How you take notes as you do your research is important. You shouldn't write down every word you read. Rather, take down pertinent facts in lists or as bullet points. Don't copy large portions to quote. Your paper should be in your own voice.
As you read, don't pass over information because you're just not sure whether it will be useful. This is a very common and costly mistake in research. More often than not, you find that the passed-over tidbit is critical to your paper, and then you won't find it again.
Check out these helpful websites: the Hunter College Reading and Writing Center and the University of Toronto website and from a Lakewood Library.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Preparing for an Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is, in essence, a bibliography with notes regarding the usefulness of the book. The following information should be collected for each book:
Author and/or editors
Pertinent chapters or sections
Title
Editor, translator, or compiler
Edition or Volume
Name of the series
Place, publisher, and date
Do this for each book as you read it. It's far too hard to go back later to find this information.
Author and/or editors
Pertinent chapters or sections
Title
Editor, translator, or compiler
Edition or Volume
Name of the series
Place, publisher, and date
Do this for each book as you read it. It's far too hard to go back later to find this information.
Evaluating a Source
With the myriad of books, articles and web sites available, many writers have a hard time narrowing down their options and determining the value of an individual resource. To save time, readers need to be selective. Students should be concerned about Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy, and Currency.
Relevancy: How well will does the book, etc. fit your topic?
Authority: Are the credentials reputable? What kind of research has your source done?
Accuracy: Do the resources verify their own research?
Currency: Are the resources recent enough for your topic?
Relevancy: How well will does the book, etc. fit your topic?
Authority: Are the credentials reputable? What kind of research has your source done?
Accuracy: Do the resources verify their own research?
Currency: Are the resources recent enough for your topic?
Finding the Best Sources
It will be important for the students to find appropriate resources for their topics. Their own specific topics will help to determine and dictate the sources they will need. Current events related papers will require up-to-date information. Primary and secondary sources are both valuable. Some resources are more valuable and and reliable.
Imagine an inverted pyramid with the most excellent sources at the top and less authoritative ones at the bottom. As the students compile their materials, they should carefully select good pieces.
Below is a list in descending order, from best to not-as-good, of types of resources:
The internet supplies both valuable and "sketchy" information. Here's a checklist for determining the validity of a website:
1. The site name will reveal a serious and scholarly emphasis.
2. The sponsor should be an institution or professional organization.
3. The home page will reveal the nature and purpose of the site.
4. Author/Sponsor credentials will confirm the serious nature of the site.
5. Links to other scholarly sites, not commercial sites, will reflect the serious nature of the site.
6. E-mail to an author or organization offers a means for a scholarly conversation.
Imagine an inverted pyramid with the most excellent sources at the top and less authoritative ones at the bottom. As the students compile their materials, they should carefully select good pieces.
Below is a list in descending order, from best to not-as-good, of types of resources:
Scholarly Books
Biographies
Scholarly Articles
Sponsored web site
Interview
Experiment, Test, Observation
Trade Book
Encyclopedia
Popular Magazine
Newspaper
Listserv Posting
Individual web site
Usenet news group posting
Internet chat conversation
The internet supplies both valuable and "sketchy" information. Here's a checklist for determining the validity of a website:
1. The site name will reveal a serious and scholarly emphasis.
2. The sponsor should be an institution or professional organization.
3. The home page will reveal the nature and purpose of the site.
4. Author/Sponsor credentials will confirm the serious nature of the site.
5. Links to other scholarly sites, not commercial sites, will reflect the serious nature of the site.
6. E-mail to an author or organization offers a means for a scholarly conversation.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Prepositions at the End
Most adults remember few grammar rules. One that I'm sure will pop up for most is the "never end a sentence with a preposition" rule that they were taught from grade school to high school. This rule causes you to write stuffy, pedantic sentences that no one would ever say out loud.
I have news of great joy for most of you -- it's OK to plop the occaisional preposition at the end of a sentence! The Grammar Girl says so; the Phantom Linguist gives us the go-ahead; About.com gives an authoritative "no."
For the sake of argument and vigilance, some still promote keeping those pesky prepositions from the end of sentences because they are a wimpy way to conclude. Mellanie Spiller seems to be a purists with whom you would need to argue this point. The good folks at Garden of Phrases equivocate a bit. And the Answer people at Yahoo even show you how to rewrite a sentence to make it stronger and more effective while keeping that preposition tucked somewhere in the middle.
In my class, I will allow the occaisional preposition to appear at the end. But be advised that I'm gritting my teeth as I deny the teachings of my elders.
Don't get me started on passive voice ......
I have news of great joy for most of you -- it's OK to plop the occaisional preposition at the end of a sentence! The Grammar Girl says so; the Phantom Linguist gives us the go-ahead; About.com gives an authoritative "no."
