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The College Standard

?. The College Standard. Writing College Papers: Identifying Standards and Critical Thinking Challenges. Building Blocks. Grammar Vocabulary Questions The Goals of Academic Writing. Thesis Argument Research Plagiarism. Critical Analysis Expository Writing The First Draft

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The College Standard

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  1. ? The College Standard

  2. Writing College Papers:Identifying StandardsandCritical Thinking Challenges

  3. Building Blocks • Grammar • Vocabulary • Questions • The Goals of Academic Writing • Thesis • Argument • Research • Plagiarism • Critical Analysis • Expository Writing • The First Draft • Rewriting Your Paper

  4. Grammar Not Your Bag? Give These Websites a Try! Guide to Grammar and Writing http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ University of Toronto Advice on Academic Writing http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice Guide to Grammar and Style http://newark.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/ This is a Test of the Emergency Grammar System http://jcomm.uoregon.edu/~russial/grammar/grambo.html

  5. Vocabulary • Precise usage is the hallmark of top level scholarship – you must be aware of your professors’ expectations • Discipline-specific vocabulary must be mastered in order to participate in the marketplace of ideas • The process of acquiring a strong vocabulary can help teach you how to become an active learner • Identify what it is you need to learn • Research • Connect new information to what you already know • Test your ability to apply new information • Refine understanding • Reflect on deeper meanings

  6. Questions • Identify the questions that dominate in class • Identify the questions that make you want to listen • Determine which questions prompt you to construct an informed argument in response • Will you research scholarly arguments on the topic? • Will you analyze these arguments with an open mind? • Will you risk adding your own original thinking to the scholarly discussion? http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Ecompose/student/ac_paper/what.html

  7. Goals of Academic Writing • Seek truth • Argue a point • Propose solutions • Deepen insights • Clarify a theory • Challenge conventional wisdom

  8. What is Academic Writing? • Writing is a response • Writing is linear • Writing is recursive • Writing is both subject and object • Writing is decision-making • Writing is a process, frequently involving much trial and error http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/pdf/writing.pdf

  9. Thesis • Generate several theses that respond to “on topic” questions during brainstorming • Write each thesis out using complete sentences • Evaluate the clarity of each thesis statement and force yourself to remove all obfuscation from your writing • Evaluate each thesis – is it ? • A generalization and not a fact • Demanding of proof or further development • Motivating (does it prompt the reader to look for facts and details) • Thought-provoking • Focused (avoid vague words such as interesting, good, or disgusting)

  10. Argument • Sketch out an argument for each working thesis • Identify areas where research is needed to support your premises • Research supporting premises • Discard theses/arguments whose premises prove unsupportable • Choose the working thesis that allows you to make the strongest argument for a conclusion about which you are motivated to write • Be prepared to modify your thesis to reflect the final argument that makes it into your paper

  11. What is an Argument? • A collection of statements that can be given a logical ordering such that: Given statements designated as premises and a statement designated as the conclusion, the conclusion is justified by all the information given in the premises • Arguments come in different flavors: • Deductive • Inductive • Analogy • Particular to general • General to particular http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctac/flowpt3.htm

  12. What Do We Do With Arguments? • Reconstruct – sift out the premises and the conclusion and lay bare the logical structure of the underlying argument • Assess – determine whether the premises provide sufficient grounds for the conclusion • Evaluate - judge whether the premises are true or false, clear or vague, and in need of further defense or not • Identify Fallacies – double-check the argument’s reasoning to see if any fallacies appear http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctac/argument1.htm

  13. Another Way to View Arguments A R G • The premises are allacceptable • The premises are relevant to the conclusion • The premises supply sufficient or good grounds for the conclusion Trudy Govier's A Practical Study of Argument, (3rd Ed., Wadsworth Publishing , Belmont, California 1992) as referenced by Jeff McLaughlin http://www.cariboo.bc.ca/ae/php/phil/mclaughl/courses/crit/lectures.htm

  14. Research • Take accurate and complete notes • Copy all quotes, statistics, etc. verbatim • If you do not quote, paraphrase accurately but in your own words • Record author, title, page number and note where you found the source • Clearly indicate when ideas in your notes are your own • Consider using note cards and limit each card to a single point • Develop a bibliography even if it is not needed for the final paper

  15. Plagiarism • Publication Manual • of the • American Psychological Association • Principle 6.22 of the Ethical Standards in Appendix C • Discussion on Pages 349-50

  16. Plagiarism “Quote • What is Plagiarism and Why is it Important? In college courses, we are continually engaged with other people's ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lecture, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is very important that we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. End quote” Produced by Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html

  17. Plagiarism (cont’d) “Quote • How Can Students Avoid Plagiarism?To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use • another person's idea, opinion, or theory; • any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings--any pieces of information--that are not common knowledge; • quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words; or • paraphrase of another person's spoken or written words. End quote” Produced by Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html

  18. Critical Analysis • Anticipate readers’ questions about the strength of your argument and supporting evidence • Is your argument clearly delineated? • Have you left critical assumptions unnamed? • Have you acknowledged contextual limitations to the universality of your argument? • Have you been able to cite evidence or justification that draws on sources outside your personal beliefs and values? • Have you addressed obvious objections to your argument or evaluated readily accessible counter-evidence?

