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There are many definitions of the sentence and these definitions differ from each other because the scientists approach from different viewpoints to this question [12; 44].

“The sentence is the immediate integral unit of speech built up of words according to a definite syntactic pattern and distinguished by a contextually relevant communicative purpose”. A sentence is a unit of speech whose grammatical structure conforms to the laws of the language and which serves as the chief means of conveying a thought. A sentence is not only a means of communicating something about reality but also a means of showing the speaker’s attitude to it [12; 44].

The sentence is the base of the English language. We need to know how to build a strong base and what we can and cannot add to it. Grammar is the study of sentence structure and how words relate to one another in a sentence [10].

Each complete thought that we write is a sentence.

A sentence can be a statement: The sun sets in the evening.

A sentence can be a question: When do you go to work in the morning?

A sentence can be a command or an exclamation: Get out of my kitchen!

A sentence always starts with a capital letter and ends with some kind of punctuation mark (period, question mark, exclamation point, etc.) [10]

A simple sentence includes a single subject and verb group. E.g. Mary and John worked and studied together [6].

Simple sentences, both two-member and one-member, can be unextended and extended.

A simple sentence may be unextended if it consists only of the main parts of the sentence – the subject and the predicate. A sentence is extended if it includes some secondary parts (the attribute, the object, the adverbial modifier) [6].

She is a student.

Birds fly.

Winter!

An extended sentence is a sentence consisting of the subject, the predicate and one or more secondary parts (objects, attributes, or adverbial modifiers) [3; 269].

The two native women stole furtive glances at Sarie (Abrahams).

There are many approaches to classify sentences. Below we shall consider only some of them.

There are two principles of sentences classifying:

1) types of communication. Applying this principle there are 3 types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory.

2) according to structure. Applying this principle there are two main types of sentences: simple and composite [12; 45].

From the point of view of the existence of all parts of the sentence we differentiate elliptical and non-elliptical sentences [12; 45].

According to their structure simple sentences are divided into two-member and one-member sentences [3; 267].

A two-member sentence has two members – a subject and a predicate [3; 267].

Fleur had established immediate contact with an architect (Galsworthy).

A two-member sentence may be complete or incomplete. It is complete when it has a subject and a predicate [3; 267].

Young Jolyon could not help smiling (Galsworthy).

It is incomplete when one of the principal parts or both of them are missing, but can be easily understood from the context. Such sentences are called elliptical and are mostly used in colloquial speech and especially in dialogue [3; 267].

Best not to see her again. Best to forget all about her (Abrahams).

What were you doing? Drinking (Shaw).

A one-member sentence is a sentence having only one member which is neither the subject nor the predicate [3; 267].

One-member sentences are generally used in descriptions and in emotional speech.

If the main part of a one-member sentence is expressed by a noun, the sentence is called nominal [3; 267].

Freedom! Bells ringing out, flowers, kisses, wine (Heym).

The main part of a one-member sentence is often expressed by an infinitive.

No! To have his friendship, his admiration, but not at that price (Galsworthy).

English sentence structure is the basic arrangement of a sentence. A sentence is made with a subject and a predicate, and maybe several other parts. The subject tells who or what the sentence is about. Then the verb and the rest of the predicate give information about what the subject does or is [11].

It is possible to have one word sentences in English: a verbal command like “Come!” or “Listen!” In commands, the unexpressed subject of the sentence is “you”. [11]

However, most English sentences begin with an actual subject (one or more nouns or pronouns, possibly with supporting adjectives) followed by a predicate (a verb or verbs and possibly modifiers, phrases, or objects.) [11]

Besides simple sentences, it is possible to have a compound subject or verb, a compound sentence (two subject-predicate clauses combined with a comma and conjunction or with a semicolon), or a complex sentence (two subject-predicate clauses combined in a way that makes one subordinate to the other) [11]

In questions the subject (S) follows the helping verb (HV) but precedes the main verb (MV) and the rest of the sentence, so the predicate is divided: HV- S- MV- rest of sentence [11].

Does Jeff study every night?

Do Bill and Jeff work together?

Can you swim?

Are they swimming right now?

Is Sarah going to the party?

A phrase is a group of words that gives information but is not a complete clause or sentence. (In other words, it does not include both a subject and a verb.) [11]

Prepositional Phrases are groups of words beginning with a preposition and including a noun or pronoun (with supporting adjectives, etc.):

Mary walked rapidly to the store

She wanted to get home before dark

I hope for an ‘A’ on the test tomorrow [11].

Predicates can also include direct or indirect objects. The subject does something to the direct object: The boy hit the ball. Mom bought gifts. Certain verbs can also have an indirect object: The boy gave me the ball. Mom bought us gifts. Indirect objects always precede (go before) direct objects [11].

Instead of using an indirect object, you could express the same idea with a prepositional phrase using ‘to’ or ‘for’ after the direct object: He gave the ball to me. Mom bought gifts for us [11].

Here are two examples:

University students study subjects in great depth. (“Subjects” is the direct object.)

Some teachers give students a lot of homework. (“Homework” is the direct object; “students” is the indirect object.) [11].

Some nouns of Latin and Greek origin have kept their own plural endings. The plural ending “es” as in the word “analyses” is pronounced [i:z], the ending “i” as in the word “alumni” is pronounced [ai], the ending “ae” as in “vertebrae” is pronounced [i:]. Nouns with Latin and Greek plural endings are divided here into groups according to the ending.

The English plural ending s/es is also used with some of these nouns; in such cases, two variants are given, and the variant with the English ending s/es is marked with the letter (E). In a few cases, English and Latin plural forms are not interchangeable, for example: radio antennas, an insect’s antennae; mass media (radio, TV, newspapers), spiritualistic mediums (people regarded as mediums).

 

Group 1

analysis – analyses

axis – axes

basis – bases

crisis – crises

diagnosis – diagnoses

hypothesis – hypotheses

oasis – oases

parenthesis – parentheses

thesis – theses

 

Group 2

abacus – abacuses (E), abaci

alumnus – alumni

apparatus – apparatus, apparatuses (E)

cactus – cactuses (E), cacti

calculus – calculi, calculuses (E)

corpus – corpora

focus – focuses (E), foci

fungus – fungi

genus – genera, genuses (E)

genius – geniuses (men of talent), genii (spirits)

hippopotamus – hippopotamuses (E), hippopotami

nucleus – nuclei, nucleuses (E)

octopus – octopuses (E), octopi

papyrus – papyri

radius – radii, radiuses (E)

rhombus – rhombuses (E), rhombi

stimulus – stimuli

stylus – styli, styluses (E); (

syllabus – syllabuses (E), syllabi

terminus – termini, terminuses (E)

 

Group 3

automaton – automatons (E), automata

criterion – criteria

phenomenon – phenomena

 

Group 4

addendum – addenda

bacterium – bacteria

curriculum – curriculums (E), curricula

datum – data

erratum – errata

forum – forums (E), fora

medium – media, mediums (E)

memorandum – memorandums (E), memoranda

millennium – millenniums (E), millennia

stadium – stadiums (E), stadia

stratum – strata, stratums (E)

 

Group 5

alumna – alumnae

antenna – (radio) antennas; b. antenna – (insects’) antennae

dogma – dogmas (E), dogmata

enigma – enigmas (E), enigmata

formula – formulas (E), formulae

stigma – stigmata, stigmas (E)

vertebra – vertebrae, vertebras (E)

 

Group 6

appendix – appendixes (E), appendices

matrix – matrices, matrixes (E)

apex – apexes (E), apices

index – indexes (E) (books), indices (maths)

vertex – vertexes (E), vertices

 

The tendency to use the foreign plural is still strong in the technical language of science, but in fiction and colloquial English there is an evident inclination to give to certain words the regular English plural in –s.

