Structural Components & Academic Writing

1. Structural Components & Academic Writing By Erin L. Kelley, J.D., M.A.

2. Components of College-Level Essays and Papers • Academic papers, of every kind, are double-spaced, Times New Roman Font with: • MLA Heading • Title • Introduction with a thesis statement/claim • Body-paragraphs/support with smooth transitions • Conclusion

3. MLA Heading • An MLA Heading requires the following information on the upper left-hand side of your paper: • Your full name • Professor • Course name & number • Due date, month, year • Centered title

4. MLA Heading Example • An example of an MLA Heading • Michael Thomas • Prof. Kelley • English 1301 • 9 May 2011 • Centered title

5. MLA Page Numbers • Page numbers are required on your paper • You may place page numbers in two ways: • As a header-aligned to the right-(last name and page number) or • Page number on bottom right

6. Title: Why is it important? • Introduces the topic of discussion to the audience • Generates reader interest in the topic

7. Choosing an Engaging Title • Try to grab attention • Avoid titles that are too general or lack character

8. What’s in an Introduction? • Acquaints the reader with the topic and purpose of the paper • Generates the audience’s interest in the topic

9. What NOT to do in an Introduction • Things NOT to do in an introductory paragraph: • Apologize. • Announce your intentions. • Let your reader perceive your purpose. • Dilly-dally.

10. Techniques for a strong introduction: • Professional writers who write for magazines and receive pay for their work use four basic patterns to grab a reader's interest: • historical review • anecdotal • surprising statement • declarative (source: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/intros.htm)

11. 1. Historical Review: • Historical: Brief Historical Review. • From "Integration Turns 40" by Juan Williams in Modern Maturity, April/May, 1994: • The victory brought pure elation and joy. It was May 1954, just days after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. At NAACP headquarters in New York the mood was euphoric. Telegrams of congratulations poured in from around the world; reporters and well-wishers crowded the halls.

12. 2. Anecdotal • Anecdotal: An anecdote is a little story. • From "Going, Going, GONE to the Auction!" by Laurie Goering in Chicago Tribune Magazine, July 4, 1994: • Mike Cantlon remembers coming across his first auction ten years ago while cruising the back roads of Wisconsin. He parked his car and wandered into the crowd, toward the auctioneer's singsong chant and wafting smell of barbecued sandwiches. Hours later, Cantlon emerged lugging a $22 beam drill-for constructing post-and-beam barns—and a passion for auctions that has clung like a cocklebur on an old saddle blanket. "It's an addiction," says Cantlon, a financial planner and one of the growing number of auction fanatics for whom Saturdays will never be the same.

13. 3. Surprising Statement • Surprising statement: Interest Generator • from "60 Seconds That Could Save Your Child" by Cathy Perlmutter with Maureen Sangiorgio in Prevention, September, 1993: • Have a minute? Good. Because that may be all it takes to save the life of a child—your child. Accidents kill nearly 8000 children under age 15 each year (Perlmutter 12). And for every fatality, 42 more children are admitted to hospitals for treatment (Perlmutter 18). Yet such deaths and injuries can be avoided through these easy steps parents can take right now. You don't have a minute to lose.

14. 4. Declarative • Declarative: More “Fact” Based, straightforward; may incorporate statistics or outside source material. • From "The Tuition Tap" by Tim Lindemuth in K-Stater, February, 1994: • In the College of Veterinary Medicine and Engineering, for example, a recent survey indicated that nearly one-third of the teaching faculty may retire by the year 2004 (Bowman 87). The survey also indicated that in the College of Education, more than a third of the professors are 55 years old and older (Bowman 89). The largest turnover for a single department is projected to be in geology. More than half of its faculty this year are in the age group that will retire at the millennium, says Ron Downey of K-State's Office of Institutional Research and Analysis. The graying of K-State's faculty is not unique. A Regents' report shows approximately 27 percent of the faculty at the six state universities will retire by the end of this decade, creating a shortage of senior faculty (“Regent’s Report” 98).

