UWI-ALJGSB Academic Writing: A Student Handbook by smaharaj

Academic Writing A Student Handbook

Table of Contents Academic writing: Genres in academic writing ................................................................................... 7 Genres in academic writing ................................................................................................................. 7

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 7 Genres in academic writing: Essays ............................................................................................................ 8

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 8 Organisation ................................................................................................................................ 8 1. Preliminaries .................................................................................................................................... 8 2. Main text .......................................................................................................................................... 9 3. End Matter ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Ways of organising essays. ................................................................................................................ 11 Genres in academic writing: Reports ......................................................................................................... 24 1. Preliminaries .................................................................................................................................. 24 2. The main text ................................................................................................................................. 24 3. End Matter ..................................................................................................................................... 27 Genres in academic writing: Case studies .................................................................................................. 28 Genres in academic writing: Research proposals ....................................................................................... 31 Genres in academic writing: Book reviews ............................................................................................... 33 Genres in academic writing: Brief reports ................................................................................................. 35

Example of brief Research Report ............................................................................................ 37 Tired drivers as risky as drinkers ............................................................................................................... 37 Genres in academic writing: Literature reviews ........................................................................................ 38 Genres in academic writing: Reflective writing ......................................................................................... 40 Genres in academic writing: Writing introductions ................................................................................... 44 Research Report Introductions ........................................................................................................... 44 Example ............................................................................................................................................. 47 Reference ........................................................................................................................................... 48 Genres in academic writing: Research report methods .............................................................................. 49 Research Report Methods .................................................................................................................. 49 Genres in academic writing: Research report results ................................................................................. 53

Presenting Results ..................................................................................................................... 53 Research Report Results .................................................................................................................... 53 Diagrams ............................................................................................................................................ 54 1 Tables .............................................................................................................................................. 54 2 Pie charts ......................................................................................................................................... 55 3 Histograms ...................................................................................................................................... 56 4 Line graphs ..................................................................................................................................... 57 5 The average ..................................................................................................................................... 58 6 Dispersion ....................................................................................................................................... 59 ^ ......................................................................................................................................................... 60 Language ........................................................................................................................................... 62 Genres in academic writing: Research report discussions ......................................................................... 63 Research Report Discussions ............................................................................................................. 63 Genres in academic writing: Writing conclusions ..................................................................................... 65 Examples ........................................................................................................................................... 66 Language ........................................................................................................................................... 66 Genres in academic writing: Report abstracts ............................................................................................ 67 Writing an abstract ............................................................................................................................. 67 1. Ordering Your Information ............................................................................................................ 67 Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 68 Source: http://www.uefap.com/writing/genre/genrefram_essay.htm ................................................. 69 Developing Strong Thesis Statements ....................................................................................................... 70 The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable ...................................................................... 70 The thesis needs to be narrow ............................................................................................................ 70 Types of Claims ................................................................................................................................. 72 Using Research and Evidence .................................................................................................................... 73 What type of evidence should I use? ................................................................................................. 73 How do I know if a source is credible? .............................................................................................. 73 Organizing Your Argument ....................................................................................................................... 74 How can I effectively present my argument? .................................................................................... 74 Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion ................................................................................................ 76 Logos ................................................................................................................................................. 76

Ethos .................................................................................................................................................. 79 Pathos ................................................................................................................................................. 79 Logic in Argumentative Writing ................................................................................................................ 80 Using Logic ............................................................................................................................................... 80 Logical Vocabulary ............................................................................................................................ 80 Reaching Logical Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 81 Logical Fallacies ........................................................................................................................................ 82 Using Logic in Writing .............................................................................................................................. 85 Does Logic Always Work? ........................................................................................................................ 88 Improprieties .............................................................................................................................................. 88 Avoiding plagiarism .................................................................................................................................. 91 Definitions ......................................................................................................................................... 91 Reasons for plagiarism ....................................................................................................................... 92 Types of Plagiarism ........................................................................................................................... 93 Advice ................................................................................................................................................ 95 Evaluating Sources: Overview ................................................................................................................... 97 Evaluating Bibliographic Citations ............................................................................................................ 98 Evaluation During Reading ....................................................................................................................... 98 Evaluating Print vs. Internet Sources ......................................................................................................... 99 Internet References .................................................................................................................................. 101 Dictionaries, Style Manuals, Grammar Handbooks, and Editing Resources ........................................... 101 Online References .................................................................................................................................... 102 Indexes for Writers .................................................................................................................................. 103 Online Libraries ....................................................................................................................................... 104 Online Books and E-texts ........................................................................................................................ 104 Newspapers, News Services, Journals and Magazines Online ................................................................ 105 Searching the World Wide Web: Overview ............................................................................................ 106 How the Internet and Search Engines Work ............................................................................................ 107 Kinds of Search Engines and Directories ................................................................................................ 108 Searching with a Search Engine .............................................................................................................. 109 Learn how the search engine works ................................................................................................. 109 Select your terms carefully .............................................................................................................. 109

Know Boolean operators ................................................................................................................. 110 Searching with a Web Directory .............................................................................................................. 111 Search Engine and Web Directory List .................................................................................................... 112 Resources to Search the Invisible Web .................................................................................................... 113 Other Useful Sites for Finding Information ............................................................................................. 113 Other Strategies for Web Searching ........................................................................................................ 114 Active and Passive Voice ........................................................................................................................ 115 Using Active Versus Passive Voice ................................................................................................. 115 Active Versus Passive Voice ................................................................................................................... 116 More about Passive Voice ....................................................................................................................... 118 Choosing Passive Voice ........................................................................................................................... 119 Changing Passive to Active Voice ........................................................................................................... 120 Further Suggestions for Using Passive and Active Voices ...................................................................... 123 Verbs: Voice and Mood ........................................................................................................................... 124 Active and Passive Voice ................................................................................................................. 124 Rhetorical Situations ................................................................................................................................ 126 Works Cited ..................................................................................................................................... 127 Elements of Rhetorical Situations ............................................................................................................ 128 Aristotle's Rhetorical Situation ................................................................................................................ 129 Text .......................................................................................................................................................... 130 What is a Text? ........................................................................................................................................ 130 Author and Audience ............................................................................................................................... 131 Purposes ................................................................................................................................................... 132 Setting ...................................................................................................................................................... 134 Example 1 ................................................................................................................................................ 136 Example 2 ................................................................................................................................................ 137 Example 3 ................................................................................................................................................ 140 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 142 Appropriate Language: Overview ............................................................................................................ 143 Levels of Formality .................................................................................................................................. 143 Slang and Idiomatic Expressions ..................................................................................................... 145 Deceitful Language and Euphemisms ...................................................................................................... 145

Stereotypes and Biased Language ........................................................................................................... 146 Stereotyped Language ...................................................................................................................... 146 Non-Sexist language ........................................................................................................................ 147 Appropriate Pronoun Usage ..................................................................................................................... 149 Conciseness ............................................................................................................................................. 150 Eliminating Words ................................................................................................................................... 152 Changing Phrases ..................................................................................................................................... 155 Avoid Common Pitfalls ........................................................................................................................... 156 On Paragraphs .......................................................................................................................................... 160 What is a paragraph? ........................................................................................................................ 160 The Basic Rule: Keep One Idea to One Paragraph .......................................................................... 160 Elements of a Paragraph .................................................................................................................. 160 How do I know when to start a new paragraph? .............................................................................. 161 Transitions and Signposts ................................................................................................................ 162 Paragraphing (Length Consistency) ......................................................................................................... 162 Strategies for Variation ............................................................................................................................ 163 Sentence Types ........................................................................................................................................ 164 For Short, Choppy Sentences ................................................................................................................... 165 For Repeated Subjects or Topics ............................................................................................................. 166 For Similar Sentence Patterns or Rhythms .............................................................................................. 168 Strategies for Variation ............................................................................................................................ 169 Sentence Types ........................................................................................................................................ 170 For Short, Choppy Sentences ................................................................................................................... 171 For Repeated Subjects or Topics ............................................................................................................. 172 For Similar Sentence Patterns or Rhythms .............................................................................................. 174 Essay Writing .......................................................................................................................................... 176 Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 176 Expository Essays .................................................................................................................................... 177 Descriptive Essays ................................................................................................................................... 179 Narrative Essays ...................................................................................................................................... 181 Argumentative Essays ............................................................................................................................. 182

Academic writing: Genres in academic writing Genres in academic writing Introduction Students are asked to write many different kinds of texts. Depending on your subject, these could be essays, laboratory reports, case-studies, book reviews, reflective diaries, posters, research proposals, and so on and are normally referred to as genres. These different genres, though, can be constructed from a small range of different text types. If, for example, you are asked to write an essay to answer the following question: Discuss possible solutions to the problem of international credit control. You could answer it in the following way: 1. Define credit control, say what it is and give an example; 2. Explain why international credit control is a problem in business today, support your explanation by evidence from your reading; 3. Describe some possible solutions to the problem of credit control in an international context, again support your suggestions with evidence from your reading; 4. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each of the possible solutions; 5. Decide which solution you would prefer and give reasons. So in order to answer the question you need to be able to write texts to do the following: • • • • • • • •

Define Give an example Explain why Support your explanation with evidence Describe a solution Describe advantages and disadvantages Choose Explain why

Genres in academic writing: Essays Introduction Almost all students will at some time be expected to write an essay, or some other kind of argument, e.g. a review or discussion section, in a longer piece of writing. In English, an essay is a piece of argumentative writing several paragraphs long written about one topic, usually based on your reading. The aim of the essay should be deduced strictly from the wording of the title or question (See Academic Writing: Understanding the Question), and needs to be defined at the beginning. The purpose of an essay is for you to say something for yourself using the ideas of the subject, for you to present ideas you have learned in your own way. The emphasis should be on working with other people's ideas, rather than reproducing their words, but your own voice should show clearly. The ideas and people that you refer to need to made explicit by a system of referencing. According to Linda Flower (1990, p. v), "students are reading to create a text of their own, trying to integrate information from sources with ideas of their own, and attempting to do so under the guidance of a purpose." Organisation Your essay should have the following sections: 1. Preliminaries

Title page

2. Main text

Introduction Main body Conclusion

3. End matter

References

^ 1. Preliminaries Before you start the main part of your essay or assignment, there should be a title page. The title page should contain information to enable your lecturer and departmental office or other reader to identify exactly what the piece of work is. It should include your name and course; the title of the assignment and any references; the lecturer it is for etc. Check with your department for clear information.

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^ 2. Main text English essays are linear – they start at the beginning and finish at the end, with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without digressions or repetition. Writers are responsible for making their line of argument clear and presenting it in an orderly fashion so that the reader can follow. Each paragraph discusses one major point and each paragraph should lead directly to the next. The paragraphs are tied together with an introduction and a conclusion. The main text of the essay has three main parts: I. II. III.

An introduction A main body A conclusion I. The introduction. The introduction consists of two parts: a. It should include a few general statements about the subject to provide a background to your essay and to attract the reader's attention. It should try to explain why you are writing the essay. It may include a definition of terms in the context of the essay, etc. b. It should also include a statement of the specific subdivisions of the topic and/or indication of how the topic is going to be tackled in order to specifically address the question. It should introduce the central idea or the main purpose of the writing. II. The main body. The main body consists of one or more paragraphs of ideas and arguments. Each paragraph develops a subdivision of the topic. The paragraphs of the essay contain the main ideas and arguments of the essay together with illustrations or examples. The paragraphs are linked in order to connect the ideas. The purpose of the essay must be made clear and the reader must be able to follow its development. III. The conclusion. The conclusion includes the writer's final points. a. It should recall the issues raised in the introduction and draw together the points made in the main body b. and explain the overall significance of the conclusions. What general points can be drawn from the essay as a whole?

It should clearly signal to the reader that the essay is finished and leave a clear impression that the purpose of the essay has been achieved. PRELIMINARIES ↓ I. INTRODUCTION General Statement Organisation Statement ↓ II. MAIN BODY A. Introductory Sentence Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 ... Concluding Sentence ↓ B. Introductory Sentence Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 ... Concluding Sentence ↓ C. Introductory Sentence Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 ... Concluding Sentence ↓ III. CONCLUSION

Recall issues in introduction; draw together main points; final comment. ↓ END MATTER ^ 3. End Matter At the end of the essay, there should be a list of references. This should give full information about the materials that you have used in the assignment. See Writing a list of references for more information on the reference list. Ways of organising essays. Essays are organised differently according to their purpose. Essays can be divided into the following main types. 1. The descriptive essay a. Description of object or place b. Describing a sequence of events. c. Describing a process d. Describing and explaining

2. The argument essay a. The balanced view b. The persuasive essay c. The to what extent essay.

3. Compare and contrast essays a. The contrast essay b. The compare essay c. The compare and contrast essays 1. The descriptive essay a. Description of object or place Describe essays require you to state the appearance of something, or to state the major characteristics of it. Note the word state i.e. you are not asked to comment on the subject or to give your personal point of view on it. Questions are often introduced by: Describe .... Narrate... Tell...

Plan: Introduction major aspects of the subject. ↓ description of aspect A ↓ description of aspect B ↓ etc. ↓ Conclusion See: Academic Writing: Functions - Describing objects, locations & directions

b. Describing a sequence of events. Describing a sequence of events is simply telling a story. State clearly when events happened or how one event caused another. Questions may be introduced by: Give an account of... Trace... Examine developments in. Introduction ↓ First situation ↓ then A happened ↓ then B happened ↓ etc. ↓ Final situation ↓ Conclusion See: Academic Writing: Functions - Reporting & narrating c. Describing a process This is like telling a story but here the connections between the facts must be clearly shown and explained. Group the events into steps or stages. Examples of such questions are :

Explain/What is the connection between... Describe the procedures by which..

Definition of process Main equipment/Main steps ↓ Step One leads to ↓ Step Two leads to ↓ Step Three ↓ Conclusion Summary of process See: Academic Writing: Functions - Describing processes & developments d. Describing and explaining Some of the words and phrases which introduce this type of description are: Explain the causes/reasons.... Account for.... Analyse the causes.... Comment on (the reasons for).... Show that.... Show why... Examine the effect of.... Suggest reasons for....

Why did...? What are the implications of...? Discuss the causes of.... Discuss the reasons for.... When we are asked to describe or explain causes, factors, functions or results, the examiner wants us to group our facts. Similar causes are put together, for instance the economic causes of a situation. There are basically two main ways to organise this type of essay. The question is "Describe the causes of A. Illustrate your answer by specific examples." Introduction to causes of A ↓ Cause 1 + example ↓ Effects 1 ↓ Cause 2 with example ↓ Effects 2 ↓ Cause 3 with examples ↓ Effects 3 ↓ Cause 4 with example ↓ Effects 4 ↓

etc. ↓ Conclusion ii. Introduction to causes of A ↓ Causes + examples ↓ Transition ↓ Effects ↓ Conclusion See: Academic Writing: Functions - Expressing reasons and explanations / cause and effect 2. The argument essay There are two main methods of presenting an argument, and in general the one you choose will depend on exactly how the essay title is worded. a. The balanced view If the essay title begins with something like: Give the arguments for and against.... Assess the importance of.... Examine the arguments for and against.... What are the advantages and disadvantages of...? Evaluate.... Critically examine the statement that.... To what extent is...true?

or even just the word Discuss.... then it is clear that a balanced essay is required. That is to say you should present both sides of an argument, without necessarily committing yourself to any points of view, which should always be based on evidence, until the final paragraph. At its simplest your essay plan will be as follows: Introduce the argument to the reader. e.g. why it is particularly relevant topic nowadays or refer directly to some comments that have been voiced on it recently. ↓ Reasons against the argument ↓ Reasons in favour of the argument ↓ After summarising the two sides, state your own point of view, and explain why you think as you do See: Academic Writing: Functions - Arguing and discussing; - Expressing degrees of certainty; Generalising; - Comparing and contrasting: similarities and differences; - Giving examples b. The persuasive essay This second type of argumentative essay involves stating your own point of view immediately, and trying to convince the reader by reasoned argument that you are right. Perhaps the essay title will begin with something like: Give your views on.... What do you think about...? Do you agree that...? Consider whether.... Or perhaps the title itself will be so controversial that everyone will hold a definite opinion in one direction or another.

The form of the essay will be, in outline, as follows: Introduce the topic briefly in general terms, and then state your own opinion. Explain what you plan to prove in the essay. ↓ Reasons against the argument. Dispose briefly of the main objections to your case. ↓ Reasons for your argument the arguments to support your own view, with evidence and examples. ↓ Conclusion - Do not repeat your point of view again. End your essay with something memorable e.g. a quotation or a direct question. See: Academic Writing: Functions - Arguing and discussing; - Expressing degrees of certainty; Generalising; - Comparing and contrasting: similarities and differences; - Giving examples c. The to what extent essay In this type of essay the examiner is giving you a statement. It is obviously true but truth is never 100%. You must decide how true it is? Are there some areas where you disagree with the statement. If so, describe how far you agree, and your points of agreement and disagreement. Words used in the question are: To what extent .... How true .... How far do you agree....

A possible answer structure is: Introduction to problem ↓ Aspect 1 - true ↓ Aspect 1 - false ↓ Aspect 2 - true ↓ Aspect 2 - false ↓ Aspect 3 - true ↓ Aspect 3 - false ↓ Etc ↓ Conclusion a ‘subtraction’ sum See: Academic Writing: Functions - Arguing and discussing; - Expressing degrees of certainty; Generalising; - Comparing and contrasting: similarities and differences; - Giving examples

3. Compare and contrast essays.

a The Contrast essay Contrast or distinguish between questions usually present you with two or more terms, instruments, concepts or procedures that are closely connected, and sometimes confused. The purpose of the essay is to explain the differences between them. The question may be of the form: Contrast .... Distinguish between ... What is the difference between.... What are the differences between.... How are ... and ... different? A suitable answer structure would be: Introduction to differences between A and B ↓ Contrast A & B in terms of first difference ↓ Contrast A & B in terms of second difference ↓ Contrast A & B in terms of third difference ↓ Etc ↓ Conclusion See: Academic Writing: Functions - Comparing and contrasting: similarities and differences; Defining; - Generalising; - Giving examples

b. The Compare essay Compare questions usually present you with two or more terms, instruments, concepts or procedures that are closely connected, and sometimes confused. The purpose of the essay is to explain the similarities between them. Words used are: Compare .... What features do ... and ... have in common? What are the similarities between.... How are ... and ... similar? A suitable answer structure would be: Introduction to similarities between A and B ↓ Compare A & B in terms of first similarity ↓ Compare A & B in terms of second similarity ↓ Compare A & B in terms of third similarity ↓ etc. ↓ Conclusion See: Academic Writing: Functions - Comparing and contrasting: similarities and differences; Defining; - Generalising; - Giving examples

c. The compare and contrast essay Compare and contrast essays require you to indicate areas in which the things to be compared are similar and different. Compare and contrast.... There are two main ways to answer such questions:. Introduction to differences and similarities between A and B ↓ Difference 1 ↓ Difference 2 ↓ Difference 3 ↓ etc. ↓ Transition ↓ Similarity 1 ↓ Similarity 2 ↓ Similarity 3 ↓ etc. ↓ Conclusion

ii. Introduction to differences and similarities between A and B ↓ Aspect 1 – similarities ↓ Aspect 1 – differences ↓ Aspect 2 – similarities ↓ Aspect 2 – differences ↓ Aspect 3 – similarities ↓ Aspect 3 – differences ↓ Etc ↓ Conclusion

Genres in academic writing: Reports Many students, particularly science and business students, will at some time be expected to write a report. Example Your report should have the following sections:

1. Preliminaries

Title page Abstract Contents

2. Main text

Introduction Methodology Findings/Results Discussion Conclusion

3. End matter

References Appendices

^ 1. Preliminaries Before you start the main part of your report, there should be a title page. The title page should contain information to enable your lecturer and departmental office to identify exactly what the piece of work is. It should include your name and course; the title of the assignment and any references; the lecturer it is for etc. Check with your department for clear information. A report should also normally include an abstract and a contents page. The abstract should give some background information, clearly state the principal purpose of the report, give some information about the methodology used, state the most important results and the conclusion. See: Writing an abstract. The contents page will give page numbers for the main sections. 2. The main text The main body consists of several paragraphs of ideas, data and argument. Each section develops a subdivision of the report purpose. The introduction gives background knowledge that supports the reason for writing the report and an organisation statement. The methodology section gives details of how the information in the report was obtained. Findings and results give the data that has been collected, while the discussion argues that the results lead to the clearly expressed conclusion. The sections are linked in order to connect the ideas. The purpose of the report must be made clear and the reader must be able to follow its development.

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I. II. III. IV. V.

Introduction Methodology Findings/Results Discussion Conclusion I. The introduction. The introduction consists of three parts: a. It should include a short review of the literature to provide a background to your report and to attract the reader's attention. It may include a definition of terms in the context of the report, etc. b. It should try to explain why you are writing the report. You need to establish a gap in current knowledge. c. It should also include a statement of the specific subdivisions of the topic and/or indication of how the topic is going to be tackled in order to specifically address the question. It should introduce the central idea or the main purpose of the writing. See: Writing Introductions II. Methodology. The methodology section gives details of how the information in the report was obtained. It may give details of the materials and procedures used. In any kind of experimental report, details of the people involved will need to be included. See: Writing Research Methods III. Findings/Results. The findings and results give the data that has been collected. This may be shown in the form of tables, graphs or diagrams. In all cases, reference must be made to the location of the information, the main details of the data and any comments on this. See: Writing Research Results IV. Discussion. The main purpose of the discussion is to show that the results lead clearly to the conclusion being drawn. This may include any limitations that might cause problems with any claims being made as well as any possible explanations for these results. See: Writing Research Discussions

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V. The conclusion. The conclusion includes the writer's final points. a. It should recall the issues raised in the introduction and draw together the points made in the results and discussion b. and come to a clear conclusion. It should clearly signal to the reader that the report is finished and leave a clear impression that the purpose of the report has been achieved. See: Writing Conclusions PRELIMINARIES ↓ I. INTRODUCTION Background Identification of Gap Organisation Statement ↓ II. METHODOLOGY Introductory Sentence - Overview Procedures Materials ... Concluding Sentence ↓ III. FINDINGS/RESULTS Introductory Sentence Locating Results Findings Comment ... Concluding Sentence ↓

IV. DISCUSSION Introductory Sentence - Overview Review of Findings Possible Explanations Limitations ... Concluding Sentence ↓ V. CONCLUSION Recall Issues in Introduction - Report Purpose; Draw Together Main Points; Final Comment - Clear Conclusion. ↓ END MATTER ^ 3. End Matter At the end of the report, there should be a list of references. This should give full information about the materials that you have used in the report. See Writing a list of references for more information on the reference list. The appendices may contain full details of data collected.

Genres in academic writing: Case studies A case-study is the most difficult to give you clear advice about as it may contain many other genres. The main advantage of a case study is that it gives you a chance to study one aspect of a real-world problem in detail from many different viewpoints. That is its main advantage. It doesn’t just restrict itself to a single research procedure such as a library search or interview data – but it could use either. At the beginning, therefore, you need a problem to solve. You will then lead the reader through the stages of the investigation, which you will describe and evaluate, to the solution. A case-study can, for example, make use of: • • • • • • •

Library research. Interviews Questionnaires Observation Diaries Historical documents Collection of current documents

First you need to identify a problem. This could be, for example, the introduction of a new working practice in a factory or office. You would then describe the new practice, what it is, how it works, why it was introduced; then observe how it works, talk to people who are affected by it, talk to managers and then evaluate the results and come to a conclusion. The way you would write up a case-study depends on the purpose of the case-study. Yin (1994, pp. 4-6) identified three different types of case studies, which you could choose from according your purpose. They are exploratory, explanatory and descriptive case studies •

•

An exploratory case-study is initial research that tries to look for patterns in the data and come up with a model within which to view this data. In this kind of research you would collect the data first. You would then try to make sense of it, doing any reading you needed to. Research questions for this kind of case-study can focus on “what” questions: What are the ways of increasing sales? Descriptive case-studies take this further and try to obtain information on the particular features of an issue. This type of case study will require a theory to point the data collection in the correct direction. Research questions here can again focus on “what” but lead to questions such as: What have been the effects of a particular sales activity? Explanatory research continues this even further by trying to analyse or explain why or how something happens or happened. Research question in this case are more likely to be of the “how” or “why” type: Why did a particular promotion activity lead to increased sales?

He then distinguishes six different types of case study report that can be used for the different types of case-study (p. 138).

