Welcome to CM107

Feel free to chat and get acquainted until the music stops near the top of the hour. This session is held 12:00-1:00 PM (EST). Once the seminar starts, please keep all comments relevant to the class topic.

Expository refers to writing that explains and clarifies an idea.

You come across examples of expository writing every day:

Magazine articles Newspaper articles Emails and memos Instruction manuals

How do we use exposition in our daily lives?

Academic assignments and essays often fall under the category of expository writing.

Hallmarks of expository writing: Precisely-worded Focused around a central idea Logically sound (uses adequate support)

What are some modes or methods a writer/speaker could use to explain

something?

What is a thesis statement? The thesis statement is a statement of

your topic and a comment about it.

It is your “what’s the point?” What do you want your readers to know.

The main idea you are trying to get across.

Your message. The point you want to make.

Generally stated in a single sentence. Expresses a point of view, not a topic. Limits the topic. Indicates the kind of support to follow. Helps to organize the supporting material Is precisely worded. It does NOT announce by saying: I am going to tell you about….or My essay will

explain….

What’s with our public schools? Identify the thesis of this article.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0929/Waiting-for-Superman-to-reform-education-He-s-already-here

Thank you for a great Thank you for a great seminar!seminar!

Have a wonderful week!Have a wonderful week!

Welcome to CM 107-78

Unit 4: Seminar with Emily Lundin

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Feel free to chat and get acquainted until the music stops near the top of the hour. This

session is held 12:00-1:00 PM (EST). Once the seminar starts, please keep all comments

relevant to the class topic.

Review: The Heroic Writer’s Journey

Presentation

Editing

Revising

Drafting

Invention

Invention

Drafting

Revising

Editing

Presentation

Thesis?

Types of

Paragraphs?

Academic

Writing?

?s

Unit 4 Seminar: APA, Paraphrasing, and

QuotingThis week we will discuss APA, why we use it, and how to use it correctly.

What is APA style?

A standard, agreed upon way of formatting an academic paper and documenting sources.An expectation of academic writers and of professionals in certain fields.A loyal friend who will make you look good and sound even more intelligentA somewhat boring, but not impossible task that you can learn by copying

What is the purpose of using and documenting sources?

Sources are the ways writers obtain additional information for their papers.Sources may be primary:

The writer becomes the researcher (e.g., observations, interviews, surveys, personal experience)The writer uses ‘raw data’ (e.g., the U.S. Census) that hasn’t been interpreted by others

Sources may be secondary: Scholarly books, peer-reviewed articles, etc. Sources are part of the ongoing dialog within a field of study that will include you.Why document sources?

Credit should be given for our work.‘Intellectual property’ must not be stolen.Writers will be more credible in the view of their audience. [We want that in an academic or job-related context when faculty, supervisors, clients, etc. are evaluating our work, right?]

What’s in it for me? An opinion can’t be wrong, right? Doesn’t my professor/boss/co-worker/client, etc. want to hear what I think? Who’s going to care if I have the citations and references included? Isn’t this just another one of those “English teacher” things? I’m tempted to just not do it. I can’t get marked down outside of a Composition class, right?

What is plagiarism?

What is plagiarism and how can it be avoided?

Styles of citation- APA, MLA, ASA, AMA. We typically use APA at Kaplan University.

Using a good reference for citation.

How are sources integrated into the paper?

Introduce the source to your audience with an attributive tag the first time it is used: According to Michael Keathley (2010, September 17), Kaplan University faculty member, students love writing and look forward to the weekly CM 107 audio seminars. Use a mixture of paraphrases, summaries, and direct quotations.Use quotations sparingly and be sure to indicate them with “quotation marks” and page/paragraph numbers.Be sure to make it a smooth transition into and out of the source information.

Begin with the References page:

Use the References page to form the in-text citations:

In-text citations always use what comes first on the References page entriesThis is always a name or the first 2-3 words of a titleAdd the copyright date and page/paragraph number if it is a direct quotationIn-text citations are never URLsMake sure that all in-text citations have a complete listing on the References page; make sure that all References page listings have in-text citationsNever cite yourself; you’re the author

Why is citation required in two places?

Citation is required in two places– as in-text citation and references page citation.

Some of the basics of in-text citation.

What we need to include for references page citation.

Let us get some citation practice.

Paraphrasing, summarizing, and direct

quotation? What are paraphrasing and summarizing and

why are they necessary? What is the correct way to paraphrase and summarize?

Why should we use more paraphrasing and summarizing than direct quotes in our papers?

When should we use direct quotation? How much of our paper should be directly quoted?

Let us get some practice paraphrasing.

 

Any remaining questions and concerns?

Looking at this week’s work.

Thank you for a great seminar!Thank you for a great seminar!

Have a wonderful week!Have a wonderful week!

Live tutoring Q & A Service Paper Review Reference Library Workshops Writing Fundamentals Program Writing Coach Program English Language Learner (ELL) Resources

Standard English and Formal Writing

What is Standard English and why do we need to use Standard English in our writing?

Formal and Informal Writing– What is the difference? How can we make our writing more formal? Webster’s dictionary defines ‘amulet’ as…

vs.

Joseph Campbell in his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, defines ‘amulet’ as…

What is concise writing?Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

— William Strunk Jr.in Elements of Style

Ways to do this Getting rid of redundancy in writing---

Instead of “12 midnight”, use “midnight”

Instead of “end result” use “result” Instead of “cooperate together” use “cooperate.”

Trimming sentences further

Reducing Clauses to Phrases, Phrases to Single Words– Example:

Citizens who knew what was going on voted him out of office.

Knowledgeable citizens voted him out of office.

Phrases you can omit As far as I'm concerned, there is no need for further protection of woodlands. Write instead:

Further protection of woodlands is not needed.

Omit phrases like “at the present time,” “ as a matter of fact.”