Thursday, April 23, 2009

Writing in Discipline

The emphasis of the course is on the principles in and properties of effective writing specifically unity, coherence, and emphasis. The students will learn to write by employing different techniques and styles.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Wrting in Discipline

The emphasis of the course is on the principles in and properties of effective writing specifically unity, coherence, and emphasis. The students will learn to write by employing different techniques and styles.

PRE-WRITING

Pre-writing is a way of organizing your thoughts and beginning to put the information you have on paper. It is best to do a pre-writing activity before you actually begin writing your paper or essay.

You should use prewriting to . . .

• think more clearly
• see a start of your paper
• keep track of your ideas
• practice expressing yourself in writing

What do you need:

Adequate Time for focus
• Clear Study Area to eliminate distractions
• Notes on ideas from your research
• Target audience. Your professors, an age group, a friend, a profession, etc.
• Preparation and research will focus on main concepts.
What you do not need:

• Title or Introduction summarizes this when you create a rough draft.
• References works, print-outs and quotes, etc. Rely on your notes and don’t overwhelm your self with facts. Details can be added; you now want to focus on your argument.
• Edits! Do not revise as you write, or correct spelling, punctuation, etc. Just write, write, and write. Your first draft is revised and organized “after.”

Monday, April 20, 2009

UNDERSTANDING THE PARAGRAPH

What is paragraph?

A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all related to a single topic. Almost every piece of writing you do that is longer than a few sentences should be organized into paragraphs.
Paragraphs are basic structural units of extended prose writing.
A paragraph can identify an idea, develop it with illustrations and details and reinforce with a conclusion.

The Basic Parts of a Paragraph

Topic Sentence

The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about. It also helps you keep your writing under control. This is why a topic sentence is sometimes called the "controlling idea" of a paragraph. Below you will find a sample topic sentence and a simple formula for writing good topic sentences:
Topic sentence: Mr. Brown must have been a drill sergeant before he became our gym teacher.
Formula: A specific subject (Mr. Brown, our gym teacher) + a specific feeling or attitude (must have been a drill sergeant before) = a good topic sentence.


Body


The body is the main part of the paragraph. This is where you tell the reader about your topic by including specific details. All of the sentences in the body must relate to the specific topic of the paragraph and help it come alive for the reader. That is, all of the sentences in the body should contain details that make the topic more interesting or help explain it more clearly. These sentences should be organized in the best possible order.

Concluding Remarks

The closing or clincher sentence comes after all the details have been included in the body of the paragraph. The closing sentence reminds the reader what the topic of the paragraph is really all about, what it means. For example, let's say the topic sentence of a paragraph is "Mr. Brown must have been a drill sergeant before he became our gym teacher." A closing sentence for this paragraph could be something like the following:
Closing sentence: I'm surprised that Mr. Brown doesn't make us march into the shower room after each class.

Sample Paragraph

My Dog Romeo is so much fun to play with. One reason he’s fun is because he loves to play catch. What’s also fun is that he follows me around the house with a toy and drops it on my foot, so I will kick it. Additionally, he can catch just about anything, but his favorite thing to catch is a Frisbee. Finally, he loves it when I pretend like I’m falling dead, and he runs over to lick me. All these reasons show why I really have fun playing with Romeo.

The paragraph is the main structural unit of any passage. To find a paragraph's purpose, ask yourself
o Why did the author include this paragraph?
o What shift did the author have in mind when moving on to this paragraph?
o What bearing does this paragraph have on the author's main idea?
This process allows you to create a "mental road map" of the passage. You are taking the test on a computer screen. You cannot label the paragraphs. Instead, remember the structure as you proceed and/or use scrap paper to draw a rough diagram of the essay as you go. Some students feel comfortable drawing the diagram. There are two purposes to creating a map of the essay: 1) it will help you better understand the essay and 2) it will help you locate specific details later if you get a specific detail question.

Let's look at the earlier essay:

One of the most persistently troubling parts of national domestic policy is the development and use of water resources. Because the technology of water management involves similar construction skills, whether the task is the building of an ocean jetty for protection of shipping or the construction of a river dam for flood control and irrigation, the issues of water policy have mingled problems of navigation and agriculture. A further inherent complexity of water policy is the frequent conflict between flood control and irrigation, between requirements for abundance and those for scarcity of water. Both problems exist in America, often in the same river basins; the one is most typically the problem of the lower part of the basin and the other the problem of the upper part.