1. Linear Analysis This is the typical business or scientific research report structure, organised in the IMRAD style. See above: Writing a report. 2. Comparative A comparative study looks at the same issues several times from different points of view. 3. Chronological A third type of report is to present the evidence in chronological order, gradually building up the descriptive and analytical structure. 4. Theory-building In this structure, each new section of the report will show a new part of the theory being presented. 5. Suspense In this case, the outcome or conclusion is presented initially. The remainder of the report will then develop the explanation. 6. Unsequenced This is useful when the case study consist of many small sections or studies. It is important, though, at the end of this stage to pull everything together. Yin (p. 138) then offers the following table to suggest ways in which you could write up the various kinds of case study. Type of Structure

Purpose of Case Study Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory 1. Linear Analysis ✗ ✗ ✗ 2. Comparative ✗ ✗ ✗ 3. Chronological ✗ ✗ ✗ 4. Theory-building ✗ ✗ 5. Suspense 6. Un-sequenced ✗

The following sequence would probably be appropriate, with the sections changed round as necessary, depending on the type of study. Case Study Report Preliminaries ↓ Introduction Introduce the situation Describe the problem – why the study was undertaken ↓ Background reading Describe previous research Give examples Evaluate previous research ↓ Methodology Report what methods you used Explain why you used each method ↓ Results Report what you found from each method ↓ Summary Summarise all results Compare and contrast the different results ↓ Evaluation Evaluate findings in light of background reading. ↓ Conclusion

Summarise the main findings Generalise from the findings ↓ Recommendations Make recommendations for the future ↓ End matter

Genres in academic writing: Research proposals At undergraduate level, you may be asked to write a research proposal before a major piece of writing such as an end of year project or a final year dissertation. The purpose of the proposal is to show how you intend to tackle the study and whether or not you have thought through the practicalities. Your lecturer will want to see that you have planned your research carefully in order for you to succeed. It will probably include the following: • • • •

• • • •

Preliminary title. What is the topic? What exactly is the research question? What exactly do you hope to show? What is the purpose of your work? Describe your research problem. Why the research is important? An argument as to why that problem is important, what problems still need to be solved. What do you already know about this topic? The proposal should begin by giving the background to the subject area in which the research is situated. It will describe the important theoretical and practical issues it plans to address. This should be supported by some reference to recent literature. It should finish by indicating a problem that your research will solve. How will the research be conducted? A description of the proposed research methodology. A time line or Gantt chart may be required. What resources will be needed? What resource implications are there for the prposed research with regard to materials, equipment, libary recources etc? How will the finding be useful? A description of how the research findings will be used and/or communicated to others. A preliminary reading list. This gives some idea of the reading you have already done. is also required.

The typical stages involve in a research proposal would be the following: Title Brief description of research proposal ↓ Purpose Describe in detail what you what to find out ↓ Justification Present an argument to justify your research. Explain why it is important ↓ Literature review Report any previous research Give examples of previous research Evaluate any previous research Identify any gaps Describe how you intend to fill the gaps ↓ Method Describe your proposed research methodology Describe your time frame Describe how you intend to do this in the time available Describe you resources Describe how you intend to do your research with the available resources. ↓ Dissemination Describe how the findings will be used

Evaluate this use Describe how the research findings will be disseminated. ↓ Reading list List the books and articles you might find useful ↓ End matter

Genres in academic writing: Book reviews You may be asked to write a book review or a review of a journal article. This may be a simple summary of the discussion in a book or article. However, it is more likely to be evaluative. For a book review, you will probably include the following stages: • • • •

• •

What’s the text about? Introduce the book. What is the subject of the text? Who is it written for? What is the purpose of the book? What has been written/published before? Put the text in the wider context. What is the text about? Summarise the book. Describe its general organisation, and the contents of each chapter. Is it any good? Draw attention to parts of the book and comment on them positively and/or negatively – refer to other publications that have done something similar if you can. Look at the purpose of the book, and whether or not it succeeds. Is it appropriate for the audience, for example. What about the design etc? Make any other comments on, for example, price, production, proof-reading, size, colour Is it appropriate? Conclude discussing whether it is appropriateness for audience, and make a recommendation.

A review or commentary on an article would include similar information. The book review could have the following stages. Preliminaries ↓ Introduction Give the title of the book, the author, the publisher, the price ↓

The overall text Describe the subject of the text Describe the purpose ↓ Background Describe what has been written/published before? Evaluate this previously published work. ↓ Content Summarise the book Describe its general organisation, contents of each chapter. ↓ Evaluation Evaluate the text Compare and contrast with other publications Present your point of view ↓ Looks Describe and evaluate design, price, production, proofreading, size, colour etc ↓ Conclusion Summarise discussion Conclude discussing whether it is appropriate for audience Recommend or not. ↓ End matter

Genres in academic writing: Brief reports Many newspapers and magazines regularly include short reports of current research that may be of interest to the educated reader. You may be asked to write one as part of your course. For a brief research report, you will probably include the following stages: • • • • • •

Short summary. This summarises the main points of the research. It will include the names of the researchers, where they work and where the main report is published. General background. This puts the research in the wider context by giving brief details of the subject and the state of present research. Purpose. This explains the purpose of the investigation, and explains why it was carried out. Procedure. This explains how the research was carried out. It gives details of who the subjects were, how the data was gathered and any special equipment that was used. Results. This gives details of any new information that came from an anaysis of the data. What was found? Conclusions. The report concludes by relating the findings to the wider context and explains why the research is relevant today.

A brief research report could have the following stages. Title ↓ Summary Give the main points of the research, the names of the authors, where they work and where the results were published. ↓ Background Describe the present state of knowledge in the area. ↓ Purpose Explain the purpose of the investigation. Why was it was carried out? ↓ Procedure Explain how the research was carried out. Give details of who the subjects were and how the data was gathered. ↓ Results Give details of any new information that came from an anaysis of the data. ↓ Conclusion Conclude by explain why the research is relevant in the modern world.

Example of brief Research Report

Tired drivers as risky as drinkers Health correspondent Sleep-deprived drivers are less alert than those who have drunk more than the legal limit of alcohol, according to new research.

well,” write Andrew Williamson of the School of Psychology University of New South Wales, and The researchers Anne-Marie suggest that Feyer from the A study countries which University of published today set drink-driving Otago, Dunedin. in the journal limits should Occupational consider setting The volunteers and restrictions to lorry drivers and Environmental prevent people members of the Medicine found who have been transport corps of that fatigue can awake for more the Australian reach dangerous than 18 hours army - were put levels at a much from driving, through tests to earlier stage piloting aircraft, measure thinking than has been or operating speed and assumed. machinery. physical Tiredness is reactions, estimated to coordination and The authors, play a part in attention span. from Australia between 16% They carried out and New and 60% of road the tests after a Zealand, tested responses of 39 accidents in the day and night of wakefulness and volunteers after United States, they say, but after drinking sleep alcohol. deprivation and few attempts have been made after drinking to work out at alcohol The researchers equivalent to the what point in the found that day or night that commonly legal driving tiredness reaches experienced limit in levels of sleep

tested in the morning with 50mg of alcohol in their bloodstream (the UK limit is 80mg).

Scandinavia.

serious levels.

They found that those who had been up since 6am performed worse in tests between 10.30pm and midnight than those who were

“The implications of fatigue for safe performance are well recognised particularly in road safety, but in other settings as

deprivation staying awake for 17 to 19 hours - depressed performance in the same way as drinking a couple of glasses of alcohol.

Genres in academic writing: Literature reviews You may be asked to write a literature review. This may either be part of a larger piece of work such as an extended essay, report or dissertation. Or it may be a separate piece of work. If it is part of a report, it may be part of the introduction or it may be a section to itself. If so it usually comes after the introduction and before the methods. Any study you carry out, whether it is laboratory or library based, cannot depend completely on your own data, but must be situated in a context of what is already known about the topic in question. This context is provided in the literature review. • • • • • • •

So firstly you need to read around to find the information and studies that are relevant to your topic. You must then summarise these studies, properly cited. You need to include: who found out what, when, and how this developed the study of the topic. Remember that the reader will want to know why you have included any particular piece of research here. It is not enough just to summarise what has been said: you need to organise and evaluate it. You must also justify its inclusion. You also review here methods that have been used that are relevant to your own study. You will finish with a conclusion, explaining how your research will fill any gaps left by previous research.

The main purpose of the literature review is to justify your research. You do this by summarising the literature with the intention of showing that there is a gap in the knowledge, which you will fill.

A possible structure is: Preliminaries ↓ Introduction Describe the context to the reader. Explain why it is particularly important ↓ Background Summarise the studies you have read Justify their inclusion ↓ Evaluation Evaluate the studies Support your evaluation ↓ Justification Identify a gap in knowledge Justify your research ↓ Conclusion Come to a conclusion about you have read Explain how you will fill the gap ↓ End matter

Genres in academic writing: Reflective writing The purpose of reflective writing is to help you learn from a particular practical experience. It will help you to make connections between what you are taught in theory and what you need to do in practice. You reflect so that you can learn. In reflective writing, you are trying to write down some of the thinking that you have been through while carrying out a particular practical activity, such as writing an essay, teaching a class or selling a product. Through reflection, you should be able to make sense of what you did and why and perhaps help yourself to do it better next time. You might reflect for many reasons in many ways, for example, in a diary or personal log. But here we are interested in the kind of writing that you do for assessment. You are often asked to provide a record of what you did plus a reflection of how you did it and how you are using what you are taught in your classes and any practical experience you are gaining to do this. Reflective writing gives you the chance think about what you are doing more deeply and to learn from your experience. You have the opportunity to discover how what you are taught in class helps you with your real-world or academic tasks. Writing your thoughts down makes it easier for you to think about them and make connections between what you are thinking, what you are being taught and what you are doing. Your written reflection will also serve as a source of reference and evidence in the future. It is not sufficient simply to have an experience in order to learn. Without reflecting upon this experience it may quickly be forgotten, or its learning potential lost. It is from the feelings and thoughts emerging from this reflection that generalisations or concepts can be generated. And it is generalisations that allow new situations to be tackled effectively. (Gibbs, 1988, p. 9) You might want to or be asked to reflect on: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

how to choose a subject for your dissertation, how to approach your dissertation, what your essay title means, how you are going to approach the essay, how well you wrote a piece of work, how you prepared for a lecture, how you listened to a lecture, how you undertook a reading assignment, how you performed in a recent examination, how you contributed to some group work, how others reacted, how you did in a practical situation, what experiences you gained in some part-time or voluntary work you did, how you solved a particular problem, how you can improve your study,

In your reflection, you could write about: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

what you did and why you did it, what was good and bad about it, why you found it good or bad, what you found easy or difficult, why you found it easy or difficult, what you liked about what you did, why you felt like that, how you might want to follow it up, what other people did and why they did it, how did you feel about what others did, how you used what you have been taught in class, what other information do you need, what you are going to do differently in this type of situation next time, what steps you are going to take on the basis of what you have learned, what you are going to do next.

Reflective writing often involves an action plan in which you should write about: • •

what you are going to do differently in this type of situation next time what steps you are going to take on the basis of what you have learned .

Kolb's (1984) experiential learning cycle is useful here:

In this case Concrete Experience is the activity - what you did. Reflective Observation is thinking about how you did it, how you felt and how you might have done it differently. Abstract Conceptualisation is thinking about what you were taught in class, what you have read about how to do this stage and why. Active Experimentation is thinking about what you learned from your reflection and conceptualisation and planning how you might do it differently next time.

Let us assume that you are reflecting on something that you have done in class. You will probably start by describing what you did. You might then want to write about how you did the activity, what methods you used. You might then want to evaluate your performance. How well did you do? In order to do this, you need to consider what you have been taught. You might want to describe what the experts say. You may then to consider your reactions. How did you/do you feel? You might finish by considering how you would do it next time. In reflective writing it is common to use the first person – ‘I’ - when necessary. Based on Kolb's work, Gibbs (1988, p. 47) suggests the following stages to encourage deeper reflection: Description:

What happened? What are you going to reflect on? Don't make judgements yet or try to draw conclusions. Feelings: What were your reactions and feelings? Evaluation: What was good or bad about the experience? Make value judgements. Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? Bring in ideas from outside the experience to help you. What was really going on? Conclusions What can be concluded, in a general sense, from these experiences and the (general): analyses you have undertaken? Conclusions What can be concluded about your own specific, unique, personal situation or (specific): ways of working? Personal action What are you going to do differently in this type of situation next time? What plans: steps are you going to take on the basis of what you have learnt?

Based on this pattern, a possible structure of a reflective report is:

Description

Preliminaries ↓ Introduction Describe your situation Personal report

Feelings

Report what you did and/or what happened. ↓ Personal report

Evaluation

Report how you felt. What did you like or dislike? ↓ Reflection on action Report what was good/bad, easy/difficult, pleasant/unpleasant etc Compare and contrast your experiences

Analysis

Explain why ↓ Reflection on teaching Report what have you been taught Describe what you know ↓ Connections

Conclusions

Evaluate your practice, drawing on your knowledge & experience ↓ Identify gaps Describe any gaps in your knowledge Explain how you can fill them

Action

Generalise to the future ↓ Action plan Produce action plan for future (learning + practice)

Justify your action plan ↓ End matter

Genres in academic writing: Writing introductions The purpose of the introduction is to show your reader what you are doing in your writing. It is also helpful to explain why you are doing it and how you are doing it. For that reason, there are usually three main parts in the introduction. The most useful description is given by Swales (1990, pp. 137-165): Research Report Introductions 1. Establish a research territory show that the general research area is important, central, interesting, problematic, or relevant in some way. introduce and review items of previous research in the area. ↓ 2. Establishing a niche indicate a gap in the previous research by raising a question about it, or extending previous knowledge in some way. ↓ 3. Occupying the niche outline purposes or stating the nature of the present research. indicate the structure of the RP.

Analysis Â

Identify the moves in the following introduction: Use Of A Writing Web-Site By Pre-Masters Students On An English for Academic Purposes Course. A. J. Gillett, University of Hertfordshire Introduction 1

During the past 10 years, the availability of computers in educational institutions has increased dramatically (James, 1999). 2Progress in computer development has been made to the point that powerful, inexpensive computers with large capacities are available in many classrooms and libraries for student use. 3Many students also have purchased and are purchasing computers for their own use at home. 4Most studies seem to agree that the microcomputer will continue to hold an important role in education in the future. 5For example, James (1999) and Smith (2000) suggest large increases in the numbers of computers both in educational institutions and the home in the near future. 6As far as education is concerned, Shaw (2001) identified three main uses of computers: the object of a course, an administrative tool, and a means of providing instruction. 7Fish and Cheam (2002) cite four uses of computers as a means of providing instruction: exercise, tutorial, simulation and problem solving. 8A wide range of computer programmes are now therefore available in all these areas for individual and classroom use. 9

However, even though many studies have reported an increased use of computers in education, there has been very little research reported on the effectiveness of such use. 10The purpose of the present study is therefore to ascertain the effectiveness of using computer-assisted instruction as compared to traditional classroom instruction in an EAP writing class. Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the text. ELEMENT Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 Sentence 4 Sentence 5 Sentence 6 Sentence 7 Sentence 8

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Sentence 9 Sentence 10 ^ Move 1: Establishing a research territory Note particularly the language used in the first two sentences to express Move la. • • • • • • • • •

The increasing interest in ... has heightened the need for .... Of particular interest and complexity are .... Recently, there has been growing interest in .... The development of ... has led to the hope that.... The ... has become a favourite topic for analysis .... The study of ... has become an important aspect of .... A central issue in ... is .... The ... has been extensively studied in recent years. Many recent studies have focused on ....

Move 2: Establishing a niche In many ways, Move 2 is the key move in Introductions. It connects Move 1 (what has been done) to Move 3 (what the present research will do). Move 2 thus establishes the reason for the study. By the end of Move 2, the reader should have a good idea of what is going to come in Move 3. Move 2s establish a niche by indicating a gap. Probably the most common way to indicate a gap is to use a "negative" subject. Presumably, negative subjects are chosen because they signal immediately to the reader that Move 1 has come to an end. Note the following uses of little and few: • •

However, little information/attention/work/data/research .... However, few studies/investigations/researchers/attempts ....

Of course, not all RP Introductions express Move 2 by indicating an obvious gap. You may prefer, for various reasons, to avoid negative comment altogether. In such cases, a useful alternative is to use a contrastive statement. • • • • • •

The research has tended to focus on ...,rather than on .... These studies have emphasised ...,as opposed to .... Although considerable research has been devoted to ... , rather less attention has been paid to .... The previous research ... has concentrated on .... Most studies have been content to .... So far, investigations have been confined to ... 46

Move 3: Occupying the Niche The third and final step is to show you want to fill the gap (or answer the question) that has been created in Move 2. • • • • • • • •

The purpose of this paper is to ... The purpose of this investigation is to ... The aim of this paper is to ... This paper reports on the results obtained .... This study was designed to ... In this paper, we give results of ... In this paper, we argue that .... This paper argues that ....

• • •

We have organise the rest of this paper in the following way .... This paper is structured as follows .... The remainder of this paper is divided into five sections ....

Example Identify the moves in the following introductions: THE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY AND SPECIFIC HEAT OF EPOXY RESIN FROM 0.1 TO 8.0K. The thermal properties of glassy materials at low temperatures are still not completely understood. The thermal conductivity has a plateau which is usually in the range 5 to 10K and below this temperature it has a temperature dependence which varies approximately as T. The specific heat below 4K is much larger than that which would be expected from the Debye theory and it often has an additional term which is proportional to T. Some progress has been made towards understanding the thermal behaviour by assuming that there is a cut-off in the photon spectrum at high frequencies (Zaitlin and Anderson, 1975a, b) and that there is an additional system of low-lying two-level states (Anderson et al., 1972; Phillips, 1972). Nevertheless more experimental data are required and in particular it would seem desirable to make experiments on glassy samples whose properties can be varied slightly from one to the other. The present investigation reports attempts to do this by using various samples of the same epoxy resin which have been subjected to different curing cycles. Measurements of the specific heat (or the diffusing) and the thermal conductivity have been taken in the temperature range 0.1 to 80K for a set of specimens which covered up to nine different curing cycles. (Kelham and Rosenburg, 1981) An elaborate system of marking social distance and respect is found in the morphology of Nahuatl as spoken in communities of the Malinche volcano area in the Mexican states of Tlaxcala and Puebla. The complexity of the morphology involved, the semantic range of the elements, and the variation in the system in use raise questions of considerable interest for our

understanding of the form and function of such systems, both in Nahuatl itself and in other languages. A system of elements usually referred to as 'honorifics' or 'reverentials' is reported by all the grammarians of Classical Nahuatl (cf. Olmos, 1547; Molina, 1571a; Carochi, 1645; Simeon, 1885; Garibay, 1970; Anderson, 1973; Andrews, 1975). Similar systems are reported for several modern varieties of Nahuatl (cf. Whorf, 1946 for Milpa Alta in the Federal District; Pitman, 1948 for Tetelcingo in Morelos; and Buchler and Freeze, 1966 and Buhler, 1967 for Hueyapan and Atempan in northern Puebla). None of these reports, except for Pittman's describes the system in much detail. The present account is based on materials collected in 1974-75 and during the summer of 1976 in a linguistic survey of Nahuatl-speaking communities on the western and south-western slopes of the Malinche volcano. In recent years applied researchers have become increasingly interested in the interpersonal relationships with manager-subordinate dyads. The majority of studies have focused on actual similarity between managers and their subordinates as related to managers' appraisals of subordinates' performance (Miles, 1964; Nieva, 1976; Rude, 1970; Senger, 1971), subordinates' job satisfaction (Huber, 1970) and subordinates' evaluations of their managers. (Weiss, 1977). A few studies have examined the extent to which subordinates congruently perceive their managers (referred to here as "subordinate's perceptual congruence"). These studies suggest that subordinates who are more perceptually aware of their superiors' workrelated attitudes receive higher performance evaluations (Golmieh, 1974; Green, 1972; Labovitz, 1972) and are more satisfied with their superiors (Howard, 1968). Each of these previous studies has researched only a part of this complex dyadic interpersonal relationship. First, none of the studies has examined the effects of a manager's congruent perception of a subordinate's work-related attitudes (i.e., "manager's perceptual congruence"). Second, no studies can be found that directly compare the relative importance of actual similarity with that of perceptual congruence. Third, none of the previous studies has looked at interpersonal perception by the manager and by the subordinates simultaneously within the same dyad. The purpose of the present field investigation was to study both actual similarity and perceptual congruence and to examine them from the perspective of both the manager and the subordinate. The study investigated the relationships of these perceptual processes in two important organizational outcomes: subordinates' satisfaction with work and supervision, and managers' evaluations of subordinates' job performance. Specifically, the study examined: (a) the relative magnitude of perceptual congruence and actual similarity with these two organizational outcomes; (b) whether the more congruently a subordinate perceives the manager (subordinate's perceptual congruence), the more satisfied the subordinate will be; and (c) whether the more congruently a manager perceives the subordinate (manager's perceptual congruence), the higher the subordinate's performance will be evaluated. Reference Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Â

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Genres in academic writing: Research report methods The method describes the steps that you followed in conducting your study and the materials you used in each step. Research Report Methods The method describes the steps that you followed in conducting your study and the materials you used in each step. The methods section of the report clearly describes these materials and procedures. The elements included in the method section and the order in which they are presented may differ from department to department. However, the list in the following box is typical and provides you with a good model (Weissberg & S. Buker, 1990, p. 92). ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN METHODS SECTION • • • • • • • • •

Overview of the Experiment Population/Sample Location Restrictions/Limiting Conditions Sampling Technique Procedures* Materials* Variables Statistical Treatment

(* always included) Analysis Read the following example of a method section from the field of computer assisted language learning and teaching. The study investigated the use of the World-Wide-Web for teaching writing in a British university. Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the selection. (NOTE: Some sentences may contain more than one element.)

Use Of A Writing Web-Site By Pre-Masters Students on an English for Academic Purposes Course. A. J. Gillett, University of Hertfordshire Method 1

Two groups of international students on a one-year Pre-Masters English for Academic Purposes course, each comprising 50 students were taught academic writing by different methods and compared. 2In each group there were 50 students from five different academic departments computer science, business, engineering, life sciences and law. 3The subjects were selected from the second semester - Semester B - of the University of Hertfordshire International Bridging Programme in the 2004-2005 academic year. 4This programme accepts only students from a narrow English Language Proficiency band (IELTS 5.00 - 5.5). 5Thus, comparable language level among the test subjects was insured. 6

The subjects were selected from the 250 students on the International Bridging Programme on the basis of performance at a satisfactory level in the Semester A examination. 7Students who had performed below the minimum level on the semester A examination were excluded. 8This criterion was employed to ensure competent understanding of the tasks and adequate motivation. 9

One group - Group A - studied English writing in the traditional way in a class with a teacher. This class met for 2 hours each week in a classroom for 12 weeks and was supplemented with written homework assignments given by the teacher each week. 11The second group - Group B met together in a class with a teacher for one hour per week for 12 weeks and were assigned a homework task of spending one hour per week doing exercises from the UEfAP web-site (Gillett, 2005). 10

The test instrument employed in this study was a revised version of the University of Hertfordshire English Language Writing Test (Roberts, 1997), which permits the assessment of academic written language performance. 13It consists of an academic reading text and comprehension questions, followed by a discursive essay on the subject of the reading text. 14

Both groups A and B were given the same written examination at the end of the semester. The students took the examination under standard university examination conditions as part of their end of semester examination. 16The tests were marked using the following categories: task achievement; communicative quality; organisation; ideas, content and relevance; and grammar and vocabulary, by two experienced writing examiners and moderated in the standard way to ensure reliability. 17In this way it was possible to see the relationship between the students' main academic subjects, and the improvement in their writing ability depending on the teaching method. 15

A 3 x 5 analysis of variance was used to test for academic department, method of teaching and language achievement differences.

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^ Exercise Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the text. ELEMENT Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 Sentence 4 Sentence 5 Sentence 6 Sentence 7 Sentence 8 Sentence 9 Sentence 10 Sentence 11 Sentence 12 Sentence 13 Sentence 14 Sentence 15 Sentence 16 Sentence 17 Sentence 18 ^ Example In early 1982 telephone interviews were conducted with a statewide probability sample of 2,083 registered voters in a major southwestern state. The interviews were conducted for a state agency and addressed various voting-related attitudes and opinions. Within this context, a split ballot (experimental) design was employed whereby approximately each quarter of the sample was asked age utilizing a different question format. Three open-end and one closed-end question formats were investigated:

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• • • •

How old are you? What is your age? In what year were you born? Are you 18-24 years of age, 25-34. 35-49, 50- 64, 65 or older?

Each question format was drawn from previous research and was selected to be illustrative of one approach to asking age. The particular question format used when asking an individual study participant his or her age was randomly determined prior to the interview. Interviewers made no determination as to what age question format was employed for a specific study participant. All interviews were conducted from a centralized, supervised interviewing location and began with an interviewer asking to speak to a prespecified individual. The interviewer then introduced himself/herself and stated who was conducting the study and asked for the potential study participant's cooperation. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, of which the age question was number 15. Actual age data were available from the state agency for 1,324 of the individuals interviewed. Therefore, following the completion of an interview it was possible to compare an individual's reported age with his or her actual age. This in turn permitted inferences as to which question format produced the most accurate age data as well as which format resulted in the lowest refusal rate or nonresponse rate.

Language Passive voice is common and so is past tense: Telephone interviews were conducted. The interviews were conducted for a state agency. A split ballot design was employed . Each quarter of the sample was asked. Three open-end and one closed-end question formats were investigated. Each question format was drawn from previous research and was selected to be illustrative of one approach to asking age. The particular question format ... was randomly determined prior to the interview. All interviews were conducted from a centralized location. The interviewer then introduced himself/herself and stated who was conducting the study and

asked for the potential study participant's cooperation. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, of which the age question was number 15. Actual age data were available from the state agency for 1,324 of the individuals interviewed. Therefore, following the completion of an interview it was possible to compare an individual's reported age with his or her actual age. This in turn permitted inferences as to which question format produced the most accurate age data as well as which format resulted in the lowest refusal rate or nonresponse rate.