In compound nouns the plural is formed in different ways.

As a rule a compound noun forms the plural by adding –s to the head-word:

Editor-in-chief – editors-in-chief

Brother-in-law – brothers-in-law

Looker-on – lookers-on

In some compound nouns the final element takes the plural form:

lady-bird – lady-birds boy-friends

Forget-me-not – forget-me-nots travel agents

Merry-go-round – merry-go-rounds

Where man or woman is used in prefixes, both parts are made plural: men drivers, women drivers

Some nouns have only the plural form:

Trousers, spectacles, breeches, scissors, tongs, fetters, pants, slacks, tights, breeches, pyjamas, pliers, pincers, forceps. These are for the most part of names of things which imply plurality or consist of two or more parts. The word pantyhose is used in the singular.

There are nouns with the plural ending which are only in the plural: clothes, arms, goods, groceries, outskirts, troops, remains, savings, belongings.

Some uncountable nouns have the ending “s” in their form but are used only in the singular and with a singular verb, for example: news; names of games – billiards, cards, checkers, dominoes; names of diseases – measles, mumps. Names of scientific subjects are also singular: mathematics, physics, phonetics, linguistics, economics, politics, etc.

Initials can be made plural: MPs (members of Parliament), VIPs, OAPs (old age pensioners), UFOs.

Numerical expressions are usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals within a numerical group are acting individually:

Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money.

One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer.

One-half of the faculty have doctorates.

Fifty percent of the students have voted already.

When a noun names the title of something or is a word being used as a word, it is singular whether the word takes a singular form or not.

Faces is the name of the new restaurant downtown.

Postcards is my favorite novel.

Plurals and Apostrophes. We use an apostrophe to create plural forms in two limited situations: for pluralized letters of the alphabet and when we are trying to create the plural form of a word that refers to the word itself. Here we also should italicize this “word as word,” but not the ‘s ending that belongs to it. Do not use the apostrophe + s to create the plural of acronyms (pronounceable abbreviations such as laser).

Jeffrey got four A’s on his last report.

You have fifteen and’s in that last paragraph.

Critical Thinking Elements

Critical thinking has six basic elements. Each of the six elements of critical thinking serves a purpose in making it beneficial to the college students. This would, therefore, mean that a student must show all the six elements for him or her to be considered as thinking critically. Information evaluation, interpretation, analysis, synthesis, explanation and idea application are the elements that make up critical thinking among the college students. If there miss any of these elements in the way a student carry on, then he or she is considered not thinking critically.

Information evaluation is the first element of critical thinking that a student should show. A critical thinker can evaluate information from a source. Such a student can systematically determine the weight and worth of information ideas, or she gets from a source. A student should be able to understand that each of the ideas that he or she gets from a source has the advantaging and disadvantaging side. This helps the student to choose the information idea that is more advantaging and can result in more success in academics. More advantaging information should be understood by a student to be fetching higher grades than the others that have more limitations in their context.

A college student should also be able to synthesize the idea information that he or she gets from a source. Synthesis of information is also an important aspect of critical thinking in college students. Students should be capable of using different information sources in bringing up an idea. Using a variety of sources enables him or her to infer the relationships between the information that are contained in the articles, books essays, and the non-written sources.

Moreover, analysis of information, especially research data also makes part of critical thinking in college students. Critical thinking insists that college students should understand the procedure of analyzing the information they get from the various educational sources. Students through critical thinking learn how to analyze the information that they get and come up with the best idea that would result in best grades in their education. Information analysis also helps the college to do well in the research units that they study in the schools. Studying a trend of an event also demands college students to have good analysis skills such that they can address student issue and be able to predict the next event to occur.

Explaining considering an idea is also very important in critical thinking (Stupple, 2017). Critical thinking is also aimed at making everyone understand the information concerning an idea or a topic. It, therefore, trains the college students to develop such that their knowledge concerning an idea such that they can be able to share the same information with others in a more clear way. An explanation may sometimes include the skills of students bringing the information to a real-life context for faster and deeper understanding of the target audience. Having studied deep an idea, a student should be able to make the information in the idea simpler through breaking it down to easily understandable sub-topics.

Application of the learned information and ideas is also very basic in critical thinking among the college students. Successful students apply what they have been taught in theory form into the practical. The college education is much into enabling students to apply the theoretical ideas into the real-life situation through performing practical work. The ability of the student to apply the theory ideas into his or her practical work determines how much they are likely to perform and meet the targets expected of them when they get to the industrial environment. Critical thinking works on the basis that a student learns to be able to apply what they have learned in performing practical works (Niu, 2015). Application of ideas also involves students applying the concepts that they have learned in their previous units of education in developing into the next stage of learning. A college education is based on how much a student can remember and use the information that he or she had learned previously in becoming more superior in the next stage of education. Second-year topics are performed based on the ideas that had been developed in the previous years of study.

Developing on the quantity of knowledge with a student is among the major components of critical thinking among the college students. Critical thinking values students becoming more knowledgeable. Students should be improving the degree of how much they know as they learn. College learning is progressive and therefore makes knowledge increase a great component of critical thinking. Finally, a student needs to understand what they are taught. If a student fails to understand the ideas that they learn from the various sources they use for information, they definitely will have nothing but consider themselves losers in education. Critical thinking tries to save students from becoming academic losers by ensuring that they become very smart upstairs and grasps every detail of information that they learn in class or even from the readings.

The noun denominates names of living things, lifeless things, abstract notions, qualities (kindness), states (strength, sleep, fear), actions (conversation, fight).

The noun has the following morphological characteristics:

Nouns that can be counted have two numbers (singular and plural),

Nouns denoting living beings have two case forms (the common case and the genitive case),

It is doubtful whether the grammatical category of gender exists in Modern English for it is hardly ever expressed by means of grammatical forms. There is practically only one gender-forming suffix in ME, the suffix –ess, expressing feminine gender. It is not widely spread: Heir-heiress, Poet-poetess, Actor-actress, Waiter-waitress, Host-hostess, Lion-lioness, Tiger-tigress.

