English Midterm: Key Concepts

Take Notes Responsibly

1. Understand the ideas in the source. Ask: what is the argument? What is the evidence? 2. Keep the source close by to check for accuracy, but resist the temptation to look at the sources as you take notes -- except when you are quoting. 3. Use quotation marks around any borrowed words or phrases. Copy the words exactly and keep complete bibliographic information for each source. 4. Use labels to indicate a summary of the text or its data or a paraphrase of the author's words. 5. Develop a system to distinguish your insights and ideas from those of the source. Some researchers use a color-coding system.

Research Question

Answer your question with who, what, when, where, and why. Choosing a focused question: If your initial question is too broad, given the length of the paper you plan to write, look for ways to restrict your focus. Choosing a challenging question: Your research paper will be more interesting to both you and your audience if you base it on an intellectually challenging line of inquiry. Avoid factual questions that fail to provoke thought or debate; such questions lead to reports or lists of acts, not to researched arguments. Choosing a grounded question: Not too speculative, they are not suitable central questions. For most colleges courses, the central argument of a research paper should be grounded in evidence and should not be based entirely on beliefs. Testing a research question: - does the question allow you to enter into a research conversation that you care about? - Is the question flexible enough to allow for many possible answers? - Is the question focused, challenging, and grounded? - Can you show your audience why the question needs to be asked and why the answer matters?

Assess the Writing Situation

Consider your subject, your purpose, your audience, available sources of information, and any assignment requirements related to genre, length, document design, and deadlines look at what each of these aspects might consist of!!!!!!

how to detect fake news and misleading sources

Distort information or spread misinformation by taking information out of context or by promoting opinions as facts. 1. Consider the source. Ask: Is more than one source covering the topic? Is the author anonymous or named? What can you learn about the author the author's credentials and the mission of the source from checking the "About Us" tab? Does the site present only one side of an issue? Be skeptical if the source is the only source reporting the story. 2. Examine the source's language and visual clues. Does the headlines us sensational language? Is the language of the source offensive? Is the screen cluttered with ALL CAPS and unprofessional web design? 3. Question the seriousness of the source. Is it possible that the source is satirical and humorous and is not intended to be read as factual? 4. Fact-check the information. If the conclusions of a research study are cited, find the study to verify; if an authority is quoted, research the original source of the quotation, if possible, to see whether the quotation was taken out of context. Also, be skeptical if a source reports a research study but doesn't quote the study's principal investigator or other respected researchers. Check the facts before you report them in your research.

Documenting Sources in MLA Style

Modern Language Association recommends in-text citations that refer readers to a list of work cited - names the author of the source and gives a page number in parentheses - list of work cited provides publication information about the source ( in alphabetical order by author's last names or by title for works without authors)

Reading like a researcher

Read with an open, curious mind, to find not only what has been written about a topic but also what is missing from the research conversation. - Read carefully. Read to understand and summarize the main ideas of a source and an author's point of view. - Read skeptically. Read to examine an author's assumptions, evidence, and conclusions and to pose counterarguments - Read evaluatively. Read to judge the usefulness of a source for your research project. - Read responsibly. Take time to read the entire source and to understand its author's arguments, assumptions, and conclusions.

Using Signal Phrases

Whenever you include a paraphrase, summary, or direct quotation of another writer's work in your paper, prepare you readers for it with introductory words. Usually means the author of the source, provides some context for the source material and helps readers distinguish your ideas from those of the source. Marking Boundaries readers need to move form your words to the words of the source without feeling a jolt. Avoid dropping quotations into text without warning. Include at least the author's name, to indicate the boundary between your words and the source's words. Introducing summaries and paraphrases name the author and places that material in the context of your argument use it when citing a statistic or another specific fact helps you connect your own ideas with those of another writer by clarifying how the source will contribute to your paper

determining if a source is scholarly

Written by experts for a knowledgeable audience and go into more depth than books and articles written for a general audience. to determine if ______ is ______: - formal language and presentation - authors who are academics or scientists - footnotes or a bibliography documenting the works cited by the author in the source - original research and interpretation, rather than a summary of other people's work - quotations from and analysis of primary sources - a description of research methods or a review of related research

Solve Common Problems with Thesis Statements

Your thesis statement should be your answer to the question 1. The thesis is a statement of fact - enter a debate by posing a question about your topic that has more than one possible answer. 2. The thesis is a question - take a position on your topic by answering the question you have posed. 3. The thesis is too broad - focus on a subtopic of your original topic. Once you chose a subtopic take a position in an ongoing debate and pose a question that has more than one answer. 4. The thesis is too narrow - identify challenging questions that readers might ask about your topic. Then pose a question that has more than one answer. 5. The thesis is vague - focus your thesis with concrete language and clues about where the essay is headed. Pose a question about the topic that has more than one answer