<>

Then there are the problems of cities located along the major American rivers, not infrequently directly on the very flood plains of highly erratic streams. In the arid parts of the land, it has recently become clear that climate varies over time, with irregular periods of serious drought followed by wet periods marked by occasional floods. The problems of land and water, then, are inherently difficult. For this reason alone, shortcomings and failures have probably been inevitable. Moreover, in the scale of the undertakings that have been attempted involving on occasion no less than the reversal of stream flow and the altering of the natural features of whole river basins, it is inevitable.

<>

Nevertheless, the most startling fact about the history of water projects in the United States is the degree to which their shortcomings have been associated with administrative failures. Again and again these shortcomings have proved to be the consequences of inadequate study of water flow, of soils, of factors other than construction technology and of faulty organization. In 1959, the Senate Select Committee on National Water resources found that twenty different national commissions or committees charged with examining these problems and seeking solutions had emphasized with remarkable consistency the need for coordination among agencies dealing with water.

<>

Draw the roadmap:

Paragraph 1. This paragraph is a discussion of the conflicts over scarce water resources (flood control vs. irrigation, lower part vs. higher part of basin).
Paragraph 2. Because climate varies, it creates inherent conflict in how to use a water supply that constantly changes.
Paragraph 3. The major problem with water policy is administrative failures. Coordination is needed between agencies.

If you see how the essay is set up, you will better understand the essay and more quickly find answers.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT

Develop paragraphs in a variety of patterns that reflect your thinking about the material. As you write the topic sentence and its supporting sentences, look for ways to structure your thinking. Where one author advances his or her material by narrating a series of events, another undertakes a physical description and another undertakes an analysis of the topic. These patterns of paragraph development usually emerge in the process of revision. More than one pattern of development may be used in a series of paragraphs.

Use the following methods as paragraph development for your essay. Some methods are good for any audience; for others, you must use your judgment.

Narration develops the topic as a story. Most events are arranged in chronological order (as they occurred). Narration is based on facts and true experiences. Good for audiences who read for more than just information.

Description uses sight, sounds, odors and whatever other sensory detail to let the reader experience the situation under discussion. The audience here is more visual in nature; also this method is good for the audience who needs to see the runaway, the results of a failed experiment, or the nature of your alarm about a particular topic.

Illustration (exemplification) requires in-depth examples. Shows the reader rather than tells. Most audience need a variety of illustration.

Definition specifies what, when, where, how and why of the topic under consideration. If the audience does not know your topic, this is a must. Or if you are trying to display your topic in an unusual manner, use definition.

Division attempts to sub-divide a complex topic. When addressing a complex problem, many audiences will need the writer's aid. Break down the problem into smaller more manageable parts.

Classification works by classifying the problem under discussion with others of its kind. With an antagonistic audience or one who is unfamiliar with your topic, this works well.

Comparison and contrast shows similarities and differences between two like topics. Most audiences appreciate a well-developed compare/contrast paragraph (essay).

Analogy merges the familiar and the unfamiliar. Use for the audience who might be intimidated by your topic. For example, you might draw an analogy between gene splicing (your topic) and the cut/paste command on the computer. However your analogy must be believable!

Cause and effect illustrates how something happened or what the consequences are. Audiences of all types rely on this type of information.

Process analysis gives practical 'how to' information. If you are trying to show your audience how to do something or how something works, this is a must.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

The paragraph that begins an essay causes students the most trouble, yet carries the most importance. Although its precise construction varies from genre to genre (and from essay to essay), good introductory paragraphs generally accomplish the same tasks and follow a few basic patterns. I have listed some of them below, but keep in mind that what follows are guidelines, not immutable templates.

