Language tools and reflection: discourse

 

No	Items	Reason for search	Tools, method employed and reason for using tool	Description of findings from language tool	Reflection on relevance of findings for my academic work
1	Neither nor	I needed to understand whether “and” is the right word to use together with “neither” because in a recent assignment I did, the tutor told me that such combination was wrong. On the same note, I want to know the verb or adjective that could be more rightly or famously being collaborated with “neither”. The different between “either” and “neither” was not clear to me and I was also confused as to whether or not they could both take “and”, and I also made a search for “neither nor”, and “either or”, based on the collection that the tutor buffered for me.	I choose Power Thesaurus because it is free and it is a language tool that I have frequently utilized to see regular collocation patterns. The grammar check function in Power Thesaurus can be utilized to define the relationship between words and their keywords, and the context analysis button provided numerous useful examples for me to decide on whether or not they collocate. I performed a search in Power Thesaurus based on the search terms “neither” and “either”, seeking to determine the right keyword that can be used. On the same note, I looked for adjectives and verbs that come at the left of the noun. Subsequently, I looked at the Word Sketches for “neither” and “either” in the Power Thesaurus search button by enabling the grammar analysis button. Finally, performed an online search using the Oxford Dictionary to see whether “and” could follow any of the words. I believed that the Oxford Dictionary would give me the right advice as it was published by reliable publisher and written by native English speakers.	From the description of the Power Thesaurus grammar checkers, all the modifiers for “either” returned with the proposition “nor”, and this imply that “nor” is the most common collocation. “neither nor” is accompanied by a noun or a noun phrase, for instance, “neither the reader nor the speaker understood what the writer had in mind”. I also that “neither collocates with adjectives like “side”, “team”, “one”, either. Such as “neither team / side / one / won the match”. There were also collocation between “neither” and pronouns like “of”, such as “he wants neither of those shoes”. It was shown in the Online Oxford Dictionary that “neither” is normally followed by “nor”, but either does not take “nor” after it as it takes “or” instead.	I had always believed that neither can be followed by and, which is how I have been applying it in recent times. So, I have made numerous mistakes in my academic writing and speaking since I usually said things like “Neither this fact and their findings support the view”. The implication of this finding is that I need to be careful to ensure that the adverb “neither” is followed by “nor”, or the adjectives and pronouns a demonstrated in the case. On the same note, I now understand how
	Cognitive + dissonance	The aim was to understand how frequently the word “dissonance” is used in academic works based on mental conflict because in one of the lectures I involved in, the lecturer used the work “cognitive dissonance”, which I have heard before but wasn’t clearly sure about what it is, and I had the desire to see if the terms “cognitive” and “dissonance” are used together, and what they actually imply in the discourse centered on mental health.	To attain this objective, I gathered 10 academic journal articles that discussed about mental conflict in consumer behavior from the EmeraldInsight database, based on the relevance of the article, and I saved the PDF files after which I copied the content into text files. The studies were uploaded to the AdTAT software, with the focus being on word frequency for the word “cognitive” and I assessed the top 30 entries for the word “cognitive” in order to determine whether word “dissonance” was used anywhere around it.	The words “cognitive” and “dissonance” were shown to go together, although it was not necessarily next to each other in the text under analysis. However, there were significant number of times that they appear next to each other. For instance, they appear together 200 times in the studies about mental conflict, but the word “dissonance” does not always follow the word “cognitive”. The implication is that there is a close association between the words, but they could also be separated. For instance, one could write “cognitive dissonance in consumer purchase” or “cognitive nature of mental dissonance during purchase”.	Being able to identify word frequencies within a given academic writing will help me in highlighting words that are common in my field. The implication is that I will not need to lookup every new words I come across; as I will be able to see the ones that are important and assimilate them first. I will also be able to see if there are certain phrases and words that are used together with each other, and this will help me in identifying vital concepts. The fact that cognitive dissonance means mental conflict that people go through, and it is frequently employed in studies about consumer behavior, imply that being able to address such issues would help the consumer to make better and informed purchases.