The noun has certain syntactical characteristics. The chief syntactical functions of the noun in the sentence are those of the subject and the object. But it may also be used as an attribute or a predicative. E.g.:

The sun was rising in all his splendid beauty. (Dickens) (SUBJECT)

Troy and Yates followed the tourists. (Heym) (OBJECT)

He (Bosinney) was an architect… (Galsworthy) (PREDICATIVE)

Mary brought in the fruit on a tray and with it a glass bowl, and a blue dish… (Mansfield)  (ATTRIBUTE; the noun glass is used in the common case)

The hero and heroine, of course, just arrived from his father’s yacht. (Mansfield)  (ATTRIBUTE; the noun father is used in the genitive case)

A noun preceded by a preposition (a prepositional phrase) may be used as attribute, prepositional indirect object, and adverbial modifier. E.g.:

To the left were clean panes of glass. (Ch. Bronte) (ATTRIBUTE)

Bicket did not answer, his throat felt too dry. He had heard of the police. (Galsworthy) (OBJECT)

She went into the drawing-room and lighted the fire. (Mansfield) (ADVERBIAL MODIFIER)

“Stop everything, Laura!” cried Jose in astonishment. (Mansfield)  (ADVERBIAL MODIFIER)

The noun is generally associated with the article. Because of the comparative scarcity of morphological distinctions in English in some cases only articles show that the word is a noun. A noun can be modified by an adjective, a pronoun, by another noun or by verbals.

Morphological composition of nouns

According to their morphological composition we distinguish simple, derivative and compound nouns.

Simple nouns are nouns which have no affixes. They are indecomposable: chair, table, room, map, fish, work.

Derivative nouns are nouns which have affixes: reader, sailor, childhood, misconduct, inexperience. Productive noun-forming suffixes are: -er, -ist-, -ess, -ness, -ism.

Unproductive suffixes are: -hood, dom, -ship (relationship), -ment (development), -ance (importance),- ence (dependence), -ty (cruelty), -ity (generosity).

Compound nouns are those built from two or more roots. They often have one stress. The meaning of a compound often differs from the meaning of its elements (apple-tree, snowball, bluebell). The main types of compound nouns are as follows:

(a) noun-stem + noun-stem: appletree, snowball;

(b) adjective-stem + noun-stem: blackbird, bluebell;

(c) verb-stem + noun-stem: pickpocket; the stem of a gerund or of a participle may be the first component of a compound noun: dining-room, reading-hall, dancing-girl.

Classification of nouns

Nouns fall under two classes: proper nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns are individual names given to separate individuals of things (personal names, geographical names, names of months, days of the week, names of ships, hotels, clubs, etc). A large number of nouns now proper were originally common nouns (Brown, Smith). Proper nouns may change their meaning and become common nouns (champagne, sandwich, wellies).

Common nouns are names that can be applied to any individual of a class of people or things (man, dog, book), collections of similar individuals or things regarded as a single unit (peasantry, family), materials (snow, iron, cotton) or abstract notions (kindness, development). Thus, there are different groups of common nouns: class nouns, collective nouns, nouns of material and abstract nouns.

Class nouns denote people of things belonging to a class. They are countable and have two numbers: singular and plural (book, tool, giraffe).

Collective nouns denote a number or collection of similar individuals or things as a single unit. Collective nouns fall under the following groups:

Nouns used only in the singular and denoting a number of things collected together and regarded as a single object: foliage, machinery.

Nouns which are singular in form though plural in meaning (police, poultry, cattle, people). They are usually called nouns of multitude.

Nouns that can be both singular and plural (family, crowd, group)

Nouns of material denote material: iron, gold, paper, tea, water. They are uncountable and are generally used without an article. Nouns of material are used in the plural to denote different sorts of a given material (wines, waters).

Abstract nouns denote some quality, state, action or idea: kindness, sadness. They are usually uncountable, though some of them can be countable: idea, hour.

Abstract nouns may change their meaning and become class nouns. Their change is marked by the use of the article and the plural number:

e.g. Beauty – a beauty – beauties

Sight – a sight – sights

The Category of Number

English countable nouns have two numbers – singular and plural. The main types of the plural forms of English nouns are as follows:

The general rule for forming the plural of English nouns is by adding the suffix S to the singular. It is pronounced in different ways:

IZ after sibilants: noses, horses, bridges, pages.

Z after voiced consonants and vowels: flowers, beds, doves, boys.

S after voiceless consonants: caps, books, hats, cliffs.

If the noun ends in –s, -ss, -ch, -tch, -sh, -x the plural is formed by adding –es to the singular.

If the nouns ends into –y preceded by a consonant, -y is changed into –i before –es.

e.g. fly – flies

lady – ladies

In proper nouns, however, the plural is formed by adding the ending –s to the singular: Mary – Marys.

If the noun finishes in –o preceded by a consonant, the plural is generally formed by adding –es. Only a few nouns are exceptions to this rule. They form the plural simply by adding –s:

Hero – heroes but: piano – pianos

Cargo – cargoes solo – solos

Potato – potatoes photo – photos

Echo – echoes

All nouns ending in –o preceded by a vowel form the plural in –s and not in –es:

Cuckoo – cuckoos

Portfolio – portfolios

There a few nouns ending in –o which form the plural both in –s and –es:

Mosquito – mosquitos or mosquitoes, volcanos (es)

With certain nouns the final voiceless consonants are changed into the corresponding voiced consonants when the noun takes the plural form.

The nouns finishing in –f or –fe change it into –v (both in spelling and pronunciation) in the plural: wife – wives (life, knife, wolf, calf, half, loaf, leaf, self, shelf).

There are some nouns ending in –f which have two forms in the plural:

scarf – scarfs or scarves wharf – wharfs or wharves

Exceptions: proof, chief, safe, cliff, gulf, reef, grief, roof, belief, kerchief, handkerchief.

Nouns ending in –th after long vowels change it into in pronunciation:

bath – baths, path – paths, oath – oaths

But is always retained after consonants and short vowels:

smith – smiths, month – months, myth – myths, birth – births

One noun ending in S changes it into Z in pronunciation: house – houses.

The plural forms of some nouns are survivals of earlier formations.

There are 7 nouns which form the plural by changing the root vowel: man-men, woman-women, foot-feet, tooth-teeth, goose-geese, die-dice, mouse-mice, louse-lice .

There are 2 nouns which form the plural in –en: ox-oxen, child-children.

Note. The nouns brother has besides its usual plural form another plural form brethren, which belongs to the elevated style and denotes people of the same creed and not relationship. The noun cow also has two plural forms (cows and kine), the latter sometimes occurs in poetry. The noun penny also has two plurals: pence – British currency (ten pence),

pennies – individual coins. Some nouns have the same singular and plural forms: species, series, means, corp.