Tasks: The introductory paragraph to a short essay usually attempts to do three things:

• Introduce the topic with some indication of its inherent interest or importance, and a clear definition of the boundaries of the subject area
• Indicate the structure and/or methodology of the essay, often with the major sections of the essay or its structural principle clearly stated
• State the thesis of the essay, preferably in a single, arguable statement with a clear main clause

Not every essay does all three in the first paragraph, and the degree to which an essay declares its structure or methodology may vary widely, depending on how necessary that information will be to the readers. Sometimes, the entire first paragraph will serve no other purpose than to generate interest in the subject or raise a question, leaving the other tasks for the second paragraph. However, this kind of opening requires a lot of skill, and you can lose your readers in the second and third paragraphs if do not make your purpose clear.

Patterns: The standard pattern for an introductory paragraph follows the order of the tasks outlined above. Below is an outline of that pattern, written as if it were the first section of a formal outline of the entire essay:

I: Introduction
A. The topic
1. Its boundaries
2. Why it is interesting
B. Structure and/or Methodology
1. The essay’s main sections (structure)
2. Why they come in that order (structural principle)
3. How the author plans to draw the necessary conclusions from the information available (methodology)
C. The Thesis Statement (usually a single sentence)
1. Its premise (the general claim about the information available)
2. Its conclusion (the consequences of the first claim)

Not every essay contains every element in precisely this order, but most good essays cover all of them, either explicitly or implicitly. In longer and more scholarly essays, the structure/methodology section should be longer, or can even be its own paragraph. It should also include some mention of the essay’s position within the field as a whole.


Your introductory paragraph is extremely important. It sets the tone for the entire paper and introduces your reader to your argument. In almost all cases, you want to be sure the paragraph has the following components: a thesis statement and a preview of how you will make your argument.

Some of the most common problems with introductory paragraphs are:

1) No thesis statement. Remember that your thesis statement needs to be an argument, not simply a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response to the question. What will you argue? Within the thesis statement or in the next sentence you must say something about why you are making that argument. Also, be bold and direct about your thesis. OWN it. Don’t beat around the bush with lots of qualifying statements.

2) No indication to the reader how the argument will be made. In addition to the WHAT question (what will you argue?), there is the HOW question. How will you make your argument? Your introductory paragraph should say something about the logic, evidence or points you will present in support of your thesis.

3) Opening the paper with a discussion of the nature of the universe. Don’t start your paper with huge, sweeping statements about the world. Cut to the chase. What material are you engaging? Who is making what arguments? What do you have to say about those arguments?

4) Sloppy punctuation. Don't frustrate your reader by forgetting to proofread for basic grammar problems. USE THE APOSTROPHE for possessives (i.e., Thompson's book, not Thompsons book). But don’t use apostrophes to say the possessive "its." LEARN HOW TO USE THE COMMA. If you aren’t sure when to use a comma, refer to a style manual or go to the Writing Center technical assistance website.

5) Imprecise word choices. You always want to avoid words that are vague (such as "problematic") but this is particularly true for the introductory paragraph. Your reader will immediately have questions about your meaning. Be as specific as possible. Instead of writing, "Foster’s argument is problematic," (which doesn’t tell your reader very much) think about what aspect of Foster’s argument has a problem and what sort of problem it is. Is it inaccurate? Is it naïve? Inconsistent? Incoherent? Ridiculous?

6) Overuse of quotations. It is usually best not to begin or end your introductory paragraph with a quotation. You weaken your argument by relying on someone else’s words so early on in the paper. If you do quote in the first paragraph, make sure it is short and to the point.

Friday, April 17, 2009

TRANSITION PARAGRAPH

Paragraphs represent the basic unit of composition: one idea, one paragraph. However, to present a clear, unified train of thought to your readers, you must make sure each paragraph follows the one before it and leads to the one after it through clear, logical transitions. Keep in mind that adequate transitions cannot simply be added to the essay without planning. Without a good reason for the sequence of your paragraphs, no transition will help you. Transitions can be made with particular words and phrases created for that purpose--conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases--or they can be implied through a conceptual link.
Conjunctive Adverbs and Transitional Phrases
Conjunctive adverbs modify entire sentences in order to relate them to preceding sentences or paragraphs; good academic writers use many of them, but not so many that they overload the page. Here is a list of some of them, courtesy of The Brief Holt Handbook:

accordingly
also
anyway
besides
certainly
consequently
finally
furthermore
hence
however
incidentally
indeed
instead
likewise
meanwhile
moreover
nevertheless
next
nonetheless
now
otherwise
similarly
still
then
thereafter
therefore
thus
undoubtedly

Transitional phrases can perform the same function:

in addition
in contrast
for example
for instance of course
as a result
in other words
as a result
Use them wisely and sparingly, and never use one without knowing its precise meaning.

