Swales' Four Moves

According to John Swales, a professor of linguistics at The University of Michigan, all science journal articles mak four rhetorical moves in their introductions. These moves are designed to show to readers that the article is worth reading and that it has something new to say. These moves do not always occur in the same order, but they are always present. The four moves are:

1. Announce the topic and show its importance.
2. Review and summarize previous research pertinent to the topic.
3. Make a gap in the previous research, showing that it is incomplete in some way.
4. Introduce the author's present research as filling that gap.

The title of Graff and Birkenstein's book on argumentation condenses these four moves to just two: They say, I say.

Good blogging = Telling a good story

Chris Garrett of Performancing has a few paragraphs and pointers on good blogging as "telling a good story." Garrett notes that the 17 pointers need to consider the context and audience: For example, humor is not appropriate for all audiences. Some tips should always be considered, such as: "start with a good title."

Working memory

I was working with the bibliographic and research note software Citation about a month ago and found out how to use its research function to download bibliography information directly into my datafile. What a savings of time! Well, I was just trying it again and can't remember how I did it. I had to go back to the manual, and no wonder: it's just a copy and paste of the abstract information. It's not quite perfect, however. Perhaps, I need to review it a little more to better understand it. I can't imagine that the company wouldn't have figured this out yet. Even so, I do like the way it lets you add notes to your sources, search them, and so on.

Cute Overload

Cute Overload has lots of "cute" photos. They say:

At Cute Overload®, we scour the Web for only the finest in Cute Imagery™. Imagery that is Worth Your Internet Browsing Time. We offer an overwhelming amount of cuteness to fill your daily visual allowance. Drink it in!

Springdoo: talking emails

Springdoo is a way of adding voice to your emails. Basically, you record your voice to an online storage place, copy the site location, paste it into your email, and send it: Podcasting without the iPod. Distant grandparents will love it!