3	Notwithstanding that	I needed to understand if “in” is the right word to use together with “notwithstanding” because in a recent assignment I did, the tutor told me that such combination was wrong. On the same note, I wanted to know the verb or adjective that could be more rightly or famously being collaborated with “notwithstanding”.	I choose SKEll because it is free and it is a language tool that I have frequently utilized to see regular collocation patterns and improve my comprehension. The language sketch check function in SKELL can be utilized to define the relationship between words and their keywords, and the context analysis button provided numerous useful examples for me to decide on whether or not they collocate. I performed a search in SKELL based on the search terms “notwithstanding”, to determine the right keyword that can be used. On the same note, I looked for adjectives and verbs that come it. Subsequently, I looked at the Word Sketches for “notwithstanding” in the SKELL search button by enabling the grammar analysis button. Finally, performed an online search using the Oxford Dictionary to see whether “in” could follow any of the words. I believed that the Oxford Dictionary would give me the right advice as it was published by reliable publisher and written by native English speakers.	From the description of the SKELL grammar sketch, all the modifiers for “notwithstanding” returned with the proposition “that”, and this imply that “that” is the most common collocation. “notwithstanding” that” is accompanied by a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun. for instance, “notwithstanding that, he still went on with the assignment”.	I had always believed that notwithstanding can be followed by in, which is how I have been applying it in recent times. So, I have made numerous mistakes in my academic writing and speaking since I usually said things like “notwithstanding, in issue like this”. The implication of this finding is that I need to be careful to ensure that “notwithstanding” comes before or is followed by “that”, as it would make my language easier.
4	Skills + conflict resolution	The aim was to understand how frequently the phrase “conflict resolution” is used in academic works based on teamwork because in one of the lectures I involved in, the lecturer used the work “conflict resolution skills”, which I have heard before but wasn’t clearly sure about what it is, and I had the desire to see if the terms “conflict resolution” and “skills” are used together, and what they actually imply in the discourse centered on mental health.	To attain this objective, I gathered 6 academic journal articles that discussed about team work from the Google Search database, based on the relevance of the article, and I saved the PDF files after which I copied the content into text files. The studies were uploaded to the rrr software, with the focus being on word frequency for the word “skills” and I assessed the top 30 entries for the word “skills” in order to determine whether word “conflict resolution” was used anywhere around it.	The words “skills” and “conflict resolution” were shown to go together, although they were not necessarily next to each other in the text under analysis. However, there were significant number of times that they appear next to each other. For instance, they appear together 167 times in the studies about team work, but the word “skills” does not always follow the word “conflict resolution”. The implication is that there is a close association between the words, but they could also be separated. For instance, one could write “conflict resolution skills are pivotal for address conflicts in team work” or “conflicts in teamwork can be addressed by using skills on conflict resolution”.	Being able to identify word frequencies within a given academic writing will help me in highlighting words that are common in my field. The implication is that I will not need to lookup every new words I come across; as I will be able to see the ones that are important and assimilate them first. I will also be able to see if there are certain phrases and words that are used together with each other, and this will help me in identifying vital concepts. The fact that conflict resolution means handling issues that people go through, and it is frequently employed in studies about team work, imply that being able to address such issues would help the team to make better and informed decisions, as well as perform well.
5	Correlation	I want to understand what correlation is all about and how it is applied in the academic setting. This is because I have read numerous cases where correlation were used but I found it difficult to understand or the function they play in such instances.	Since it was a single word, I made use of Google Search engine. I searched for the word “correlation” and the context where it was used.	I was able to see that correlation is used to test the “relationship”, “link”, or “connection” between two words, phrases, sentences or things. For instance, “there is a correlation between students’ performance and their attention in class”.	I now understand where correlation is used and why it is used. I can now read meaning in sentences or phrases where they are used and it will enhance my academic writing because I can now use them in the academic works.
