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1. SCIENTIFIC WRITING http://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/essay-writing.html

2. A paraphrase is... • One’s own version of essential information presented in a new form, from ideas expressed by someone else. • In a legitimate way borrow information from another source (accompanied by accurate documentation) . • A restatement / summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

3. Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because it... • is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage. • helps you control the temptation to quote too much. • is an thinking exercise that helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

4. 7 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing • Read / Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning. • Make a list of the important points from the passage. • Set the original aside, and write sentences on a note card from the points to convey the message. • 4. Jot down a few key words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.

5. 7 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing……. 5. Check your rendition with the original - to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form. 6. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source. 7. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can cite it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

6. Examples : 1. Original: Giraffes like acacia leaves and hay and they can consume 75 pounds of food a day. Paraphrase: A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of acacia leaves and hay everyday.  2. Original: Any trip to Italy should include a visit to Tuscany to sample their exquisite wines. Paraphrase: Be sure to include a Tuscan wine- tasting experience when visiting Italy.  

7. Example 3. In The Sopranos, the mob is besieged as much by inner infidelity as it is by the federal government. Early in the series, the greatest threat to Tony's Family is his own biological family. One of his closest associates turns witness for the FBI, his mother colludes with his uncle to contract a hit on Tony, and his kids click through Web sites that track the federal crackdown in Tony's gangland. 

8. The main point of this passage is that problems within the family are as bad as or even worse than problems caused by the federal government. Details about this betrayal include one family member turning informant, a hit being put out on Tony by family members, and Tony’s kids tracking his activities.

9. Example 3. In ‘The Sopranos’, the mob is besieged as much by inner infidelity as it is by the federal government. Early in the series, the greatest threat to Tony is his own biological family. One of his closest associates turns witness for the FBI, his mother colludes with his uncle to contract a hit on Tony, and his kids click through Web sites that track the federal crackdown in Tony's gangland. 

10. Some changes that can be made during the paraphrasing process:  Early in the series = first season Besieged = threatened Closest friend and associate = confidant His mother colludes with his uncle = his mother and uncle are conspiring His kids click through Web sites = his children are surfing the Web.

11. Example 3. In The Sopranos, the mob is besieged as much by inner infidelity as it is by the federal government. Early in the series, the greatest threat to Tony's Family is his own biological family. One of his closest associates turns witness for the FBI, his mother colludes with his uncle to contract a hit on Tony, and his kids click through Web sites that track the federal crackdown in Tony's gangland. 

12. Paraphrased: 3. In the first season of ‘The Sopranos’, Tony Soprano’s mobster activities are more threatened by members of his biological family than by agents of the federal government. This familial betrayal is multi-pronged: Tony’s closest friend and associate is an FBI informant; his mother and uncle are conspiring to have him killed; and his children are surfing the Web for information about his activities. 

13. Example 4 : Wines drunk at Greek tables did not always come from Greece itself. The wine snobbery of the time extolled the merits of wines from the slopes of Mount Lebanon, from Palestine, Egypt and Magna Graecia-Greater Greece, i.e., southern Italy. The ten litres a day drunk by the famous wrestler Milo of Croton was a wine famous in Calabria, where Milo lived: this wine, Ciro, is still made.

14. Edit the following sentence : Without mayking a judgment on them, it is surprising how menypeeple spell carelesly without any acknowledgement of their mistakes; good spelling is the principle cornerstone of accessible and legable writing, make it a vitle part of study and not sumthingseperate!

15. Examples 4 : Paraphrased Although Greeks were picky about their wine, they enjoyed wine from outside Greece. Upstanding Greeks enjoyed wine from many of Greece's local trading partners—including Palestine, Egypt and southern Italy. One story tells about the famous wrestler Milo of Croton, who consumed ten liters of foreign wine daily (Toussaint-Samat 263).

16. Class activity : Paraphrase the given article 

17. Class activity : Edit the sentence

18. Edited sentence Without mayking a judgment on them, it is surprising how meny people spell carelesly without any acknowledgement of their mistakes; good spelling is the principle cornerstone of acessible and legable writing, make it a vitale part of study and not sumething separate.

19. Edited sentence Without making a judgment on them, it is surprising how many people spell carelessly without any acknowledgement of their mistakes; good spelling is the principle cornerstone of accessible and legible writing, make it a vital part of study and not something separate!