Genres in academic writing: Research report results Presenting Results The results section of the report clearly describes the findings of the study. It is usually presented both in diagrams and text. Research Report Results The results section of the report clearly describes the findings of the study. It is usually presented both in diagrams and text. The elements included in the method section text and the order in which they are presented may differ from department to department. However, the list in the following box is typical and provides you with a good model. You might need to repeat this several times if you have different diagrams and charts. Make sure, though, that you do not start to interpret the results. This will take place in the dicussion section, which comes next.

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ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN RESULTS SECTION •

introduction to the results ↓

•

statement showing where the results can be found ↓

•

statement presenting the most important findings ↓

•

statement commenting on the results this may include: o summary of the results o re-organisation of the results to show trends and tendencies o conclusion from the results

Diagrams When the information has been collected, it is usually analysed using various statistical techniques. It is then presented in tables, graphs or charts. 1 Tables Country of Origin of Students on Foundation Course Female

Male

China

Japan

India

Pakistan

Thailand

Malaysia

Tables:

• • • •

are efficient, enabling the researcher to present a large amount of data in a small space show exact numerical values present quantitative data - they need interpreting they emphasise the discrete rather than the continuous.

They do not easily show: • • • •

the number of students on the course the percentage of female students the percentage of female students from China relationships or trends.

2 Pie charts Pie charts can be used to show the sizes of various parts of the results in relation to each other and in relation to the whole sample.

In the pie chart above:

• • • •

the circle represents the total number of students on the course each segment represents the number of students from one country. It shows that there are students from 6 countries it clearly shows the largest number of students come from China it also shows that about 10% of the students come from Japan it shows that fewer students are from Malaysia than India it shows that a similar number of students come from India and Japan.

• •

it does not show how many students there are altogether. it does not show how many students there are from a particular country.

• •

•

it does not show small differences between countries. ^

3 Histograms Histograms (or bar or column graphs) can also be also used to describe results. However, they more clearly show the relationship of different parts of the sample to each other. They do not clearly show the parts in relation to the whole.

Look at the histogram above. This clearly shows: • • • •

the proportion of male to female students which country has the most students which country has the fewest women the number of students from India.

It does not easily show: • • •

the number of students on the course. the percentage of female students. the percentage of female students from China.

4 Line graphs Graphs are often used to show the results of studies, especially when they involve some kind of change over time. This usually involves two groups of measurements which are known as variables.

The graph above shows the differences in the English test score of the students on the course. • • • •

The two variables are the length of time the students have studied English and the students' test scores. The length of study causes the change. (This is called the independent variable and the other - the test score - the dependent variable.) The length of study is on the horizontal (x) axis. The test score is on the vertical (y) axis

Line graphs show well: • • •

trends & tendencies - you can see that the test score generally increases as the length of study increases. that a typical student who has studied for 12 months has a score of 4 on the test. that a typical student who has scored 6 on the test will have studied for 18 months.

Look at the second graph below:

• • • • •

The independent variable is now the test score. The dependent variable is the number of students who obtained a particular score. The highest score is 7 the lowest score is 1. The most common score is 5 8 students achieved a score of 4.

^ 5 The average The average is a measure of central tendency. It is related to the middle point in a range of scores and is found in many different kinds of research. It can be calculated in three main ways. Most commonly, it refers to what mathematicians call the mean. This is calculated by adding all the scores together and then dividing by the number of scores. For example, if five students obtain the following test scores: 2.5, 3, 3, 4 & 5, then the average test score (the mean) is 17.5 (the total) divided by 5 (number of students) = 3.5. You can see in this case, though, that none of the students actually obtained a score of 3.5. Sometimes it is not useful to calculate the average in this way. For example, we may want to see which score on the test was most frequently obtained. This kind of average, referring to the most frequent score, is called the mode, and is also a very useful average. In this case the mode is 5. 10 students obtained a score of 3. The third useful average is the median - this is the middle score obtained by the students on the test. In this case the median is 3. ^

6 Dispersion Dispersion is the spread of scores. Whereas the various averages will give us information about central tendency, it does not give very much information about the group as a whole. We need to know more about a set of scores than the mean can tell us. One useful piece of information is the range from the bottom to the top score. In the example above when five students obtain the following test scores: 2.5, 3, 3, 4 & 5, the range is the difference between the bottom score and the top score, inclusive of both scores, i.e. 3.5. It is common to plot the range of scores on a graph. This can show easily the range of scores (from the lowest to the highest) as well as the number of students who obtained each score. For example, if the scores of 69 students are plotted on a graph, it would look something like the diagram below.

If the sample of sixty-nine students was representative of the students at the university as a whole, then the most common score of university students would be 50%, and the majority of students would have scores around 50%, with a few students at either extreme. See the diagram below. Idealised curves such as the one shown below are called normal distribution curves. The number of people on one side of the centre is the same as on the other side, with about 50% of the students near the centre.

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One common measure of how much the scores are spread is the standard deviation (SD). This shows how much the range of scores deviate from the mean. In a normal distribution 68% of the population will get scores within one standard deviation of the mean and so 32% of the population will have scores more than one standard deviation away from the mean. 95% of the population will have scores within two standard deviations of the mean.

^ Analysis Read the following example of part of a results section from the field of computer assisted language learning and teaching. The study investigated the use of the World-Wide-Web for teaching writing in a British university. Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the selection. (NOTE: Some sentences may contain more than one element.)

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Use Of A Writing Web-Site By Pre-Masters Students On An English for Academic Purposes Course. A. J. Gillett, University of Hertfordshire Results 1

Two groups of Students in Higher Education - Group A and Group B - on a one-year PreMasters English for Academic Purposes course, each comprising 50 students were taught academic writing by different methods and compared. 2Figure 3 displays the mean percentile scores on the five subsections of the academic writing test. 3Students in Group B, which used the computer assisted facilities, performed considerably better than their non computer-assisted peers on all five subsections of the test by more than two to one in terms of scores attained in each of the subcategories. 4For example, in the task achievement subcategory, Group A scored an average of 80 percent, while Group B students scored an average of 14 percent.

Exercise

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Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the text. ELEMENT Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 Sentence 4 ^ Language Referring to a diagram, chart etc. As can be seen It can be seen We can see

As can be seen It can be seen We can see

chart, ... diagram, from table, the in graph, that ... figures, statistics,

Table 1, from Figure 2, … in Graph 3,

Table 1 Figure 2

seen concluded can shown From be that ... figures it estimated may the chart calculated diagram inferred The graph shows that ... Figure 1

Genres in academic writing: Research report discussions The main purpose of the discussion is to show that the results lead clearly to the conclusion being drawn. This may include any limitations that might cause problems with any claims being made as well as any possible explanations for these results. Research Report Discussions The discussion section of the report takes a broad view of the research and puts it in a wider context. The discussion section moves from the narrow specific focus of the research to a more general view. It must clearly show how the results found lead to the conclusions being drawn and therefore how these conclusions should be understood. This should include any limitations that might cause problems with any claims being made as well as any possible explanations for these results. The elements included in the discussion section text and the order in which they are presented may differ from department to department. However, the list in the following box is typical and provides you with a good model (adapted from: Weissberg & Buker, 1990, p. 138; Hopkins & Dudley-Evans, 1988; Swales & Feak, 1994). ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN DISCUSSION SECTION •

a reference to the main purpose of the study ↓

•

a generalised review of the most important findings - summary of results ↓

•

possible explanations for the findings in general ↓

•

comparison with expected results and other studies ↓

•

limitations of the overall study that restrict the extent to which the findings can be generalised

Analysis Read the following example of part of a discussion section from the field of computer assisted language learning and teaching. The study investigated the use of the World-Wide-Web for teaching writing in a British university. Identify the information elements you find in each sentence of the selection. (NOTE: Some sentences may contain more than one element.) Use Of A Writing Web-Site By Pre-Masters Students On An English for Academic Purposes Course. A. J. Gillett, University of Hertfordshire Discussion 1

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether Students in Higher Education on an EAP writing course would benefit from computer assisted instruction. 2The findings clearly suggest that they do. 3The students who took part in the computer assisted element of the writing course outperformed those who followed the traditional course in every aspect as shown by their performance on the University of Hertfordshire Writing test. 4They showed particular strengths in the task achievement element of the assessment, suggesting that the computer assisted materials really help the students to understand and focus on the purpose of their writing. 5It also seems to be the case that the individually directed nature of the on-line materials helps the students to focus on their own specific needs as well as allowing them to access their materials in their own time. 6Another reason for the success of the materials may be that it allows students to spend more time on the course than is normally the case in a classroom based programme. 7This supports and adds to the findings of Jones & Smith (1997) and Harris (2002), who showed similar results for an on-line grammar course. 8This study has taken a step in the direction of justifying the inclusion of web-based materials in EAP writing courses for post-graduates on English language preparation course. 9It did however look at a narrow range of subject areas mainly business, computer science, engineering life-sciences and law - taken by students from only a few countries - particularly China, Japan , Korea and Thailand. 10It may be the case that students from other countries intending to study different subjects - for example, medicine or humanities - would not benefit in the same way. 11It is also not clear whether younger students such as students preparing for undergraduate programmes would succeed to the same extent. 12 The approach outlined in this study should be replicated with other students in other subject areas, as well as at other levels in order to be able to recommend the use of on-line materials for all students in all subject areas.

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Genres in academic writing: Writing conclusions The main purpose of the conclusion is to show that the main purpose of the piece of writing has been achieved. a. It should recall the issues raised in the introduction - what was the purpose of the piece of writing? ↓ b. and draw together the points made in the main body of the piece of writing ↓ c. and come to a clear conclusion.

It should clearly signal to the reader that the writing is finished and leave a clear impression that the purpose has been achieved. Analysis Read the following example of the conclusion from the field of computer assisted language learning and teaching. The study investigated the use of the World-Wide-Web for teaching writing in a British university. Use Of A Writing Web-Site By Pre-Masters Students On An English for Academic Purposes Course. A. J. Gillett, University of Hertfordshire Conclusion 1

During the past 10 years, the use of computers in education has increased dramatically and a wide range of educational computer programmes are now widely available for individual and classroom use. 2However, there has been very little research reported on the effectiveness of such use. 3The purpose of the present study was therefore to ascertain the effectiveness of using computer-assisted instruction as compared to traditional classroom instruction in an EAP writing class. 4The findings clearly suggest that the inclusion of web-based materials in EAP writing courses for post-graduate students from East-Asia on an English language preparation course is effective. 5Further research is needed, however, before the use of such materials can be recommended for all students in all subject areas at all levels.

Examples Read the following conclusions: In conclusion, therefore, it can be seen that millions of people continue to be affected by waterrelated problems and, contrary to popular belief, future water supplies are not inexhaustible. So the situation is very serious, especially in view of the UN estimates of demand. Although projects to provide ever-increasing supplies of water indicate that a growing number of countries are aware of the present problems and of those to come, these more often than not are highly expensive and not very practical - and very time-consuming when time is a commodity in short supply. So, while research in these areas is important, the eventual solution would definitely appear to be worldwide conservation and pollution control - in other words, a greater respect for our most valuable natural resource. Altogether, it seems that we cannot accept without question the dramatic increase in recorded crime as corresponding to a real increase in victimization of the same proportions. But, however good it would be to explain away all, or even most, of the increase as an artefact of recording changes, this cannot be shown to be the case. We can plausibly infer that crime has been increasing in the last two to three decades, presenting a problem for explanation and policy. Language In short, In a word, In brief, To sum up, To conclude, ... To summarise In conclusion, On the whole, Altogether, In all, accepted generally argued It is that . widely held believed Therefore, concluded Thus, can it be deduced that . On this basis, may inferred Given this,

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Table 1

seen concluded table can shown figures From it be that . may estimated the data calculated results inferred information In conclusion, we/may say that . Finally it can/may be said

Genres in academic writing: Report abstracts Writing an abstract The abstract is the first section of the report. It usually comes after the title and before the introduction. In some subject areas, this section may be titled "summary". The abstract provides an overview of the study based on information from the other sections of the report. The reader can read the abstract to obtain enough information about the study to decide if they want to read the complete report. Because it contains elements from the whole report, it is usually written last. 1. Ordering Your Information Abstracts from almost all fields of study are written in a very similar way. The types of information included and their order are very conventional. The box that follows shows the typical information format of an abstract (Weissberg & Buker, 1990, p. 186):

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Introduction Introduce the study by describing the context Explain why the subject is important ↓ Purpose Describe the purpose of the study ↓ Methods Report how the study was undertaken ↓ Results Report the results that were found. ↓ Evaluation Briefly evaluate the results ↓ Conclusion Conclude briefly Explain what is important and why Analysis Read the following abstract carefully. It is taken from the field of computer assisted learning. Identify the sentences in the abstract that correspond to the elements in the preceding box. Use Of A Writing Web-Site By Pre-Masters Students On An English for Academic Purposes Course. A. J. Gillett, University of Hertfordshire Abstract 1

During the last 10 years, use of the World-Wide-Web for educational purposes has increased dramatically. 2However, very little empirical research has been carried out to determine the effectiveness of this use. 3The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the effectiveness of using the World-Wide-Web on an EAP writing course. 4Two groups of students were taught

writing by two different methods: one group was taught by a teacher in a traditional classroom, while a second group included use of an on-line web-site in their course. 5The two groups were assessed in the same way after a twelve-week period of instruction. 6Results of the assessment showed significant differences between the two groups, the group that used the on-line web-site performing much better on all aspects of the test. 7This suggests that the use of computer assisted learning programmes for at least some of the teaching time available can be recommended for EAP writing courses.

Source: http://www.uefap.com/writing/genre/genrefram_essay.htm

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Developing Strong Thesis Statements The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people. Example of a non-debatable thesis statement: Pollution is bad for the environment. This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution means that something is bad or negative in some way. Further, all studies agree that pollution is a problem, they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is good. Example of a debatable thesis statement: At least twenty-five percent of the federal budget should be spent on limiting pollution. This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution. Another example of a debatable thesis statement: America's anti-pollution efforts should focus on privately owned cars. In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy. The thesis needs to be narrow Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

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Example of a thesis that is too broad: Drug use is detrimental to society. There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate. Example of a narrow or focused thesis: Illegal drug use is detrimental because it encourages gang violence. In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic. We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way: Narrowed debatable thesis 1: At least twenty-five percent of the federal budget should be spent on helping upgrade business to clean technologies, researching renewable energy sources, and planting more trees in order to control or eliminate pollution. This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution. Narrowed debatable thesis 2: America's anti-pollution efforts should focus on privately owned cars because it would allow most citizens to contribute to national efforts and care about the outcome. This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus. Qualifiers such as "typically," "generally," "usually," or "on average" also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

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Types of Claims Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, in other words what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of you broader topic. Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Example: What some people refer to as global warming is actually nothing more than normal, long-term cycles of climate change. Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Example: The popularity of SUV's in America has caused pollution to increase. Claims about value: These are claims made about what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. Example: Global warming is the most pressing challenge facing the world today. Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example: Instead of drilling for oil in Alaska we should be focusing on ways to reduce oil consumption, such as researching renewable energy sources. Which type of claim is right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you use for your argument will depend on your position and knowledge on the topic, your audience, and the context of your paper. You might want to think about where you imagine your audience to be on this topic and pinpoint where you think the biggest difference in viewpoints might be. Even if you start with one type of claim you probably will be using several within the paper. Regardless of the type of claim you choose to utilize it is key to identify the controversy or debate you are addressing and to define your position early on in the paper! Contributors:Stacy Weida, Karl Stolley. Summary: These OWL resources will help you develop and refine the arguments in your writing.

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Using Research and Evidence What type of evidence should I use? There are two types of evidence: First hand research is research you have conducted yourself such as interviews, experiments, surveys, or personal experience and anecdotes. Second hand research is research you are getting from various texts that has been supplied and compiled by others such as books, periodicals, and websites. Regardless of what type of sources you use, they must be credible. In other words, your sources must be reliable, accurate, and trustworthy. How do I know if a source is credible? You can ask the following questions to determine if a source is credible: Who is the author? Credible sources are written by authors respected in their fields of study. Responsible, credible authors will cite their sources so that you can check the accuracy of and support for what they've written. (This is also a good way to find more sources for your own research.) How recent is the source? The choice to seek recent sources depends on your topic. While sources on the American Civil War may be decades old and still contain accurate information, sources on information technologies, or other areas that are experiencing rapid changes, need to be much more current. What is the author's purpose? When deciding which sources to use, you should take the purpose or point of view of the author into consideration. Is the author presenting a neutral, objective view of a topic? Or is the author advocating one specific view of a topic? Who is funding the research or writing of this source? A source written from a particular point of view may be credible; however, you need to be careful that your sources don't limit your coverage of a topic to one side of a debate. What type of sources does your audience value? If you are writing for a professional or academic audience, they may value peer-reviewed journals as the most credible sources of information. If you are writing for a group of residents in your hometown, they might be more comfortable with mainstream sources, such as Time or Newsweek. A younger audience may be more accepting of information found on the Internet than an older audience might be. Be especially careful when evaluating Internet sources! Never use Web sites where an author cannot be determined, unless the site is associated with a reputable institution such as a respected university, a credible media outlet, government program or department, or well-known nongovernmental organizations. Beware of using sites like Wikipedia, which are collaboratively

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developed by users. Because anyone can add or change content, the validity of information on such sites may not meet the standards for academic research. Contributors:Stacy Weida, Karl Stolley. Summary: These OWL resources will help you develop and refine the arguments in your writing.

Organizing Your Argument How can I effectively present my argument? Use an organizational structure that arranges the argument in a way that will make sense to the reader. The Toulmin Method of logic is a common and easy to use formula for organizing an argument. The basic format for the Toulmin Method is as follows: Claim: The overall thesis the writer will argue for. Data: Evidence gathered to support the claim. Warrant (also referred to as a bridge): Explanation of why or how the data supports the claim, the underlying assumption that connects your data to your claim. Backing (also referred to as the foundation): Additional logic or reasoning that may be necessary to support the warrant. Counterclaim: A claim that negates or disagrees with the thesis/claim. Rebuttal: Evidence that negates or disagrees with the counterclaim. Including a well thought out warrant or bridge is essential to writing a good argumentative essay or paper. If you present data to your audience without explaining how it supports your thesis they may not make a connection between the two or they may draw different conclusions. Don't avoid the opposing side of an argument. Instead, include the opposing side as a counterclaim. Find out what the other side is saying and respond to it within your own argument. This is important so that the audience is not swayed by weak, but unrefuted, arguments. Including counterclaims allows you to find common ground with more of your readers. It also makes you look more credible because you appear to be knowledgeable about the entirety of the debate rather than just being biased or uniformed. You may want to include several counterclaims to show that you have thoroughly researched the topic.

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Example: Claim: Hybrid cars are an effective strategy to fight pollution. Data1: Driving a private car is a typical citizen's most air polluting activity. Warrant 1: Because cars are the largest source of private, as opposed to industry produced, air pollution switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution. Data 2: Each vehicle produced is going to stay on the road for roughly 12 to 15 years. Warrant 2: Cars generally have a long lifespan, meaning that a decision to switch to a hybrid car will make a long-term impact on pollution levels. Data 3: Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor. Warrant 3: This combination of technologies means that less pollution is produced. According to ineedtoknow.org "the hybrid engine of the Prius, made by Toyota, produces 90 percent fewer harmful emissions than a comparable gasoline engine." Counterclaim: Instead of focusing on cars, which still encourages a culture of driving even if it cuts down on pollution, the nation should focus on building and encouraging use of mass transit systems. Rebuttal: While mass transit is an environmentally sound idea that should be encouraged, it is not feasible in many rural and suburban areas, or for people who must commute to work; thus hybrid cars are a better solution for much of the nation's population. Contributors:Stacy Weida, Karl Stolley. Summary: These OWL resources will help you develop and refine the arguments in your writing.

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Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion There are three types of rhetorical appeals, or persuasive strategies, used in arguments to support claims and respond to opposing arguments. A good argument will generally use a combination of all three appeals to make its case. Logos Logos or the appeal to reason relies on logic or reason. Logos often depends on the use of inductive or deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning takes a specific representative case or facts and then draws generalizations or conclusions from them. Inductive reasoning must be based on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence. In other words, the facts you draw on must fairly represent the larger situation or population. Example: Fair trade agreements have raised the quality of life for coffee producers, so fair trade agreements could be used to help other farmers as well. In this example the specific case of fair trade agreements with coffee producers is being used as the starting point for the claim. Because these agreements have worked the author concludes that it could work for other farmers as well. Deductive reasoning begins with a generalization and then applies it to a specific case. The generalization you start with must have been based on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence.Example: Genetically modified seeds have caused poverty, hunger, and a decline in bio-diversity everywhere they have been introduced, so there is no reason the same thing will not occur when genetically modified corn seeds are introduced in Mexico. In this example the author starts with a large claim, that genetically modified seeds have been problematic everywhere, and from this draws the more localized or specific conclusion that Mexico will be affected in the same way. Avoid Logical Fallacies These are some common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. Also, watch out for these slips in other people's arguments. Slippery slope: This is a conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, through B, C,..., X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don't want Z to occur A must not be allowed to occur either. Example: If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban Hummers.

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In this example the author is equating banning Hummers with banning all cars, which is not the same thing. Hasty Generalization: This is a conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts. Example: Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course. In this example the author is basing their evaluation of the entire course on only one class, and on the first day which is notoriously boring and full of housekeeping tasks for most courses. To make a fair and reasonable evaluation the author must attend several classes, and possibly even examine the textbook, talk to the professor, or talk to others who have previously finished the course in order to have sufficient evidence to base a conclusion on. Post hoc ergo propter hoc: This is a conclusion that assumes that if 'A' occurred after 'B' then 'B' must have caused 'A.' Example: I drank bottled water and now I am sick, so the water must have made me sick. In this example the author assumes that if one event chronologically follows another the first event must have caused the second. But the illness could have been caused by the burrito the night before, a flu bug that had been working on the body for days, or a chemical spill across campus. There is no reason, without more evidence, to assume the water caused the person to be sick. Genetic Fallacy: A conclusion is based on an argument that the origins of a person, idea, institute, or theory determine its character, nature, or worth. Example: The Volkswagen Beetle is an evil car because it was originally designed by Hitler's army. In this example the author is equating the character of a car with the character of the people who built the car. Begging the Claim: The conclusion that the writer should prove is validated within the claim. Example: Filthy and polluting coal should be banned. Arguing that coal pollutes the earth and thus should be banned would be logical. But the very conclusion that should be proved, that coal causes enough pollution to warrant banning its use, is already assumed in the claim by referring to it as "filthy and polluting." Circular Argument: This restates the argument rather than actually proving it. Example: George Bush is a good communicator because he speaks effectively.

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In this example the conclusion that Bush is a "good communicator" and the evidence used to prove it "he speaks effectively" are basically the same idea. Specific evidence such as using everyday language, breaking down complex problems, or illustrating his points with humorous stories would be needed to prove either half of the sentence. Either/or: This is a conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices. Example: We can either stop using cars or destroy the earth. In this example where two choices are presented as the only options, yet the author ignores a range of choices in between such as developing cleaner technology, car sharing systems for necessities and emergencies, or better community planning to discourage daily driving. Ad hominem: This is an attack on the character of a person rather than their opinions or arguments. Example: Green Peace's strategies aren't effective because they are all dirty, lazy hippies. In this example the author doesn't even name particular strategies Green Peace has suggested, much less evaluate those strategies on their merits. Instead, the author attacks the characters of the individuals in the group. Ad populum: This is an emotional appeal that speaks to positive (such as patriotism, religion, democracy) or negative (such as terrorism or fascism) concepts rather than the real issue at hand. Example: If you were a true American you would support the rights of people to choose whatever vehicle they want. In this example the author equates being a "true American," a concept that people want to be associated with, particularly in a time of war, with allowing people to buy any vehicle they want even though there is no inherent connection between the two. Red Herring: This is a diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them. Example: The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers do to support their families. In this example the author switches the discussion away from the safety of the food and talks instead about an economic issue, the livelihood of those catching fish. While one issue may effect the other, it does not mean we should ignore possible safety issues because of possible economic consequences to a few individuals.

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Ethos Ethos or the ethical appeal is based on the character, credibility, or reliability of the writer. There are many ways to establish good character and credibility as an author: • • • • •

•

Use only credible, reliable sources to build your argument and cite those sources properly. Respect the reader by stating the opposing position accurately. Establish common ground with your audience. Most of the time, this can be done by acknowledging values and beliefs shared by those on both sides of the argument. If appropriate for the assignment, disclose why you are interested in this topic or what personal experiences you have had with the topic. Organize your argument in a logical, easy to follow manner. You can use the Toulmin method of logic or a simple pattern such as chronological order, most general to most detailed example, earliest to most recent example, etc. Proofread the argument. Too many careless grammar mistakes cast doubt on your character as a writer.