In some nouns plural does not differ from the singular: deer, fish, swine, trout, sheep.

Objective Participle Construction

The Objective Participle Construction is a construction in which the participle is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case.

In The Objective Participle Construction Participle Indefinite Active or Participle II is used. In the sentence this construction has the function of a complex object.

The Objective Participle Construction may be found:

after verbs denoting sense perception, such as to see, to hear, to feel, to find, etc.

I heard my wife coming… (Conan Doyle)

You will probably find your sister grown, Bella. (Dickens)

after some verbs of mental activity, such as to consider, to understand.

I consider myself engaged to Herr Klesmer. (Eliot)

after verbs denoting wish, such as to want, to wish, to desire. In this case, only Participle II is used.

The governor wants it done quick. (Bennett)

after the verbs to have and to get ;after these verbs only Participle II is used.

In this case The Objective Participle Construction shows that the action expressed by the participle is performed at the request of the person denoted by the subject of the sentence. Thus I had the piano tuned means ‘I made someone tune the piano’.

In interrogative and negative sentences the auxiliary verb to do is used:

Why don’t you have your hair waved? (Du Maurier)

Occasionally the meaning of the construction is different :it may show that the person denoted by the subject of the sentence experiences the action expressed by the participle.

The wounded man had his leg amputated.

The Subjective Participle Construction

The Subjective Participle Construction is a construction in which the participle (mostly Participle I) is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the nominative case , which is the subject of the sentence .

The peculiarity of this construction is that it does not serve as one part of the sentence: one of its component parts has the function of the subject ,the other forms part of a compound verbal predicate.

They were heard talking together… ( Collins)

This construction is chiefly used after verbs of sense perception.

The horse was seen descending the hill. (Hardy)

The Nominative Absolute Participle Construction

The Nominative Absolute Participle Construction is a construction in which the participle stands in predicate relations to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the nominative case; the noun or pronoun is not the subject of the sentence.

The door and the window of the vacant room being open, we looked in. (Dickens)

In the Nominative Absolute Participle Construction Participle I (in all its forms) or Participle II is used. This construction is used in the function of an adverbial modifier:

The lamp having been lit, Mrs. Macallan produced her son’s letter. (Collins)

This duty completed, he had three months’ leave. (Hard)

It being now pretty late, we took our candles and went upstairs. (Dickens)

A knock had come to the door , and there being nobody else to answer it, Clare went out. (Hardy)

In this function the Nominative Absolute Participle Construction is mostly placed at the end of the sentence.

He turned and went, we, as before, following him. (Jerome)

One morning he stood in frond of the tank , his nose almost pressed to the glass. (Dreiser)

In this function the Nominative Absolute Participle Construction occurs but seldom and is almost exclusively used with the participles permitting and failing.

Weather (time, circumstances) permitting, we shall start tomorrow.

Conciliation failing, force remains; but force failing, no further hope of conciliation is left.

The Nominative Absolute Participle Construction very often occurs in fiction and scientific literature; the use of this construction in colloquial English is rare.

The Prepositional Absolute Participle Construction with Participle I

A prepositional absolute construction differs from a non-prepositional participial construction in that it is introduced by the preposition with. Its nominal part is usually a noun in the common case, or very rarely a personal pronoun in the objective case. It is not necessarily set off by a comma:

Andrew went into the house with his heart beating fast.

The main syntactical function of the construction is an adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances, as in:

The officer sat with his long fine hands lying on the table perfectly still.

The meaning of attendant circumstances may be combined with temporal or causal ones:

I won’t speak with him staring at me like that.

Just now, with the harvest coming on, everything looks its richest.

It (St. John’s Wood) is ever so pretty with all the trees coming out.

The prepositional absolute construction with participle II

This construction is introduced by the preposition with and its nominal element is hardly ever presented by a pronoun; it is more closely related to the predicate verb and is seldom set off by a comma.

She went on reading with her eyes fixed on the pages of the book.

It is unhealthy to sleep with the windows shut.

The main syntactical function of the construction is that of an adverbial modifier of manner or attendant circumstances.

An additional idea of time, reason, or condition may be prompted by the context, as in: I can’t walk with my leg broken (reason).

Conclusion

In the present work I attempted to investigate the Participles, such part of speech formed from a verb that does not function as a verb. I chose the Participle Constructions as the theme of my work because I was interested in it. I used different kind of references to investigate the Participles. In other words, I studied the main aspects of English verbals: grammatical characteristics, their syntactical role, their semantics, and the rules of correct use of them.

A verbal is a part of speech formed from a verb that does not function as a verb. Verbals are sometimes referred to as non-finite verbs, meaning they do not, as finite verbs do, agree in person, number, and tense with a subject. Verbals do not take a subject; however, they can take a direct object or indirect object, and can be modified like verbs. There are three types of verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives.

A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed. The term verbal indicates that a participle, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since they function as adjectives, participles modify nouns or pronouns. There are two types of participles: present participles and past participles. Present participles end in -ing. Past participles end in -ed, -en, -d, -t, or -n, as in the words asked, eaten, saved, dealt, and seen. A participial phrase is a group of words consisting of a participle and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the participle.

All the verbals can form predicative constructions. They consist of two elements: a nominal (noun or pronoun) and a verbal (participle, gerund or infinitive). The verbal element stands in predicate relation to the nominal element. That is to say it stands in the subject and the predicate of the sentence. In most cases predicative constructions form syntactic units, serving as one part of the sentence.

Introduction

A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed. The term verbal indicates that a participle, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since they function as adjectives, participles modify nouns or pronouns.

Etymology

The word comes from Latin participium, a calque of Greek metochḗ “partaking” or “sharing”, because the Ancient Greek and Latin participles share in the properties of the adjective or noun (gender, number, and case) and of the verb (tense and voice).

Types of participles

There are two types of participles: present participles and past participles. Present participles end in -ing. Past participles end in -ed, -en, -d, -t, or -n, as in the words asked, eaten, saved, dealt, and seen. A participial phrase is a group of words consisting of a participle and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the participle.

 

Non-finiteforms of the verbs are formed by special morphemic elements which do not express either grammatical time or mood (the most specific finite verb categories). They can be combined with verbs like non-processual lexemes (performing non-verbal functions in the sentence), and they can be combined with non-processual lexemes like verbs (performing verbal functions in the sentence) .

The present participle is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective and adverb, serving as the qualifying-processual name. In its outer form the present participle is wholly homonymous with the gerund, ending in the suffix -ing and distinguishing the same grammatical categories of retrospective coordination and voice.

The past participle is the non-finite form of the verb -positional functions of the past which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective, serving as the qualifying-processual name. The past participle is a single form, having no paradigm of its own. By way of the paradigmatic correlation with the present participle, it conveys implicitly the categorial meaning of the perfect and the passive. As different from the present participle, it has no distinct combinability features or syntactic function features specially characteristic of the adverb. Thus, the main self-positional functions of the past participle in the sentence are those of the attribute and the predicative.

