Clear = an active verbs that's taken some account of the papers visuality, how it will be read quickly

person

no 1st or 2nd person anywhere
impersonal 3rd person ok

• this literature review...
• this review...

passives also occasionally ok, though not in the results section 

• it is stated that
• it is reasoned that

notice how in this one you can consistently see the writers trying to determine what distinguishes the lonely from the lonely--TO DISTINGUISH is a research verb, active verb, etc., and trying to distinguish the lonely from the non-lonely is the organizing operation of the section--either way, the section is coherent

link to research verbs

use research verbs for the road map; that's how to get one of those really good sentences for each subsection i've been talking about, one that

• reviews what the section does in the context of that subsection, using the topoi as a way to make what was already implicit in your reseults section explicit 

methods section draft ; organizing operation = this paper compares, divides, defines, etc.

Remember that

• This methods section that's due this Friday is an opportunity for you to "write yourself into" the language that you want to use for later on. By that I simply mean, use it mostly as an opportunity for you to really push your thinking and try to produce those really good road map sentences like in the example, sentences that explain what organizing operation the section does, possibly in the form of a topoi. The best possible thing that could happen is that you figure out a clearer and more effective way of communicating what you were trying to communicate. The topoi will really help here.
• But this is a more informal exercise. Where it really counts will be in the final literature paper that's due on the 12th. 
• Be sure that this is in a separate document that's labeled appropriately on the blog.
• also remember that you're trying to re-think your search strategy--not the strategy of the other researchers whose articles you read. 
• the purpose of the methods section is to provide enough information so that another researcher could exactly replicate your search process to find all of your same articles in the same way that you did. 
• organizing operation = the research verbs and active verbs we were talking about. the methods section is supposed to be passive, and, although I used active, I didn't use I: I used "This literature review compares..." Either way, you can't use the first or second person ever. No "I." No "We." No "you."

before and after

notice how I (a) write one very long sentence that's contextualized within the specific section it refers to; (b) explain what the section does in terms of its organization logic (i.e., compare and contrast); and then also (c) recapitulate the entire section, with the idea that a busy reader could get the picture of the entire thing without even having to go to the section if he or she needed to

but I do this in one long sentence. also notice the active verb. but what I did was put the subject as "this review." regardless, it's important to note that you can't use the first person at all (neither "I" nor "we"), and that it because the literature review wasn't written as a team, and the first person singular is disallowed by the genre

as a result, it's not as though you need two sentences, each that do different things. you only really need one good sentence that, in a way, makes the reading of the section necessary--and you need to do this for each subsection

research verbs

Here's a great link to good verbs to use for the results section.

better example of more developed road map; for us, the roadmap goes at the bottom of the methods section; note the passive voice

example of methods section (warning: this example has a scant road map. yours will need to be significantly more developed than this)

weak verbs

Remember, there is a verb component in the rubric for your result section. I'm asking that your usage of verbs approximate published literature reviews in the field of public health. This approximation will require you to write a first draft before revising out weak and passive verbs and revising in more active verbs. Also remember the exception to this rule, which is the baby intro/road map/research question part and, for now, the discussion section. This contradiction refers us to the ideology of social sciences and does not concern us. Again, an attention to verbs and organization is an activity that is only realistically possible in a paper's revision stage; and in that way, "a" papers will certainly evidence a going-back-through and revising of the paper at the level of verb usage, sure, but also organization, which encompasses the emphasis on transitions, topoi, themes, and subsections. 

thematic continuity + transitions + active verbs

What I want you to notice here is the thematic continuity across the two paragraphs of the subsection. The subsection is entitled "adolescence." And then, even a paragraph later, adolescence is still being talked about. This is the topoi of time or duration.

Also notice the transition words and the active verbs.

You'll also notice other topoi, such as prevalence and likelihood. But time dominants.

Arrangement of the sections

Notice the baby intro/road map first. I said on Friday that I don't mind whether your research question is embedded into the road map paragraph or not, but it definitely needs to be there. In the AJPH and thus AMA literature review we looked at, the research question is in bullet points. But in the APA ones, they seem to be more embedded. 

Also notice how the sections go

1. Introduction

Technically the research question + road map goes here. 

1.1. Methods/Search Strategy

2. Results

2.1. Theme One (don't call it this; it has to have a helpful title [see rubric])

2.2. Theme Two

2.3. Etc.

2.4. Etc. 

3. Discussion

And, also technically, the answer to your research question goes here. 

Also notice how the verbs will tend to be more passive in the intro and more active in the results section.

reminder about the application of topoi in the results section

Remember, I'm not saying you should apply the topoi to every paragraph. Some paragraphs will be so contextualized in the research of someone else's study that they won't call for a topoi. However, the more paragraphs in the themed subsection, the more that subsection will call for a topoi--that is, for you to write the paragraphs, first, and then, second, ask: what was I trying to do with these three paragraphs? What was I trying to accomplish? How could I re-tool these three paragraphs so that an implicit order already in them would be made explicit? Was I really doing a

• compare and contrast?
• defining something?
• dividing into parts?
• talking about likelihood?
• prevalence?
• size or magnitude? 
• appearance versus reality?

And so on. But I do want to emphasize that these are an afterthought. This level of attention to verbs and organization occurs later in a paper's revision stage. 

baby intro = road map

Here is the road-map from one of the literature reviews we looked at. What I've highlighted is the paragraph's form, thus trying to convert it into a kind of topoi or model you can follow. You'll see that the road map/baby intro

• contends
• asserts 
• highlights (notice the passives and the lack of the first person singular)
• and then goes into how it is organized (p) 
• what is draws on theoretically to do so
• what they define and how
• what each of the sections do and how they do it, plus
• how it fits into the field

As I was doing this, I noticed that the verbs here are more passive than active. The reason why is you can't use the first person, but you're still having to talk about what the research is doing and plan to do, which is a form of activity. As a result, the baby intro/road map should be more passive, while the results sections should be more active.

a better look at the de facto verb distribution in public health

active verbs