definition prompt eg from Australian Studies:
Let’s explore Definitions…in terms of:
Social purpose
Structure (the stages they go through to realise the purpose)
Key language features (that make up the different stages)
Definition embedded in the apprenticeship article
Your turn: (p66)
Underline the relating verbs in the Definition
Take a pic of it
Upload the pic to the week 5 link which says:
or save for the one document upload
Your turn: worksheet 6.1 (from p67)
Read Sample text 6.2, a longer Definition from the Peters (1985) article (bottom of page 66-67)
With your small group, do the worksheet 6.1 on p67
Take a photo of it later and
Upload the photo to the link in the week 5 link on Moodle which says:
or save for the one doc upload
Structure and stages of a Definition
A General Statement of Identification (GSI) which introduces and defines the concept you are covering.
An Elaboration of the concept which provides further detail about the concept introduced in the GSI. This can cover sub-parts, explanations from references, and in the case of the Definition about a discipline or culture, what activities experts from that discipline are concerned with or undertake.
(And for your own Definition assignment) A reference list which lists the sources you’ve used to gather the information.
Sample text 6.2
| General Statement of Identification | The natural sciences are concerned with the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| Elaboration | Work in these disciplines involves looking for patterns and regularities in natural phenomena and working out descriptions of them that will explain and predict the occurrences of other things. The natural sciences also form a foundation for the applied sciences, for example: engineering, medicine and agriculture, as well as the “building science” side of architecture. (This last clearly has a footing in the humanities too). |
General Statement of Identification
starts with and thus introduces the concept to be defined
which lets the reader know what the topic is
using a nominal group that names the concept
Theme & New
In linguistics, we call the first element in a Text, paragraph, sentence or clause the Theme.
Everything that comes after that is called the New.
| The natural sciences | are concerned with the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| Theme | New |
So, in the case of the Peters (1985) article, we can say that The natural sciences is the Theme of both this section of the article and also of the first sentence. Everything that comes after the Theme we will call New, as it provides the new information to the reader about the Theme:
What is Theme?
The first part of a clause, sentence, paragraph or text
The “point of departure” in terms of the topic
What the text or part starts with
What is New?
The rest of the clause or sentence,
At paragraph and text level, the end of the paragraph or text
Tells what the rest of the content is about
Builds on what’s in the Theme
Gives more/new information about the Theme
Why are Theme and New important?
Because they help you understand how information is organised in a text, paragraph, sentence or clause
Because they help you WRITE better texts, paragraphs, sentences and clauses!
Because what we know is EVERYBODY appreciates a well-organised text!
Sentence structure here: 3 main elements
| The natural sciences | are concerned with | the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| nominal group (3 elements) | verbal group relating verb | nominal group (many elements) |
| Theme | New |
Notice how the sentence has three main parts: one nominal group at the start: The natural sciences. Then there is a verbal group, are concerned with, which is a relating verbal group that relates the natural sciences to the third part, which provides the definition.
Expanded noun groups in the third part of the sentence
| the | things | of the natural world |
| Pointer | Main Noun/Thing | Qualifier - phrase |
and with
| the | chemical, physical, biological and geological | processes | that contribute to our environment. |
| Pointer | Describer | Main Noun/ Thing | Qualifier - clause |
So the structure of the GSI is a noun group representing the concept in Theme position, which keeps the focus on the topic, typically followed by a relating verbal group and then a longer noun group which provides information about the definition of the concept, which in this case is the natural sciences.
Now let’s look at the GSI in one of the other Definitions in the same section of the Peters (1985) article.
GSI in one of the other Definitions parts in the Peters article
| The social sciences concern themselves with descriptions of the individual and society and relationships between them, again looking for patterns of individual and group behaviour. |
| The social sciences | concern themselves with | descriptions of the individual and society and relationships between them, |
| Theme | New |
nominal group
verbal group
nominal group
Let’s analyse the nominal group structure of the two second NGs
| descriptions | of the individual and society and relationships between them |
| patterns | of individual and group behaviour |
Third Definition in the “Substance” section of Peters
| The humanities have been expanding continuously over centuries, from the study of just grammar, logic and rhetoric to a vast array of languages and literatures, histories and philosophies and arts. But all humanistic disciplines essentially engage us in the study of human experience, its nature and its various forms. |
| The humanities | have been explanding | continuously over centuries | from the study of …to…. |
| all humanistic disciplines | essentially engage us | in the study of human experience, its nature and its various forms. | |
| Theme | New |
but
The sentence pattern is again the same, with the Theme position being occupied by the concept to be defined, but what is different in this Definition is the information about the concept comes more in the second sentence rather than the first. The first sentence focuses on the evolution of the humanities, as this is relevant to what the humanities are today.
Clause patterns of all 3 GSIs
| The natural sciences | are concerned with | the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| The social sciences | concern (themselves) with | descriptions of the individual and society and relationships between them, |
| all humanistic disciplines | essentially engage us in | the study of human experience, its nature and its various forms. |
| Noun group (the concept to be defined) | verbal group | Noun group (the definition of the concept) |
| Theme | New |
Your turn: middle of p71….
In your small groups discuss what else you notice….
and fill in the dotted lines
Take a pic later and
Upload to this link on Moodle :
or save for the one doc upload
2nd stage of a Definition: Elaboration
Where the concept introduced in the GSI gets elaborated on with further details, often using references.
