学术英语理工 2013-2014-2

Unit 4 Writing a Literature Review I. Teaching Objectives

In this unit, you will learn how to:

1.write a self-contained literature review

2.write a literature review as a part of an essay 3.cite sources by correct quotation and paragraphs

4.give the appropriate documentation to the source you use 5.avoid different kinds of plagiarism 6.identify common knowledge 7.acquire paraphrasing skills

8.enhance language skills related with reading and listening material presented in this unit

II. Teaching Procedures

1 Writing a literature review

Task 1

1 The four articles were published right after the Fukushima disaster in Japan and all addressed the topic of potential risks of nuclear radiation.

2 Radiation is not so terrible as expected and human beings are exposed to different sources of radiation every day. Whether it will endanger human health or not depends on the duration and strength of radiation exposure.

3 Amber Cornelio holds a different attitude from the other three authors. He believes that radiation exposure will certainly raise the risk of getting cancer and government officials downplay its potential danger to justify its use of nuclear power. 4 Answers may vary.

5 It seems that Text 11, 12, 14 provide more scientific facts about nuclear radiation than Text 13 which is more emotionally charged by using many rhetorical questions and phrases like “I am simply floored”, “let officials be oblivious”, “not to be outdone”, “Do not tell us about that”. Hence it appears less reliable and trustworthy.

Task 2

Compared with uranium which the production of conventional nuclear power needs, there is more lithium in the sea water which can support 30 million years’ fusion fuel.

Task 3

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学术英语理工 2013-2014-2

1 Review the previous related studies 2 State the previous studies’ limitation

3 Announce the direction for further studies

2 Writing a self-contained literature review

Task 1

1 Stigmatization, a kind of social rejection, is big challenge to the mentally ill. They are rejected by people because of the label they carry or that their behaviors indicate that they belong to a certain labeled group.

2 To report the past studies of the topic. Studies have proved that stigmatization of the mentally ill is caused by the public’s belief in myths about the dangerousness of the mentally ill and exposing those myths can reduce stigmatization. 3 Three articles.

4 Pescosolido & Tuch (2000) thought that a common respond to the mentally ill are rejection and fear of violence. Another article concluded that rejection and fear are caused by less contact with mentally ill. Alexander and Link (2003) found that any type of contact with mentally ill individuals reduced perceptions of dangerousness of the target.

5 1) What are major causes for the rejection and fear, and can they be reduced? 2) This finding is verified by Alexander and Link (2003).

Task 2 Text 11

Title: Risks of Nuclear Power Author(s): Bernard L. Cohen

Source: http://www.physics.isu.edu.

Summary: Radiation from nuclear power is feared to have the potential of causing a cancer or some genetic diseases. This fear, however, is dismissed by Cohen after he compares artificial radiation and the radiation that occurs naturally in our environment, analyzing their respective impact on human health. Cohen separately discusses the different sources of nuclear power risks and arrives at the following conclusions: 1) the probability of real reactor accidents, with the safety system of defense in depth, are extremely small; 2) radioactive waste, if properly handled, causes negligible damage; 3) other radiation problems, such as accidents in transportation or radon exposures in mining, are also not so threatening as they seem to be. In summary he believes that radiation due to nuclear power will cause much fewer cancers and deaths than coal burning. (130 words)

Text 12

Title: How Radiation Threatens Health Author(s): Nina Bai

Source: Scientific American Summary: Nina Bai addresses the widespread concerns over the health effects of radiation exposure in the wake of Fukushima nuclear crisis. She discusses three determinative factors: the

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学术英语理工 2013-2014-2

level, type and duration of radiation exposure. First, radiation sickness usually occurs when there is excessive dose of exposure, though the limits of radiation level differ for the general public, radiation workers, and patients going through medical radiation. Second, of the four types of ionizing radiation, gamma, X-ray, alpha, and beta, the latter two, albeit being lower energy, are more likely to cause health damage. Third, a very high single dose of radiation can be more harmful than the same dosage accumulated over time. Finally, Bai draws on the lesson of Chernobyl, and concludes radiation exposure within reasonable limit is not so fearful and it is good to exercise caution. (136 words) Text 13

Title: Should Nuclear Radiation Found in Domestic Milk Come as a Surprise? Author(s): Amber Cornelio Source: http://www. allvoices.com Summary: Amber Cornelio (2011) maintains that radiation from Japan’s Fukushima disaster has threatened the daily life of ordinary Americans. He challenges the government’s view that radioactive materials detected in domestic milk, vegetables and rainwater will pose no public health concern. He suspects that the government is downplaying the potential dangers of radiation to justify its use of nuclear power. He believes the government has failed to do the job of protecting people. In the end, he urges the government to be more responsible and stop building power plants on a faulty line. He warns that covering up the facts is not the key to avoid similar disasters in the future. (108 words) 66

Text 14

Title: Radiation and Health: The Aftershocks of Japan’s Nuclear Disaster Author(s): Susan Blumenthal Source: http://www. huffingtonpost.com

Summary: Susan Blumenthal (2011) aims to inform people of nuclear radiation with scientific facts. She starts the essay with a reference to the worldwide spread of fear in the wake of Fukushima disaster and then explains what radiation is. The explanation is followed by a report of different types of radioactive materials released into the air. She goes on to tell that an exposure to those materials will increase the risks of some major diseases. However, she concedes radiation is not so menacing as was assumed and humans are exposed to naturally occurring radiation every day. Whether radiation is harmful to health or not depends on two contexts: the duration and strength of the exposure. She warns that exposure to high doses of radiation can lead to acute health problems. Long-term low dose exposure to radiation is equally fatal. (137words)

Task 3

The release of substantial amounts of radiation into the atmosphere from Fukushima nuclear plant has triggered widespread concerns over the use of nuclear power and the health effects of radiation exposure. Since the Chernobyl disaster, especially the Fukushima nuclear crisis, many scientists and scholars have attempted to estimate the effect of nuclear radiation on human health. Cohen (2011) believes the fear that nuclear radiation will cause a cancer or other genetic diseases is unnecessary. He made a detailed analysis of the effects of accidents in nuclear power plants,

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