The functions of the participle in the sentence are more restricted as compared with those of the infinitive and the gerund. Besides, it tends to become adjectivized even in the functions that it can perform in the sentence.

The participle cannot be used either as the subject or as the predicate of the sentence. When it is used as predicative, it is always adjectivized and may be preceded, like a real adjective, by adverb of degree, such as extremely, greatly, so, too, very and the correlative conjunctions as … as and not so … as.

It should be mentioned that if participles were not adjectivized in this case, they would form, with the verb to be, the Passive Voice.

Note. Some adjectivized participles, however, can be modified, like verbs, by (very) much. This may be accounted for by their verbal origin

e.g. If Tony expected her to rush into his arms he was very much mistaken.

In a day or two the answer came back that he was very much opposed to the whole scheme.

It follows from what has been said that the participle proper (i.e. the participle which is not adjectivized) cannot be used as predicative.

The functions of the Participle I in the sentence

Participle I as an attribute. It can be in pre-position or in post-position.

e.g. The gate-keeper surveyed the retreating vehicle.(Hardy)

Through the massive sunlight illuminating the hall at Robin Hill, the July sunlight at 5 o’clock fell just where the broad staircase turned. (Galthworthy)

Participle I as an adverbial modifier:

of time

e.g. Having reached the classroom , she became the object of many questions. (Collins)

b) of cause

e.g. Having been a little in that line myself, I understood it. (Show)

c) of manner and attendant circumstances.

e.g. He has been in three revolutions fighting in the barricades. (Shaw)

e) of comparison

e.g. This was said as if thinking aloud. (Gaskell)

Participle I as a predicative.

Participle I as a part of complex object.

Participle I as a part of compound verbal predicate.

e.g. Presently other footsteps were heard crossing the room below. (Hardy)

Participle I as a parenthesis forms the headword of a participial phrase, the meaning of which is a comment upon the contents of the whole sentence or sometimes part of it. The comment may take the form of a logical restriction or personal attitude. Here we find such participial phrases as generally (properly, roughly, legally, strictly) speaking, putting it mildly, judging by (from), allowing for, taking everything into consideration, etc.

e.g. Generally speaking, I don’t like boys.(Dickens)

The functions of the Participle II in the sentence.

Participle II as an attribute. It can be used ,as well as the Participle I, in pre-position or in post-position.

e.g. He answered through the locked door.(Wells)

They turned into the large conservatory beautifully lit up with Chinese lamps.(Eliot)

Participle II as an adverbial modifier:

1. of time
2. of comparison
3. of condition
   e.g. In was dreadful thing that he now proposed, a breach of the law which, if discovered, would bring them into the police court.(Cronin)
4. of concession

Participle II as a predicative.

Participle II as a part of complex object.
e.g. She has found me unaltered; but I have found her changed. (Collins)

The present participle, can build up semi-predicative complexes of objective and subjective types. The two groups of complexes, i.e. infinitival and present participial, may exist in parallel (e.g. when used with some verbs of physical perceptions), the difference between them lying in the aspective presentation of the process.

Nobody noticed the scouts approach the enemy trench. — Nobody noticed the scouts approaching the enemy trench with slow, cautious, expertly calculated movements. Suddenly a telephone was heard to buzz, breaking the spell. — The telephone was heard vainly buzzing in the study.

A peculiar use of the present participle is seen in the absolute participial constructions of various types, forming complexes of detached semi-predication.

The messenger waiting in the hall, we had only a couple of minutes to make a decision. The dean sat at his desk, with an electric fire glowing warmly behind the fender at the opposite wall.

These complexes of descriptive and narrative stylistic nature seem to be gaining ground in present-day English.

The past participle is included in the structural formation of the present participle (perfect, passive), which, together with the other differential properties, vindicates the treatment of this form as a separate verbid

Like the present participle, the past participle is capable of making up semi-predicative constructions of complex object, complex subject, as well as of absolute complex.

The past participial complex object is specifically characteristic with verbs of wish and oblique causality (have, get).

I want the document prepared for signing by 4 p.m. Will you have my coat brushed up, please?

The complex subject of this type, whose participle is included in the double predicate of the sentence, is used but occasionally. A more common type of the participial complex subject can be seen with notional links of motion and position.

We sank down and for a while lay there stretched out and exhausted.

The absolute past participial complex as a rule expresses priority in the correlation of two events.

The preliminary talks completed, it became possible to concentrate on the central point of the agenda.

The past participles of non-objective verbs are rarely used in independent sentence-part positions; they are mostly included in phraseological or cliché combinations like faded photographs, fallen leaves, a retired officer, a withered flower, dream come true, etc.

Participle may function as part of a predicative construction, entering into a predicative relationship with some nominal element and forming a syntactical unit with it.

In Modern English we find the following predicative construction with the participle:

• the Objective Participle Construction;
• the Subjective Participle Construction;
• the Nominative Absolute Participle Construction;
• the Prepositional Absolute Participle Construction.

English Grammar. Morphology

Grammar is a branch of linguistics that deals with the form and structure of words. Grammar is one of the oldest fields of study, as well as one of the most durable. Even Plato can be labeled as an early grammarian, because he was responsible for dividing the sentence into subject and verb.

Grammar is the system of a language. English grammar is defined as the body of rules describing the properties of the English language.

Grammar is traditionally subdivided into two different but inter-related areas of study: morphology and syntax. The term morphology appeared in 1859. Morphology is the identification, analysis and description of the structure of words. It studies the building blocks of a language. Morphology shows the structure, organization and usage of every constituent. Besides it prescribes the correct organization and combination of language elements. Morphology is particularly important because native speakers of English create new words constantly. By the syntax of a language we mean the body of rules that speakers follow when they combine words into sentences.

Word structure in Modern English

The term morpheme is derived from the Greek morphe “form” and –eme, a Greek suffix that was adopted by linguists to denote the smallest unit with a distinctive feature.

The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language. Morphemes occur in speech only as constituent parts of words, not independently, although a word may consist of a single morpheme. Words are composed of morphemes of different types: root-morphemes and affixational morphemes. Words that consist of a root and an affix are called derived words or derivatives and are produced by the process of word building known as affixation.

The root-morpheme is the lexical nucleus of the word, it has a very general and abstract lexical meaning common to a set of semantically related words constituting one word-cluster, e.g. teach, teacher, teaching.

Affixational morphemes include inflections and derivational affixes. Inflections carry only a grammatical meaning and are relevant only for the formation of word-forms (-s, -ing, -ed, -er, -est). They indicate tense, form, aspect, number, person. Derivational affixes are relevant for building various types of words. They are lexically always dependent on the root which they modify, e.g. –er work – worker, compare with hot – hotter.