20. Spelling Exercises Common spelling errors and distinguishing between the different uses of these words.

21. their  (possessive form of they) there  (in that place) they're  (contraction of they are) accept (a verb, meaning to receive or to admit to a group) except (usually a preposition, meaning but or only) who's  (contraction of who is or who has) Whose (possessive form of who)

22. its  (possessive form of it) it's  (contraction of it is or it has) your  (possessive form of you) you're  (contraction of you are) affect  (usually a verb, meaning to influence) effect  (usually a noun, meaning result)

23. Than (used in comparison) then  (refers to a time in the past) were  (form of the verb to be) we're  (contraction of we are) where  (related to location or place)

24. Punctuation • Comma  , • Full stop . • Exclamation mark  ! • Question mark  ? • Semi-colon  ; • Colon  : • Apostrophe  ' • Quotation marks  “   ” • Hyphen  -  • Brackets  (  )  or [   ] • Slash  /

25. The comma ( , ) : • pause before proceeding • add a phrase that does not contain any new subject • separate items on a list • use more than one adjective (a describing word, like beautiful) Full Stop (.) A full stop should always be used to end a sentence.  The full stop indicates that a point has been made and that you are about to move on to further explanations or a related point.

26. Exclamation Mark (!) An exclamation mark indicates strong feeling within a sentence, such as fear, anger or love. It is also used to accentuate feeling within the written spoken word. Question Mark (?) The question mark simply indicates that a sentence is asking a question.  It always comes at the end of a sentence. 

27. Semi-colon (;) the semi-colon is used in the following ways: When joining two connected sentences. Can also be used to assemble detailed lists. Colon  (:) The colon within a sentence makes a very pointed pause between two phrases.  It is most commonly used when listing.  Or it can be used within a heading, or descriptive title.

28. Apostrophe (’) The apostrophe, sometimes called an inverted comma has two main uses. It indicates possession or ownership. It indicates where a letter is omitted Quotation or Speech Marks (“….”) Quotation or speech marks are used to: To mark out speech When quoting someone else's speech

29. Hyphen (-) The hyphen is used to link words together. sub-part; eighteenth-century; people week-end; second-class post; gender-neutral; non-verbal The hyphen is also used when a word is split between two lines.  The hyphen should be placed between syllables at the end of the upper line and indicates to the reader that the word will be completed on the next line.

30. Brackets (   ) : Brackets always come in pairs (  ) and are used to make an aside, or a point which is not part of the main flow of a sentence.  If you remove the words between the brackets, the sentence should still make sense.  • Square Brackets […] • A different set of square brackets [   ] can be used: • to abbreviate lengthy quotations • to correct the tense of a quotation to suit the tense of your own sentence • to add your own words to sections of an abbreviated quotation.

31. Slash  (/) Many people use the slash instead of or, and etc., but this is not always helpful to the reader.  There is, however, a modern convention in gender-neutral writing to use ‘s/he’.

32. When to Use Capital Letters Rule 1: To Start a Sentence There are no exceptions to this rule. This means that, after a full stop, you always use a capital letter. Rule 2: Titles In titles, capitalise only the important words, not minor words such as ‘and’ and ‘but’.

33. When to Use Capital Letters Rule 3: For Proper Nouns Proper nouns name something specific, for example, Jane, John, Oxford University, Denver, Quantas, Microsoft, Everest, Sahara. Rule 4: Acronyms Acronyms generally work like title case: you capitalise the important words, and not ‘and’, ‘of’, ‘for’ and so on.

34. When to Use Capital Letters Rule 5: Contractions For contractions, capitalise the initial letters of words, but not subsequent letters within the same word.

35. Do you think that: • Making your writing complicated will impress your readers? • Inflated vocabulary and convoluted sentence structures will make you look clever? • Seven words or phrases are better than one? • Lots of abbreviations, jargon and all the latest management buzzwords are required? • Or do you just want to use lots of words to fill up that word count?

36. Define / spell out jargons and abbreviations Keep sentences short Be direct Keep it simple Write for your audience

38. Tips on how to review your work: : • First take a break before rereading /rewritting. • Pick out the jargon; Look for the phrases ; Ask yourself what does this mean ? Do they add to the meaning ? Rewrite or delete the phrase. • Delete unnecessary words. • “in order to” can be replaced with “to”; “together with” or “in conjunction with” - “with”.

39. Tips on how to review your work: : • Shorten your sentences. You may find that in some places you made a point but then had to qualify it by explaining background Information as an afterthought in lots of sub clauses. If you have, reorder the information and use more than one sentence to rewrite it. • Repeat these stages until you are happy with the text.

40. Take home message Plain English is communicates clearly and concisely to the audience.

41. Example Clichés to Avoid The following list is by no means comprehensive but does highligh some common clichés. Clichés are often different in different cultures and in different environments. In a nutshell. At long last. Going forward. All walks of life. At the end of the day. Bring to the table. I'm giving it 110%. Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today. As bold as brass. Uphill battle. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Too little, too late. Sleeping like the dead. Actions speak louder than words. Two wrongs don't make a right. Never say never. Laughter is the best medicine. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.