By now you should have a fair idea of what the Coh-Metrix tool is, what it is for, where it all came from, and how to use it. However, knowing how to operate a text analysis tool like Coh-Metrix and knowing how to write up a research paper using a tool like Coh-Metrix are two very different things. In this part of the book, our goal is to show you how to write such a paper. What we have in mind is a short project paper, the kind of paper that would serve well as a term paper, a conference proceedings manuscript, or even the basis of a journal article, thesis, or dissertation.

A term paper, a conference proceedings manuscript, a journal article, a thesis, and a dissertation may all sound like very different composition types. However, there is a remarkably similar thread that runs through each of them. After all, whatever the Coh-Metrix project is, there is still the need to inform the project’s audience of such questions as What is the project about?, Why was it done?, How was it done?, What are the results?, and What does it all mean? In many ways then, whether writing something as short as an abstract or as long as a dissertation, the key aspects of a research paper are almost always present. It is those key aspects, questions, or communication moves (Swales, 1981, 1990) that we will be highlighting and discussing in this part of the book. By showing you where in the composition these moves occur, what they function as, what they look like, and how to write them, we hope to provide you with a thorough guide to writing an excellent Coh-Metrix research paper.