Pathos Pathos, or emotional appeal, appeals to an audience's needs, values, and emotional sensibilities. Argument emphasizes reason, but used properly there is often a place for emotion as well. Emotional appeals can use sources such as interviews and individual stories to paint a more legitimate and moving picture of reality or illuminate the truth. For example, telling the story of a single child who has been abused may make for a more persuasive argument than simply the number of children abused each year because it would give a human face to the numbers. Only use an emotional appeal if it truly supports the claim you are making, not as a way to distract from the real issues of debate. An argument should never use emotion to misrepresent the topic or frighten people. Copyright ©1995-2013 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/1/

Logic in Argumentative Writing This handout is designed to help writers develop and use logical arguments in writing. Through an introduction in some of the basic terms and operations of logic, the handout helps writers analyze the arguments of others and generate their own arguments. However, it is important to remember that logic is only one aspect of a successful argument. Non-logical arguments, statements that cannot be logically proven or disproved, are important in argumentative writing, such as appeals to emotions or values. Illogical arguments, on the other hand, are false and must be avoided. Logic is a formal system of analysis that helps writers invent, demonstrate, and prove arguments. It works by testing propositions against one another to determine their accuracy. People often think they are using logic when they avoid emotion or make arguments based on their common sense, such as "Everyone should look out for their own self interests" or "People have the right to be free." However, unemotional or common sense statements are not always equivalent to logical statements. To be logical, a proposition must be tested within a logical sequence. The most famous logical sequence, called the syllogism, was developed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. His most famous syllogism is: Premise 1: All men are mortal. Premise 2: Socrates is a man. Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal. In this sequence, premise 2 is tested against premise 1 to reach the logical conclusion. Within this system, if both premises are considered valid, there is no other logical conclusion than determining that Socrates is a mortal. This guide provides some vocabulary and strategies for determining logical conclusions. Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource covers using logic within writing-- logical vocabulary, logical fallacies, and other types of logos-based reasoning. Using Logic Logical Vocabulary Before using logic to reach conclusions, it is helpful to know some important vocabulary related to logic.

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Premise: Proposition used as evidence in an argument. Conclusion: Logical result of the relationship between the premises. Conclusions serve as the thesis of the argument. Argument: The assertion of a conclusion based on logical premises. Syllogism: The simplest sequence of logical premises and conclusions, devised by Aristotle. Enthymeme: A shortened syllogism which omits the first premise, allowing the audience to fill it in. For example, "Socrates is mortal because he is a human" is an enthymeme which leaves out the premise "All humans are mortal." Induction: A process through which the premises provide some basis for the conclusion. Deduction: A process through which the premises provide conclusive proof for the conclusion. Reaching Logical Conclusions Reaching logical conclusions depends on the proper analysis of premises. The goal of a syllogism is to arrange premises so that only one true conclusion is possible. Example A: Consider the following premises: Premise 1: Non-renewable resources do not exist in infinite supply. Premise 2: Coal is a non-renewable resource. From these two premises, only one logical conclusion is available: Conclusion: Coal does not exist in infinite supply. Example B: Often logic requires several premises to reach a conclusion. Premise 1: All monkeys are primates. Premise 2: All primates are mammals. Premise 3: All mammals are vertebrate animals. Conclusions: Monkeys are vertebrate animals. Example C: Logic allows specific conclusions to be drawn from general premises. Consider the following premises: Premise 1: All squares are rectangles. Premise 2: Figure 1 is a square. Conclusion: Figure 1 is also a rectangle. Example D: Notice that logic requires decisive statements in order to work. Therefore, this syllogism is false:

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Premise 1: Some quadrilaterals are squares. Premise 2: Figure 1 is a quadrilateral. Conclusion: Figure 1 is a square. This syllogism is false because not enough information is provided to allow a verifiable conclusion. Figure 1 could just as likely be a rectangle, which is also a quadrilateral. Example E: Logic can also mislead when it is based on premises that an audience does not accept. For instance: Premise 1: People with red hair are not good at checkers. Premise 2: Bill has red hair. Conclusion: Bill is not good at checkers. Within the syllogism, the conclusion is logically valid. However, it is only true if an audience accepts Premise 1, which is very unlikely. This is an example of how logical statements can appear accurate while being completely false. Example F: Logical conclusions also depend on which factors are recognized and ignored by the premises. Therefore, different premises could lead to very different conclusions about the same subject. For instance, these two syllogisms about the platypus reveal the limits of logic for handling ambiguous cases: Premise 1: All birds lay eggs. Premise 2: Platypuses lay eggs. Conclusion: Platypuses are birds. Premise 1: All mammals have fur. Premise 2: Platypuses have fur. Conclusion: Platypuses are mammals. Though logic is a very powerful argumentative tool and is far preferable to a disorganized argument, logic does have limitations. It must also be effectively developed from a syllogism into a written piece. Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource covers using logic within writing-- logical vocabulary, logical fallacies, and other types of logos-based reasoning. Logical Fallacies

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Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim. Avoid these common fallacies in your own arguments and watch for them in the arguments of others. Slippery Slope: This is a conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, through B, C,..., X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don't want Z to occur, A must not be allowed to occur either. Example: If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban Hummers. In this example, the author is equating banning Hummers with banning all cars, which is not the same thing. Hasty Generalization: This is a conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts. Example: Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course. In this example, the author is basing his evaluation of the entire course on only the first day, which is notoriously boring and full of housekeeping tasks for most courses. To make a fair and reasonable evaluation the author must attend not one but several classes, and possibly even examine the textbook, talk to the professor, or talk to others who have previously finished the course in order to have sufficient evidence to base a conclusion on. Post hoc ergo propter hoc: This is a conclusion that assumes that if 'A' occurred after 'B' then 'B' must have caused 'A.' Example: I drank bottled water and now I am sick, so the water must have made me sick. In this example, the author assumes that if one event chronologically follows another the first event must have caused the second. But the illness could have been caused by the burrito the night before, a flu bug that had been working on the body for days, or a chemical spill across campus. There is no reason, without more evidence, to assume the water caused the person to be sick. Genetic Fallacy: A conclusion is based on an argument that the origins of a person, idea, institute, or theory determine its character, nature, or worth. Example: The Volkswagen Beetle is an evil car because it was originally designed by Hitler's army. In this example the author is equating the character of a car with the character of the people who built the car. However, the two are not inherently related.

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Begging the Claim: The conclusion that the writer should prove is validated within the claim. Example: Filthy and polluting coal should be banned. Arguing that coal pollutes the earth and thus should be banned would be logical. But the very conclusion that should be proved, that coal causes enough pollution to warrant banning its use, is already assumed in the claim by referring to it as "filthy and polluting." Circular Argument: This restates the argument rather than actually proving it. Example: George Bush is a good communicator because he speaks effectively. In this example, the conclusion that Bush is a "good communicator" and the evidence used to prove it "he speaks effectively" are basically the same idea. Specific evidence such as using everyday language, breaking down complex problems, or illustrating his points with humorous stories would be needed to prove either half of the sentence. Either/or: This is a conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices. Example: We can either stop using cars or destroy the earth. In this example, the two choices are presented as the only options, yet the author ignores a range of choices in between such as developing cleaner technology, car sharing systems for necessities and emergencies, or better community planning to discourage daily driving. Ad hominem: This is an attack on the character of a person rather than her/his opinions or arguments. Example: Green Peace's strategies aren't effective because they are all dirty, lazy hippies. In this example, the author doesn't even name particular strategies Green Peace has suggested, much less evaluate those strategies on their merits. Instead, the author attacks the characters of the individuals in the group. Ad populum: This is an emotional appeal that speaks to positive (such as patriotism, religion, democracy) or negative (such as terrorism or fascism) concepts rather than the real issue at hand. Example: If you were a true American you would support the rights of people to choose whatever vehicle they want. In this example, the author equates being a "true American," a concept that people want to be associated with, particularly in a time of war, with allowing people to buy any vehicle they want even though there is no inherent connection between the two.

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Red Herring: This is a diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them. Example: The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers do to support their families? In this example, the author switches the discussion away from the safety of the food and talks instead about an economic issue, the livelihood of those catching fish. While one issue may affect the other it does not mean we should ignore possible safety issues because of possible economic consequences to a few individuals. Straw Man: This move oversimplifies an opponent's viewpoint and then attacks that hollow argument. People who don't support the proposed state minimum wage increase hate the poor. In this example, the author attributes the worst possible motive to an opponent's position. In reality, however, the opposition probably has more complex and sympathetic arguments to support their point. By not addressing those arguments, the author is not treating the opposition with respect or refuting their position. Moral Equivalence: This fallacy compares minor misdeeds with major atrocities. That parking attendant who gave me a ticket is as bad as Hitler. In this example, the author is comparing the relatively harmless actions of a person doing their job with the horrific actions of Hitler. This comparison is unfair and inaccurate. Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource covers using logic within writing-- logical vocabulary, logical fallacies, and other types of logos-based reasoning. Using Logic in Writing Understanding how to create logical syllogisms does not automatically mean that writers understand how to use logic to build an argument. Crafting a logical sequence into a written argument can be a very difficult task. Don't assume that an audience will easily follow the logic that seems clear to you. When converting logical syllogisms into written arguments, remember to: • • •

lay out each premise clearly provide evidence for each premise draw a clear connection to the conclusion

Say a writer was crafting an editorial to argue against using taxpayer dollars for the construction of a new stadium in the town of Mill Creek. The author's logic may look like this: Premise 1: Projects funded by taxpayer dollars should benefit a majority of the public. Premise 2: The proposed stadium construction benefits very few members of the public. Conclusion: Therefore, the stadium construction should not be funded by taxpayer dollars. This is a logical conclusion, but without elaboration it may not persuade the writer's opposition, or even people on the fence. Therefore, the writer will want to expand her argument like this: Historically, Mill Creek has only funded public projects that benefit the population as a whole. Recent initiatives to build a light rail system and a new courthouse were approved because of their importance to the city. Last election, Mayor West reaffirmed this commitment in his inauguration speech by promising "I am determined to return public funds to the public." This is a sound commitment and a worthy pledge. However, the new initiative to construct a stadium for the local baseball team, the Bears, does not follow this commitment. While baseball is an enjoyable pastime, it does not receive enough public support to justify spending $210 million in public funds for an improved stadium. Attendance in the past five years has been declining, and last year only an average of 400 people attended each home game, meaning that less than 1% of the population attends the stadium. The Bears have a dismal record at 0-43 which generates little public interest in the team. The population of Mill Creek is plagued by many problems that affect the majority of the public, including its decrepit high school and decaying water filtration system. Based on declining attendance and interest, a new Bears stadium is not one of those needs, so the project should not be publicly funded. Funding this project would violate the mayor's commitment to use public money for the public. Notice that the piece uses each paragraph to focus on one premise of the syllogism (this is not a hard and fast rule, especially since complex arguments require far more than three premises and paragraphs to develop). Concrete evidence for both premises is provided. The conclusion is specifically stated as following from those premises. Consider this example, where a writer wants to argue that the state minimum wage should be increased. The writer does not follow the guidelines above when making his argument. It is obvious to anyone thinking logically that minimum wage should be increased. The current minimum wage is an insult and is unfair to the people who receive it. The fact that the last proposed minimum wage increase was denied is proof that the government of this state is crooked and corrupt. The only way for them to prove otherwise is to raise minimum wage immediately. The paragraph does not build a logical argument for several reasons. First, it assumes that anyone thinking logically will already agree with the author, which is clearly untrue. If that were the case, the minimum wage increase would have already occurred. Secondly, the argument does

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not follow a logical structure. There is no development of premises which lead to a conclusion. Thirdly, the author provides no evidence for the claims made. In order to develop a logical argument, the author first needs to determine the logic behind his own argument. It is likely that the writer did not consider this before writing, which demonstrates that arguments which could be logical are not automatically logical. They must be made logical by careful arrangement. The writer could choose several different logical approaches to defend this point, such as a syllogism like this: Premise 1: Minimum wage should match the cost of living in society. Premise 2: The current minimum wage does not match the cost of living in society. Conclusion: Therefore, minimum wage should be increased. Once the syllogism has been determined, the author needs to elaborate each step in writing that provides evidence for the premises: The purpose of minimum wage is to ensure that workers can provide basic amenities to themselves and their families. A report in the Journal of Economic Studies indicated that workers cannot live above the poverty line when minimum wage is not proportionate with the cost of living. It is beneficial to society and individuals for a minimum wage to match living costs. Unfortunately, our state's minimum wage no longer reflects an increasing cost of living. When the minimum wage was last set at $5.85, the yearly salary of $12,168 guaranteed by this wage was already below the poverty line. Years later, after inflation has consistently raised the cost of living, workers earning minimum wage must struggle to support a family, often taking 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. 35% of our state's poor population is made up of people with full time minimum wage jobs. In order to remedy this problem and support the workers of this state, minimum wage must be increased. A modest increase could help alleviate the burden placed on the many residents who work too hard for too little just to make ends meet. This piece explicitly states each logical premise in order, allowing them to build to their conclusion. Evidence is provided for each premise, and the conclusion is closely related to the premises and evidence. Notice, however, that even though this argument is logical, it is not irrefutable. An opponent with a different perspective and logical premises could challenge this argument. See the next section for more information on this issue. Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource covers using logic within writing-- logical vocabulary, logical fallacies, and other types of logos-based reasoning.

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Does Logic Always Work? Logic is a very effective tool for persuading an audience about the accuracy of an argument. However, people are not always persuaded by logic. Sometimes audiences are not persuaded because they have used values or emotions instead of logic to reach conclusions. But just as often, audiences have reached a different logical conclusion by using different premises. Therefore, arguments must often spend as much time convincing audiences of the legitimacy of the premises as the legitimacy of the conclusions. For instance, assume a writer was using the following logic to convince an audience to adopt a smaller government: Premise 1: The government that governs least, governs best. Premise 2: The government I am proposing does very little governing. Conclusion: Therefore, the government I am proposing is best. Some members of the audience may be persuaded by this logic. However, other members of the audience may follow this logic instead: Premise 1: The government that governs best, governs most. Premise 2: The government proposed by the speaker does very little governing. Conclusion: Therefore, the government proposed by the speaker is bad. Because they adhere to a different logical sequence, these members of the audience will not be persuaded to change their minds logically until they are persuaded to different values through other means besides logic. See the OWL resource here for more examples of how to integrate argument and rhetorical strategies into your writing. Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource covers using logic within writing-- logical vocabulary, logical fallacies, and other types of logos-based reasoning. Improprieties A functional impropriety is the use of a word as the wrong part of speech. The wrong meaning for a word can also be an impropriety. For example, in this sentence, the impropriety is "trying": When writing papers, we trying to start early and revise often. Correct version: When writing papers, we try to start early and revise often. Here is another example:

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This tale works as initiative story about a young girl who grows into a more mature adolescent. Correct version: This tale works as an initiation story about a young girl who grows into a more mature adolescent. To help you practice avoiding improprieties, complete the exercise below. Mark improprieties in the following phrases and correct them. If you find none, write C for "correct" next to the phrase. Example: (occupation) hazards — occupational 1. reforming institution policies 2. percent aging students by grades 3. dead trees as inhabitants for birds 4. an initiate story about a young girl 5. a recurrence theme in literature 6. a wood chisel 7. a wood baseball bat 8. a frivolity conversation on the weather 9. a utopia hideaway of alpine villas 10. a utilize room complete with workbench 11. the unstable chemical compounds 12. the unschooled labor force 13. the vandals who rapined Rome 14. an erupting volcano crevassing the hills 15. criticism writing which is often abstract 16. abstracted beyond understanding 17. classified as an absorbent 18. a handwriting letter 19. banjoed their way to the top ten 20. a meander stream 21. hoboing across the country 22. holidayed the time away 23. the redirective coming from the officer 24. grain-fed slaughter cattle 25. ivy tendoned to the walls Copyright ©1995-2013 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/1/

What is Primary Research and How do I get Started? Primary research is any type of research that you go out and collect yourself. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research. A good researcher knows how to use both primary and secondary sources in her writing and to integrate them in a cohesive fashion. Conducting primary research is a useful skill to acquire as it can greatly supplement your research in secondary sources, such as journals, magazines, or books. You can also use it as the focus of your writing project. Primary research is an excellent skill to learn as it can be useful in a variety of settings including business, personal, and academic. But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not an expert! With some careful planning, primary research can be done by anyone, even students new to writing at the university level. The information provided in this handout will help you to get started.

What types of projects or activities benefit from primary research? When you are working on a local problem that may not have been addressed before and little research is there to back it up. Example: you are conducting research on a proposed smoking ban in Lafayette, IN. Little information has been published about the topic other than a few editorials and letters to the editor in the local paper. You can conduct primary research in the form of surveying individuals in the surrounding community and local decision makers to gain more information. When you are working on writing about a specific group of people or a specific person. Example: if you are writing about the activities of the Purdue Football team one of the best ways to learn about the team is to go talk to them and observe their behavior. When you are working on a topic that is relatively new or original and few publications exist on the subject. For example, if you wanted to write on the connection between the Purdue University Glee Club performance locations and estimated attendance of events, you would have to determine this yourself through primary research methods. You can also use primary research to confirm or dispute national results with local trends.

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Avoiding plagiarism Definitions The concise Oxford dictionary (6th edition) (1976) Plagiarise - Take and use another person's (thoughts, writings, inventions) as one's own. The Cambridge international dictionary of English (1995) Plagiarise - To use (another person's idea or part of their work) and pretend that it is your own. The Oxford advanced learner's dictionary (5th edition) (1995) Plagiarise - To take somebody else's ideas or words, and use them as if they were one's own. The Oxford advanced learner's dictionary (6th edition) (2000) Plagiarise - To copy another person's words or work and pretend that they are your own. Collins COBUILD English language dictionary (1987) If you plagiarise someone else's ideas, or part of a piece of writing or music by someone else, you use it in your own work and pretend that you thought of it or created it. Funk and Wagnalls' new standard dictionary (1921) Plagiarism is the act of appropriating the ideas, writings, or inventions of another without due acknowledgement; specifically, the stealing of passages either for word or in substance, from the writings of another and publishing them as one's own. Collin's pocket English dictionary (1987) Plagiarism is the taking of ideas, writings, etc. from another and passing them off as one's own University of Hertfordshire Policies and Regulations, 17.7, 5.2. Plagiarism is the representation of another person's work as the student's own, either by extensive unacknowledged quotation, paraphrasing or direct copying. MLA handbook for writers of research papers (1995) To use another person's ideas or expressions in your writing without acknowledging the source is to plagiarise. Plagiarism is taking another person's words or ideas and using them as if they were your own. It can be either deliberate or accidental. Plagiarism is taken very seriously in UK Higher Education. If even a small section of your work is found to have been plagiarised, it is likely that you will be assigned a mark of '0' for that assignment. In more serious cases, it may be necessary for you to repeat the course completely. In some cases, plagiarism may even lead to your being expelled from the university.

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Reasons for plagiarism Plagiarism can happen for many reasons. 1. Deliberate plagiarism. This is when you make the decision to steal someone else's work. For example, this could be either: a. b. c. d. e.

because you do not have the time to do the work yourself; because you do not have the energy to do the work yourself; because you think your lecturer will not notice; because you think your lecturer will not care; or, perhaps, because you are not able to do the work yourself.

It can involve: a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

copying another student's work; copying another person's work from a book or a journal; copying another person's work from a web-site; asking another person to do the work for you; downloading the complete text from the Internet; buying the text from the Internet; or even paying for someone to do the work for you.

In all cases, if you do not do the work yourself, you are unlikely to learn from it. It is therefore not useful and a waste of your time. Do not do this. There are many ways your lecturer can check whether or not you have plagiarised. It is not worth the risk. 2. Accidental plagiarism. This is when you accidentally, through carelessness or lack of skill, use another person's words without acknowledging it. This can happen for several reasons: a. you do not know that you must not copy a person's words directly; b. you do not have the skill for expressing another person's ideas in your own words; c. you do not know the correct systems for indicating that you are using another person's words or ideas; d. when you take notes from a book or journal, you copy out some sections and do not make this clear in your notes. Later when you re-read the notes, you forget that they are not your words or ideas; e. you forget to acknowledge another person's words or ideas; f. you do not have time to include the acknowledgments and list of references; g. you feel your written work is not good enough;

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h. you borrow your friend's notes, not realising that some of the words are plagiarised. Types of Plagiarism Hamp-Lyons & Courter (1984, pp. 161-166) distinguish between four types of plagiarism: • • • •

outright copying paraphrase plagiarism patchwork plagiarism stealing an apt term

Examples: While the Education Act of 1870 laid the groundwork for the provision of elementary or primary education for all children in England and Wales, it was not until the implementation of the 1944 Education Act that all girls and boys were entitled to a secondary education. Indeed, the decades immediately following the Second World War saw such a rapid increase in educational provision - in the USA, and many countries of Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in Britain - that some writers refer to the 'educational explosion' of the 1950s and 1960s. The minimum school-leaving age was extended from 14 to 15 years (in 1947) and raised to 16 (in 1971-2), but the proportion of people choosing to pursue their studies beyond this age hurtled upward; by 1971, 30 per cent of 17- year-olds were in full-time education in schools or colleges, compared with 2 per cent in 1902, 4 per cent in 1938, 18 Original per cent in 1961 and 22 per cent in 1966. The Robbins Report (1963) undermined the view that there was a finite pool of ability Text a limited number of people who could benefit from advanced education - and provided ammunition for the expansion of higher education. This expansion took place through the establishment of new universities and growth of existing ones, as well as through the conversion of colleges into polytechnics which could offer degree courses, and the founding of the Open University. In 1970, 17.5 per cent of 18- year-olds entered further or higher education on a full-time basis (compared with 1.2 per cent in 1900, 2.7 per cent in 1938, 5.8 per cent in 1954, and 8.3 per cent in 1960); another three million people enrolled for part-time day classes, evening classes or sandwich courses. Bilton, Bonnett, Jones, Stanworth, Sheard & Webster (1981, p. 381)

Outright copying is when a student uses exactly the same words as the original author without using quotation marks or saying where the words are from. For example: While the Education Act of 1870 laid the groundwork for the provision of elementary or primary education for all children in England and Wales, it was not until the implementation of the 1944 Education Act that all girls and boys were entitled to a Student's secondary education. Indeed, the decades immediately following text the Second World War saw such a rapid increase in educational provision - in the USA, and many countries of Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in Britain - that some writers refer to the 'educational explosion' of the 1950s and 1960s. Paraphrase plagiarism is changing some of the words and grammar but leaving most of the original text the same. For example: The Education Act of 1870 put down the basis for providing primary education for every child in the United Kingdom. It was Student's not, however, until the establishment of the 1944 Education Act text that all male and female children were given the right to education at secondary school. Patchwork plagiarism is when parts of the original author's words are used and connected together in a different way. For instance: The right to elementary education for every child in England and Wales was established in the 1870 Education Act. However, the right to secondary education had to wait until the implementation Student's of the 1944 Education Act. Following that act, in many countries text of the world, there was such a rapid increase in educational provision that it was called the 'educational explosion' of the 1950s and 1960s. Stealing an apt term is when a short phrase from the original text has been used in the students work, possibly because it is so good. For example: In England and Wales, all 5 year all children have had the right to an education since 1870. This has not, however, been the case for Student's 11 year olds, who had to wait until 1944 for a national system of text secondary education. Once this system was established, though, secondary education expanded rapidly in the decades immediately following the Second World War. See also Modern Language Association (2009, pp. 56-58).

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Advice Plagiarism is the representation of another person's work as your own. There are three main reasons why you should not do this: 1. It is not helpful. If you plagiarise, you are saying that something is your work when it is not. This is not good, you will not learn much from it and it will not get you good marks. In order to do well in higher education, you need to be responsible for the ideas and facts that you use. You need to provide evidence for these ideas and facts. You need to show where they have come from and what they are based on. You do this by acknowledging the sources, by citing. This will support your arguments and help you succeed in your academic writing. It will also show your lecturers that you have read and understood the required texts. 2. You need to come to your own conclusions. You need to show that you have understood the material and come to your own conclusions on the basis of what you have read and heard. Therefore copying from textbooks, or pasting text from the Internet into your own writing, is not good enough. Most of what you write will come from the ideas of other people (from the text books you read, the lectures and the seminars you attend, and your discussions with other students, etc.). This is what academic study is all about. However, you need to come to your own conclusions on the basis of what you have read, listened to, and discussed. The purpose of an essay is for you to say something for yourself using the ideas that you have studied, for you to present ideas you have learned in your own way. The emphasis should be on working with other people's ideas, rather than reproducing their words. 3. It is against the regulations. You must not use another person's words or ideas as if they were your own. This is against university regulations and is regarded as a very serious offence. It is also not helpful for you. If you plagiarise, your lecturer cannot understand how well you understand the course and cannot therefore give you useful advice and support. In addition, if you plagiarise, you are not learning. This will become obvious in any written examination you are required to take. However, there is a difficult area here because, as a student, when you are doing assignments, you need to use what you have read or been taught in your lectures. In fact, this is an essential skill for every student. Spack (1988, p. 42) has pointed out that the most important skill a student can engage in is "the complex activity to write from other texts", which is "a major part of their academic experience." It is also difficult as Andrew Northedge points out in The good study guide (Northedge, 1990, p. 190) You have to tread quite a fine line between being accused, on the one hand, of not making enough use of the writers you have been reading on the course, and, on the other, of having followed them too slavishly, to the point of plagiarising them. One of your early tasks as a student is to get a feel for how to strike the right balance.

