Writing Final
Principles of Concision
-Delete words that mean little or nothing (kind of) -Delete words that repeat the meaning of another word (full and complete) -Delete words that are implied by other words (past history) -Replace phrases with singular words (at the present time/now) -Change negatives to affirmatives (not different/similar) -Eliminate empty words (major or really) -Avoid "to be" verbs (is, are, was) -Avoid (there is, there are, it is)
Closer-ish: Ideas for the End of the Essay
-Say something at the end of the essay that you couldn't say at the start -WHAT'S NEXT? What should we do with this information? -SO WHAT? Why is this important? -Adress the NAYSAYER -Give as much thought to your last sentence as your first We then evaluated each closer to pick a favorite
Openers
-Startling Claim or Fact -Rhetorical Question -Humor/Apt Quotation -Statistics/Question -Personal Anecdote -Let the readers know where you're going -Be clear,funny, concise
Framing Your Thesis as a Response to Scholarly Conversation (G & B)
-State the "they say" before your thesis, so that readers won't be lost -Articulate scholarly conversation - Outline a few specific, prominent voices in the scholarly conversation - Agree and Disagree
Revising Exercises from Harris
1. Write an Abstract -What are you trying to do -Where does your essay stand -Comment on strengths and limits of your work 2. Apply the 4 Questions from Rewriting -What is your paper trying to do? -What works? -What else can be said? -What's next? 3. Make a Revising Plan -Make notes of problems
Research Session at Library
AND OR NOT ( ) " " * ?
Parenting and the Harry Potter Stories (Seden)
An analysis of parenting in Harry Potter There are certain qualities required to be a good parent ie the Weasleys Dursleys- bad, materialistic Weasleys- poor but caring Grangers- uninvolved but not bad, do what they can Malfoys-snob, superiority, money, power hungry Teachers and Caretakers- also important Accepting of Differences Parents can be biological or surrogate Have to believe in imagination
Annoying Ways People Use Sources (Stedman)
Armadillo Roadkill -dropping a quotation without introducing it first -DO: signal the quotation Dating Spiderman -starting or ending a paragraph with a quote -DO: talk about the quotation after it's said Am I In the Right Movie -Failing to integrate a qoutation into the grammar of the previous sentence I Can't Find the Stupid Link -unable to find intext citation in works cited -DO: Make sure the name is first and they are sourced the same I Swear I Did Some Research -dropping a citation without making it clear what information came from that source
In Text Citation Worksheet
At the end of a sentence (Author Page #)
MLA Guideline Brush Up for Annotated Bibliography
Author. Title. Container. What is a container? The context in which you find a source Citing Containers Name of contributor, edition, volume, publisher, sponsor, date of publication, page #, url MLA8 -No access date -No web or print -Don't repeat unnecessarily URLs -no underline -no http://
Sample Thesis Handout
Decide which thesis you think is strongest and weakest. Are any of these theses not "arguable"? Are any of them unclear?
Paper 1 Approaches to Process
Deciding if there is a scholarly conversation
In North Korea Clinton Didn't Wear His Heart on His Sleeve (Givhan)
Diplomatic Photo Analysis - Kim and Clinton -Each person is so separate and uncomfortable -No one shows any emotion -Clinton's tie gives character -Suit symbolizes western power -Validates western view that North Korea is a country of oppressed automatons without a hint of individuality -Clinton and Kim choose separate hand placements
Tips on Evaluating and Defending Source Credibility
Is it done by experts? Is it up to date? Is it biased? Is it on topic? .gov, .org, .edu or on a database
What Every Student Should Know about Avoiding Plagiarism (Stern)
It is important not to plagiarize Make sure to use summary, plot summary, quotations and paraphrase
Identifying Plagiarism
Make sure everything is sourced frequently and ideas are also cited even if they aren't qouted
Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources (Rosenberg)
Most People Find Scholarly Articles Boring You Are Participating in a Conversation Readers have an Active Role Understand Why You Are Reading Something Consider the Audience and if you are the Primary Audience Be Prepared to Face Things that Mean Nothing to You Ask for Clarification Don't try to read in one sitting Look for: The Title The Introduction (Roadmap will be here) Section Headings Conclusion
Writing Studies: Tips for Reading
Name 1 Tip How To Texts - understand and analyze suggestions Model Texts - understand what the author is trying to do and their choices Rhetorical Situation -What is the Audience, Purpose, Genre Make an Outline - Note Main Topics in Each Paragraph Read Intro and Conclusion Multiple Times Mark Strong Points Write in Margins
Love Death Curses and Reverses (in E minor) (Halfyard)
Tagg has a set of characteristics of female and male music Buffy the Vampire Slayer defies this Buffy is Coded Male and Angel is Coded Female Gender reversed musical intonation
Revival (Gu)
Text: Video Games and Music Lens: Cultural Revival Having revivalist videos games helps our culture as long as their original intention is maintained reproduction vs revival
On Writing Well (Zinsser)
Transaction -writers are all different and not everyone will be the same -for some it's fun and for some it's work etc Simplicity -we inflate to sound important -if the reader is lost it is the writers fault Clutter -Get rid of phrases that don't have a purpose -Clutter is political correctness Style -strip writing down and build it back up - use I when you write Audience -you are writing for yourself -say what you want to say
How to Read Like a Writer (Bunn)
You are reading to learn about writing Look at structure Look for good choices What is the author's purpose and intended audience Consider the genre, publisher Know what you'll be writing so you can apply it Is the language effective Are there parts you find confusing