The details depend on what the Definition is about
Your turn: bottom of p71…
Read the two sentences in the natural sciences Definition
Summarise what each sentence is saying about the natural sciences
Take a pic and upload it or save for the one doc upload
| General Statement of Identification | The natural sciences are concerned with the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| Elaboration | Work in these disciplines involves looking for patterns and regularities in natural phenomena and working out descriptions of them that will explain and predict the occurrences of other things. The natural sciences also form a foundation for the applied sciences, for example: engineering, medicine and agriculture, as well as the “building science” side of architecture. |
Thinking about university cultures vs disciplines
what disciplines look at: objects of study
what scholars in the disciplines do: activities
how disciplines relate to each other: relationships
| General Statement of Identification | The natural sciences are concerned with the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| Elaboration | Work in these disciplines involves looking for patterns and regularities in natural phenomena and working out descriptions of them that will explain and predict the occurrences of other things. The natural sciences also form a foundation for the applied sciences, for example: engineering, medicine and agriculture, as well as the “building science” side of architecture. |
Stages and phases of this Definition
| Stages | Phases | Text |
| General Statement of Identification | Objects of Study phase | The natural sciences are concerned with the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| Elaboration | Activities phase | Work in these disciplines involves looking for patterns and regularities in natural phenomena and working out descriptions of them that will explain and predict the occurrences of other things. |
| Relationship to other disciplines phase | The natural sciences also form a foundation for the applied sciences, for example: engineering, medicine and agriculture, as well as the “building science” side of architecture. |
*Note – you will need to annotate your own Definition like this
Underline the words that identify the phases
| Stages | Phases | Text |
| General Statement of Identification | Objects of Study phase | The natural sciences are concerned with the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| Elaboration | Activities phase | Work in these disciplines involves looking for patterns and regularities in natural phenomena and working out descriptions of them that will explain and predict the occurrences of other things. |
| Relationship to other disciplines phase | The natural sciences also form a foundation for the applied sciences, for example: engineering, medicine and agriculture, as well as the “building science” side of architecture. |
Underline the rest ✶ take a pic ✶upload to the link on Moodle which says:
Theme/New structure of the natural sciences Definition
| The natural sciences | are concerned with the things of the natural world and with the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes that contribute to our environment. |
| Work in these disciplines | involves looking for patterns and regularities in natural phenomena and working out descriptions of them that will explain and predict the occurrences of other things. |
| The natural sciences | also form a foundation for the applied sciences, for example: engineering, medicine and agriculture, as well as the “building science” side of architecture. |
| Theme | New |
Your turn: p77
In your groups, discuss and then fill in the Theme/New table for the humanities Definition, exactly like we’ve just done for the natural sciences one (which is your model)
Take a pic of it
Submit it to the link on Moodle which says:
or save for the one doc upload
So what have we covered in the past two weeks?
the sub-genre of Definition, its structure and organisation and some key language features. In order to do that, we’ve learned about:
nominal groups and nominalisation,
verbal groups, in particular relating verbs and how these connect those expanded nominal groups we so often find in academic texts.
the way the Theme is kept pretty stable in a Definition, keeping the focus on the topic at hand.
how to use a reading “scaffold” to enable us to skim and scan a reading for usefulness, and we used a note-taking matrix to take notes from a reading according to the way the reading was organised.
All this work is preparation for not just our next written assessment task, but also for our work at university and beyond.
Homework, tutorial and assignment preparation
On p75 & p76 you’ll find your homework
on p77 you’ll find the time management exercise for the Definition assessment – due 5pm Friday 2nd October
The 2nd assessment task: p77 Writing and analysing a Definition
Write a Definition (250 words max. 200 words min.) for a non-specialist audience which defines and describes in broad terms one of the disciplines you are studying, e.g. Cultural Studies, English, History, Indigenous Studies, International Studies, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology etc
Follow the structure of the Definition as modelled to you in class and ensure you define your chosen discipline and provide some elaborating details about it, which can include any of the following (or anything else you can think of that is relevant):
the object/s of study within the discipline
what the discipline is concerned with or about
the activities people in the discipline undertake
the fields or sub-fields that make up the discipline
what gets taught or learnt by students in the discipline
i.e. by the end of reading your Definition, the reader should be able to tell someone else what that discipline is about.
Let’s decode the essay prompt
Decoding the essay prompt
In your small groups, identify:
The Task word/s (command verbs or wh/yes-no questions)
The Focus of study (WHAT topic are you to focus on)
The Lens (How are you to focus on it)
Be prepared to share your answers with the whole class
Use the Peters (1985) article to locate your chosen discipline in one of the three cultures of the natural sciences, social sciences or humanities.
Compile and include a reference list of the sources you used to gather the information about your discipline – you need at least two sources in addition to Peters (1985). Follow the referencing conventions introduced to you in LHA 101.
TASK Part 2: (50%)
Analyse and annotate your Definition according to the annotation template provided to you
The 2nd assessment task: p77 Writing and analysing a Definition
A. In order to write your Definition, work independently through the following steps:
Research the specific academic discipline you will write about and make notes on the information you will include in the Definition. Make sure you keep a list of the references for your reference list.
Draft the Definition following the structure modelled to you in class.
Use the criteria in the marking guide on the next page to assess whether you’ve done everything that’s required.
Edit, redraft and proofread your Definition.
The 2nd assessment task: p77 Writing and analysing a Definition
B. In order to annotate your Definition, work through the following steps: A. Make a copy of your Definition by copying and pasting it into a table with columns for annotation (as per the Annotation guide on Moodle) on a new page below your actual first written Definition. B. Analyse and annotate the Definition according to the following:
The 2nd assessment task: p77 Writing and analysing a Definition
