EXAM 3 Chapters 11-12, 14-17 CHAPTER 14

What are the key differences between writing in college compared with high school? (1) (academic writing)

Academic writing refers to writing produced in a college environment. Often this is writing that responds to other writing - to the ideas or controversies that you'll read about. (Professors look at you as an independent junior scholar, they envision you approaching an assignment without a preexisting thesis, they expect you to look deep into the evidence, and consider alternatives). (1)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (2) (terms of assignment are addressed through a specific approach)

Address the terms of the assignments (address the terms of the assignment by paying attention to the words that signal a preferred approach) (2)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (8) (APA)

American Psychological Association (APA): This is the citation most common in the social sciences. (8)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (4) (build a thesis or clearly stated sense of purpose)

Build from a thesis or a clearly stated sense of purpose (many assignments require to make some form of argument by generally starting with a statement that needs to be supported and build from there, your thesis is a guiding assertion of the paper, it is what you argue about the topic) (4)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (9) (carefully edit your paper)

Carefully edit your paper (college instructors assume you take the time to edit and proofread your essay, misspelled words, and incomplete sentences signal lack of concern on your part, ask classmates or friends to review and mark any word or sentence that seems off) (9)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (9) (Chicago Style)

Chicago Manual of Style: This is most used with history courses, although, it is widely used. (9)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (4) (common knowledge)

Common Knowledge: There is no need to cite common knowledge. As everyone can easily access this type of knowledge, it is easily found and does not need a citation since many can find the information. If the information or idea can be found in multiple sources and remains constant from source to source, then it is common knowledge. One reason research is usually done for college writing, the more sources you read, the easier you can sort out what is common knowledge. (4)

What are the key differences between writing in college compared with high school? (3) (common writing assignments: summarize, classify, compare/contrast, analyze, argue, and syntehsize)

Common writing assignments: summarize (restate in your own words main points of another's work), define (to describe/explore/characterize a key word, idea, or phenomenon), classify (to group individual items by their shared characteristics, separate from other groups of items), compare/contrast (to explore significant likenesses and differences between two or more subjects), analyze (to break something, a phenomenon, or an idea into its parts and explain how these parts fit or work together), argue (to state a claim and support it with reasons and evidence), and synthesize (to pull together varied pieces or ideas from two or more sources) (3)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (5) (develop ideas patiently)

Develop ideas patiently (many students worry of boring the reader with too much detail, but college professors like well-selected examples and relevant details as they are professionally devoted to their subjects) (5)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (6) (disputable figures)

Disputable figures: Remember that numbers are only as good as the sources they come from. If you use numbers such as attendance figures, unemployment rates, or demographic profiles (or any stats), then you must always cite your sources of those numbers. If your instructor does not know the source you used, you will not get much credit of the information you have collected. (6)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (5) (distinct contributions)

Distinct Contributions: One does need to cite ideas that are distinct contributions. This is not necessarily a discovery from the work of one person. It need only be an insight that is not commonly expressed (not found in multiple sources and is not universally agreed upon. (5)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (8) (document your sources appropriately)

Document your sources appropriately (if the paper involves research of any kind, indicate clearly the use you make of outside sources, if you use them well, there is no reason to hide them as careful research and thoughtful application of ideas and evidence are valued by professors) (8)

What are the four steps of the writing process? Understand what needs to be accomplished in each step. (2) (drafting stage)

Drafting stage: create first draft using free writing, follow working outline, but let it flow, do initial introduction, body, and conclusion without censoring, credit authors and sources as needed, set paper aside for 24 hours at least (2)

What are the four steps of the writing process? Understand what needs to be accomplished in each step. (4) (editing and proofreading)

Editing and Proofreading: correct technical errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, language), carefully proofread yourself, get feedback and proofing from others, prepare cover sheet if needed, save final work and print backup copy, TURN PAPER IN ON TIME! (4)

Understand the difference between revision and editing/proofreading. (2) (editing and proofreading)