Use sources

helps support your thesis and develop your argument Uses them to: - provide background information or context - explain terms or concepts - support your claims - lend authority to your argument - anticipate and counter objections

Read Like a Writer

helps you identify the techniques writers use so that you can use them is to pay attention to how a text is written and how it creates an effect on you 1. Review any notes you've made on a text. If you think the text is powerful or well written, commit yourself to figuring our why and how the text works. 2. Ask what, why, and how questions about the techniques writers use. As a reader, identify the specific techniques you appreciate so that they may become part of your repertoire as a writer. 3. Observe how writers use specific writing techniques you want to learn. Pay attention to those techniques when you read. 4. Use your experiences as a reader to plan the effect you want to create for your readers.

Effective Thesis Statement

is a central idea that conveys your purpose, or reason for writing, and that requires support A _________ should: - state a position that needs to be explained and supported - use concrete language and be sharply focused - let your readers know what to expect - be appropriate for the length requirements of the assignment not to broad to too narrow - stand up to the "So What?" test

Evaluation as a Process

judging the value of sources As you plan: - what kinds of sources do you need? - What do I need these sources to help me do: define? persuade? inform? As you search: - How can I find the most reliable sources? - Which sources will help me build my credibility as a researcher? As you read: - What positions do these sources take in the debate on my topic? what are their biases? - How do these sources inform my understanding of the topic and the position I will take? As you write: - How do the sources I've chosen help me support my thesis? - How do my own ideas fit into the conversation on my research topic?

Writing Process

prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing be able to explain each concept!!!!!!

Be a Responsible Research Writer

using good citations is the best way to avoid plagiarizing sources and to demonstrate that you are a ________________________________________. 1. Cite your sources as you write drafts. Don't wait until your final draft is complete to add citations. Include a citation when you quote from a source, when you summarize or paraphrase, and when you borrow facts that are not common knowledge. 2. Place quotation marks around direct quotations, both in your notes and in your drafts. 3. Check each quotation, summary, and paraphrase against the source to make certain you aren't misrepresenting the source. For paraphrases, be sure that your language and sentence structure differ from those in the original passage. 4. Provide a full citation in your list of works cited. It is not sufficient to cite a source only in the body of your paper; you must also provide complete publication information for each source in a list of works cited.

avoid unintentional plagiarism

using someone's words or ideas without giving credit, is often accidental. After spending so much time thinking through you topic and reading sources, it's easy to forget where a helpful idea came from or to remember that the idea wasn't yours to begin with. Even if you half-copy an author's sentence -- either by mixing the author's phrases with your own without using quotation marks or by pugging you synonyms into an author's sentence structure Take notes responsibly A summary condenses information and captures main ideas, perhaps reducing a chapter to a short paragraph or paragraph to a single sentence. Should be in your own words. Paraphrase is written in your own words; but whereas a summary reports significant information in fewer words than the source. Restates the information in roughly the same number of words. Uses sentence structure that's different from the original. You must still cite the source. A quotation consists of exact words from a source. Put all quoted material in quotation marks when taking notes.

Citing sources

when drawing on the work of other writers you must document their contributions by ______ your sources Sources are ___________ for two reasons: 1. to tell readers where your information comes from- so that they can assess its reliability and, if interested, find and read the original source 2. to give credit to the writer from whom you have borrowed words and ideas

Synthesize Sources

you can create a conversation about your research topic you show readers that your argument is based on your analysis and integration of ideas and is not just a series of quotations and paraphrases strung together will show how your sources relate to one another - consider how sources relate to your argument - place sources in conversation Ask yourself: - How do your sources address your research question? - How do your sources speak to one another? - Have you varied the functions of sources- to provide background, explain concepts, lend authority, and anticipate counterarguments? - Do you connect and analyze sources in your own voice? - Is your own argument easy to identify and to understand. with or without your sources?

Integrating Sources

you must _________ sources while still maintaining your voice - use sources as concisely as possible so that your own thinking and voice aren't lost ( by summarizing, paraphrasing, and using quotations effectively) - Use signal phrases to avoid dropping quotations into your paper without indicating the boundary between your words and the sources words - Use language that shows readers how each source supports your argument and how the sources relate to one another.

Read actively

you pay attention to details you would miss if you just skimmed a text. 1. you read to understand the main ideas 2. you make note of what interests, surprises, or puzzles you preview a text helps you understand its basic features and structure annotating helps you record your responses to a text converse with a text, responding to a text and its author, helps you move beyond your initial notes to draw conclusions about what you've read