Roots and derivational affixes are generally easily distinguished and the difference between them is clearly felt as e.g. in the words helpless, handy, blackness, Londoner, refill, etc. The root morphemes help-, hand-, black-, London-, -fill are understood as the lexical centers of the words and –less, -y, -ness, -er, re- are felt as morphemes dependent on these roots.

One and the same morphemic segment, depending on various morphemic environments, can in principle be used now as an affix (mostly, a prefix), now as a root:

• out — a root-word (preposition, adverb, );
• throughout — a composite word, in which -out serves as one of the roots
• outing — a two-morpheme word, in which out is a root, and -ing is a suffix;
• outlook, outline, outrage, out-talk, — words, in which out- serves as a prefix;
• look-out, knock-out, shut-out, time-out, — words (nouns), in which -out serves as a suffix

On the basis of the degree of self-dependence, “free” morphemes and “bound” morphemes are distinguished. Bound morphemes cannot form words by themselves; they are identified only as component segmental parts of words. As different from this, free morphemes can build up words by themselves, i.e. can be used “freely”.

For instance, in the word handful the root hand is a free morpheme, while the suffix -ful is a bound morpheme.

Semi-bound morphemes may function both as root morphemes and as derivational elements. E.g. -man in manmade, manservant ; -man in gentleman, -proof -waterproof

Allomorphs are variants of the same morpheme, e.g. –ion, -tion, -sion, -ation (calculate – calculation, move-motion, depress – depression, transform – transformation). They are positional variants of the same suffix, they do not differ in meaning or function but show a slight difference in sound form depending on the final phoneme of the preceding stem. Other ex include –able, -ible (capable, responsible), im-, in- (immoral, inappropriate), ir-, il- (irregular, illegal).

The suffixes – able and –ed are different morphemes, not allomorphs, because adjectives in –able mean “capable of” and –ed is an incflection showing the past tense of a verb.

Inner flections are changes inside the word (usually in vowels, sometimes in consonants) in order to express different grammatical categories: foot – feet, meet – met.

Grammatical structure of the English Language

Languages can be synthetic (inflected) or analytical (isolating) according to their grammatical structure. In synthetic languages, such as, for instance Russian, Romanian, the grammatical relations between words are expressed by means of inflections (the change in the form of a word that indicates distinctions of tense, person, gender, number, mood, voice, and case) or by agglutination (a grammatical process in which words are composed of a sequence of morphemes). Latin is an example of an inflected language; Hungarian and Finnish are examples of agglutinative languages.

Whereas in English you would say, “to my little house”, you could say all that in one word in Hungarian: “házacskámba”.

This is so because you glue the little particles meaning “to”, “my” and “little” at the back of the word stem, “house”. Like this: ház + (a)cska + m + ba.

Directly translated into English, it would look like this: “houselittlemyto”.

Highly synthetic languages, in which a whole sentence may consist of a single word (usually a verb form) containing a large number of affixes are called polysynthetic. Eskimo and many American Indian languages are polysynthetic.

In analytical languages, such as English, the grammatical relations between words are expressed by means of form words and word order. An analytic language is commonly identified with an isolating language. Typical examples are Vietnamese and Classical Chinese, which are analytic and isolating. Analytical forms are mostly proper in verbs. An analytical verb-form consists of one or more form words, which have no lexical meaning and only express one or more of the grammatical categories of person, number, tense, aspect, voice, mood and one notional word, generally an infinitive or a participle.

e.g. He has come.

I am reading.

The analytical forms are: tense and aspect verb-forms (the Continuous form, the Perfect form, the Perfect Continuous Form, the Future Indefinite form, also the interrogative and negative of the Present Simple and Past Indefinite Tenses), the Passive Voice, the analytical form or the Subjunctive Mood:

I would go there if I had time.

However, the structure of a language is never purely synthetic or purely analytical. Thus, in the English language there are endings: -s, -ed, ‘s, inner flexions: man-men.

One of the marked features of the English language is the extensive use of substitutes. A word substitute saves the repetitions of certain words. Here belong: one (ones), that, do.

e.g. Give me a book and take one for you.

That generally substitutes nouns, especially abstract nouns and nouns of material followed by an attribute. E.g. He believed his work was better than that of the other artist.

Do substitutes verbs. e.g. You know it better than I do.

Synthetic languages are numerous and well-attested, the most commonly cited being Indo-European languages such as Sanskrit, Spanish, Persian, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, German, Italian, French, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Czech, as well as many languages of the Americas.

General classification of the parts of speech

According to their meaning, morphological characteristics and syntactical function, words, fall under certain classes called parts of speech.

We distinguish between notional and structural parts of speech. The notional parts of speech perform certain functions in the sentence: the function of subject, predicate, attribute, object, or adverbial modifier. The notional parts of speech are:

• The noun,
• The adjective,
• The pronoun,
• The numeral,
• The verb,
• The adverb,
• The words of the category of state,
• The modal words,
• The interjection.

The structural parts of speech either express relations between words or sentences or emphasize the meaning of words or sentences. They never perform any independent function in the sentence. Here belong:

• The preposition,
• The conjunction,
• The particle,
• The article.

The two functions of this section are to report the results (past verb tense) of the procedures described in the methods and to present the evidence, that is the data (in the form of text, tables or figures), that supports the results. Some journals combine the results and discussion into one section.

Before sitting down to write the first draft, it is important to plan which results are important in answering the question and which can be left out. Include only results which are relevant to the question(s) posed in the introduction irrespective of whether or not the results support the hypothesis(es). After deciding which results to present, attention should turn to determining whether data are best presented within the text or as tables or figures. Tables and figures (photographs, drawings, graphs, flow diagrams) are often used to present details whereas the narrative section of the results tends to be used to present the general findings. Clear tables and figures provide a very powerful visual means of presenting data and should be used to complement the text, but at the same time must be able to be understood in isolation. Except on rare occasions when emphasis is required data that are given in a table or figure must not be repeated within the text. Sources of help for the preparation of table and figure are Briscoe (1990), Price (in press) and Zeiger (1991).

Tables and figures must be mentioned within the text and should be placed after the related text. Photographs of subjects are often placed within the methods and should be used only if written, informed consent was obtained prior to the taking of the photograph. To preserve anonymity, facial features should be covered. If a manuscript includes a table or figure that has already been published, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) and the source acknowledged.