15. Introduction & Thesis Statement/Claim • Last sentence of introduction • Main idea • Umbrella • Claim in argumentative essays. • Avoid declaratory language

16. Group Activity: Analyzing Introductions • Here is the first paragraph of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.'s essay The Crisis of American Masculinity. Notice how everything drives the reader toward the last sentence and how that last sentence clearly signals what the rest of this essay is going to do. • What has happened to the American male? For a long time, he seemed utterly confident in his manhood, sure of his masculine role in society, easy and definite in his sense of sexual identity. The frontiersmen of James Fenmore Cooper, for example, never had any concern about masculinity; they were men, and it did not occur to them to think twice about it. Even well into the twentieth century, the heroes of Dreiser, of Fitzgerald, of Hemingway remain men. But one begins to detect a new theme emerging in some of these authors, especially in Hemingway: the theme of the male hero increasingly preoccupied with proving his virility to himself. And by mid-century, the male role had plainly lost its rugged clarity of outline. Today men are more and more conscious of maleness not as a fact but as a problem. The ways by which American men affirm their masculinity are uncertain and obscure. However, ultimately, there are multiplying signs, indeed, that suggest something has gone badly wrong with the American male's conception of himself. • How does the author begin the introduction (historical, anecdote, shocking statement, declarative)? • Analyze the middle of the introduction. What does he do? • Analyze his thesis statement. How does the introductory technique and the middle of the introduction lead into the thesis. Do the two parts logically connect? How so or how not?

17. Group Activity • Thesis statement: Texting while driving should be a criminal offense. • Develop an introduction for this thesis statement using an introduction technique discussed: • historical review • anecdotal • surprising statement • declarative

18. Coherence: Transitions Between Ideas • What’s the point of transitions? • Connection & Cohesion • Flow • Prevent reader from getting lost

19. Addition-again, also, and, and then, besides, equally important, finally, first, further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, last, moreover, next, second, still, too Comparison-also, in the same way, likewise, similarly Concession-granted, naturally, of course Contrast-although, and yet, at the same time, but at the same time, despite that, even so, even though, for all that, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, otherwise, regardless, still, though, yet Emphasis-certainly, indeed, in fact, of course Example or Illustration-after all, as an illustration, even, for example, for instance, in conclusion, indeed, in fact, in other words, in short, it is true, of course, namely, specifically, that is, to illustrate, thus, truly Summary-all in all, altogether, as has been said, finally, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, in particular, in short, in simpler terms, in summary, on the whole, that is, therefore, to put it differently, to summarize Time Sequence-after a while, afterward, again, also, and then, as long as, at last, at length, at that time, before, besides, earlier, eventually, finally, formerly, further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, in the past, last, lately, meanwhile, moreover, next, now, presently, second, shortly, simultaneously, since, so far, soon, still, subsequently, then, thereafter, too, until, until now, when Transition Chart

20. Body-Paragraphs/Supporting Reasons to the Thesis • Written Idea • Support • Main idea, details, conclusion

21. Transition Exercise • Use a transition to link the following sentences: • 1. The Harrisons were having a party. Their daughter was getting engaged. • 2. The police issued a warning on the radio. A dangerous man had escaped from hospital. • 3. Leslie was worried about the killer. Her husband was only worried about the car. • 4. Leona could not walk in the rain. Her clothes were not suitable. • 5. No-one could see him. Joe hid under a blanket. • 6. Marie heard a strange sound on the roof. She became very frightened. • 7. Several policemen leapt out. One of them rushed towards the car. • 8. The knocking continued all night. Amy could not sleep. • 9. The policeman told Violet not to look back. She could not help it. • 10. George went to find help. The car broke down.

22. Conclusion • What’s in a conclusion? • Wrap up • Avoid redundancy • Goal=deeper understanding

23. Conclusion: What Not to Do • No new ideas or arguments • Don’t apologize • Don’t cram

24. Ideas for a Strong Conclusion • include a brief summary of the paper's main points-without repeating what has already been stated. • ask a provocative question. • use a quotation. • evoke a vivid image. • call for some sort of action. • end with a warning. • universalize (compare to other situations). • suggest results or consequences.

25. Group Work: Conclusion • Here is the concluding paragraph of George Orwell's famous essay, "Politics and the English Language." • What techniques from the previous slide does Orwell use? (ie. ask a provocative question, use a quotation, evoke a vivid image, call for some sort of action, end with a warning, universalize (compare to other situations), and/or suggest results or consequences) • I have not here been considering the literary use of language, but merely language as an instrument for expressing and not for concealing or preventing thought. Stuart Chase and others have come near to claiming that all abstract words are meaningless, and have used this as a pretext for advocating a kind of political quietism. Since you don't know what Fascism is, how can you struggle against Fascism? One need not swallow such absurdities as this, but one ought to recognize that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy. You cannot speak any of the necessary dialects, and when you make a stupid remark its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself. Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits, and from time to time one can even, if one jeers loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase — some jackboot, Achilles' heel, hotbed, melting pot, acid test, veritable inferno, or other lump of verbal refuse — into the dustbin, where it belongs.