Writing for the University

Jessica Montgomerie

jessica.montgomerie@du.edu

Effective academic writing has…

• Obvious purpose• Appropriate for audience• Professional tone• Appropriate vocabulary• Coherent, logical statements • Adequate evidence to support thesis

Choose sources carefully…

I am here to help you avoid cheater’s prison.

What do I do?

Cite: give credit to the person who gave you the idea or the data you are using

• In-text citations: in the sentence where you use the idea or the quotation, point out where it came from.

• References: at the end of the essay, list the compete publication information for the all sources you used.

When do I cite?

Every time you use information from a source, whether you quote or paraphrase it, you must cite.

Two things you don’t have to cite:• “Common knowledge” (China’s currency is

the yuan)• Your own opinion.

Quiz time!

• Do we have to cite direct quotations?

Quiz time!

• Do we have to cite direct quotations?Yes!

Example: I agree with Diana Hacker that when we finish our first draft, our “ideas will probably have gone in directions [we] couldn’t have predicted ahead of time” (27).

Quiz time!

• Do we have to cite paraphrased ideas or facts?

Quiz time!

• Do we have to cite paraphrased ideas or facts?

Yes!

Example:

I agree with Diana Hacker that students can be surprised by how much their ideas change during the process of writing the essay (27).

Reference

1. http://gamezblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Plagiarism.gif

2. http://www.sociology.camden.rutgers.edu