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Much of what you write will come from the ideas of other people (from the text books you read, the lectures and the seminars you attend, and your discussions with other students, etc.). This is what academic study is all about. However, the ideas and people that you refer to need to be made explicit by a system of referencing - if you use another person's ideas or words, you must say where they are from. This will prevent you being accused of plagiarism and, furrthermore, it will add support to your ideas and points of view. You need to acknowledge the source of an idea unless it is common knowledge. It may be difficult to decide exactly what is common knowledge within your subject, but if your lecturer, in lectures or handouts, or your textbooks, do not acknowledge the source you can assume that it is common knowledge within your subject. For concepts and ideas which are generally accepted as valid within your specialism, there is no need to provide a reference. If in doubt, cite. • •

•

Take notes in your own words. A good strategy is: read, put away your books and think, and then write your notes. Acknowledge quotations, even in your own notes. This will help you avoid accidental plagiarism when you copy from your own notes, not realising the words were copied from a textbook. If you use ideas of other people, be explicit about it. That is to say, cite the relevant author at the relevant point in your writing. It is then not possible for anyone to accuse you of cheating or stealing someone else's work. It will also help you by showing that you know the background.

Source: http://www.uefap.com/writing/plagiar/plagfram.

Evaluating Sources: Overview The world is full of information to be found--however, not all of it is valid, useful, or accurate. Evaluating sources of information that you are considering using in your writing is an important step in any research activity. The quantity of information available is so staggering that we cannot know everything about a subject. For example, it's estimated that anyone attempting to research what's known about depression would have to read over 100,000 studies on the subject. And there's the problem of trying to decide which studies have produced reliable results. Similarly, for information on other topics, not only is there a huge quantity available but a very uneven level of quality. You don't want to rely on the news in the headlines of sensational tabloids near supermarket checkout counters, and it's just as hard to know how much to accept of what's in all the books, magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, journals, brochures, web sites, and various media reports that are available. People want to convince you to buy their products, agree with their opinions, rely on their data, vote for their candidate, consider their perspective, or accept them as experts. In short, you have to sift and make decisions all the time, and you want to make responsible choices that you won't regret. Evaluating sources is an important skill. It's been called an art as well as work--much of which is detective work. You have to decide where to look, what clues to search for, and what to accept. You may be overwhelmed with too much information or too little. The temptation is to accept whatever you find. But don't be tempted. Learning how to evaluate effectively is a skill you need both for your course papers and your life. When writing research papers, you will also be evaluating sources as you search for information. You will need to make decisions about what to search for, where to look, and once you've found material on your topic, if it is a valid or useful source for your writing. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: Evaluating sources of information is an important step in any research activity. This section provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading evaluation, print vs. Internet sources, and evaluating internet sources.

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Evaluating Bibliographic Citations When searching for information in library catalogues and online article databases such as EbscoHost or Proquest Direct, you will first find a bibliographic citation entry. A bibliographic citation provides relevant information about the author and publication as well as short summary of the text. Before you read a source or spend time hunting for it, begin by looking at the following information in the citation to evaluate whether it's worth finding or reading. Consider the author, the title of the work, the summary, where it is, and the timeliness of the entry. You may also want to look at the keywords to see what other categories the work falls into. Evaluate this information to see if it is relevant and valid for your research. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: Evaluating sources of information is an important step in any research activity. This section provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading evaluation, print vs. Internet sources, and evaluating internet sources. Evaluation During Reading After you have asked yourself some questions about the source and determined that it's worth your time to find and read the source, you can evaluate the material in the source as you read through it. •

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Read the preface--what does the author want to accomplish? Browse through the table of contents and the index.This will give you an overview of the source. Is your topic covered in enough depth to be helpful? If you don't find your topic discussed, try searching for some synonyms in the index. Check for a list of references or other citations that look as if they will lead you to related material that would be good sources. Determine the intended audience. Are you the intended audience? Consider the tone, style, level of information, and assumptions the author makes about the reader. Are they appropriate for your needs? Try to determine if the content of the source is fact, opinion, or propaganda. If you think the source is offering facts, are the sources for those facts clearly indicated? Do you think there's enough evidence offered? Is the coverage comprehensive? (As you learn more and more about your topic, you will notice that this gets easier as you become more of an expert.) Is the language objective or emotional? Are there broad generalizations that overstate or oversimplify the matter? Does the author use a good mix of primary and secondary sources for information? If the source is opinion, does the author offer sound reasons for adopting that stance? (Consider again those questions about the author. Is this person reputable?)

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Check for accuracy. How timely is the source? Is the source 20 years out of date? Some information becomes dated when new research is available, but other older sources of information can be quite sound 50 or 100 years later. Do some cross-checking. Can you find some of the same information given elsewhere? How credible is the author? If the document is anonymous, what do you know about the organization? Are there vague or sweeping generalizations that aren't backed up with evidence? Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgement of other viewpoints?

Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: Evaluating sources of information is an important step in any research activity. This section provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading evaluation, print vs. Internet sources, and evaluating internet sources. Evaluating Print vs. Internet Sources With the advent of the World Wide Web, we are seeing a massive influx of digital texts and sources. Understanding the difference between what you can find on the web and what you can find in more traditional print sources is key. Some sources such as journal or newspaper articles can be found in both print and digital format. However, much of what is found on the Internet does not have a print equivalent, and hence, has low or no quality standards for publication. Understanding the difference between the types of resources available will help you evaluate what you find. Publication Process Print Sources: Traditional print sources go through an extensive publication process that includes editing and article review. The process has fact-checkers, multiple reviewers, and editors to ensure quality of publication. Internet Sources: Anyone with a computer and access to the Internet can publish a website or electronic document. Most web documents do not have editors, fact-checkers, or other types of reviewers. Authorship and Affiliations Print Sources: Print sources clearly indicate who the author is, what organization(s) he or she is affiliated with, and when his or her work was published. Internet Sources: Authorship and affiliations are difficult to determine on the Internet. Some sites may have author and sponsorship listed, but many do not.

Sources and Quotations Print Sources: In most traditional publications, external sources of information and direct quotations are clearly marked and identified. Internet Sources: Sources the author used or referred to in the text may not be clearly indicated in an Internet source. Bias and Special Interests Print Sources: While bias certainly exists in traditional publications, printing is more expensive and difficult to accomplish. Most major publishers are out to make a profit and will either not cater to special interest groups or will clearly indicate when they are catering to special interest groups. Internet Sources: The purpose of the online text may be misleading. A website that appears to be factual may actually be persuasive and/or deceptive. Author Qualifications Print Sources: Qualifications of an author are almost always necessary for print sources. Only qualified authors are likely to have their manuscripts accepted for publication. Internet Sources: Even if the author and purpose of a website can be determined, the qualifications of the author are not always given. Publication Information Print Sources: Publication information such as date of publication, publisher, author, and editor are always clearly listed in print publications. Internet Sources: Dates of publication and timeliness of information are questionable on the internet. Dates listed on websites could be the date posted, date updated, or a date may not be listed at all. Copyright ©1995-2013 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. Source: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/1/

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Internet References The pages in this area will help researchers and writers find information on the Internet. You may also use the OWL's Evaluating Sources of Information to determine the credibility of resources found on the Web. Contributors:Allen Brizee, Kate Bouwens. Summary: This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines. Dictionaries, Style Manuals, Grammar Handbooks, and Editing Resources Dictionary.com allows you to search multiple dictionaries and references at the same time. Dictionary.net returns word and phrase definitions from a variety of English dictionary resources. iTools has links to a number of dictionaries, thesauruses, and other language tools, including online translators. The Merriam Webster Dictionary allows you to search this dictionary site from your computer. Search options also include Spanish-English, thesaurus, and medical terms. LookWAYup Dictionary/Thesaurus and Translation is a large online English dictionary that tolerates small spelling errors (U.S. or international spelling), shows definitions for multiple senses of the word, and for each sense shows synonyms, related terms, and usage examples. It will also translate words to French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, or German or vice-versa. YourDictionary is a free resource that simultaneously provides dictionary, thesaurus, and etymological references as well as definitions for scientific and business-related terms. A searchable list of biographies are available at S9 the biography dictionary. Roget's Thesaurus this resource allows you to search headwords or full text entries The Visual Thesaurus offers a visual way of exploring the relationships between words. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations searches familiar and famous quotations.

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The New York Times on the Web: The Glossary of Financial and Business Terms contains a list of business terms from A to Z. William Strunk's original version of the Elements of Style (later made famous by E. B. White) is available courtesy of the Bartleby project. Robert Harris has a searchable rhetorical devices handbook and a glossary of literary terms. WebGrammar is a site devoted to grammar. Plagued by a grammar question for which you can't find an answer? Try one of the grammar hotlines listed in the Grammar Hotline Directory. Services are listed by state and include phone and e-mail information. The Apostrophe Protection Society is a good-natured site that promotes proper use of the apostrophe. Paul Brian's Common Errors in English site has an extraordinarily comprehensive list of errors in English usage and advice for how to avoid them. iScribe is a site devoted to grammar basics and definitions of grammatical terms. The Writer's Block is full of links to resources for writing, grammar, style guides, research, and reference. Contributors:Allen Brizee, Kate Bouwens. Summary: This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines. Online References AllRefer offers encyclopedia entries and references for a variety of fields. Encyclopedia Britannica Online provides articles from the famous encyclopedia. Infoplease has a complete encyclopedia, dictionary, and almanacs for research as well as information organized by subject matter. Libraryspot.com is one of the most comprehensive site you'll find on the Web for links to libraries across the world.

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The University of Victoria's Writer's Guide offers a hyper-textual set of information relating to writing. This site could be of special interest to writers in first-year composition. The Writing at the University of Toronto offers over 50 "homemade" files concerning writing and links to writer resources for various fields including engineering. Ask Oxford is a very comprehensive site produced by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary that has answers to questions on English grammar, spelling, and usage and access to searchable dictionaries. Writer's Free Reference is an extensive list of free information on the Internet that could be useful to writers (or anyone else doing research online. Wikipedia is a collaborative project that is attempting to produce a free and complete encyclopedia in every language. Need help citing Internet resources? We have an entire page devoted to citing electronic sources in various formats. Contributors:Allen Brizee, Kate Bouwens. Summary: This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines. Indexes for Writers Ask Oxford is a very comprehensive site produced by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary that has lots of information about writing. Noodle Tools has online tools to help with searching the Internet, creating a bibliography in MLA format, helpful links, and a bulletin board for discussion. Another source for all kinds of writing activities is John Hewitt's Writing Resource Center. The Free Online Writing Resource Links Database hosts thousands of writing resource links in a massive online database, including 40+ genres, funds for writers, job listings, education, news, submission calls,and a research library. They also publish Newswatch, FREEdom Inkwell Newsletters and Writers Site News. Garbl's Writing Resources Online is a collection of sites on the English Language, grammar, style, and references.

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Writer's Free Reference is an extensive list of free information on the Internet that could be useful to writers (or anyone else doing research online). Writing World offers more than 250 articles on just about every aspect of writing (fiction, nonfiction, freelancing, greeting cards, international, etc.), plus over 500 links to other resources,market information, contest listings, and more. Contributors:Allen Brizee, Kate Bouwens. Summary: This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines. Online Libraries The Internet Public Library is an online reference site, the IPL organizes websites into subjects as well as provides links to e-texts, magazines, and newspapers. The Library of Congress provides information about the world's largest library as well as links to popular collections and topics. Libraryspot.com: is a comprehensive portal to libraries around the world. Purdue's Libraries searches Purdue's catalog as well as an extensive list of online databases and eJournals. Contributors:Allen Brizee, Kate Bouwens. Summary: This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines. Online Books and E-texts The On-Line Book Page searches for books available online by author, title, or subject. Project Bartleby provides complete online texts of many popular classics and non-fiction works. Project Gutenberg searches online classics available for download. Contributors:Allen Brizee, Kate Bouwens. Summary:

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This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines. Newspapers, News Services, Journals and Magazines Online List of online journals this site provides links to popular journals. Organized by subject. The Chronicle of Higher Education provides news and and articles concerning education and research. The Washington Post provides links to articles from one of the world's most popular newspapers located in America's capital. New York Times provides links to articles from one of the world's most popular newspapers. USA Today provides news and articles on sports, money, weather, and more. Wall Street Journal links to the articles concerning politics, the world, sports, and international format of the paper. Pathfinder (Time Warner publications) provides links to magazines owned by Time including "CNN Money", "Instyle" and "People". The Associated Press site provides links to stories posted by one of the world's largest news agencies. Reuters News Media is a collection of stories from one of the world's largest news agency. Newseum allows you to find daily newspaper front pages from 68 countries across the globe. Source: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/738/

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Searching the World Wide Web: Overview Searching the World Wide Web can be both beneficial and frustrating. You may find vast amounts of information, or you may not find the kinds of information you're looking for. Searching online will provide you with a wealth of information, but not all of it will be useful or of the highest quality. The World Wide Web is a superb resource, but it doesn't contain all the information that you can find at a library or through library online resources. Don't expect to limit your search to what is on the Internet, and don't expect search engines to find everything that is on the Web. Studies of search engine usage show that search engines are increasing exponentially in their indexing of new websites and information. Indexing is the web term for finding and including new web pages and other media in search results. For example, in 1994, Google indexed approximately 20 million pages. As of 2004, that number is up to 8 billion! However, search engines still only index a fraction of what is available on the Internet and not all of it is up to date. Search engines may only "crawl" sites (or revisit them for purposes of indexing) every month or so; information that has been updated since that time will be invisible to the search engines. After you try several search engines, you will see that you get different results from different sites. Also, remember that some information appears and then disappears from Web sites. Finally, search engines don't always search the entire page; if a page is larger than 100 to 500 k, many search engines will only index the first 100 to 500k of the page. So there could be valuable information that is being overlooked by a search engine even in pages that are indexed. Not all of the information located on the Internet is able to be found via search engines. Researchers Chris Sherman and Gary Price call this information the "invisible web" (another name that is frequently used is the "deep web"). Invisible web information includes certain file formats, information contained in databases, and other omitted pages from search engines. So, using search engines is not the only way to find material on the web, but they are one tool you can use. Knowing a few search strategies and hints, as you use these engines, can make the search more profitable. This guide provides information on the different ways of locating material on the web including using search engines, searching the invisible web, and using web directories. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Caitlan Spronk, Allen Brizee. Summary: This section covers finding sources for your writing in the World Wide Web. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, web directories, and the invisible web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section.

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How the Internet and Search Engines Work The Internet is made up of a vast amount of computers networked throughout the world via data lines or wireless routers. New computers and websites are added every day, and no larger organizational system exists to document and catalogue them all. The Internet is a dynamic, growing and changing system, which makes navigating it or searching it thoroughly difficult. This is where search engines and web directories come in. Search engines, such as Google or Yahoo, are large databases of information that store and retrieve relevant website results based on keywords. Web directories, such as the Open Directory Project, are attempts to organize the best of the existing websites into categories and subcategories. No search engine or web directory will have the same sites listed in the same order, and none will have all of the possible sites on the Internet listed. Furthermore, the ranking of a website within a search engine (i.e. how high up on the results list it appears) has as much to do with politics as it does with quality information. The search engine rankings are determined by a number of factors including the amount of information on the site, the amount of other sites that link to it, the amount of people who select that link when searching, the length of time that the site has been listed in the search engine database, and the code of the site. Recently, search engines such as Google and Yahoo have also been providing "sponsored links"; links that appear on the first few pages of the search results and that are paid for by advertisers. This means that you may end up clicking on something that is not relevant to your search, but instead actually advertising. The image presented here gives you an example of this on Google.

Image Caption: Example of paid advertising links at Google. What does this mean for a researcher? Understanding the nature of the Internet, how to navigate it, and how it is organized can help you filter out the quality information and websites from that which does not relate or is of questionable quality. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Caitlan Spronk, Allen Brizee. Summary:

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Kinds of Search Engines and Directories This section covers finding sources for your writing in the World Wide Web. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, web directories, and the invisible web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section. Web directories Web directories (also known as indexes, web indexes or catalogues) are broken down into categories and sub-categories and are good for broad searches of established sites. For example, if you are looking for information on the environment but not sure how to phrase a potential topic on holes in the ozone, you could try browsing through the Open Directory Project's categories. In the Open Directory Project's "Science" category, there is a subcategory of "Environment" that has over twenty subcategories listed. One of those subcategories is "Global Change" which includes the "Ozone Layer" category. The "Ozone Layer" category has over twenty-five references, including a FAQ site. Those references can help you determine the key terms to use for a more focused search. Search engines Search engines ask for keywords or phrases and then search the Web for results. Some search engines look only through page titles and headers. Others look through documents, such as Google, which can search PDFs. Many search engines now include some directory categories as well (such as Yahoo). Metasearch engines These (such as Dogpile, Mamma, and Metacrawler) search other search engines and often search smaller, less well known search engines and specialized sites. These search engines are good for doing large, sweeping searches of what information is out there. A few negatives are associated with metasearch engines. First, most metasearch engines will only let you search basic terms, so no Boolean operators or advanced search options. Second, many metasearch engines pull from pay-per-click advertisers, so the results you get may primary be paid advertising and not the most valid results on the web. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Caitlan Spronk, Allen Brizee. Summary: This section covers finding sources for your writing in the World Wide Web. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, web directories, and the invisible web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section.

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Searching with a Search Engine A search engine is a device that sends out inquiries to sites on the web and catalogs any web site it encounters, without evaluating it. Methods of inquiry differ from search engine to search engine, so the results reported by each one will also differ. Search engines maintain an incredibly large number of sites in their archives, so you must limit your search terms in order to avoid becoming overwhelmed by an unmanageable number of responses. Search engines are good for finding sources for well-defined topics. Typing in a general term such as "education" or "Shakespeare" will bring back far too many results, but by narrowing your topic, you can get the kind (and amount) of information that you need. Example: • • • • •

Go to Google (a search engine) Type in a general term ("education") Add modifiers to further define and narrow your topic ("rural education Indiana") Be as specific as you can ("rural education Indiana elementary school") Submit your search.

Adjust your search based upon the number of responses you receive (if you get too few responses, submit a more general search; if you get too many, add more modifiers). Learn how the search engine works Read the instructions and FAQs located on the search engine to learn how that particular site works. Each search engine is slightly different, and a few minutes learning how to use the site properly will save you large amounts of time and prevent useless searching. Each search engine has different advantages. Google is one of the largest search engines, followed closely by MSN and Yahoo. This means that these three search engines will search a larger portion of the Internet than other search engines. Lycos allows you to search by region, language, and date. Ask allows you to phrase your search terms in the form of a question. It is wise to search through multiple search engines to find the most available information. Select your terms carefully Using inexact terms or terms that are too general will cause you problems. If your terms are too broad or general, the search engine may not process them. Search engines are programmed with various lists of words the designers determined to be so general that a search would turn up hundreds of thousands of references. Check the search engine to see if it has a list of such stopwords. One stopword, for example, is "computers." Some search engines allow you to search stop words with a specific code (for Google, entering a "+" before the word allows you to search for it).

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If your early searches turn up too many references, try searching some relevant ones to find more specific or exact terms. You can start combining these specific terms with NOT (see the section on Boolean operators below) when you see which terms come up in references that are not relevant to your topic. In other words, keep refining your search as you learn more about the terms. You can also try to make your terms more precise by checking the online catalog of a library. For example, check THOR+, the Purdue University Library online catalog, and try their subject word search. Or try searching the term in the online databases in the library. Most search engines now have "Advanced Search" features. These features allow you to use Boolean operators (below) as well as specify other details like date, language, or file type. Know Boolean operators Most search engines allow you to combine terms with words (referred to as Boolean operators) such as "and," "or," or "not." Knowing how to use these terms is very important for a successful search. Most search engines will allow you to apply the Boolean operators in an "advanced search" option. AND AND is the most useful and most important term. It tells the search engine to find your first word AND your second word or term. AND can, however, cause problems, especially when you use it with phrases or two terms that are each broad in themselves or likely to appear together in other contexts. For example, if you'd like information about the basketball team Chicago Bulls and type in "Chicago AND Bulls," you will get references to Chicago and to bulls. Since Chicago is the center of a large meat packing industry, many of the references will be about this since it is likely that "Chicago" and "bull" will appear in many of the references relating to the meat-packing industry. OR Use OR when a key term may appear in two different ways. For example, if you want information on sudden infant death syndrome, try "sudden infant death syndrome OR SIDS." OR is not always a helpful term because you may find too many combinations with OR. For example, if you want information on the American economy and you type in "American OR economy," you will get thousands of references to documents containing the word "American" and thousands of unrelated ones with the word "economy."

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NEAR NEAR is a term that can only be used on some search engines, and it can be very useful. It tells the search engine to find documents with both words but only when they appear near each other, usually within a few words. For example, suppose you were looking for information on mobile homes, almost every site has a notice to "click here to return to the home page." Since "home" appears on so many sites, the search engine will report references to sites with the word "mobile" and "click here to return to the home page" since both terms appear on the page. Using NEAR would eliminate that problem. NOT NOT tells the search engine to find a reference that contains one term but not the other. This is useful when a term refers to multiple concepts. For example, if you are working on an informative paper on eagles, you may encounter a host of websites that discuss the football team the Philadelphia Eagles, instead. To omit the football team from your search results, you could search for "eagles NOT Philadelphia." Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Caitlan Spronk, Allen Brizee. Summary: This section covers finding sources for your writing in the World Wide Web. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, web directories, and the invisible web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section. Searching with a Web Directory There are two main types of directories: those that are hierarchical (i.e. that lead one from a general topic to a more specific one) and those that list sources in some sort of order (most commonly alphabetical). The first type of index often contains a broad range of topics while the second usually contains sources designed to address a particular topic or concern. Most search engines have some sort of index attached to them. More prominent and welldeveloped ones include The Open Directory Project, Yahoo!, and Google. Indexes are valuable for web researchers who have an area on which they want to focus, but do not yet have a specific topic. An index can help a writer get general information or a "feel" for the topic. An Example: • • • •

Go to Yahoo! (contains a web directory) Find a topic that interests you ("education") Follow it through specifics ("rural education", "Rural Education Institute") "Rural Education Institute" is a specific topic that can be feasibly researched, either by following the listed links or by using that phrase in a keyword search.

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Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Caitlan Spronk, Allen Brizee. Summary: This section covers finding sources for your writing in the World Wide Web. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, web directories, and the invisible web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section. Search Engine and Web Directory List The following is a list of some of the most powerful search and metasearch engines and most comprehensive web directories. • • • • • • • • • •

•

All4one: One of the first metasearch engines, All4One allows simultaneous searching of 10 major search engines. Alta Vista: Powered by Yahoo! Search. Allows you to search for websites, audio, video, and news. It also allows searches by location and language. Bing: Microsoft's search engine. Dogpile: A metasearch engine that will search Google, MSN, Yahoo, and Ask. Environment Web Directory: A web directory that focuses on environmental and health issues. Excite: A search engine that lets you search by language, for video, audio, and mp3, and by relevant date. Google: Includes a new type of search, "Google Scholar," which allows you to search for more academically-oriented searches. Lycos: A search engine that allows for news searches but does not have many advanced search features. Metacrawler: A metasearch engine and will search other search engines. The Open Directory Project: One of the largest and most comprehensive human-edited directories in the world. Only higher quality websites will be listed here as each site submitted must be approved by a directory editor. WebCrawler: Another search engine that allows searching by location, domain name, and for multimedia.

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Resources to Search the Invisible Web The invisible web includes many types of online resources that normally cannot be found using regular search engines. The listings below can help you access these resources: •

•

• • • • • •

Alexa: A website that archives older websites that are no longer available on the Internet. For example, Alexa has about 87 million websites from the 2000 election that are for the most part no longer available on the Internet. Complete Planet: Provides an extensive listing of databases that cannot be searched by conventional search engine technology. It provides access to lists of databases which you can then search individually. The Directory of Open Access Journals: Another full-text journal searchable database. FindArticles: Indexes over 10 million articles from a variety of different publications. Find Law: A comprehnsive site that provides information on legal issues organized by category. HighWire: Brought to you by Stanford University, HighWire press provides access to one of the largest databases of free, full-text, scholarly content. Infomine: A research database created by librarians for use at the university level. It includes both a browsable catalogue and searching capabilities. MagPortal: A search engine that will allow you to search for free online magazine articles on a wide range of topics.

Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Caitlan Spronk, Allen Brizee. Summary: This section covers finding sources for your writing in the World Wide Web. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, web directories, and the invisible web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section. Other Useful Sites for Finding Information Other useful places to begin to search include: •

• • •

Librarians' Internet Index: Provides librarian-reviewed websites and material on a host of different topics. While this site is not exhaustive, it will provide you quality information on a large variety of topics. Some of this material is invisible-web material. About.com: Provides practical information on a large variety of topics written by trained professionals. Wikipedia: The largest free and open access encyclopedia on the internet. Refdesk: A site that provides reviews and a search feature for free reference materials online.

Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Caitlan Spronk, Allen Brizee. Summary:

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Other Strategies for Web Searching This section covers finding sources for your writing in the World Wide Web. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, web directories, and the invisible web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section. Don't limit your Internet searching to using search engines. Be creative and think about which Internet sites might have the information you are looking for. For example, might any of the following lead you to the sites that will provide the information you are looking for? Looking for information about job opportunities? Look at some of the sites listing job vacancies. Try university websites that sometimes list jobs through their placement offices, or try professional organizations which also sometimes list jobs in that field. Or look through the websites of various large companies because they usually have a section on job opportunities in their company. Looking for information likely to be discussed on newsgroups or chat rooms? Look through the lists of newsgroups or use a search engine. Looking for information about a current topic? Check the newspaper and current newsmagazine sites. Most have a search engine for articles in their publications. Looking for data that might have been collected on a government site? Start with sites such as the Library of Congress or The White House. If the data concerns a state or a foreign country, is there a site for that political entity? Copyright ©1995-2013 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/558/1/

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Active and Passive Voice Using Active Versus Passive Voice In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.