For the sake of argument and vigilance, some still promote keeping those pesky prepositions from the end of sentences because they are a wimpy way to conclude. Mellanie Spiller seems to be a purists with whom you would need to argue this point. The good folks at Garden of Phrases equivocate a bit. And the Answer people at Yahoo even show you how to rewrite a sentence to make it stronger and more effective while keeping that preposition tucked somewhere in the middle.
In my class, I will allow the occaisional preposition to appear at the end. But be advised that I'm gritting my teeth as I deny the teachings of my elders.
Don't get me started on passive voice ......
Sunday, September 11, 2011
How to End a Sentence
In a conversation with a college-graduated son, we discussed whether it was still necessary to put two spaces after the period at the end of a sentence.
Below are three links to articles about this point of grammar:
About.com and Desktop Publishing
A Slate article
Grammar Girl article
Read the articles and tell me what you think.
Below are three links to articles about this point of grammar:
About.com and Desktop Publishing
A Slate article
Grammar Girl article
Read the articles and tell me what you think.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Writing 3 Class Notes -- September 6
Greetings!
We had a productive class this week. Sometimes the class right after lunch can be the hardest; a good lunch and a morning of classes are more conducive to naptime than classtime. But the students in this class engage well with the material and the discussions.
We began with a fun Quick Write using the cards from a game called "Man Bites Dog" in which players are given cards with common words found in newspaper headlines. The students were to arrange the words into their own headlines and start a short newspaper story to go with it. After a couple of rounds with the cards, we worked on impromptu essays using SAT writing questions. In the SAT, students have 25 minutes to write an essay. This week I gave the students 10 minutes to outline what they might write in response to the question. A key skill for students to learn is to think and analyze quickly within a given time constraint. We'll do a few of these throughout the semester.
After the essays, we did some Vocabulary Building exercises. Some people can memorize long lists without any trouble. I find it easier to learn words if I know the roots of the words. Especially Latin roots. Also, learning roots opens the door for understanding whole families of words. This week we looked at caput ("head") and oculis ("eye").
Having a topic and leading questions was the assignment for this week. We went around the room sharing our topics and getting feedback and suggestions. A helpful component for this class will be the collaboration and input from the group. A challenge in writing this paper is developing a thesis. In other words, the students need to take a stand regarding their topic. Not only do they need to research and present information, but they need to express it in a way that causes the readers to agree with them.
We also discussed ways to organize notes. Some students will prefer notecards, while others may feel more comfortable with loose leaf notebook pages or a spiral notebook. Whichever they choose, they need to be consistent.
Next Week's Assignments:
-- Read the following articles found in Dropbox or on the blog:
-- Brainstorming
-- Argument
-- Developing a Thesis
-- How to Write a Thesis Statement
-- Evaluating Print Sources
-- Firm up the thesis for your paper. Write it in 1 or 2 sentences.
-- Begin work on your outline.
-- Begin work on your research.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
We had a productive class this week. Sometimes the class right after lunch can be the hardest; a good lunch and a morning of classes are more conducive to naptime than classtime. But the students in this class engage well with the material and the discussions.
We began with a fun Quick Write using the cards from a game called "Man Bites Dog" in which players are given cards with common words found in newspaper headlines. The students were to arrange the words into their own headlines and start a short newspaper story to go with it. After a couple of rounds with the cards, we worked on impromptu essays using SAT writing questions. In the SAT, students have 25 minutes to write an essay. This week I gave the students 10 minutes to outline what they might write in response to the question. A key skill for students to learn is to think and analyze quickly within a given time constraint. We'll do a few of these throughout the semester.
After the essays, we did some Vocabulary Building exercises. Some people can memorize long lists without any trouble. I find it easier to learn words if I know the roots of the words. Especially Latin roots. Also, learning roots opens the door for understanding whole families of words. This week we looked at caput ("head") and oculis ("eye").
Having a topic and leading questions was the assignment for this week. We went around the room sharing our topics and getting feedback and suggestions. A helpful component for this class will be the collaboration and input from the group. A challenge in writing this paper is developing a thesis. In other words, the students need to take a stand regarding their topic. Not only do they need to research and present information, but they need to express it in a way that causes the readers to agree with them.
We also discussed ways to organize notes. Some students will prefer notecards, while others may feel more comfortable with loose leaf notebook pages or a spiral notebook. Whichever they choose, they need to be consistent.
Next Week's Assignments:
-- Read the following articles found in Dropbox or on the blog:
-- Brainstorming
-- Argument
-- Developing a Thesis
-- How to Write a Thesis Statement
-- Evaluating Print Sources
-- Firm up the thesis for your paper. Write it in 1 or 2 sentences.
-- Begin work on your outline.
-- Begin work on your research.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)