3.Urban Planning Flashcards
Using reference material
If you cannot find a topic in a reference book or index, look under other related words to search for that topic.
For example:
(near) synonyms, e.g. scheme/plan
more general or topic words, e.g. biology/science
Selecting information
Before you write, you should:
■ decide who you are writing for and why
■ make notes
■ select only relevant information
Brainstorming
Before writing, brainstorm for ideas:
Set a time for brainstorming, e.g. five or ten minutes.
■ Quickly write down everything you can about the topic in that time.
■ Don’t worry about what is more or less important.
■ At the end of the time read, organize, select, and prioritize your notes.
Collocations (1)
Collocation are words which frequently appear together. Recognizing these collocations helps you understand a text better and improve your reading speed.
If you use them in your writing, it will sound more natural.
Some common collocations are formed by:
■ adjectives and nouns, e.g. urban planning
■ verbs and nouns, e.g. do research
Always record these words together.
Searching the Internet efficiently (1)
Choose an appropriate Internet site.■ For general information, e.g. the history of Pakistan, use a subject directory such as http://bubl.ac.uk/ or http://www.rdn.ac.uk/
■ For more specific information, e.g. urban planning in Indonesia, use a search engine such as www.google.com or www.yahoo.com
■To check a fact, e.g. the date of the independence of India, use an online encyclopaedia such as www.bartleby.com
On some search engines, such as http://uk.ask.com you can ask direct questions, e.g. Who designed Canberra?
Searching the Internet efficiently (2)
Before doing research on the Internet, plan what and how you are going to search. Ask:
■ What is my search topic?
■ What are the key words or phrases? Write synonyms of the key words.
Use quotation marks for phrases. For example:
If you search urban planning, you will find sites with the words urban and planning. These words might not be connected.
If you search “urban planning”, you will find sites which have these words together.
To make your search more specific:
■ Use + or AND to find information together, e.g. “urban planning” +Brazil.
■ Use - or NOT to remove information you do not need, e.g. if you want information on urban planning but not in Europe, search “urban planning” -Europe.
Text cohesion
In well-written academic texts, ideas and arguments have continuity from one paragraph to another. This is done by:
■ rephrasing key words or expressions
■ repeating key words or expressions
■ ending a paragraph with a question which is answered in the next
■ maintaining the grammatical subject of the last sentence of the paragraph in the first sentence of the next
■ using phrases which refer back to a previous paragraph or forward to the next
Paragraph purpose
Each paragraph in a text has a clear purpose. For example:
■ The first paragraph introduces the topic, states the purpose of the text, or describes a problem or situation.
■ The body paragraphs develop arguments, try to persuade, suggest solutions, or describe developments.
■ The final paragraph concludes, evaluates, or discusses consequences.
Identifying the purpose of each paragraph helps you understand the text and decide where to find useful information.
Prioritizing
Select the information you need for your essay. Put it in a logical order.
In a discursive essay or article, the most important topics usually come first.
The order of importance will depend on who you are writing for, and why.
