Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 6 (October 8)

 Greetings!

We had a good day in class yesterday.  We started with a Quick Write.  The two prompts for today were inspired by two October 8 events.  In the year 876, Charles the Bald was defeated in the Battle of Andernach.  I was struck by the unusual nickname, so nicknames were the topic of one option.  Also on October 8, 1871, was the Great Chicago Fire.  I asked students to write about fires, especially if they had a fun fire-related story.

Today we had the following Student-Led topics:  Common Knowledge, Mosaic Plagiarism, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing.  Plagiarism and correctly recording the information found while researching is part of being an ethical researcher and writer.  The students who presented the information did well.  We will not have student-led topics next week, but on Oct. 22, these topics will be covered: signal phrases, "the quote sandwich," in text citations, and block quotations.  (Please check this Google doc to see who presents what and when.) 

In addition to these topics, we discussed evaluating sources and the differences between skimming and scanning material to find pertinent information.  To further that understanding, I have two assignments for the students:  Evaluating Sources and Skim, Scan, etc.  They should use sources that are a part of their research for their paper.

Students were to hand in their research proposals today, and the outlines for their papers are due next week.  As a reminder, the first rough draft of the research paper is due on October 29.

In addition to the assignments on Google Classroom, I've posted some material that might be helpful for students to read:

Resources for Planning the Research Paper

Research and Relevant Sources

Research & Note-Taking

Information about Plagiarism

Have a wonderful weekend.  Weather should be great for enjoying the fall colors!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week

-- Research Proposal (due 10/8)

-- Research Paper Outline

-- Evaluating Sources Worksheet

-- Skim, Scan, etc. Worksheet

Links for This Week

Class Notes 10/8

Quick Write 10/8

Charles the Bald

Great Chicago Fire

Student-Led Topics

Resources for Planning the Research Paper

Research and Relevant Sources

Research & Note-Taking

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, Quoting

MLA Works Cited Page -- Step by Step

MLA In-Text Citations -- Step by Step

Week 5 -- Helpful Videos for Note-taking

Class,
Below is a list of helpful videos related to note-taking and research. 

Writing Videos
Taking Notes
Making Note Cards
How to Avoid Plagiarism
How to Write a Great Paper
Note-Taking Strategies
MLA Style
Writing a paper
Thoughts on Writing

Writing 3 Class Notes -- October 24

Greetings!

We had a good and productive class this week.  This is a hard-working group of students!

We've been working hard on ACT/SAT writing test questions, so we took a break for something more light-hearted.  For our Quick Write this week, we used cards from a game entitled "Man Bites Dog."  Each student got 6 cards; a noun, adjective, adverb, or verb was on each card.  They object of the game is to develop a headline using those words.  For our writing exercise, they not only created headlines, but wrote a news story to go with it. Once again, we had some creative endeavors.  I love those first minutes of class when their heads are bent down towards their papers, and their pens or pencils are working quickly.

We discussed how the students are progressing on their research papers.  I think it's helpful to do this as a group.  Many times one student asks a question that others are wondering about, too.  Most of them are needing to do more research and increase the quantity of material which they are presenting in their papers.  As I read through the rough drafts last week, I gave some ideas for expansion of their topic.

Re-organizing is also a common task at this point.  Thanks to computers and word processing software, editing and reformatting does not mean having to re-type the entire paper.  Many parents remember the days of typewriters, carbon paper, and "white out."  Do you think we can convince our children that they have it so much easier?

As a class we brainstormed a bit about what the presentation portion of their work could look like.  Some topics may lend themselves more easily to this than others.  Their presentation needs to have two components:  an oral presentation and a visual aspect.  For the oral presentation, we discussed that they can either give the primary points of their paper or choose one section that is representative of the whole.  For the visual part, they can bring in charts, maps, poster, pictures, etc.  They can also put together a PowerPoint presentation.

We also looked at some examples of MLA formating.  On the newest version of Microsoft Word, the reference dropdown menu gives you boxes to fill in and then formats it according to the MLA styling for you. (Again, kids these days have it so much easier than we had it.)  If you're working with another word processing software, a handbook will give the exact formatting.  Another help is the Son of Citation website.  Web pages can be confusing to cite; this site is especially helpful for that.  Some college professors like this website and encourage their students to use it.  Others consider it "cheating."  Since my goal is to have students learn this format, they can use it .... but there may be a test to see if they really know it!

Next week we'll discuss some specifics regarding writing styles and editing paragraphs and sentences.

Assignments for next week:

-- Presentation plan --- something to hand in!

-- Continue working on the rough draft

Keep up the good work!

Mrs. Prichard

Helpful Blog Entries:

This week's blog

Citing Sources

Plagiarism 

Helpful MLA Websites

Plagiarism

PLAGIARISM

            “Plagiarism” comes from the Latin, plagiarus, which means kidnapper.  In antiquity, plagiarii were pirates who sometimes stole children.  Plagiarism offers the words or ideas of another person as your own.  Plagiarism happens intentionally and accidentally.  Occasionally, a student will take large portions or whole papers and present them as their own.  Most often, however, the student knows the rules and is careless, or he is uninformed regarding proper citing of sources.

            To avoid plagiarism, develop personal notes with your won ideas on a topic.  Discover how you feel about the stand you’ve taken with your subject.  Then, rather than copying sources directly into the content of your research, synthesize the ideas of the authorities with your own thoughts by using the précis and paraphrase.  Rethink and consider ideas gathered by your reading, make meaningful connections, and when you refer to a specific source, give it credit.

Checklist for documenting your sources

·        Let a reader know when you begin borrowing from a source by introducing a quotation or paraphrase with the name of the authority.

·        Enclose within quotation marks all quoted materials – a key word, a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph

·        Make certain that paraphrased material has been rewritten into your own style and language.  The simple rearrangement of sentence patterns is unacceptable.

·        Provide specific in-text documentation for each borrowed item.

·        Provide a bibliography entry in the “Works Cited” section.

Forms of plagiarism:  (WWS, p. 29+)

·        Uncited data or information;

·        an uncited idea, whether a specific claim or general concept;

·        an unquoted but verbatim phrase or passage;

·        an uncited structure or organizing strategy;

·        misrepresenting evidence;

·        improper collaboration;

·        dual or overlapping assignments.

Bad ideas and attitudes that promote plagiarism:

·        Start late; adrenalin will get you through.

·        Don’t waste time writing until you know what you want to say.

·        Just skim the assignment prompt; don’t get bogged down in details.

·        Part of the assignment is guessing what our instructor expects.

·        Follow your interest above all.

·        To get the lay of the land, start every paper by doing an internet search of key terms and skimming sources that turn up.

·        Do all your work on-screen, where the action is.

·        When taking notes on sources, just summarize; come up with your own ideas when you’re done.

·        Your paper is your responsibility; hole up and write it.

·        During your initial reading of sources, keeping track of publications information will only slow you down, and you may not even use some of the sources.

·        Compose your paper in the file where you collect your sources and notes, so these can be readily drawn in.

·        Try to sound impressive and sophisticated, like a real scholar.

·        Don’t seek help if you find yourself in a jam; it’s humiliating and will single you out to your instructor as a screw-up.

·        In a pinch, borrow a friend’s paper to inspire you, or borrow some notes to work with.