  19. Basic Expository Writing • Outline your argument (premises and conclusion) before writing • Present your conclusion in your thesis statement and outline your supporting premises in your introduction • Write at least one paragraph in support of each premise • Use transitions to link your premises and to structure your argument • Write a paragraph summarizing the logic of your argument and acknowledging external assumptions if necessary • Summarize your thesis in your concluding paragraph and outline the significance of your findings

  20. Thesis Premise 1 Premise 2 Premise 3 Conclusion

  21. The First Draft • Write one idea per paragraph • Follow notes that have been organized logically • Go for quantity, not quality • Write for revision, not delivery • Write freely • Write about what is most comfortable first • Develop a habit that encourages you to write on a regular basis – with or without inspiration • Identify times when your “deep” mind is most active, and plan to write after those periods

  22. Write in Haste, Revise at Leisure • Allow 50% of your time for planning, research, and writing the first draft • Allow the other 50% for revising your paper

  23. Rewriting Your Paper • When rewriting, consider: • Your reader • Precise language • Careful thinking • Your own learning – rewriting is a great way to learn the material • To achieve distance when revising your paper, try: • Reading it aloud to yourself • Have someone else read it aloud to you • Schedule at least one day between revisions, or three or four days if possible

  24. Rewriting Your Paper (cont’d) • Cut – anything that does not contribute to your thesis • Paste – reorder and add new transitions after cutting portions • Fix– words, phrases, sentence structures • Prepare – adhere to good production values and give proper credit • Proof – check your grammar and confirm that your paper features: • Clear thesis statement • Sentences or paragraphs that orient the reader – introduction, transitions and summary • Supporting details – specific quotations, examples, and statistics • Lean sentences • Action verbs and concrete, specific nouns

  25. Recommended First Steps to Applying Grammar Rules to Your Writing • You must be able to identify the subject and verb of every sentence • Your subject and verb must agree (singular vs. plural) • You must be able to identify every Independent Clause [IC] in every sentence • Every [IC] can end with a period or connect to another [IC] with the following punctuation/connectors: • [IC]; [IC]. • [IC], and [IC]. • [IC]; however, [IC]. • [IC] : Defining [IC]. • (note that the colon can also be used [IC] : list or explanation.)

  26. [IC]; [IC]. semi-colon [IC], and [IC]. comma with fanboys connector [IC]; however, [IC]. semi-colon and commawith non-fanboys connector [IC]: [IC]. colon with capitalized IC

  27. How Grammar Affects Content: Consider Parallel Structure Publication Manual pages 57-60 parallel construction Also see Publication Manual pages 115-117 seriation Publication Manual pages 40-60 grammar review

  28. How Style Affects Content: Consider Use of Third Person Publication Manual pages 37-38 Publication Manual pages 31-40 writing style review

  29. How To Critique Your Own Paper Essay Level What am I arguing for? (Thesis) Do I respond to the assignment or fulfill my purpose for writing? (Audience) Will my reader follow my reasoning? (Direction)

  30. How To Critique Your Own Paper Paragraph Level Does each sentence in my paragraph relate to the topic sentence? (Cohesion) Can my readers relate each paragraph to my thesis? (Structure and Transitions)

  31. How To Critique Your Own Paper Sentence Level Is every sentence complete? Do I know what rule explains each punctuation mark I use? Did I use only clear language to vary my sentence styles?

  32. How To Critique Your Own Paper Word Level Are my word choices appropriate? Do corresponding terms agree grammatically? Did I use correct spelling and capitalization?

