Essay Foundations for English 190.33, part 1Thursday, August 30, 2012

Take careful notes during this presentation!

Formatting conventions…

On the upper left-hand corner of page 1, write your name, the course name/number, assignment title, and date of submission, in single spaces.

Insert page number on the right side of the footer Formatting…

Fundamental goals of academic papers

Genre awareness Audience awareness Author credibility But what else? Behold!

FILL US IN(HELP US LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR TOPIC)!

MAKE A DISTINCTIVE CLAIM (BE BOLD, BE INNOVATIVE, REVEAL NEW INSIGHTS!)

DEFEND YOUR CLAIM (WITH SOUND LOGIC AND COMPELLING APPEALS)!

SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM (WITH EVIDENCE)!

REVISE, REVISE, REVISE!

EVIDENCE

Support your claims in an essay with evidence cited from sources

Evidence demonstrates the substance of your argument: whenever you make a statement that a reader might not trust by itself, back it up with evidence

Three ways to talk about evidence in a paper: summary, paraphrase, quotation

On Evidence

In a SUMMARY, a signal phrase is followed by a description of a large amount of text in your own words and phrases, which is then followed by a citation: “In book Z, Author X draws attention to the importance of good source work (Author X).”

In a PARAPHRASE, signal phrase a description of a specific passage or idea in a text in your own words and phrases then a citation

Example of paraphrase: “In Chapter 6 of book Z, Author X mentions a specific moment when a fellow author’s credibility was at stake because they did not support their argument (Author X 180).”

Quotations and positioning support

Quotations are the most transparent way to refer to sources, and often the most trustworthy–as long as they’re used only once or twice per paragraph. Why might that be?

Example: “Author X illustrates the value of good source work in book Z when she writes, ‘_________________’ (Author X 37).”

Cite author/organization/publication names as well as page numbers in parentheses at the ends of sentences WHENEVER quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing.

Academic integrity…

From this point forward, Works Cited pages are mandatory to pass any assignment. You must attribute all writing and ideas that are not your own to their original author(s).

All text that you write that is not set apart by quotation marks and cited should consist solely of your own ideas and your own words. All text that appears in quotes should be exactly consistent with the original source, cited, and referenced in the Works Cited. Summary and paraphrase should consist solely of your own words AND phrases; paraphrases and summary must be cited as well as quotations.

Even one unoriginal phrase in an essay may lead to an accusation of plagiarism. Avoid plagiarism by looking away from sources when paraphrasing and summarizing: in your own words, explain what a text says, WITHOUT using the original ideas, wording, or phrasing of the text.

“Why doesn’t such-and-such author cite in his/her article?”

Many publications do not require authors to cite their sources in a parenthetical style, though texts WILL say who wrote which text or came up with what idea.

Because your work for this course falls within the genre of academic writing, you will always be expected to cite your sources in-text when quoting and paraphrasing. Signal phrases must appear whenever talking about text or ideas that are not your own.

The texts we’re looking at are not all perfect, and they’re not the last word on good writing.

Works Cited

A Works Cited page is mandatory for every assignment in English 190.

Include complete citations in MLA or APA format (guides available in Chapters 24 and 25 of WAG as well as the Purdue OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/

Generally, all citations need to include four details: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE.

Discussion: the packet

Spend five minutes reviewing Orlov’s essay and your responses to the questionnaire. Then, get ready for a discussion…

Compelling Titles!

Good academic titles make two things explicitly clear: 1. What the paper is about and 2. What the paper will do

Examples?

Introductions

Begin papers with one to two paragraphs that explain the context of your paper. Talk about background info and your goals in writing for several sentences. If necessary, expand the introduction to two paragraphs.

Unless asked to construct intro differently, end with a thesis statement. The thesis should make a specific, qualified, supportable “point” that you will support through the rest of your paper.

Examples?

The Body

The body consists of an interconnected series of paragraphs. Each paragraph should be roughly half a page to two-thirds of a page in length. Each paragraph should discuss no more than ONE idea or argument using a topic sentence, reasoning, and support

AVOID a five-paragraph structure PLAN body paragraphs so that they follow a logical

“track” or pre-defined course

Conclusions

The conclusion should do two things. First, SYNTHESIZE your findings: in a few sentences, explain how the logical track of claims, evidence, and reasoning in the body supports your thesis

Next, REINFORCE what this paper is for. In a few sentences, encourage a course of action, consider the implications of your findings, or simply announce what you have contributed in the paper.