6	In spite + of	I needed to understand if “of” is the right word to use together with “in spite” because in a recent move I watched, the actors used the phrase “in spite of”. On the same note, I wanted to know the verb or adjective that could be more rightly or famously being collaborated with “notwithstanding”. I also wanted to know if there is any difference between “in spite of” and “despite”, or if they two adjectives could be used in place of one another.	I choose Lingue because it is free, easy to learn and helps in sketching collocation and improving my comprehension. I searched the phrase to define the relationship between words and their keywords, and the context analysis button provided numerous useful examples for me to decide on whether or not they collocate. I performed a search on the phrase and based on the search terms “in spite”, to determine the right keyword that can be used. On the same note, I looked for adjectives and verbs that come with it. Subsequently, I looked at the Word Sketches for “in spite” in the learner’s dictionary search button by enabling the grammar analysis button. I also searched for “despite” to determine whether or not it can be used to replace “in spite of”.	From the description of the learner’s dictionary, all the modifiers for “in spite” returned with the proposition “of”, and this imply that it is the right collocation. I tried to see if there is another word aside “of” that can collocate with it, but it discovered that it is the only word used in collocating with it. I also discovered that “despite” can be used to replace it in any sentence or form. For instance “in spite of the available data in the study” or “despite the available data in the study”.	I had no previous idea of how “in spite of” is used within the context of academic writing or speaking, which is why I have not used it before. I normally use “despite”. The findings have shown me that they can be used interchangeably and it has improved my vocabulary in that context. Therefore, in future writing, I will be able to use the words in place of the order in order to gain complete understanding of the issue under consideration.
7	;	I have always had issues with how to use semicolon or its main task in sentence structure.	I performed a via lex tutor, of the punctuation and how it is used in language setting.	I discovered that the main task of semicolon is to make a break that is stronger than comma, but not as strong as a full stop. The usage comes in between two main clauses that balance each other but also too closely linked to be made into separate sentences. For example “the quality of the questionnaire was measured through content validity; face validity followed it.	I have been able to understand how it is applied in language structure and I can now use it to extent sentences with strong correlation which I do not wish to make into two separate sentences.
8	ain't gonna	I recently watched a business movie on YouTube where I heard speaker make use of “ain’t gonna” in one of the explanation and I was confused about what the phrase is all about, and how it is used within the context of English language.	I choose Lingue  it is free, easy to learn and helps in sketching collocation and improving my comprehension. I searched the phrase to define the relationship between words and their keywords, and the context analysis button provided numerous useful examples for me to decide on whether becauseor not they collocate.	I couldn’t find any explanation for it. In the online learner’s dictionary. So, I used Google Search and discovered that the work is actually an informal phrase that is used to express the desire of the speaker “not to”, “am not”. For instance, “that will not happen” can be expressed as “that ain’t gonna happen”.	Clearly, it is an informal phrase and while it can be used in the video to explain things that the actor will never do, it cannot be used in the academic setting due to its informal nature. Therefore, I have been able to realize that I cannot make use of such works in my assignment or other academic writing.
9	Explicate	I read this word in one of the past questions, while making revisions for an upcoming exams. I was not clear as to what it meant and needed to understand its meaning in case the word appears in my upcoming exams.	I choose online learner’s dictionary because it is free, easy to learn and helps in sketching collocation and improving my comprehension. I searched the word to define the relationship between words and their keywords, and the context analysis button provided numerous useful examples for me see how it is used in sentences.	I was able to understand that the work imply to explain, discuss, review or talk about something, depending on the context in which it was used.	It helped me to increase my vocabulary, and I am now aware of what it means in the academic setting. I can now apply it in future writings and discussions.
10	Choir	I have always been confused why the spelling of “choir” starts with “ch” and not “q” or “k”. Thus, I wanted to know how it is pronounced in order to better understand why it is spelt that way.	I used Google Pronunciation Pronunciation to learn how it is pronounced and why it starts with “ch”.	I found that it is pronounced as /ˈkwʌɪə/, which validate my thought that the spelling should start with “q” or “k”.	I was able to learn that the sound of certain words are different from the way they are spelt. This helped me understand that in spelling, I should not focus only on the sound.