LING2020/6020 Structure of English Semester 1, 2024
Research Essay
Due: 3 June 5.00pm
Worth: 40%
Word length: LING2020: 1800~2000 words; LING6020 2000~2400 words
Topic
Select one standard variety of English (e.g. Standard Australian/American/British English), and
compare it with another variety (e.g. another standard variety, or other – Appalachian English, Irish
English, Northern England, Indian English, Nigerian English, African American English, Multicultural
London English, etc.). Identify a grammatical feature or a set of grammatical features (up to four) to
compare across the varieties, using the linguistic skills and terminology learned in the course.
Consider the kinds of dialectal differences that we have talked about in the lectures and the
tutorials, and look at the past student essays to get ideas of what kinds of features you might want
to examine.
The varieties you select and the features you analyse must be submitted for approval by 2 May.
STRUCTURE
Your paper should include the following information; the best structure for your paper will depend
on the feature(s) and varieties you examine. Note that “description of features” is the main section,
and should constitute around 60% of your essay, with the other sections contributing 10~20% each.
NB: example sentences and references are not included in the word count.
Title
Introduction, including background on the varieties studied
Choice of grammatical features and rationale (what are the features, why are they
interesting?); the source of the data you use
Description of the features, comparing across the two varieties
Conclusion
References
GENERAL ADVICE
Try to write simply, clearly and accessibly. And be consistent! Re-read your paper before you submit
it. Does it still make sense?
Second language speakers of English — we understand that your research papers may diverge from
standard written academic English, and will not penalise you for a few errors.
ANU has several support services that are free for ANU coursework students and are offered by staff
who are trained in giving advice on the writing (essay structure, clear delivery, language usage,
grammatical mistakes) and not the content, to ensure that what you submit is your own work. You
should note any help you receive in an initial acknowledgement footnote, e.g. ‘Thanks to XXX who
proof-read the paper/corrected the English/gave advice on structure/…. ‘
• ANU library drop-in sessions: No appointment needed, drop in for very quick questions, e.g.
understanding the requirements of an assignment, drafting a plan for an essay.
• ANU library writing coaches: Appointment needed, 30-min consultation for writing feedback.
• Studiosity: Online platform for proof reading.
The article linked to here is a good overview for structuring journal articles:
https://writingajournalarticle.wordpress.com/structure/structure-the-paper/
Examples
You will need to provide examples to illustrate the features you are examining. Examples may come
from the existing literature, a corpus you have access to, a native speaker you know, or your own
native speaker intuitions. Make sure you indicate the source of all examples, including those that
you (or another native speaker) make up. If most examples come from the one source, then put a
footnote at the start indicating that. E.g. ‘All examples come from …, unless indicated otherwise.’
Set example sentences off from the text and number them. Give a word-by-word gloss so that the
reader can interpret your sentence. Here’s an example modified from Disbray (2008, p. 40). The
speaker is using Wumpurrarni English, an English-lexified creole spoken in Tennant Creek and
surrounding areas.
(1) Wat skul-kana dei go-in? [Wumpurrarni English]
what school-to they go-Progressive
‘What school are they going to?’ [Standard Australian English; modified from Disbray (2008:40)]
READING AND REFERENCING
In writing your paper you must read, discuss and cite scholarly references. Part of the task of writing
a paper at the university level is finding appropriate references. Your paper should show that you
have learned more about some topic than what was presented in class or in your prescribed reading.
Showing that you understand what you have read and that you have thought carefully about it is key
(i.e. don’t just cite a paper for the sake of having a larger reference list).
Finding appropriate references
LING2020 students need to include at least 5 academic references (5 = Pass level).
LING6020 students need to include at least 6 academic references (6 = Pass level).
Where to find references
Some useful references to get you started (and which should help lead you to other references)
• Kortmann, Bernd and Kerstin Lunkenheimer (eds). 2012. The Mouton World Atlas of
Variation in English. Berline: De Gruyter. (Online in ANU library)
• Trudgill, Peter and J. K. Chambers. 1990. Dialects of English : Studies in Grammatical
Variation. London, UK: Taylor & Francis Group. (Online in ANU library)
• Trudgill, Peter and Jean Hannah. 2017. International English: A Guide to Varieties of English
Around the World. London, UK: Taylor & Francis Group. (Online in ANU library)
• Willoughby, Louisa and Howard Manns. 2019. Australian English Reimagined: Structure,
Features and Developments. Milton, UK: Taylor & Francis Group. (Online in ANU library)
• References in Börjars & Burridge (2019) on "English around the World"
• Use electronic resources to find references for paper topics, e.g. through the ANU library’s website
are SuperSearch, JSTOR, the Linguistics and Language Behaviour Abstracts (LLBA), the Humanities
Citation Index, and the MLA International Bibliography.
