Essentials of the IMRaD Paper
Purdue Language and Cultural Exchange (PLaCE) [rev. 22 AUG 2025]
Instructor: Charles Allen Brown, PhD/Instructor Email: brow1863@purdue.edu
Workshop Focus
Essentials of the IMRaD Paper is a series of five workshops with each focusing on one part of the IMRaD structure. This document provides details about the entire series. Students may attend any of the five workshops. Since each is two days, it is best to attend both days of a particular workshop.
Who is the IMRaD series for?
This series is for English language learners who plan to do advanced academic writing (articles, theses, dissertations).
WORKSHOP #1. STRUCTURE & FLOW OF IMRaD PAPERS (Meeting 1 & 2)
Meeting 1
Research Paper structure: https://youtu.be/BAS9I4tFgV8?si=0JZjeNhhOY2jOxh-
Language Focus: Achieving “Flow”
-Idea Flow (15:43 Video) https://youtu.be/-BiwmpPDCpk?si=wocrO4kg_eBCwXMX
-Sentence Flow (11:32 Video) https://youtu.be/hhVic18H4u4?si=7cJfR7D14XnD75nX
-Phonetic Flow (10:43) - https://youtu.be/YYH6vfNiqxw?si=WYr9mciZheTnx9Qj
-Paragraph Structure - https://www.uefap.org/writing-paragraphs-exercises/
Meeting 2
Please bring a paper from your field (or one you are writing) to share. Focus on talking about any aspect of flow such as paragraph structure.
2. WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW (Class 3 & 4)
Meeting 3
The Literature Review: https://youtu.be/ecbLBu9ZNEQ?si=gRlQNhSK7POD1ekj
Language Focus: Using signal phrases (see attached document)
Meeting 4
Bring a paper from your field to share. Be ready to focus on the literature review, especially how the writer uses it to warrant their research. Be ready to talk about how the writer uses (or does not use) signal phrases.
3. WRITING THE METHODS AND MATERIALS SECTION (Class 5 & 6)
Meeting 5
How To Write A Methodology Chapter For A Dissertation Or Thesis: https://youtu.be/W0vNS1VafXA?si=A7c1x8djTU0OO88e
Language focus: Active and passive voice https://youtu.be/pHZ1Xve3au0?si=69NLMojex0A_xcR1 (also see attached document)
Meeting 6
Bring a paper from your own field to share. Be ready to focus on the methodology, especially how they do or do not promote replicability and how they do or do not use passive voice.
4. WRITING THE RESULTS SECTION (Class 7 & 8)
Meeting 7
How to write the results Part 1: https://youtu.be/pKAJz3eNxbg?si=aZMM7zOVdfB7FUfG
How to write the results Part 2: https://youtu.be/29xbuBPfiZw?si=kvVY_f0EPBcpRIkn
Language Focus: Present vs. Past Tense https://youtu.be/gcuL_IaRtXc?si=DnTi0xvzsjZQBnPA
Meeting 8
Bring a paper from your own field to share. You may wish to comment on their use of present, past, and other tenses in the results.
5. WRITING THE DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION SECTION(S) (Class 9 & 10)
Meeting 9
How to Write a Strong Discussion Section | Research Paper: https://youtu.be/H8mnBc73vBQ?si=MxPsyfzPYtOZjwrd
1st and 2nd Person Pronouns in Research Papers: https://youtu.be/ZJvpzf0dk3Y?si=0TrZNAPWduNdjjJ5
Meeting 10
Bring a paper from your own field. How have they made (or failed to make) the discussion strong? How did they structure the discussion (and conclusion, if there is one) How did they use pronouns?
About Me: I hold a PhD in Educational Policy and Leadership from Ohio State University. In my research, I consider the participation and representation of different social groups in English language education. My focus is on East Asian contexts and learners.