Image Caption: The arrow points from the subject performing the action (the dog) to the individual being acted upon (the boy). This is an example of a sentence using the active voice.

Image Caption: Sample active voice sentence with the subject performing the action described by the verb.

Image Caption: The active voice sentence subject (watching a framed, mobile world) performs the action of reminding the speaker of something. Each example above includes a sentence subject performing the action expressed by the verb. View examples of verb tenses active voice. Contributors:April Toadvine, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli. Summary: This handout will explain the difference between active and passive voice in writing. It gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one. Also, it explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active.

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Active Versus Passive Voice Active voice is used for most non-scientific writing. Using active voice for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy. Even in scientific writing, too much use of passive voice can cloud the meaning of your sentences.

Image Caption: The action is performed upon the sentence subject, meaning this sentence is passive (indirect).

Image Caption: This is an example of the active voice because the sentence subject performs the action.

Image Caption: This is an example of the passive voice.

Image Caption: This is an example of an active voice sentence because the sentence subject performs the action.

Image Caption: This is an example of the passive voice.

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Image Caption: This is an example of an active voice sentence because its subject performs the action expressed in the verb. Sentences in active voice are also more concise than those in passive voice because fewer words are required to express action in active voice than in passive.

Image Caption: This passive voice sentence is less concise than its active voice counterpart (shown below).

Image Caption: This active voice sentence requires fewer words to communicate the same idea as the passive voice version (above).

Image Caption: This passive voice sentence is more wordy than an active voice version.

Image Caption: This active voice sentence is more concise than the passive voice version (above) because the subject directly performs the action. Contributors:April Toadvine, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli. Summary: This handout will explain the difference between active and passive voice in writing. It gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one. Also, it explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active. Â

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More about Passive Voice In a sentence using passive voice, the subject is acted upon; he or she receives the action expressed by the verb. The agent performing the action may appear in a "by the..." phrase or may be omitted.

Image Caption: The dog is acting upon the sentence subject (the boy), meaning it uses the passive voice.

Image Caption: This example sentence includes the passive voice because the subject (research) is being acted upon (presented) by another person (Pooja).

Image Caption: This is an example of the passive voice.

Image Caption: The subject of the passive voice sentence performs the action expressed in the verb in this example.

Image Caption: This is an example of the passive voice.

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Reasons to Generally Avoid Passive Voice Sometimes the use of passive voice can create awkward sentences, as in the last example above. Also, overuse of passive voice throughout an essay can cause your prose to seem flat and uninteresting. In scientific writing, however, passive voice is more readily accepted since using it allows one to write without using personal pronouns or the names of particular researchers as the subjects of sentences (see the third example above). This practice helps to create the appearance of an objective, fact-based discourse because writers can present research and conclusions without attributing them to particular agents. Instead, the writing appears to convey information that is not limited or biased by individual perspectives or personal interests. Recognizing Passive Voice You can recognize passive-voice expressions because the verb phrase will always include a form of be, such as am, is, was, were, are, or been. The presence of a be-verb, however, does not necessarily mean that the sentence is in passive voice. Another way to recognize passive-voice sentences is that they may include a "by the..." phrase after the verb; the agent performing the action, if named, is the object of the preposition in this phrase. Helpful Hint You can recognize passive voice because the verb phrase will include a form of be (was, am, are, been, is). Don't assume that just because there is a form of 'be' that the sentence is passive, however. Sometimes a prepositional phrase like "by the" in the sentences above indicates that the action is performed on the subject, and that the sentence is passive. Contributors:April Toadvine, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli. Summary: This handout will explain the difference between active and passive voice in writing. It gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one. Also, it explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active. Choosing Passive Voice Choosing Passive Voice While active voice helps to create clear and direct sentences, sometimes writers find using an indirect expression is rhetorically effective in a given situation, so they choose passive voice. Also, writers in the sciences conventionally use passive voice more often than writers in other discourses. Passive voice makes sense when the agent performing the action is obvious, unimportant, or unknown or when a writer wishes to postpone mentioning the agent until the last part of the sentence or to avoid mentioning the agent at all. The passive voice is effective in such circumstances because it highlights the action and what is acted upon rather than the agent performing the action.

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Active

Passive

The dispatcher is notifying police that three prisoners have escaped.

Police are being notified that three prisoners have escaped.

Surgeons successfully performed a new experimental liver-transplant operation yesterday.

A new experimental liver-transplant operation was performed successfully yesterday.

"Authorities make rules to be broken," he said defiantly.

"Rules are made to be broken," he said defiantly.

In each of these examples, the passive voice makes sense because the agent is relatively unimportant compared to the action itself and what is acted upon. Contributors:April Toadvine, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli. Summary: This handout will explain the difference between active and passive voice in writing. It gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one. Also, it explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active. Changing Passive to Active Voice If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly. Sometimes you will need to infer the agent from the surrounding sentences which provide context.

Image Caption: This passive voice contains a by the... phrase. Removing the by the... phrase and reworking the sentence will give it the active voice.

Image Caption: Making the agent (most of the class) the subject means this sentence now uses the active voice.

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Image Caption: The agent is not explicitly stated, but it is most likely researchers. Making the agent the subject of the sentence will allow you to use the active voice.

Image Caption: This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the researchers) are now performing the action as the sentence subject.

Image Caption: The CIA director and his close advisors are the agent of change in this sentence, but they are not the subject. Making the agent the subject will transform the sentence into a more concise, active voice phrase.

Image Caption: This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the CIA director and his close advisors) is performing the action as the sentence subject.

Image Caption: The agent is not specified in this sentence.

Image Caption: This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (we) is the subject of the sentence. If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb, and then make that agent the object of a "by

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the..." phrase. Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit "by the..." phrase is optional.

Image Caption: This active voice sentence's agent is the presiding officer, which is the subject.

Image Caption: Changing the sentence subject from the agent (the presiding officer) to the object of the verb (the committee's recommendation) and adding a by the...phrase transforms the sentence into the passive voice.

Image Caption: This sentence includes the agent (the leaders) as the subject performing the action of the verb.

Image Caption: This sentence now uses the passive voice because the subject has been changed from the agent (the leaders) to the object of the verb (a fair resolution).

Image Caption: The scientists are the agent performing the verb's action in this active voice sentence.

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Image Caption: This passive voice sentence no longer specifies the agent (scientists) and now uses the passive voice because the verb's object (traces of ice) is now the subject. Contributors: April Toadvine, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli. Summary: This handout will explain the difference between active and passive voice in writing. It gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one. Also, it explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active. Further Suggestions for Using Passive and Active Voices 1. Avoid starting a sentence in active voice and then shifting to passive. Unnecessary shift in voice

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Many customers in the restaurant found the Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee too bitter to drink, but it was still ordered coffee too bitter to drink, but they still ordered frequently. it frequently. He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but he was still laughed at by the other students.

He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but the other students still laughed at him.

2. Avoid dangling modifiers caused by the use of passive voice. A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence. Dangling modifier with passive voice

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To save time, the paper was written on a computer. (Who was saving time? The paper?)

To save time, Kristin wrote the paper on a computer.

Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, Seeking to lay off workers without consultants were hired to break the bad news. Who was taking the blame, the CEO hired seeking to lay off workers? The consultants?) consultants to break the bad news. 3. Don't trust the grammar-checking programs in word-processing software. Many grammar checkers flag all passive constructions, but you may want to keep some that are flagged. Trust your judgment, or ask another human being for their opinion about which sentence sounds best. The Paramedic Method is an effective process for helping eliminate passive voice. Contributors:April Toadvine, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli. Summary: Â

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This handout will explain the difference between active and passive voice in writing. It gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one. Also, it explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active. Verbs: Voice and Mood Active and Passive Voice Verbs in the active voice show the subject acting. Verbs in the passive voice show something else acting on the subject. Most writers consider the active voice more forceful and tend to stay away from passives unless they really need them. ACTIVE: Tim killed the chicken hawk. PASSIVE: The chicken hawk was killed by Tim. Check out our handout on active and passive verbs. Indicative, Imperative, and Subjunctive Mood Most verbs we use are in the indicative mood, which indicates a fact or opinion: Examples: • • •

He was here. I am hungry. She will bring her books.

Some verbs are in the imperative mood, which expresses commands or requests. Though it is not stated, the understood subject of imperative sentences is you. Examples: • • •

Be here at seven o'clock. (Understood: You be here at seven o'clock.) Cook me an omelette. (Understood: You cook me an omelette.) Bring your books with you. (Understood: You bring your books with you.)

When verbs show something contrary to fact, they are in the subjunctive mood. When you express a wish or something that is not actually true, use the past tense or past perfect tense; when using the verb 'to be' in the subjunctive, always use were rather than was:

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Examples: • • •

If he were here... (Implied: ...but he's not.) I wish I had something to eat. (Implied: ...but I don't.) It would be better if you had brought your books with you. (Implied: ...but you haven't brought them.)

Review INDICATIVE: I need some help. IMPERATIVE: Help me! SUBJUNCTIVE: If I were smart, I'd call for help. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/1/

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Rhetorical Situations Understanding and being able to analyze rhetorical situations can help contribute to strong, audience-focused, and organized writing. The PowerPoint presentation in the Media box above is suitable for any classroom and any writing task. The resource below explains in more detail how to analyze rhetorical situations. Understanding Rhetoric Writing instructors and many other professionals who study language use the phrase “rhetorical situation.” This term refers to any set of circumstances that involves at least one person using some sort of communication to modify the perspective of at least one other person. But many people are unfamiliar with the word “rhetoric.” For many people, “rhetoric” may imply speech that is simply persuasive. For others, “rhetoric” may imply something more negative like “trickery” or even “lying.” So to appreciate the benefits of understanding what rhetorical situations are, we must first have a more complete understanding of what rhetoric itself is. In brief, “rhetoric” is any communication used to modify the perspectives of others. But this is a very broad definition that calls for more explanation. The OWL’s “Introduction to Rhetoric” vidcast explains more what rhetoric is and how rhetoric relates to writing. This vidcast defines rhetoric as “primarily an awareness of the language choices we make.” It gives a brief history of the origins of rhetoric in ancient Greece. And it briefly discusses the benefits of how understanding rhetoric can help people write more convincingly. The vidcast provides an excellent primer to some basic ideas of rhetoric. A more in-depth primer to rhetoric can be found in the online video “In Defense of Rhetoric: No Longer Just for Liars.” This video dispels some widely held misconceptions about rhetoric and emphasizes that, “An education of rhetoric enables communicators in any facet of any field to create and assess messages effectively.” This video should be particularly helpful to anyone who is unaware of how crucial rhetoric is to effective communication. “In Defense of Rhetoric: No Longer Just for Liars” is a 14-minunte video created by graduate students in the MA in Professional Communication program at Clemson University, and you are free to copy, distribute, and transmit the video with the understanding: 1) that you will attribute the work to its authors; 2) that you will not use the work for commercial purposes; and 3) that you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Listening to the above podcast and watching the above video should help anyone using this resource to better understand the basics of rhetoric and rhetorical situations.

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A Review of Rhetoric: From “Persuasion” to “Identification” Just as the vidcast and video above imply, rhetoric can refer to just the persuasive qualities of language. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle strongly influenced how people have traditionally viewed rhetoric. Aristotle defined rhetoric as “an ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion” (Aristotle Rhetoric I.1.2, Kennedy 37). Since then, Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric has been reduced in many situations to mean simply “persuasion.” At its best, this simplification of rhetoric has led to a long tradition of people associating rhetoric with politicians, lawyers, or other occupations noted for persuasive speaking. At its worst, the simplification of rhetoric has led people to assume that rhetoric is merely something that manipulative people use to get what they want (usually regardless of moral or ethical concerns). However, over the last century or so, the academic definition and use of “rhetoric” has evolved to include any situation in which people consciously communicate with each other. In brief, individual people tend to perceive and understand just about everything differently from one another (this difference varies to a lesser or greater degree depending on the situation, of course). This expanded perception has led a number of more contemporary rhetorical philosophers to suggest that rhetoric deals with more than just persuasion. Instead of just persuasion, rhetoric is the set of methods people use to identify with each other—to encourage each other to understand things from one another’s perspectives (see Burke 25). From interpersonal relationships to international peace treaties, the capacity to understand or modify another’s perspective is one of the most vital abilities that humans have. Hence, understanding rhetoric in terms of “identification” helps us better communicate and evaluate all such situations. Works Cited Aristotle. On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse. 2nd ed. Trans. George A. Kennedy. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. Burke, Kenneth. A Rhetoric of Motives. Berkeley: U of California P, 1969. Johnson-Sheehan, Richard and Charles Paine. Writing Today. New York: Pearson Education, 2010. Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class.

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Elements of Rhetorical Situations There is no one singular rhetorical situation that applies to all instances of communication. Rather, all human efforts to communicate occur within innumerable individual rhetorical situations that are particular to those specific moments of communication. Also, an awareness of rhetorical situations can help in both composition and analysis. In the textbook Writing Today, Johnson-Sheehan and Paine recommend, “Before you start writing any text, you should first gain an understanding of your rhetorical situation” (12). For this reason, the rest of this resource will focus on understanding rhetorical situations more in terms of analysis. Once you know how to identify and analyze the elements of rhetorical situations, you will be better able to produce writing that meets your audience’s needs, fits the specific setting you write in, and conveys your intended message and purpose. Each individual rhetorical situation shares five basic elements with all other rhetorical situations: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

A text (i.e., an actual instance or piece of communication) An author (i.e., someone who uses communication) An audience (i.e., a recipient of communication) Purposes (i.e., the varied reasons both authors and audiences communicate) A setting (i.e., the time, place, and environment surrounding a moment of communication) These five terms are updated versions of similar terms that the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle articulated over two thousand years ago. While Aristotle’s terms may be familiar to many people, his terminology more directly applied to the specific needs and concerns of his day. This resource uses more current terminology to more accurately identify the kinds of rhetorical situations we may encounter today. But since Aristotle’s work in rhetoric has been so influential, below is a brief discussion of Aristotle’s terms and how they relate to the terms in this resource (text, author, audience, purposes, and setting).

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Aristotle's Rhetorical Situation Rhetorical Concepts Many people have heard of the rhetorical concepts of logos, ethos, and pathos even if they do not necessarily know what they fully mean. These three terms, along with kairos and telos, were used by Aristotle to help explain how rhetoric functions. In ancient Greece, these terms corresponded with basic components that all rhetorical situations have. Logos Logos is frequently translated as some variation of “logic or reasoning,” but it originally referred to the actual content of a speech and how it was organized. Today, many people may discuss the logos qualities of a text to refer to how strong the logic or reasoning of the text is. But logos more closely refers to the structure and content of the text itself. In this resource, logos means “text.” Ethos Ethos is frequently translated as some variation of “credibility or trustworthiness,” but it originally referred to the elements of a speech that reflected on the particular character of the speaker or the speech’s author. Today, many people may discuss ethos qualities of a text to refer to how well authors portray themselves. But ethos more closely refers to an author’s perspective more generally. In this resource, ethos means “author.” Pathos Pathos is frequently translated as some variation of “emotional appeal,” but it originally referred to the elements of a speech that appealed to any of an audience’s sensibilities. Today, many people may discuss the pathos qualities of a text to refer to how well an author appeals to an audience’s emotions. Pathos as “emotion” is often contrasted with logos as “reason.” But this is a limited understanding of both pathos and logos; pathos more closely refers to an audience’s perspective more generally. In this resource, pathos means “audience.” Telos Telos is a term Aristotle used to explain the particular purpose or attitude of a speech. Not many people use this term today in reference to rhetorical situations; nonetheless, it is instructive to know that early rhetorical thinkers like Aristotle actually placed much emphasis on speakers having a clear telos. But audiences can also have purposes of their own that differ from a speaker’s purpose. In this resource, telos means “purpose.”

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Kairos Kairos is a term that refers to the elements of a speech that acknowledge and draw support from the particular setting, time, and place that a speech occurs. Though not as commonly known as logos, ethos, and pathos, the term kairos has been receiving wider renewed attention among teachers of composition since the mid-1980s. Although kairos may be well known among writing instructors, the term “setting” more succinctly and clearly identifies this concept for contemporary readers. In this resource, kairos means “setting.” Current Elements of Rhetorical Situations All of these terms (text, author, audience, purpose, and setting) are fairly loose in their definitions and all of them affect each other. Also, all of these terms have specific qualities that affect the ways that they interact with the other terms. Below, you’ll find basic definitions of each term, a brief discussion of the qualities of each term, and then finally, a series of examples illustrating various rhetorical situations. Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class. Text What is a Text? The word “text” is probably the most fluid term in a rhetorical situation. Usually, the word “text” refers to a written or typed document. In terms of a rhetorical situation, however, “text” means any form of communication that humans create. Whenever humans engage in any act of communication, a text serves as the vehicle for communication. Three basic factors affect the nature of each text: the medium of the text, the tools used to create the text, and the tools used to decipher the text. Medium of a Text Texts can appear in any kind of medium, or mechanism for communicating. The plural of medium in this sense is media. Various media affect the ways that authors and audiences communicate. Consider how these different types of media can affect how and what authors communicate to audiences in various rhetorical situations: hand-written, typed, computergenerated, audio, visual, spoken, verbal, non-verbal, graphic, pictorial, tactile, with words, or without words (there are many others, of course). Some varied specific examples of media could include a paper, a speech, a letter, an advertisement, a billboard, a presentation, a poster-board, a cartoon, a movie, a painting, a sculpture, an email, a Twitter tweet, a Facebook post, graffiti, a conversation (face-to-face, on a cell phone, via text messages) . . . this list is nearly endless.

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Tools to Make a Text Every text is made with tools that affect the structure and content of a text. Such tools could be physical tools that range from very basic (such as the larynx, throat, teeth, lips, and tongue necessary for verbal communication) to very complex (such as a laptop computer with graphicmanipulating software). These tools could also be more conceptual tools that range from simple (such as implementing feedback from an instructor) to more complicated (such as implementing different kinds of library and primary research). The tools of communication often determine the kinds of communication that can happen in any given rhetorical situation. Tools to Decipher a Text Likewise, audiences have varied tools for reading, viewing, hearing, or otherwise appreciating various texts. These could be actual physical tools that would likewise range from very basic (like the eyes and reading glasses necessary to read) to very complex (like a digital projector and screen to view a PowerPoint presentation). Or they could be conceptual tools that could range from simple (childhood principles learned from parents) to more complicated (a master’s degree in art). The tools that audiences have at their disposal affect the ways that they appreciate different texts. Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class. Author and Audience What is an Author? “Author” is a fairly loose term used to refer to anyone who uses communication. An author could be one person or many people. An author could be someone who uses writing (like in a book), speech (like in a debate), visual elements (like in a TV commercial), audio elements (like in a radio broadcast), or even tactile elements (as is used in making Braille) to communicate. Whatever authors create, authors are human beings whose particular activities are affected by their individual backgrounds. Author’s Background Many factors affect authors’ backgrounds. These can include age, gender, geographic location, ethnicity, cultural experiences, religious experiences, social standing, personal wealth, sexuality, political beliefs, parents, peers, level of education, personal experience, and others. All of these are powerful influences on what authors assume about the world, who their audiences are, what and how they communicate, and the settings in which they communicate. Gender, ethnicity, cultural experiences, sexuality, and wealth factors are especially important in analyzing rhetorical situations today. Many professionals in education, business, government, and nonprofit organizations are especially aware of these specific factors in people’s lives.

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What is Audience? Like the term “author,” the term “audience” is also a fairly loose term. “Audience” refers to any recipient of communication. Audiences can read, hear, see, or feel different kinds of communication through different kinds of media. Also like authors, audiences are human beings whose particular activities are also affected by their specific backgrounds. Audience’s Background The same sorts of factors that affect authors’ backgrounds also affect audiences’ individual backgrounds. Most importantly, these factors affect how audiences receive different pieces of communication; what they assume about the author; and the context in which they hear, read, or otherwise appreciate what the author communicates. Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class. Purposes Authors and audiences also have a wide range of purposes for communicating. The importance of purpose in rhetorical situations cannot be overstated. It is the varied purposes of a rhetorical situation that determine how an author communicates a text and how audiences receive a text. Rhetorical situations rarely have only one purpose. Authors and audiences tend to bring their own purposes (often multiple purposes each) to a rhetorical situation, and these purposes may conflict or complement each other depending on the efforts of both authors and audiences. Authors’ Purposes In the textbook Writing Today, Johnson-Sheehan and Paine discuss purpose more specifically in terms of the author of a text. They suggest that most texts written in college or in the workplace often fill one of two broader purposes: to be informative or to be persuasive. Under each of these two broad purposes, they identify a host of more specific purposes. The following table is not exhaustive; authors could easily have purposes that are not listed on this table.

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Table: Author Purposes Informative Persuasive to inform to persuade to describe to convince to define to influence to review to argue to notify to recommend to instruct to change to advise to advocate to announce to urge to explain to defend to demonstrate to justify to illustrate to support (Johnson-Sheehan & Paine 17) Audiences’ Purposes Authors’ purposes tend to be almost exclusive active if only because authors conscientiously create texts for specific audiences. But audiences’ purposes may range from more passive purpose to more active purposes. Table: Audience Purposes More Passive Purposes More Active Purposes to receive notice to examine to feel reassured to quantify to feel a sense of unity to assess to be entertained to make informed decisions to receive instruction to interpret to enjoy to evaluate to hear advice to judge to be inspired to resist change to review to criticize to understand to ridicule to learn to disprove

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The Role of Purposes Authors’ and audiences’ purposes in communicating determine the basic rationale behind other decisions both authors and audiences make (such as what to write or speak about, or whom to listen to, or what medium to use, or what setting to read in, among others). An author’s purpose in communicating could be to instruct, persuade, inform, entertain, educate, startle, excite, sadden, enlighten, punish, console, or many, many others. Like authors, audiences have varied purposes for reading, listening to, or otherwise appreciating pieces of communication. Audiences may seek to be instructed, persuaded, informed, entertained, educated, startled, excited, saddened, enlightened, punished, consoled, and many, many others. Authors’ and audiences’ purposes are only limited to what authors and audiences want to accomplish in their moments of communication. There are as many purposes for communicating as there are words to describe those purposes. Attitude Attitude is related to purpose and is a much-overlooked element of rhetorical situations. But attitude affects a great deal of how a rhetorical situation unfolds. Consider if an author communicates with a flippant attitude as opposed to a serious attitude, or with drama as opposed to comedy, or calmly as opposed to excitedly. Depending on authors’ purposes, audiences’ specific qualities, the nature of the context, and other factors, any of these attitudes could either help or hinder authors in their efforts to communicate depending on the other factors in any given rhetorical situation. Like authors, audiences bring diverse attitudes to how they appreciate different pieces of communication. The audience’s attitude while reading, listening, observing, or whatnot affects how they receive and process the communication they receive. Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class. Setting Lastly, all rhetorical situations occur in specific settings or contexts or environments. The specific constraints that affect a setting include the time of author and audience, the place of author and audience, and the community or conversation in which authors and/or audiences engage.

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Time “Time” in this sense refers to specific moments in history. It is fairly common knowledge that different people communicate differently depending on the time in which they live. Americans in the 1950s, overall, communicate differently than Americans in the 2000s. Not that they necessarily speak a different language, but these two groups of people have different assumptions about the world and how to communicate based on the era in which they live. Different moments in time can be closer together and still affect the ways that people communicate. Certainly, scientists discussed physics somewhat differently the year after Einstein published his theory of relativity than they did the year before Einstein published his treatise. Also, an author and audience may be located at different times in relation to one another. Today, we appreciate Shakespeare’s Hamlet a bit differently than the people who watched it when it first premiered four hundred years ago. A lot of cultural norms have changed since then. Place Similarly, the specific places of authors and their audiences affect the ways that texts are made and received. At a rally, the place may be the steps of a national monument. In an academic conference or lecture hall or court case, the place is a specific room. In other rhetorical situations, the place may be the pages of an academic journal in which different authors respond to one another in essay form. And, as mentioned about authors’ and audiences’ backgrounds, the places from which audiences and authors emerge affect the ways that different texts are made and received. Community / Conversation In various rhetorical situations, “community” or “conversation” can be used to refer to the specific kinds of social interactions among authors and audiences. Outside of speaking about rhetorical situations, “community” usually means specific groups of people united by location and proximity like a neighborhood; “conversation” usually refers to fairly intimate occasions of discussion among a small number of people. But in regard to rhetorical situations, both of these terms can have much larger meanings. In any given rhetorical situation, “community” and “conversation” can refer to the people specifically involved in the act of communication. For instance, consider Pablo Picasso who used cubism to challenge international notions of art at the time he painted. Picasso was involved in a worldwide “community” of artists, art critics, and other appreciators of art many of whom were actively engaged in an extended “conversation” with differing assumptions about what art is and ought to be. Sometimes, authors and audiences participate in the same community and conversation, but in many instances, authors may communicate in one community and conversation (again, think of Shakespeare four hundred years ago in England) while audiences may participate in a different community and conversation (think of scholars today in any other country in the world who discuss and debate the nature of Shakespeare’s plays). The specific nature of authors’ communities and conversations affect the ways that texts are made while the specific nature of audiences’ communities and conversations affect the ways that texts are received and appreciated.