Confusion sometimes arises as to the difference between results and data. Results statements provide the message, that is, they interpret the data. Data rarely stand alone, they are facts, often numbers, which may be presented in their raw form, summarized (e.g. means) or transformed (e.g. percentages, ratios) (Zeiger, 1991). For example, in a hypothetical study comparing vital capacity in supine and standing, the results statement and data respectively might be, “vital capacity was decreased in supine compared to standing” and “mean (SD) vital capacity was 2.95 (0.8) litres and 3.40 (0.6) litres (p<0.05) in supine and standing respectively”. The two statements should be presented together with the results statement given first, i.e. “vital capacity was decreased in supine compared to standing, mean (SD) values were 2.95 (0.8) litres and

3.40 (0.6) litres respectively (p<0.05) in the 20 subjects”. When presenting data, the sample size (n) must be given, any missing data identified and the p-values for data that have been analysed using statistical tests must be included. The significance level (critical alpha () probability value) should be reported but in the event that the null hypothesis (H0) is accepted, the beta () probability value or statistical power should be reported. Studies in which H0 is retained are just as important to report as those in which H0 is rejected, providing such studies have an acceptable level of statistical power. The test statistic and the degrees of freedom, for example t(12) = 3.12 should also be included unless only one statistical test has been used. When citing a p value, always give some idea of the magnitude of the difference (e.g. 20 per cent increase) as a p value in isolation gives no indication of the importance of the finding. It is generally accepted when reporting results that “significant” or “significantly” refer to statistical significance (Zeiger, 1991). Thus it is unnecessary to say “the decrease in pain was statistically significant”.

The order of presentation of the results should be either chronological to correspond with the methods or from the most to the least important. The order of most to least important should be followed within each paragraph. For every result there must be a method in the methods. Careful planning of the tables and figures is important to ensure that the sequencing of these tells a story.

The results must not include a discussion of the findings, methods of data analyses and citations of references, except on rare occasions when a comparison is made of the raw data with the findings of a published study. This applies only when this comparison would not fit well within the discussion.

Discussion

The discussion should be considered as the heart of the paper and invariably requires several attempts at writing (Portney and Watkins, 1993). It serves to answer the question(s) posed in the introduction, explain how the results support the answers and how the answers fit in with existing knowledge on the topic (Zeiger, 1991). This is the main section in which the author can express his/her interpretations and opinions, for example how important the author thinks the results are, the author’s suggestions for future research and the clinical implications of the findings (Portney and Watkins, 1993). In order to make the message clear, the discussion should be kept as short as possible whilst still clearly and fully stating, supporting, explaining and defending the answers to the questions as well as discussing other important and directly relevant issues. Side issues and unnecessary issues should not be included, as these tend to obscure the message. Care must be taken to provide a commentary and not a reiteration of the results. The recommended content of the discussion is given in Table 4. (Zeiger, 1991)

Table 4: Discussion

Answers to the question(s) posed in the introduction together with any accompanying support, explanation and defence of the answers (present verb tense) with reference to published literature. Explanations of any results that do not support the answers. Indication of the originality/uniqueness of the work Explanations of: How the findings concur with those of others Any discrepancies of the results with those of others Unexpected findings The limitations of the study which may affect the study validity or generalisability of the study findings. Indication of the importance of the work e.g. clinical significance Recommendations for further research

Answering the questions should be done using the same key terms and the same verbs (present tense) which were used when posing the question(s) in the introduction. The answer must be confined to the population studied, for example if the subjects were randomly selected from a population with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, generalize to the population with OA knee but not to a population with knee pain from other causes. If more than one question was asked in the introduction, then all questions must be answered in the discussion. All results relating to the question should be addressed, irrespective of whether or not the findings were statistically significant. Answers to the questions that were never asked must not be included.

Support the answer(s) by reference to published work whenever possible. It may be necessary to explain the answer by saying why it is acceptable and how it is consistent or fits in with published ideas on the topic. To defend the answer, explain why it is more satisfactory than other answers and why other answers are unsatisfactory. Where the findings of the study are not in agreement with those of others, this discrepancy should be explained. The sequencing of providing this information is important; discuss the results of the present study before going on to cite the work of others. In the event that unexpected findings occur, decide whether they are of little importance or may be very exciting. Demonstrating a willingness to discuss and evaluate rival explanations for the results highlights a good discussion. To discuss an unexpected finding, begin the sentence by saying it was unexpected and then go on to give the best possible explanation.

Discuss any weakness in study design, for example, extraneous variables that only became apparent during the conduct of the study. Comment on the relative importance of these limitations to the interpretation of the results and how they may affect the validity or the generalisability of the findings. When identifying the limitations, avoid using an apologetic tone and accept the study for what it is. If an author identifies fundamental limitations the reader will question why the study was undertaken (Rudestam and Newton, 1992).

A concise summary of the principal implications of the findings should be provided and regardless of statistical significance, the issue of clinical importance of the findings should be addressed. Where appropriate, make recommendations for clinical practice based on the findings. When discussing the implications, use verbs that suggest some uncertainty such as “suggest”, “imply” or “speculate”. As all research leads to further questions, give recommendations for further research but avoid the temptation to provide a long list and focus instead on one or two major recommendations. When doing so, do not offer suggestions which could have been easily addressed within the study, as this shows there has been inadequate examination and interpretation of the data.

The organisation of the content is important. The discussion should begin by stating answers to the question and supporting the answers with the results. Do not begin with a summary of the results, secondary information (place this after the answer to the question) or indications for further research. At the need, restate the answers to the questions and indicate the importance of the research by stating applications, implications or speculations.

Conclusions

This section should comprise a brief statement of the major findings and implications of the study. It is not the function of this section to summarise the study; this is the purpose of the abstract. New information must not be included in the conclusions.

Acknowledgements

All important contributors should be acknowledged, for example persons who provided statistical or technical advice and assistance; the subjects; those who helped with recruitment’ and personnel who helped with the preparation of the manuscript. If the research was supported by a grant, then the name of the funding body must be included.

The authors thanks Dr Diana Hopper and Dr Leon Straker for their help in reviewing this manuscript.

Reference

The above article was subtracted from:

Jenkins S 1995 How to write a paper for a scientific journal. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 41(4): 285 – 289

Publication in a reputable, peer reviewed journal should be the goal of every researcher, as this provides the most effective and permanent means of disseminating information to a large audience (Cole, 1994; Portney and Watkins, 1993). When human subjects participate in research, it is on the understanding that they are assisting with the creation and dissemination of knowledge, presenting researchers with the responsibility to communicate the outcome of their research (Cole, 1994). The aim of this paper is to provide guidelines to assist with the preparation of a manuscript for a scientific journal.

Before writing a first draft, it is important to establish that the topic of the manuscript is likely to be consistent with the focus of the journal. This may be clearly stated within the journal or may be determined by examining several recent issues. Having selected a journal, it is essential to carefully read and follow the guidelines for authors published within the journal or obtained directly from the editor or publisher. These guidelines are usually very specific and include rules about word limit, organization of the manuscript, margins, line spacing, preparation of tables and figures and the method used to cite references. Failure to comply with the guidelines may result in rejection or return of the manuscript for correction, thereby delaying the process of review and publication.