  33. Handouts Available Online • http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/commas.html • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/679/01/

  34. Georgia Baptist College of Nursing • APA Writing Standards • a. Page Format: Title page: Correct placement of running head, header with page numbers, title, name of student. Subsequent pages: Pagination, page headers, and margins correct on subsequent pages. • b. References within Body of Paper: correct use of author(s) name and date. Correct ampersand use (ampersand within parentheses; ‘and’ outside). Secondary sources cited correctly (as cited in….). Refer to authors, not titles, in review of literature; ‘et al’ rule based on current edition of APA; • c. Quoted Material: Accurate referencing of direct quotes within the paper (include page number and quotations, along with author(s) and date).    • d. Reference Page: 100% accuracy on reference page of books, journal, and electronic sources. Alphabetized, ampersand as appropriate, year in correct place; title and volume italicized; capitalization of first word title/subtitle; correct capitalization. Correct URL address and retrieval date that leads reader to correct site. • e. Reference inclusion and noninclusion: Authors in text of paper and reference list exactly matched; noninclusion of sources such as personal communication, references cited in text of paper.

  35. APA Writing Standards • Manuscript Format • Page format: • Times New Roman or Courier 12 point font FIND “font size” vs. “typeface” (p. 285-6) • 1” text margins and double-space all lines • 0.5” top margin and 1” right margin for page numbers FIND “page number” (p. 288) • 0.5” tab settings (or 5 to 7 spaces) • Publication Manual pages 283-305 manuscript preparation • Publication Manual pages 306-314 sample manuscript

  36. APA Writing Standards • Manuscript Format • Title page: • Manuscript page header is included with page number=1 • Running head is located 1” down from top of page • Title, byline, and institutional affiliation are centered and capitalized

  37. APA Writing Standards • Manuscript Format • Subsequent pages: • Manuscript headers appear on every page and pagination is continuous • Title is centered on first page of text • Section headers and text sections follow with no page breaks until the reference list is started on a new page with a centered heading: • References

  38. APA Writing Standards • Manuscript Format • Title: Concise statement of main topic that is fully explanatory and limited to 10-12 words • Running head: Abbreviated title not to exceed 50 characters • Manuscript page headers: First two or three words from the title placed 5 spaces before the page number • c

  39. APA Writing Standards • Manuscript Format • Headings: • Publication Manual pages 111-115 headings • http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocAPAHeadings.html

  40. APA Writing Standards • References within Body of Paper • Supply only surname(s) and year of publication for works appearing on the reference list • Anticipate a strict correspondence between your reference list and in text citations (save personal communications) • Publication Manual pages 207-214 citations in text

  41. APA Writing Standards • References within Body of Paper • Citations may appear within narrative text or inside parentheses • Year of publication typically appears inside parentheses and may or may not be preceded by author name(s) delimited by a final comma

  42. APA Writing Standards • References within Body of Paper • Within the same paragraph, later references to a cited work need not include the year as part of the citation so long as the source is still uniquely identified for the reader

  43. APA Writing Standards • References within Body of Paper • Multiple surnames are connected using “and” within narrative text • Multiple surnames are connected using “&” within parenthetical citations • Lists of multiple surnames may be abbreviated using “et al.” as instructed on pages 208-9 • http://www.noodletools.com/helpdesk/index.php?action=kb&article=52

  44. APA Writing Standards • References within Body of Paper • When the work to be cited is not identified with an author or authors, use the group name, title, or other index string that matches the entry as it appears in the alphabetical ordering of your reference list • Write group names out in full at least once, but long article titles may be identified by their first few words

  45. APA Writing Standards • References within Body of Paper • When two or more works are to be included in a parenthetical citation, put the entries inside the parentheses in the same order as their corresponding entries appear in the reference list

  46. APA Writing Standards • References within Body of Paper • Exception: • Personal communications do not have corresponding reference list entries, so provide the exact dates for a communication and the communicator’s initials as well as surname in both narrative and parenthetical citations • Publication Manual page 214 reference citations

  47. APA Writing Standards • References within Body of Paper • Exception (sort of): FIND • Secondary sources should be indexed by the secondary source: • put the secondary source in a parenthetical citation and enter the same source alphabetically in the reference list • name the original work in the narrative text • Publication Manual page 247 references

  48. APA Writing Standards • Quoted Material • Direct quotes within paper: • Integrate short quotations of fewer than 40 words into narrative text by enclosing quotation in double quotation marks • Use block format (no quotation marks) for quotations 40 words or longer and indent the entire block using the tab setting for paragraph indents • Publication Manual pages 117-122 quotations

  49. APA Writing Standards • Quoted Material • Direct quotes within paper: • Reproduce quoted material exactly as it appears in the source – see instructions on pages 118-20 when minor changes or corrections must be made or noted • Add location information to citations so readers can find the quotation easily (page numbers, section headings, paragraph numbers, etc.)

  50. APA Writing Standards • Quoted Material • Punctuation: • Publication Manual page 121 quotations • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/

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