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Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class. Example 1 Example 1: “I Have a Dream” Speech A lot of what was covered above may still seem abstract and complicated. To illustrate how diverse kinds of texts have their own rhetorical situations, consider the following examples. First, consider Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Because this speech is famous, it should be very easy to identify the basic elements of its particular rhetorical situation. Text The text in question is a 17-minute speech written and delivered by Dr. King. The basic medium of the text was an oral speech that was broadcast by both loudspeakers at the event and over radio and television. Dr. King drew on years of training as a minister and public speaker to deliver the speech. He also drew on his extensive education and the tumultuous history of racial prejudices and civil rights in the US. Audiences at the time either heard his speech in person or over radio or television broadcasts. Part of the speech near the end was improvised around the repeated phrase “I have a dream.” Author Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the most iconic leader of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He was an African-American Baptist minister and prominent civil rights activist who campaigned to end segregation and racial discrimination. He gained inspiration from Howard Thurman and Mahatma Gandhi, and he drew extensively from a deep, rich cultural tradition of African-American Christian spiritualism. Audience The audiences for “I Have a Dream” are extraordinarily varied. In one sense, the audience consisted of the 200,000 or so people who listened to Dr. King in person. But Dr. King also overtly appealed to lawmakers and citizens everywhere in America at the time of his speech. There were also millions of people who heard his speech over radio and television at the time. And many more millions people since 1963 have heard recordings of the speech in video, audio, or digital form.

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Purposes Dr. King’s immediate purposes appear to have been to convince Americans across the country to embrace racial equality and to further strengthen the resolve of those already involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Audiences’ purposes are not as easily summarized. Some at the time may have sought to be inspired by Dr. King. Opponents to racial equality who heard his speech may have listened for the purpose of seeking to find ways to further argue against racial equality. Audiences since then may have used the speech to educate or to advocate for other social justice issues. Setting The initial setting for the speech was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on August 28, 1963. The immediate community and conversation for the speech was the ongoing Civil Rights Movement that had gained particular momentum with the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, which Dr. King helped direct. But the enduring nature of Dr. King’s speech has broadened the setting to include many countries and many people who have since read or listened to his speech. Certainly, people listening to his speech for the first time today in America are experiencing a different mix of cultural attitudes toward race than as present in America in 1963. Other Analysis Dr. King’s speech is an example of a rhetorical situation that is much bigger than its initial text and audience. Not many rhetorical situations are as far reaching in scope as Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The following example of a research paper may be more identifiable to students reading this resource. Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class. Example 2 Example 2: Research Paper for a High School or College Class One of the most common rhetorical situations that people reading this will face or have faced is a research paper for some sort of class. Consider the following fictional example of the rhetorical situation surrounding a research paper written by a 19-year-old female university student from China who is attending her first year of classes at Purdue University in Indiana, USA.

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Text The text in this example is a 12-page research paper that argues for more efficient ways of harnessing hydroelectric power. The paper uses the Xiaolangdi Dam on the Yellow River in China as an example of what could be done better. Alternately, when the student prepares her paper to present at a conference, the text at the future conference would be her actual verbal presentation and any presentation aids she chooses to use (such as a PowerPoint or a handout). As a paper for class, the medium is a stack of twelve computer-typed white sheets of paper. As a conference presentation, the medium is the author’s spoken voice accompanied with a digital PowerPoint display. As a paper for class, the student uses a computer with a word processing program to actually type the paper. Using a computer not only makes the paper neat and readable, but it is also required. The actual physical tool used to write the text greatly affects how the text is received. She also uses the conceptual tool of research that she’s learned in class to help her find the material she needs. As a conference presentation, the student uses a computer and a digital projector to display the necessary images at her presentation. She also uses the conceptual tools of public speaking that she learned in her first-year communication and speech course at Purdue University. Author The author for this research paper is a 19-year-old female university student from China who is attending her first year of classes at Purdue University in Indiana, USA. She struggles at times with the mechanics of written English. She is an only child. She is studying agricultural engineering. All this has affected how and what she writes. Audience There are two audiences for this paper. The primary and most immediate audience for this paper is the student’s instructor. Her instructor is a 25-year-old female PhD student from New Mexico, USA, studying in English at Purdue University. This instructor teaches the first-year writing course that the student is writing the research paper for. The student also hopes that she can eventually develop her paper into a conference presentation, so she writes her paper with both her instructor and a future conference audience in mind. The instructor has previous experience working with students whose first language is not English. The future conference audience will have had immediate background in the other presentations at the conference.

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Purposes The author has a few different purposes for writing this paper. First and foremost, writing this paper is a class requirement and she must do well on it to get a good grade in the class. Secondly, she has chosen to write her paper about a hydroelectric dam near her home in China because she feels strongly about clean, hydroelectric power. Thirdly, she feels she needs continued practice writing in English (which is not her first language), so she looks forward to the feedback she’ll get from her instructor in hopes she can improve the way she writes. Her attitude is hopeful and earnest as she writes the paper. But she is also worried because she fears she may not have enough mastery of the English language to write the paper well. The instructor wants the student to master certain writing processes and principles and will be reading the paper with these concerns in mind. The future conference audience will likely want to hear more about the impact of different energy sources on the environment. The instructor retains a helpful but expert attitude toward the student’s paper. The future conference audience fosters an interested and egalitarian attitude toward the student’s presentation. Notice how each of these attitudes can affect the way that the student’s research is received. Setting Because of the split nature of the student’s purposes, the settings for the paper are split as well. As a research paper, the text is situated within the fifteen-week structure of a typical American university semester. Also, the student’s research about hydroelectric dams and the Xiaolangdi Dam in particular reflect the most current information she can locate. When she presents her research at a conference a year or two later, she will need to make sure her research is still up-todate. As a research paper, the text occurs within the confines of the curriculum of the student’s firstyear writing class. As a conference presentation, the text occurs within the specific confines of a presentation room at an academic conference. As a research paper, the student’s text is part of a small conversation between her and her instructor in the small community of a first-year writing class. As a conference presentation, the community and conversation of her text got substantially larger: the community and conversation possibly involve a worldwide community of engineering and agricultural experts, researchers, and professionals. Other Analysis Research papers are common texts for students to prepare. It is important for students to be able to see their own writing projects in their own rhetorical situations. When they do so, students will be better able to communicate within the constraints of the rhetorical situations they find themselves in. The last example of a rhetorical situation is about a very common sort of text that many people may not have considered in rhetorical terms.

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Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class. Example 3 Example 3: Grocery List Finally, consider a simple (and fictional) grocery list. Identifying the basic components of text, author, audience, purposes, and setting reveals that even a simple text like a grocery list has its own specific rhetorical situation. This list was written by an elderly retired woman who sends her husband on an errand to the grocery store. Text The text is the grocery list itself. The grocery list is a handwritten list of five items. The list reads, “1% milk, whole wheat bread, non-fat grated mozzarella cheese, cookies for the grandkids (you decide), 8 bananas.” Notice how the varying specificity reflects the author’s varying attitudes of seriousness about what her husband buys. She is specific about everything except the cookies, which she is fine with letting her husband decide. The grocery list is written on the back of an old receipt in black ballpoint pen ink. The author writes small to get the whole list on the back of the receipt. She relies on her years with her husband to know other specifics that are otherwise omitted from the list (e.g., whether he should get a quart or gallon of milk or whether he should get one or two loaves of bread). The husband carries along his reading glasses, but even still has difficulty reading the small handwriting on the grocery list. The husband also relies on the conceptual tools he’s developed over decades of marriage to his wife. For instance, he knows that there is no more milk in the refrigerator at home, so he should buy a whole gallon of milk. Author Let’s say that this particular list is written by an elderly retired woman who sends her husband on an errand to the grocery store. She gives him a list of things to buy. Her background includes a few decades of marriage to her husband and all the experience (from her perspective) that suggests to her that she needs to give him a list to make sure he doesn’t forget anything.

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Audience The audience for this grocery list is the author’s husband who is an elderly retired man. He runs errands for his wife on occasion. Similar to his wife’s background, this husband has a few decades married to his wife and all the experience (from his perspective) that tells him he doesn’t really need the list his wife wrote him. Purposes The author’s purposes in writing the list are straightforward. She wants to make sure that her husband does not forget anything that she sends him to the grocery store to buy. Her attitude while writing the list is direct and serious. She doesn’t want him to forget anything! The man who is the audience of the grocery list wants to buy the groceries quickly. While he does not mind running errands for his wife (and wants to be the kind of man who does nice things for his wife), he wants to hurry back and watch a ball game on television. This man’s attitude is slightly annoyed because he might miss the start of his game. Setting Let’s say this grocery list was written a year or so ago. It was written in the small home of the retired couple in Seattle, Washington, USA. It was thrown away in a garbage can outside the grocery store while the husband carried the few groceries back to the car. The community and conversation is narrow and intimate including only the elderly retired woman and her husband . . . that is unless someone different finds the list and discusses it with someone else. At that point, a different community and conversation has begun discussing the text. Other Analysis As should be evident from this example, even something as simple as a grocery list has its own rhetorical situation with an author and audience trying to identify their perspectives with each other. Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This presentation is designed to introduce your students to a variety of factors that contribute to strong, well-organized writing. This presentation is suitable for the beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class.

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Conclusion The preceding examples serve to illustrate some of the range of circumstances in which rhetorical situations can be found. But, really, rhetorical situations occur whenever one person attempts to communicate with another person. We could do the same activity with a painting, a work of fiction, a political debate, a film, a Facebook status update, a squabble between lovers, a personal journal entry, or any other act of communication. Invariably, all situations involving communication involve at least one of each of the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

a text in a particular medium, made with certain tools, and deciphered with certain tools; an author with a specific background; an audience with an equally specific background; purposes of both author and audience; and a setting in a particular time and place involving a certain community and conversation.

Understanding the factors that shape rhetorical situations make authors and audiences more aware of what goes into different acts of communication. Overall, understanding these factors helps people better understand the differing perspectives of others. Copyright ©1995-2013 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/625/01/.

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Appropriate Language: Overview When writing, it is very important to use language that fits your audience and matches purpose. Inappropriate language uses can damage your credibility, undermine your argument, or alienate your audience. This handout will cover some of the major issues with appropriate language use: levels of language formality, deceitful language and Euphemisms, slang and idiomatic expressions; using group-specific jargon; and biased/stereotypical language. The following is a short overview of the different aspects of using appropriate language. Review the other sections of this handout for a more complete discussion. 1. Levels of Formality: Writing in a style that your audience expects and that fits your purpose is key to successful writing. 2. In-Group Jargon: Jargon refers to specialized language used by groups of like-minded individuals. Only use in-group jargon when you are writing for members of that group. You should never use jargon for a general audience without first explaining it. 3. Slang and idiomatic expressions: Avoid using slang or idiomatic expressions in general academic writing. 4. Deceitful language and Euphemisms: Avoid using euphemisms (words that veil the truth, such as "collateral damage" for the unintended destruction of civilians and their property) and other deceitful language. 5. Biased language: Avoid using any biased language including language with a racial, ethnic, group, or gender bias or language that is stereotypical. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This handout will cover some of the major issues with appropriate language use: levels of language formality, deceitful language and Euphemisms, slang and idiomatic expressions; using group-specific jargon; and biased/stereotypical language. Levels of Formality The level of formality you write with should be determined by the expectations of your audience and your purpose. For example, if you are writing a cover letter for a job application or a college academic essay, you would write in a formal style. If you are writing a letter to a friend, writing something personal, or even writing something for a humorous or special interest magazine when informal writing is expected, you would use a more informal style. Formality exists on a scaleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; in the example below, a letter of application to a known colleague can result in a semi-formal style. Here is an example: Formal (Written to an unknown audience): I am applying for the receptionist position advertised in the local paper. I am an excellent candidate for the job because of my significant secretarial experience, good language skills, and sense of organization.

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Semi-formal (Written to a well-known individual): I am applying for the receptionist position that is currently open in the company. As you are aware, I have worked as a temporary employee with your company in this position before. As such, I not only have experience and knowledge of this position, but also already understand the company's needs and requirements for this job. Informal (Incorrect): Hi! I read in the paper that ya'll were looking for a receptionist. I think that I am good for that job because I've done stuff like it in the past, am good with words, and am incredibly well organized. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This handout will cover some of the major issues with appropriate language use: levels of language formality, deceitful language and Euphemisms, slang and idiomatic expressions; using group-specific jargon; and biased/stereotypical language. Group Jargon The term "jargon" refers to any in-group or specialized language used by small groups of likeminded individuals. This terminology is usually specialized to the function of the group, and will be used by and among group members as a sign of belonging, status, and for keeping out outsiders. For example, individuals who study linguistics will use words like quantifier, voiceless labiodental fricative, diglossia, intensifier, minimal pair and metonymy. To non-linguists, these words have different meanings or no meanings at all. When making the choice of what vocabulary to use, you should first and foremost consider the audience that you are addressing: If you are writing for a general audience (even an general academic audience) you should avoid using in-group jargon without explanations. Overloading your audience with words they do not understand will not help you achieve your purpose. For example, if you are writing a paper explaining concepts in linguistics to an audience of nonlinguists, you might introduce and explain a few important terms. But you wouldn't use those terms without an explanation or in a way your audience wouldn't understand. If, however, you are writing to an in-group audience you will want to use group-specific jargon. Not using the jargon when it is expected by your audience can signal to the audience that you are not a member of that group or have not mastered the group's terminology. This will most likely damage your credibility and interfere with your purpose in writing. For example, if you are writing a conference paper for a group of linguists or a term paper for a college-level linguistics course, you should use in-group jargon to help show that you understand the concepts and can discuss them in ways other linguists can.

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Slang and Idiomatic Expressions You should avoid using slang (words like y'all, yinz, cool) or idiomatic expressions ("pull someone's leg", "spill the beans", and "something smells fishy") in formal academic writing. These words make your writing sound informal, and hence, less credible. Furthermore, for nonnative speakers of English, these expressions may prove more difficult to understand because of their non-literal nature. Times do exist, however, when the use of slang and idiomatic expressions are appropriate. Think about who your audience is, what they expect, and how the use of these words may help or hinder your purpose. If you are writing a very informal or humorous piece, slang or idiomatic expressions may be appropriate. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This handout will cover some of the major issues with appropriate language use: levels of language formality, deceitful language and Euphemisms, slang and idiomatic expressions; using group-specific jargon; and biased/stereotypical language. Deceitful Language and Euphemisms Deceitful Language and Euphemisms You should avoid using any language whose purpose is deceitful. Euphemisms are terms that attempt to cover up that which is wrong, unethical, taboo, or harsh. Here are some examples from the military: • • • •

Pacification = The act of forcefully exerting outside government over a previously autonomous people Friendly Fire = Being shot at (unintentionally) by your own allies Collateral Damage = Destruction of property and killing of innocent civilians during war efforts Sunshine Units = A term for a power plant that is leaking radiation into the surrounding areas

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Complex or Confusing Language Language can also be deceitful if it is overly complex or confusing. Confusing language is deliberately created complex and is used to downplay the truth or to evade responsibility. Here is an example: The acquisition of pollution permits by individuals and corporations that produce toxins has now been allowed by the recently amended Clean Air Act of 1990. Institution of permits simplifies and clarifies obligations for business and industry, making environmental protections more accessible for these constituents. The government and the Environmental Protection Agency will be greatly assisted in their endeavors by monitoring the release of all substances and having the substances listed on one individual permit. Although this paragraph makes it seem like this facet of the Clean Air act is helping the environment, the EPA, and the federal government, in reality all it is doing is explaining the new permit system that allows permit holders to release pollutants into the environment. Group Terminology Depending on your purpose, however, some terms that may be considered euphemisms may be appropriate or even sanctioned by groups they affect. For example, it is more correct to say "persons with disabilities" or "differently-abled persons" than to call someone "handicapped" "crippled" or even "disabled." In these cases, it is important to use what is considered correct by the group in question. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This handout will cover some of the major issues with appropriate language use: levels of language formality, deceitful language and Euphemisms, slang and idiomatic expressions; using group-specific jargon; and biased/stereotypical language. Stereotypes and Biased Language Avoid using language that is stereotypical or biased in any way. Biased language frequently occurs with gender, but can also offend groups of people based on sexual orientation, ethnicity, political interest, or race. Stereotyped Language Stereotyped language is any that assumes a stereotype about a group of people. For example, don't assume a common stereotype about blonde women: Incorrect: Although she was blonde, Mary was still intelligent. Revised: Mary was intelligent.

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Non-Sexist language Writing in a non-sexist, non-biased way is both ethically sound and effective. Non-sexist writing is necessary for most audiences; if you write in a sexist manner and alienate much of your audience from your discussion, your writing will be much less effective. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) suggests the following guidelines: Generic Use Although MAN in its original sense carried the dual meaning of adult human and adult male, its meaning has come to be so closely identified with adult male that the generic use of MAN and other words with masculine markers should be avoided.

• •

Original: mankind Alternatives: humanity, people, human beings

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Original:man's achievements Alternative: human achievements

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Original: man-made Alternatives: synthetic, manufactured, machine-made

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Original: the common man Alternatives: the average person, ordinary people

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Original: man the stockroom Alternative: staff the stockroom

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Original: nine man-hours Alternative: nine staff-hours

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Occupations Avoid the use of MAN in occupational terms when persons holding the job could be either male or female. • •

Original: chairman Alternatives: coordinator (of a committee or department), moderator (of a meeting), presiding officer, head, chair

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Original: businessman Alternatives: business executive, business person

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Original: fireman Alternative: firefighter

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Original: mailman Alternative: mail carrier

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Original: steward and stewardess Alternative: flight attendant

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Original: policeman and policewoman Alternative: police officer

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Original: congressman Alternative: congressional representative

Historically, some jobs have been dominated by one gender or the other. This has lead to the tendency for a person of the opposite gender to be "marked" by adding a reference to gender. You should avoid marking the gender in this fashion in your writing. • •

Original: male nurse Alternative: nurse

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Original: woman doctor Alternative: doctor

Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: This handout will cover some of the major issues with appropriate language use: levels of language formality, deceitful language and Euphemisms, slang and idiomatic expressions; using group-specific jargon; and biased/stereotypical language.

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Appropriate Pronoun Usage Because English has no generic singular—or common-sex—pronoun, we have used HE, HIS, and HIM in such expressions as "the student needs HIS pencil." When we constantly personify "the judge," "the critic," "the executive," "the author," and so forth, as male by using the pronoun HE, we are subtly conditioning ourselves against the idea of a female judge, critic, executive, or author. There are several alternative approaches for ending the exclusion of women that results from the pervasive use of masculine pronouns. Recast into the plural • •

Original: Give each student his paper as soon as he is finished. Alternative: Give students their papers as soon as they are finished.

Reword to eliminate gender problems. • •

Original: The average student is worried about his grade. Alternative: The average student is worried about grades.

Replace the masculine pronoun with ONE, YOU, or (sparingly) HE OR SHE, as appropriate. • •

Original: If the student was satisfied with his performance on the pretest, he took the post-test.. Alternative: A student who was satisfied with her or his performance on the pretest took the post-test.

Alternate male and female examples and expressions. (Be careful not to confuse the reader.) • •

Original: Let each student participate. Has he had a chance to talk? Could he feel left out? Alternative: Let each student participate. Has she had a chance to talk? Could he feel left out?

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Indefinite Pronouns Using the masculine pronouns to refer to an indefinite pronoun (everybody, everyone, anybody, anyone) also has the effect of excluding women. In all but strictly formal uses, plural pronouns have become acceptable substitutes for the masculine singular. • •

Original: Anyone who wants to go to the game should bring his money tomorrow. Alternative: Anyone who wants to go to the game should bring their money tomorrow.

An alternative to this is merely changing the sentence. English is very flexible, so there is little reason to "write yourself into a corner": • •

Original: Anyone who wants to go to the game should bring his money. Alternative: People who want to go to the game should bring their money.

Conciseness The goal of concise writing is to use the most effective words. Concise writing does not always have the fewest words, but it always uses the strongest ones. Writers often fill sentences with weak or unnecessary words that can be deleted or replaced. Words and phrases should be deliberately chosen for the work they are doing. Like bad employees, words that don't accomplish enough should be fired. When only the most effective words remain, writing will be far more concise and readable. This resource contains general conciseness tips followed by very specific strategies for pruning sentences. 1. Replace several vague words with more powerful and specific words. Often, writers use several small and ambiguous words to express a concept, wasting energy expressing ideas better relayed through fewer specific words. As a general rule, more specific words lead to more concise writing. Because of the variety of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, most things have a closely corresponding description. Brainstorming or searching a thesaurus can lead to the word best suited for a specific instance. Notice that the examples below actually convey more as they drop in word count. Wordy: The politician talked about several of the merits of after-school programs in his speech (14 words) Concise: The politician touted after-school programs in his speech. (8 words) Wordy: Suzie believed but could not confirm that Billy had feelings of affection for her. (14 words)

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Concise: Suzie assumed that Billy adored her. (6 words) Wordy: Our website has made available many of the things you can use for making a decision on the best dentist. (20 words) Concise: Our website presents criteria for determining the best dentist. (9 words) Wordy: Working as a pupil under someone who develops photos was an experience that really helped me learn a lot. (20 words) Concise: Working as a photo technician's apprentice was an educational experience. (10 words) 2. Interrogate every word in a sentence Check every word to make sure that it is providing something important and unique to a sentence. If words are dead weight, they can be deleted or replaced. Other sections in this handout cover this concept more specifically, but there are some general examples below containing sentences with words that could be cut. Wordy: The teacher demonstrated some of the various ways and methods for cutting words from my essay that I had written for class. (22 words) Concise: The teacher demonstrated methods for cutting words from my essay. (10 words) Wordy: Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood formed a new band of musicians together in 1969, giving it the ironic name of Blind Faith because early speculation that was spreading everywhere about the band suggested that the new musical group would be good enough to rival the earlier bands that both men had been in, Cream and Traffic, which people had really liked and had been very popular. (66 words) Concise: Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood formed a new band in 1969, ironically naming it Blind Faith because speculation suggested that the group would rival the musicians’ previous popular bands, Cream and Traffic. (32 words) Wordy: Many have made the wise observation that when a stone is in motion rolling down a hill or incline that that moving stone is not as likely to be covered all over with the kind of thick green moss that grows on stationary unmoving things and becomes a nuisance and suggests that those things haven’t moved in a long time and probably won’t move any time soon. (67 words) Concise: A rolling stone gathers no moss. (6 words) 3. Combine Sentences. Some information does not require a full sentence, and can easily be inserted into another sentence without losing any of its value. To get more strategies for sentence combining, see the handout on Sentence Variety. Wordy: Ludwig's castles are an astounding marriage of beauty and madness. By his death, he had commissioned three castles. (18 words) Concise: Ludwig's three castles are an astounding marriage of beauty and madness. (11 words) Wordy: The supposed crash of a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico aroused interest in extraterrestrial life. This crash is rumored to have occurred in 1947. (24 words) Concise: The supposed 1947 crash of a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico aroused interest in extraterrestrial life. (16 words) Contributors:Ryan Weber, Nick Hurm. Summary:

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This resource will help you write clearly by eliminating unnecessary words and rearranging your phrases. Eliminating Words 1. Eliminate words that explain the obvious or provide excessive detail Always consider readers while drafting and revising writing. If passages explain or describe details that would already be obvious to readers, delete or reword them. Readers are also very adept at filling in the non-essential aspects of a narrative, as in the fourth example. Wordy: I received your inquiry that you wrote about tennis rackets yesterday, and read it thoroughly. Yes, we do have... (19 words) Concise: I received your inquiry about tennis rackets yesterday. Yes, we do have...(12 words) Wordy: It goes without saying that we are acquainted with your policy on filing tax returns, and we have every intention of complying with the regulations that you have mentioned. (29 words) Concise: We intend to comply with the tax-return regulations that you have mentioned. (12 words) Wordy: Imagine a mental picture of someone engaged in the intellectual activity of trying to learn what the rules are for how to play the game of chess. (27 words) Concise: Imagine someone trying to learn the rules of chess. (9 words) Wordy: After booking a ticket to Dallas from a travel agent, I packed my bags and arranged for a taxi to the airport. Once there, I checked in, went through security, and was ready to board. But problems beyond my control led to a three-hour delay before takeoff. (47 words) Concise: My flight to Dallas was delayed for three hours. (9 words) Wordy: Baseball, one of our oldest and most popular outdoor summer sports in terms of total attendance at ball parks and viewing on television, has the kind of rhythm of play on the field that alternates between times when players passively wait with no action taking place between the pitches to the batter and then times when they explode into action as the batter hits a pitched ball to one of the players and the player fields it. (77 words) Concise: Baseball has a rhythm that alternates between waiting and explosive action. (11 words) 2. Eliminate unnecessary determiners and modifiers Writers sometimes clog up their prose with one or more extra words or phrases that seem to determine narrowly or to modify the meaning of a noun but don't actually add to the meaning of the sentence. Although such words and phrases can be meaningful in the appropriate context, they are often used as "filler" and can easily be eliminated. Wordy: Any particular type of dessert is fine with me. (9 words) Concise: Any dessert is fine with me. (6 words) Wordy: Balancing the budget by Friday is an impossibility without some kind of extra help. (14 words) Concise: Balancing the budget by Friday is impossible without extra help. (10 words)