The art of writing a manuscript improves with practice and considerable help may be gained by asking others, especially those who have published, to critique and proofread drafts. This also provides a means of a second check of accuracy and internal consistency. Getting started is often the most difficult part and for this reason it is best to begin with the easiest sections. These are usually the methods and results, followed by the discussion, conclusion, introduction, references and title, leaving the abstract until last. If possible, try and set aside some time for writing on consecutive days. Long gaps between periods of writing interrupts the continuity of thought. To avoid frustration, ensure all the necessary information, for example all data, references and any draft of tables or figures, are at hand before starting to write. The task of writing the manuscript may seem easier if each section is viewed as a separate task. Before starting to write, it may help to prepare an outline for each section which includes a number of major headings, sub-headings and paragraphs covering different points. When writing the first draft, the goal is to get something down on paper, so it does not matter if sentences are incomplete and the grammar incorrect, provided that the main points and ideas have been captures on paper. Try to write quickly, to keep the flow going. Use abbreviations and leave space for words that do not come to mind immediately. Having finished the first draft, immediately revise it and be prepared to do this several times until you feel it is not possible to improve it further. Acceptance of a manuscript is invariably conditional on changes being made so be prepared to rewrite and revise the manuscript extensively.

Often a manuscript has more than one author and thus the writing may be shared. However, the style needs to be consistent throughout so even if sections of the early drafts are written by different authors, the first author must go through the entire manuscript before submitting, and make any necessary editorial changes.

Structure and Content of a Manuscript

A manuscript is typically composed of a number of sections:

• abstract;
• key words;
• introduction;
• methods;
• results;
• discussion;
• conclusions; and
• references

In order to maintain continuity between the key sections (introduction, methods, results and discussion) it is helpful to consider the manuscript as telling a story. The strong parts to the story-line are the introduction and the discussion so the link between thee sections must be clear. The research question which is posed as the need of the introduction must be answered at the beginning of the discussion (Zeiger, 1991).

Having invested many hours in undertaking research, the temptation is to try to tell the reader everything you read and learned in the process and to provide all the data gathered. However, in the planning stages, it is essential to remember that a word limit is usually imposed and therefore unimportant or irrelevant information must be left out. In the case of a large study, it may be necessary to write several papers which cover different research questions.

Title

This provides the first impression to the reader, so selecting the most appropriate title requires some thought. The title influences whether a reader is interested in reading the manuscript. It should include all essential words in the right order such that the topic of the manuscript is accurately and fully conveyed (e.g. clearly related to the purpose of the study) (Rudestam and Newton, 1992). Avoid long titles (the recommended length is 10 – 12 words) and those which begin with redundant words such as “A study of…”

Abstract

An abstract is a brief summary (of specified word limit) of the content of the manuscript. It should provide the highlights from the introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusions (Table 1).

Table 1: Abstract

–   Statement of: –   The question asked (present verb tense) –   What was done to answer the question (past verb tense) – research design, population studies, independent and dependent variables –   Findings that answer the question (past verb tense) – the most important results and evidence (data) presented in a logical order. –   The answer to the question (present verb tense) If useful, and where word limit allows, include: –   One or two sentences of background information (placed at the beginning) –   An implication or a speculation based on the answer (present verb tense, placed at the end)

 

It must make sense when read in isolation for those who read only the abstract. This is especially important given that many computerized searchers only retrieve the abstract. The abstract must also provide a clear and accurate recapitulation of the manuscript for readers who read the entire manuscript (Zeiger, 1991). For example, an abstract must not contain data which are not included in the results.

The abstract is usually written as one or two paragraphs and it is important that the text flows and does not resemble a collection of disjointed sentences. The choice of words should be simple, jargon avoided and abbreviations omitted except for standard units of measurement and statistical terms. Citations are not usually included. Excessive detail such a long lists of variables, large amounts of data or an excessive number of probability (p) values is not acceptable. The trick to producing a clear abstract is to provide just enough detail to demonstrate that the design of the study was good and that the evidence of the answer to the question is strong.

Key Words

Most journals require the author to identify three or four key words which represent the major concept of the paper. These are used for indexing purposes and must be selected from the Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). For example “Physiotherapy” is not included in MeSH; the equivalent term is “Physical Therapy”. In the rare event that an author does not have access to MeSH, the key words selected should be widely-accepted terms. Lack of access to MeSH should be indicated at the time of manuscript submission.

Introduction

The purpose of the introduction is to stimulate the reader’s interest and to provide background information which is pertinent to the study. The statement of the research question is the most important part of the introduction. The review of the literature needs to be short and concise. The content of the introduction is outlined in Table 2.

Table 2: Introduction

Background to the topic (past verb tense) What is known or believed about the topic What is still unknown or problematic Findings of relevant studies (past verb tense) Importance of the topic  Statement of the research question Several ways can be used to signal the research question , e.g., “To determine whether ………” “The purpose of this study was to …….” This study tested the hypothesis that ……” “This study was undertaken to ……”  Approach taken to answer the question (past verb tense)

 

References are almost exclusively used in the introduction and the discussion. The references cited should be those which are the most valid and the most available. Articles in peer-reviewed journals satisfy both these criteria. Books, Master’s and PhD theses and some conference proceedings, those for which papers are rigorously reviewed, are also valid sources, but usually take longer to find. Abstracts do not contain enough information to allow critical evaluation of the work. Journal articles which have been accepted for publication are a valid source but those which have been submitted (but not yet accepted) are not, as they are unavailable. Avoid citing perusal communications and unpublished reports or observations. These are not strong evidence because they are unable to be accessed and evaluated. The number of references should be limited to the fewest number necessary by choosing the most important, the most valid and where appropriate, the most recent (Zeiger, 1991).

Methods

This section is descriptive. The main consideration is to ensure that enough detail is provided to verify the findings and to enable replication of the study by an appropriately trained person. Information should be presented, using the past verb tense, in chronological order. Sub-headings should be used, where appropriate. Reference may be made to a published paper as an alternative to describing a lengthy procedure. Many journals require mention of relevant ethics committee(s) approval for the study and that subjects gave informed consent. Table 3 provides an outline for the content of the methods section.

Table 3: Methods

Outline of the study design Subjects Method of sampling and recruitment; Number of subjects; and Justification of sample size. Inclusion, exclusion and withdrawal criteria; Method of allocation to study groups. Variables Independent, dependent, extraneous, controlled. Pilot Studies Outcome of any pilot studies which led to modifications to the main study. Materials Equipment, instruments or measurement tools (include model number and manufacturer).

Procedures Detailed description, in chronological order, of exactly what was done and by whom. Major ethical considerations Data reduction/statistical analyses Method of calculating derived variables, dealing with outlying values and missing data. Methods used to summarise data (present verb tense). Statistical software (name, version or release number); Statistical tests (cite a reference for less commonly used tests) and what was compared; Critical alpha probability (p) value at which differences/relationships were considered to be statistically significant.