Editing and proofreading are the last steps following revision. This is the point where spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting all take center stage. This is focused on style and correctness but should not be confused with revision itself. They require careful spell-checking (includes the checking of spelling of the names), attention to sentence-level issues (especially attentive to sentence boundaries, subject-verb agreement, punctuation, and pronoun referents, you can also attend to matters of style) (2)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (3) (ideas)

Ideas: These are also a form of intellectual property. The main idea stated in compressed form of language does not come from the original but is not plagiarism if the source is not cited. (3)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (6) (integrate quotes/graphs/illustrations)

Integrate (do not just "plug in") quotes, graphs, and illustrations (a good paper is more than a list of good ideas as it shows how the ideas fit together, have a clear sense of what each prior paragraph is about and think of the next sentence as a bridge) (6)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (7) (MLA)

Modern Language Association (MLA): This citation type is widely used, but most adopted in humanities courses, particularly literature courses. (7)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (1) (plagiarism)

Plagiarism: At the most obvious level, this involves using someone else's words and ideas as if they were your own. Copying another's work is cheating (pure and simple). It is not always simple. (1)

What are the four steps of the writing process? Understand what needs to be accomplished in each step. (1) (planning stage)

Planning stage: study any instructions to clarify task, brainstorm and select topic/main ideas, use pre-writing strategies to focus (brainstorming, free write, questions), conduct research as needed, write a thesis statement, create a working outline (1)

What are the four steps of the writing process? Understand what needs to be accomplished in each step. (3) (recite paper out loud)

Revising stage: recite paper out loud to hear results, revise from "big picture" to details (structure of paper, construction of paragraphs, sentence structure, check for clarity/conciseness/relevance/style of argument), refine introduction and conclusion (3)

Understand the difference between revision and editing/proofreading. (1) (revision)

Revision: This is re-seeing. A writer steps away from their work for a long amount of time and returns to it with new eyes. The process of producing multiple drafts of an essay is important as it allows space in between, lets thoughts mature, connections to arise, and gaps content or an argument to appear. This is difficult due to tight deadlines to get big writing projects done. Revising a draft involves significant changes including the following: making organizational changes like reordering paragraphs (do not forget new transitions are needed), clarifying thesis or adjustments between the thesis and supporting points that follow, adding new points to strengthen or clarify the expression (1)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (1) (title of paper)

Title of the paper to identify your topic (a title such as "assignment 2" gives no insight as your title should prepare your reader for what your paper is about or what you will argue, w/essays always consider your reader as an educated adult interested in your topic) (1)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (10) (clean hard copy)

Turn in a clean hard copy (some instructors accept and/or even prefer digital papers, but do not assume as most want a paper copy and do not want to do printing themselves, present your paper professionally (unfussy) and use staplers or paper clip as preferred to hold pages together) (10)

What are the key differences between writing in college compared with high school? (2) (types of writing assignments)

Types of writing assignments: summary (reflects your understanding of a source's thesis or purpose, differentiates between major and minor ideas, demonstrate your ability to identify key phrases to quote, demonstrates your ability to effectively paraphrase, captures the tone, style and features of a source, and does not reflect your personal opinion about the source), defined topic (used primarily to identify your familiarity with the subject matter, an assignment prompt will explain the purpose of the assignment, the required parameters, and the criteria for evaluation, focus on the verbs, put it in context, free write, and ask for clarification), undefined topic (more broadly defined or open, used to demonstrate your skills - your ability to perform academic research, to synthesize ideas, and to apply the various stages of the writing process, and find a focus that interests you). (2)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (7) )(clear transitions)

Use clear transitions to link paragraphs (7)

What do college professors expect from a college student's writing? (3) (introduction to define)

Use your introduction to define your topic and establish your approach (in your introduction, define your topic and establish your approach or sense of purpose: think of the introduction as the extension of the title as instructors appreciate being oriented with a clear opening) (3)

Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. (2) (words)

Words: Copying words of another is clearly wrong. If you use another's words, those words must be in quotes, and you must tell the reader where the words came from. It is not enough to make surface level changes. You cannot change words and call it your own, though, close extended paraphrase is not acceptable. (2)