• CAUTION! Database searches are likely to throw up some references that are too full of linguistic
terms and theories that we haven’t discussed in class. Don’t try to present a discussion which you
don’t feel equipped at this point to understand. Stick with references aimed at a broader audience.
Corpora
You may find the following useful for finding illustrative examples
• Collins Wordbanks Online: 50 million words from a wide range of written and spoken
genres, and accounts for no less than 8 varieties of English (Available online via the ANU
library; search through 'Journals', and request a password to access).
• The corpus of Global Web-based English (GloWbE): About 1.9 billion words of text from
twenty different countries. You need to register to access; you can register for free, but
there is a limit on the number of searches you can do per day.
What to be careful with
• It is fine to use electronically produced professional journals or refereed conference papers.
Include the URL or DOI for the material you cite, along with the date you access it.
• Be very cautious about non-academic materials available only on the Web. Material available on
the Web is quite variable in quality, and you need to look for reliable material that is peer-reviewed.
• Do not use class notes or Wikipedia as references. They are good starting-points for finding
sources. They are not peer-reviewed authorities.
Acknowledging your sources: Students new to Australian academic writing often have difficulties in
knowing when to cite sources, and how to cite them.
• If you use someone else’s ideas, you can paraphrase them, but you must give the reference to the
source (including the page number(s) if it is not an online source). But make sure that you also
develop and present your own ideas here, not just paraphrase what others have said.
• If you use someone else’s words, then you MUST acknowledge this. Put quotation marks around
the words and give the reference to the source, including the page number(s). If you use sentences
or phrases from another person’s work without using quotation marks, then this is treated as
plagiarism. It is not enough just to give a general reference to the source. Your readers need to know
what your words are, and what your source’s words are. Turnitin is really helpful in showing you
where you have used other people’s sentences and phrases. It is best to check your work in Turnitin
a couple of days before the deadline so that you can make changes if necessary.
Please make sure that you are aware of the ANU policy on academic integrity and plagiarism. This
must be your own work, that you have not submitted for any other class:
https://www.anu.edu.au/students/academic-skills/academic-integrity
B. CITATION STYLE AND REFERENCES
Linguists generally use in-text citation (e.g. Here’s an example modified from Disbray (2008:40)), and
a list of references at the end of the paper in alphabetic order by surname, e.g.
Disbray, Samantha. 2008. More than one way to catch a frog: Children's discourse in a contact
setting, PhD thesis, Linguistics, University of Melbourne. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/35428.
Accessed 28 February 2021
Electronic sources: it is becoming increasingly important in reference lists to give official ‘digital
object identifiers’ (DOIs) or official ‘permanent URLs’ to allow people to link online to works (mostly
recent works). This is especially relevant for journal articles and book chapters.
Common reference formatting styles used in linguistics are: Chicago; MLA; Linguistic Inquiry,
Language. But the most important thing is completeness of information and consistency of
information.
Here’s a unified stylesheet provided by the Linguistics Society of America:
https://www.linguisticsociety.org/sites/default/files/style-sheet_0.pdf
And here is one provided by some European linguists:
https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/pdf/GenericStyleRules.pdf

Marking Rubric

Exceptional Excellent Very good Good Meets expectations
Needs work
/ off topic
Content (50 pts)
• Appropriate level & breadth
• Demonstrates clear
understanding and ability to
think critically
• Clear exposition of data
• Clear presentation of
grammatical properties and/or
key similarities and differences
in selected topics, and of any
connections where relevant
• Correct use of terminology
45-50 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 < 25
Literature (30 pts)
• Appropriate source material
• Demonstrates understanding
of literature, and ability to
synthesise where relevant
• Required number of relevant
references used
• Appropriate references to
sources
• Appropriate formatting and
consistent in-text references
and bibliography
27-30 24-26 21-23 18-20 15-17 < 15
Structure and writing (20 pts)
Well-organised material, appropriate to
the topic
• Appropriate title
• Appropriate structure, as
indicated above
• Logical development of ideas
• Flows well from one
paragraph to next
• Mastery of academic writing
• Few typos & grammatical
errors
• Adequate formatting /
presentation
18-20 16-17 14-15 12-13 10-11 < 10