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Wordy: For all intents and purposes, American industrial productivity generally depends on certain factors that are really more psychological in kind than of any given technological aspect. (26 words) Concise: American industrial productivity depends more on psychological than on technological factors. (11 words) Here's a list of some words and phrases that can often be pruned away to make sentences clearer: • • • • • • • • • • • •

kind of sort of type of really basically for all intents and purposes definitely actually generally individual specific particular

3. Omit repetitive wording Watch for phrases or longer passages which repeat words with similar meanings. Words that don't build on the content of sentences or paragraphs are rarely necessary. Wordy: I would appreciate it if you would bring to the attention of your drafting officers the administrator's dislike of long sentences and paragraphs in messages to the field and in other items drafted for her signature or approval, as well as in all correspondence, reports, and studies. Please encourage your section to keep their sentences short. (56 words) Concise: Please encourage your drafting officers to keep sentences and paragraphs in letters, reports, and studies short. Dr. Lomas, the administrator, has mentioned that reports and memos drafted for her approval recently have been wordy and thus time-consuming. (37 words) Wordy: The supply manager considered the correcting typewriter an unneeded luxury. (10 words) Concise: The supply manager considered the correcting typewriter a luxury. (9 words) Wordy: Our branch office currently employs five tellers. These tellers do an excellent job Monday through Thursday but cannot keep up with the rush on Friday and Saturday. (27 words) Concise: Our branch office currently employs five tellers, who do an excellent job Monday through Thursday but cannot keep up with Friday and Saturday rush periods. (25 words)

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4. Omit Redundant Pairs Many pairs of words imply each other. Finish implies complete, so the phrase completely finish is redundant in most cases. So are many other pairs of words: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

past memories various differences each individual _______ basic fundamentals true facts important essentials future plans terrible tragedy end result final outcome free gift past history unexpected surprise sudden crisis

A related expression that's not redundant as much as it is illogical is "very unique." Since unique means "one of a kind," adding modifiers of degree such as "very," "so," "especially," "somewhat," "extremely," and so on is illogical. One-of-a-kind-ness has no gradations; something is either unique or it is not. Wordy: Before the travel agent was completely able to finish explaining the various differences among all of the many very unique vacation packages his travel agency was offering, the customer changed her future plans. (33 words) Concise: Before the travel agent finished explaining the differences among the unique vacation packages his travel agency was offering, the customer changed her plans. (23 words) 5. Omit Redundant Categories Specific words imply their general categories, so we usually don't have to state both. We know that a period is a segment of time, that pink is a color, that shiny is an appearance. In each of the following phrases, the general category term can be dropped, leaving just the specific descriptive word: • • • • •

large in size often times of a bright color heavy in weight period in time

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• • • • • • • • • •

round in shape at an early time economics field of cheap quality honest in character of an uncertain condition in a confused state unusual in nature extreme in degree of a strange type

Wordy: During that time period, many car buyers preferred cars that were pink in color and shiny in appearance. (18 words) Concise: During that period, many car buyers preferred pink, shiny cars. (10 words) Wordy: The microscope revealed a group of organisms that were round in shape and peculiar in nature. (16 words) Concise: The microscope revealed a group of peculiar, round organisms. (9 words) Contributors:Ryan Weber, Nick Hurm. Summary: This resource will help you write clearly by eliminating unnecessary words and rearranging your phrases. Changing Phrases 1. Change phrases into single-words and adjectives Using phrases to convey meaning that could be presented in a single word contributes to wordiness. Convert phrases into single words when possible. Wordy: The employee with ambition... (4 words) Concise: The ambitious employee... (3 words) Wordy: The department showing the best performance... (6 words) Concise: The best-performing department... (4 words) Wordy: Jeff Converse, our chief of consulting, suggested at our last board meeting the installation of microfilm equipment in the department of data processing. (23 words) Concise: At our last board meeting, Chief Consultant Jeff Converse suggested that we install microfilm equipment in the data processing department. (20 words) Wordy: We read the letter we received yesterday and reviewed it thoroughly. Concise: We thorougly read the letter we received yesterday. Wordy: As you carefully read what you have written to improve your wording and catch small errors of spelling, punctuation, and so on, the thing to do before you do anything else is to try to see where a series of words expressing action could replace the ideas found in nouns rather than verbs. (53 words) Concise: As you edit, first find nominalizations that you can replace with verb phrases. (13 words)

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2. Change unnecessary that, who, and which clauses into phrases Using a clause to convey meaning that could be presented in a phrase or even a word contributes to wordiness. Convert modifying clauses into phrases or single words when possible. Wordy: The report, which was released recently... (6 words) Concise: The recently released report... (4 words) Wordy: All applicants who are interested in the job must... (9 words) Concise: All job applicants must... (4 words) Wordy: The system that is most efficient and accurate... (8 words) Concise: The most efficient and accurate system... (6 words)' 3. Change Passive Verbs into Active Verbs See our document on active and passive voice for a more thorough explanation of this topic. Wordy: An account was opened by Mrs. Simms. (7 words) Concise: Mrs. Simms opened an account. (5 words) Wordy: Your figures were checked by the research department. (8 words) Concise: The research department checked your figures. (6 words) Contributors:Ryan Weber, Nick Hurm. Summary: This resource will help you write clearly by eliminating unnecessary words and rearranging your phrases. Avoid Common Pitfalls 1. Avoid overusing expletives at the beginning of sentences Expletives are phrases of the form it + be-verb or there + be-verb. Such expressions can be rhetorically effective for emphasis in some situations, but overuse or unnecessary use of expletive constructions creates wordy prose. Take the following example: "It is imperative that we find a solution." The same meaning could be expressed with this more succinct wording: "We must find a solution." But using the expletive construction allows the writer to emphasize the urgency of the situation by placing the word imperative near the beginning of the sentence, so the version with the expletive may be preferable. Still, you should generally avoid excessive or unnecessary use of expletives. The most common kind of unnecessary expletive construction involves an expletive followed by a noun and a relative clause beginning with that, which, or who. In most cases, concise sentences can be created by eliminating the expletive opening, making the noun the subject of the sentence, and eliminating the relative pronoun. Wordy: It is the governor who signs or vetoes bills. (9 words) Concise: The governor signs or vetoes bills. (6 words)

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Wordy: There are four rules that should be observed: ... (8 words) Concise: Four rules should be observed:... (5 words) Wordy: There was a big explosion, which shook the windows, and people ran into the street. (15 words) Concise: A big explosion shook the windows, and people ran into the street. (12 words) 2. Avoid overusing noun forms of verbs Use verbs when possible rather than noun forms known as nominalizations. Sentences with many nominalizations usually have forms of be as the main verbs. Using the action verbs disguised in nominalizations as the main verbs--instead of forms of be--can help to create engaging rather than dull prose. Wordy: The function of this department is the collection of accounts. (10 words) Concise: This department collects accounts. (4 words) Wordy: The current focus of the medical profession is disease prevention. (10 words) Concise: The medical profession currently focuses on disease prevention. (8 words) 3. Avoid unnecessary infinitive phrases Some infinitive phrases can be converted into finite verbs or brief noun phrases. Making such changes also often results in the replacement of a be-verb with an action verb. Wordy: The duty of a clerk is to check all incoming mail and to record it. (15 words) Concise: A clerk checks and records all incoming mail. (8 words) Wordy: A shortage of tellers at our branch office on Friday and Saturday during rush hours has caused customers to become dissatisfied with service. (23 words) Concise: A teller shortage at our branch office on Friday and Saturday during rush hours has caused customer dissatisfaction. (18 words) 4. Avoid circumlocutions in favor of direct expressions Circumlocutions are commonly used roundabout expressions that take several words to say what could be said more succinctly. We often overlook them because many such expressions are habitual figures of speech. In writing, though, they should be avoided since they add extra words without extra meaning. Of course, occasionally you may for rhetorical effect decide to use, say, an expletive construction instead of a more succinct expression. These guidelines should be taken as general recommendations, not absolute rules. Wordy: At this/that point in time... (2/4 words) Concise: Now/then... (1 word) Wordy: In accordance with your request... (5 words) Concise: As you requested... (3 words)

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Below are some other words which may simplify lengthier circumlocutions. •

"because," "since," "why" = o the reason for o for the reason that o owing/due to the fact that o in light of the fact that o considering the fact that o on the grounds that o this is why

•

"when" = o on the occasion of o in a situation in which o under circumstances in which

•

"about" = o as regards o in reference to o with regard to o concerning the matter of o where ________ is concerned

•

"must," "should" = o it is crucial that o it is necessary that o there is a need/necessity for o it is important that o cannot be avoided

•

"can" = o is able to o has the opportunity to o has the capacity for o has the ability to

•

"may," "might," "could" = o it is possible that o there is a chance that o it could happen that o the possibility exists for

Wordy: It is possible that nothing will come of these preparations. (10 words) Concise: Nothing may come of these preparations. (6 words)

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Wordy: She has the ability to influence the outcome. (8 words) Concise: She can influence the outcome. (5 words) Wordy: It is necessary that we take a stand on this pressing issue. (12 words) Concise: We must take a stand on this pressing issue. (9 words) Copyright ©1995-2013 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/1/

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On Paragraphs What is a paragraph? A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. Learning to write good paragraphs will help you as a writer stay on track during your drafting and revision stages. Good paragraphing also greatly assists your readers in following a piece of writing. You can have fantastic ideas, but if those ideas aren't presented in an organized fashion, you will lose your readers (and fail to achieve your goals in writing). The Basic Rule: Keep One Idea to One Paragraph The basic rule of thumb with paragraphing is to keep one idea to one paragraph. If you begin to transition into a new idea, it belongs in a new paragraph. There are some simple ways to tell if you are on the same topic or a new one. You can have one idea and several bits of supporting evidence within a single paragraph. You can also have several points in a single paragraph as long as they relate to the overall topic of the paragraph. If the single points start to get long, then perhaps elaborating on each of them and placing them in their own paragraphs is the route to go. Elements of a Paragraph To be as effective as possible, a paragraph should contain each of the following: Unity, Coherence, A Topic Sentence, and Adequate Development. As you will see, all of these traits overlap. Using and adapting them to your individual purposes will help you construct effective paragraphs. Unity The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus. If it begins with a one focus or major point of discussion, it should not end with another or wander within different ideas. Coherence Coherence is the trait that makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader. You can help create coherence in your paragraphs by creating logical bridges and verbal bridges. Logical bridges • •

The same idea of a topic is carried over from sentence to sentence Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel form

Verbal bridges • • •

Key words can be repeated in several sentences Synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences

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•

Transition words can be used to link ideas from different sentences

A topic sentence A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going to deal with. Although not all paragraphs have clear-cut topic sentences, and despite the fact that topic sentences can occur anywhere in the paragraph (as the first sentence, the last sentence, or somewhere in the middle), an easy way to make sure your reader understands the topic of the paragraph is to put your topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph. (This is a good general rule for less experienced writers, although it is not the only way to do it). Regardless of whether you include an explicit topic sentence or not, you should be able to easily summarize what the paragraph is about. Adequate development The topic (which is introduced by the topic sentence) should be discussed fully and adequately. Again, this varies from paragraph to paragraph, depending on the author's purpose, but writers should beware of paragraphs that only have two or three sentences. It's a pretty good bet that the paragraph is not fully developed if it is that short. Some methods to make sure your paragraph is well-developed: • • • • • • • • • • •

Use examples and illustrations Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others) Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases) Use an anecdote or story Define terms in the paragraph Compare and contrast Evaluate causes and reasons Examine effects and consequences Analyze the topic Describe the topic Offer a chronology of an event (time segments)

How do I know when to start a new paragraph? You should start a new paragraph when: •

• •

When you begin a new idea or point. New ideas should always start in new paragraphs. If you have an extended idea that spans multiple paragraphs, each new point within that idea should have its own paragraph. To contrast information or ideas. Separate paragraphs can serve to contrast sides in a debate, different points in an argument, or any other difference. When your readers need a pause. Breaks in paragraphs function as a short "break" for your readers—adding these in will help your writing more readable. You would create a break if the paragraph becomes too long or the material is complex.

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•

When you are ending your introduction or starting your conclusion. Your introductory and concluding material should always be in a new paragraph. Many introductions and conclusions have multiple paragraphs depending on their content, length, and the writer's purpose.

Transitions and Signposts Two very important elements of paragraphing are signposts and transitions. Signposts are internal aids to assist readers; they usually consist of several sentences or a paragraph outlining what the article has covered and where the article will be going. Transitions are usually one or several sentences that "transition" from one idea to the next. Transitions can be used at the end of most paragraphs to help the paragraphs flow one into the next. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary: The purpose of this handout is to give some basic instruction and advice regarding the creation of understandable and coherent paragraphs. Paragraphing (Length Consistency) Paragraphs are units of thought with one idea developed adequately. Listed here are some rules of thumb to use when paragraphing. As your writing improves, you'll be able to break these "rules" to meet your own needs. Until then, these suggestions can be helpful: • • • • •

Put only one main idea per paragraph. Aim for three to five or more sentences per paragraph. Include on each page about two handwritten or three typed paragraphs. Make your paragraphs proportional to your paper. Since paragraphs do less work in short papers, have short paragraphs for short papers and longer paragraphs for longer papers. If you have a few very short paragraphs, think about whether they are really parts of a larger paragraph—and can be combined—or whether you can add details to support each point and thus make each into a more fully developed paragraph.

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Strategies for Variation This resource presents methods for adding sentence variety and complexity to writing that may sound repetitive or boring. Sections are divided into general tips for varying structure, a discussion of sentence types, and specific parts of speech which can aid in sentence variety. Adding sentence variety to prose can give it life and rhythm. Too many sentences with the same structure and length can grow monotonous for readers. Varying sentence style and structure can also reduce repetition and add emphasis. Long sentences work well for incorporating a lot of information, and short sentences can often maximize crucial points. These general tips may help add variety to similar sentences. 1. Vary the rhythm by alternating short and long sentences. Several sentences of the same length can make for bland writing. To enliven paragraphs, write sentences of different lengths. This will also allow for effective emphasis. Example: The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some native American art. In Anchorage stores they found some excellent examples of soapstone carvings. But they couldn't find a dealer selling any of the woven wall hangings they wanted. They were very disappointed when they left Anchorage empty-handed. Revision: The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some native American art, such as soapstone carvings and wall hangings. Anchorage stores had many soapstone items available. Still, they were disappointed to learn that wall hangings, which they had especially wanted, were difficult to find. Sadly, they left empty-handed. Example: Many really good blues guitarists have all had the last name King. They have been named Freddie King and Albert King and B.B. King. The name King must make a bluesman a really good bluesman. The bluesmen named King have all been very talented and good guitar players. The claim that a name can make a guitarist good may not be that far fetched. Revision: What makes a good bluesman? Maybe, just maybe, it's all in a stately name. B.B. King. Freddie King. Albert King. It's no coincidence that they're the royalty of their genre. When their fingers dance like court jesters, their guitars gleam like scepters, and their voices bellow like regal trumpets, they seem almost like nobility. Hearing their music is like walking into the throne room. They really are kings. 2. Vary sentence openings. If too many sentences start with the same word, especially "The," "It," "This," or "I," prose can grow tedious for readers, so changing opening words and phrases can be refreshing. Below are alternative openings for a fairly standard sentence. Notice that different beginnings can alter not only the structure but also the emphasis of the sentence. They may also require rephrasing in sentences before or after this one, meaning that one change could lead to an abundance of sentence variety.

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Example: The biggest coincidence that day happened when David and I ended up sitting next to each other at the Super Bowl. Possible Revisions: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Coincidentally, David and I ended up sitting right next to each other at the Super Bowl. In an amazing coincidence, David and I ended up sitting next to each other at the Super Bowl. Sitting next to David at the Super Bowl was a tremendous coincidence. But the biggest coincidence that day happened when David and I ended up sitting next to each other at the Super Bowl. When I sat down at the Super Bowl, I realized that, by sheer coincidence, I was directly next to David. By sheer coincidence, I ended up sitting directly next to David at the Super Bowl. With over 50,000 fans at the Super Bowl, it took an incredible coincidence for me to end up sitting right next to David. What are the odds that I would have ended up sitting right next to David at the Super Bowl? David and I, without any prior planning, ended up sitting right next to each other at the Super Bowl. Without any prior planning, David and I ended up sitting right next to each other at the Super Bowl. At the crowded Super Bowl, packed with 50,000 screaming fans, David and I ended up sitting right next to each other by sheer coincidence. Though I hadn't made any advance arrangements with David, we ended up sitting right next to each other at the Super Bowl. Many amazing coincidences occurred that day, but nothing topped sitting right next to David at the Super Bowl. Unbelievable, I know, but David and I ended up sitting right next to each other at the Super Bowl. Guided by some bizarre coincidence, David and I ended up sitting right next to each other at the Super Bowl.

Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource presents methods for adding sentence variety and complexity to writing that may sound repetitive or boring. Sections are divided into general tips for varying structure, a discussion of sentence types, and specific parts of speech which can aid in sentence variety. Sentence Types Structurally, English sentences can be classified four different ways, though there are endless constructions of each. The classifications are based on the number of independent and dependent clauses a sentence contains. An independent clause forms a complete sentence on its own, while a dependent clause needs another clause to make a complete sentence. By learning these types, writers can add complexity and variation to their sentences.

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Simple sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and no dependent clauses. • •

My aunt enjoyed taking the hayride with you. China's Han Dynasty marked an official recognition of Confucianism.

Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses but no dependent clauses. • •

The clown frightened the little girl, and she ran off screaming. The Freedom Riders departed on May 4, 1961, and they were determined to travel through many southern states.

Complex Sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. • •

After Mary added up all the sales, she discovered that the lemonade stand was 32 cents short While all of his paintings are fascinating, Hieronymus Bosch's triptychs, full of mayhem and madness, are the real highlight of his art.

Complex-Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. •

Catch-22 is widely regarded as Joseph Heller's best novel, and because Heller served in World War II, which the novel satirizes, the zany but savage wit of the novel packs an extra punch.

Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource presents methods for adding sentence variety and complexity to writing that may sound repetitive or boring. Sections are divided into general tips for varying structure, a discussion of sentence types, and specific parts of speech which can aid in sentence variety. For Short, Choppy Sentences If your writing contains lots of short sentences that give it a choppy rhythm, consider these tips. 1. Combine Sentences With Conjunctions: Join complete sentences, clauses, and phrases with conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, yet, for, so Example: Doonesbury cartoons satirize contemporary politics. Readers don't always find this funny. They demand that newspapers not carry the strip.

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Revision: Doonesbury cartoons laugh at contemporary politicians, but readers don't always find this funny and demand that newspapers not carry the strip. 2. Link Sentences Through Subordination: Link two related sentences to each other so that one carries the main idea and the other is no longer a complete sentence (subordination). Use connectors such as the ones listed below to show the relationship. after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, if only, rather than, since, that, though, unless, until, when, where, whereas, wherever, whether, which, while Example: The campus parking problem is getting worse. The university is not building any new garages. Revision: The campus parking problem is getting worse because the university is not building any new garages. Example: The US has been highly dependent on foreign oil for many years. Alternate sources of energy are only now being sought. Revision: Although the US has been highly dependent on foreign oil for many years, alternate sources are only now being sought. Notice in these examples that the location of the clause beginning with the dependent marker (the connector word) is flexible. This flexibility can be useful in creating varied rhythmic patterns over the course of a paragraph. Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource presents methods for adding sentence variety and complexity to writing that may sound repetitive or boring. Sections are divided into general tips for varying structure, a discussion of sentence types, and specific parts of speech which can aid in sentence variety. For Repeated Subjects or Topics Handling the same topic for several sentences can lead to repetitive sentences. When that happens, consider using these parts of speech to fix the problem. 1. Relative pronouns Embed one sentence inside the other using a clause starting with one of the relative pronouns listed below. which, who, whoever, whom, that, whose Example: Indiana used to be mainly an agricultural state. It has recently attracted more industry. Revision: Indiana, which used to be mainly an agricultural state, has recently attracted more industry. Example: One of the cameras was not packed very well. It was damaged during the move.

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Revision: The camera that was not packed very well was damaged during the move. Example: The experiment failed because of Murphy's Law. This law states that if something can go wrong, it will. Revision: The experiment failed because of Murphy's Law, which states that if something can go wrong, it will. Example: Doctor Ramirez specializes in sports medicine. She helped my cousin recover from a basketball injury. Revision 1: Doctor Ramirez, who specializes in sports medicine, helped my cousin recover from a basketball injury. Revision 2: Doctor Ramirez, whose specialty is sports medicine, helped my cousin recover from a basketball injury. 2. Participles Eliminate a be verb (am, is, was, were, are) and substitute a participle: Present participles end in -ing, for example: speaking, carrying, wearing, dreaming. Past participles usually end in -ed, -en, -d, -n, or -t but can be irregular, for example: worried, eaten, saved, seen, dealt, taught. Example: Wei Xie was surprised to get a phone call from his sister. He was happy to hear her voice again. Revision 1: Wei Xie, surprised to get a phone call from his sister, was happy to hear her voice again. Revision 2: Surprised to get a phone call from his sister, Wei Xie was happy to hear her voice again. 3. Prepositions Turn a sentence into a prepositional phrase using one of the words below: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, near, next to, of, off, on, out, over, past, to, under, until, up, with Example: The university has been facing pressure to cut its budget. It has eliminated funding for important programs. (two independent clauses) Revision: Under pressure to cut its budget, the university has eliminated funding for important programs. (prepositional phrase, independent clause) Example: Billy snuck a cookie from the dessert table. This was against his mother's wishes. Revision: Against his mother's wishes, Billy snuck a cookie from the dessert table. Contributors:Ryan Weber, Allen Brizee. Summary: This resource presents methods for adding sentence variety and complexity to writing that may sound repetitive or boring. Sections are divided into general tips for varying structure, a discussion of sentence types, and specific parts of speech which can aid in sentence variety.

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For Similar Sentence Patterns or Rhythms When several sentences have similar patterns or rhythms, try using the following kinds of words to shake up the writing. 1. Dependent markers Put clauses and phrases with the listed dependent markers at the beginning of some sentences instead of starting each sentence with the subject: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while Example: The room fell silent when the TV newscaster reported the story of the earthquake. Revision: When the TV newscaster reported the story of the earthquake, the room fell silent. Example: Thieves made off with Edvard Munch's The Scream before police could stop them. Revision: Before police could stop them, thieves made off with Edvard Munch's The Scream. 2. Transitional words and phrases Vary the rhythm by adding transitional words at the beginning of some sentences: accordingly, after all, afterward, also, although, and, but, consequently, despite, earlier, even though, for example, for instance, however, in conclusion, in contrast, in fact, in the meantime, in the same way, indeed, just as... so, meanwhile, moreover, nevertheless, not only... but also, now, on the contrary, on the other hand, on the whole, otherwise, regardless, shortly, similarly, specifically, still, that is, then, therefore, though, thus, yet Example: Fast food corporations are producing and advertising bigger items and high-fat combination meals. The American population faces a growing epidemic of obesity. Revision: Fast food corporations are producing and advertising bigger items and high-fat combination meals. Meanwhile, the American population faces a growing epidemic of obesity. Copyright ÂŠ1995-2013 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/573/1/ This resource presents methods for adding sentence variety and complexity to writing that may sound repetitive or boring. Sections are divided into general tips for varying structure, a discussion of sentence types, and specific parts of speech which can aid in sentence variety.

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Strategies for Variation

Adding sentence variety to prose can give it life and rhythm. Too many sentences with the same structure and length can grow monotonous for readers. Varying sentence style and structure can also reduce repetition and add emphasis. Long sentences work well for incorporating a lot of information, and short sentences can often maximize crucial points. These general tips may help add variety to similar sentences. 1. Vary the rhythm by alternating short and long sentences. Several sentences of the same length can make for bland writing. To enliven paragraphs, write sentences of different lengths. This will also allow for effective emphasis. Example: The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some native American art. In Anchorage stores they found some excellent examples of soapstone carvings. But they couldn't find a dealer selling any of the woven wall hangings they wanted. They were very disappointed when they left Anchorage empty-handed. Revision: The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some native American art, such as soapstone carvings and wall hangings. Anchorage stores had many soapstone items available. Still, they were disappointed to learn that wall hangings, which they had especially wanted, were difficult to find. Sadly, they left empty-handed. Example: Many really good blues guitarists have all had the last name King. They have been named Freddie King and Albert King and B.B. King. The name King must make a bluesman a really good bluesman. The bluesmen named King have all been very talented and good guitar players. The claim that a name can make a guitarist good may not be that far fetched. Revision: What makes a good bluesman? Maybe, just maybe, it's all in a stately name. B.B. King. Freddie King. Albert King. It's no coincidence that they're the royalty of their genre. When their fingers dance like court jesters, their guitars gleam like scepters, and their voices bellow like regal trumpets, they seem almost like nobility. Hearing their music is like walking into the throne room. They really are kings. 2. Vary sentence openings. If too many sentences start with the same word, especially "The," "It," "This," or "I," prose can grow tedious for readers, so changing opening words and phrases can be refreshing. Below are alternative openings for a fairly standard sentence. Notice that different beginnings can alter not only the structure but also the emphasis of the sentence. They may also require rephrasing in sentences before or after this one, meaning that one change could lead to an abundance of sentence variety.

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Structurally, English sentences can be classified four different ways, though there are endless constructions of each. The classifications are based on the number of independent and dependent clauses a sentence contains. An independent clause forms a complete sentence on its own, while a dependent clause needs another clause to make a complete sentence. By learning these types, writers can add complexity and variation to their sentences.

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