Implied or Conceptual Transitions
Not every paragraph transition requires a conjunctive adverb or transitional phrase; often, your logic will appear through a word or concept common to the last sentence of the preceding paragraph and the topic sentence of the following paragraph. For example, the end of a paragraph by Bruce Catton uses a demonstrative adjective, "these," to modify the subject of the topic sentence so that it will refer to a noun in the last sentence of the preceding paragraph:
When Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in the parlor of a modest house at Appomattox Court House, Virginia,...a great chapter in American life came to a close.

These men were bringing the Civil War to its virtual finish.
In this transition by Kori Quintana in an article about radiation and health problems, the connection between the paragraphs resides in the common term of "my family":

What I did not know when I began researching the connection between radioactivity and genetic damage was that I would find the probably cause of my own family's battle with cancer and other health problems.

Hailing from Utah, the state known for its Mormon population's healthy lifestyle, my family has been plagued with a number of seemingly unrelated health problems.

The first paragraph outlines the origins of Quintana's research into the connection between radiation exposure and disease, and ends with the revelation that her own family had been affected by radiation. The next paragraph discusses her family's health history. Each has its own singular purpose and topic, yet the first paragraph leads to the topic of the second through a common term.
Paragraph transitions can expand the range of discussion as well as narrow it with an example, as Quintana's transition does; this selection from an article by Deborah Cramer on the ecological impact of the fishing industry shows how a single instance of overfishing indicates a world-wide problem:

....The large yearly catches, peaking at 130 million pounds from the Gulf of Maine in 1942, wiped out the fishery. It has yet to recover.
The propensity to ravage the sea is by no means unique to New England. The northern cod fishery in Canada is closed indefinitely. In Newfoundland more than 20,000 fishermen and fish processors were abruptly put out of work in 1992 when the government shut down the Grand Banks...
Here, the transition alludes to the entire preceding section about New England fishing. Although Cramer managed this transition in a single sentence, transitions between large sections of an essay sometimes require entire paragraphs to explain their logic.

Proofreading Paragraph Transitions


At some point in your editing process, look at the end of each paragraph and see how it connects to the first sentence of the paragraph following it. If the connection seems missing or strained, improve the transition by clarifying your logic or rearranging the paragraphs. Often, the best solution is cutting out a paragraph altogether, and replacing it with the right one.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

Your conclusion is your opportunity to wrap up your essay in a tidy package and bring it home for your reader. It is a good idea to recapitulate what you said in your Thesis Statement in order to suggest to your reader that you have accomplished what you set out to accomplish. It is also important to judge for yourself that you have, in fact, done so. If you find that your thesis statement now sounds hollow or irrelevant — that you haven't done what you set out to do — then you need either to revise your argument or to redefine your thesis statement. Don't worry about that; it happens to writers all the time. They have argued themselves into a position that they might not have thought of when they began their writing. Writing, just as much as reading, is a process of self discovery. Do not, in any case, simply restate your thesis statement in your final paragraph, as that would be redundant. Having read your essay, we should understand this main thought with fresh and deeper understanding, and your conclusion wants to reflect what we have learned.

There are some cautions we want to keep in mind as we fashion our final utterance. First, we don't want to finish with a sentimental flourish that shows we're trying to do too much. It's probably enough that our essay on recycling will slow the growth of the landfill in Hartford's North Meadows. We don't need to claim that recycling our soda bottles is going to save the world for our children's children. (That may be true, in fact, but it's better to claim too little than too much; otherwise, our readers are going to be left with that feeling of "Who's he/she kidding?") The conclusion should contain a definite, positive statement or call to action, but that statement needs to be based on what we have provided in the essay.

Second, the conclusion is no place to bring up new ideas. If a brilliant idea tries to sneak into our final paragraph, we must pluck it out and let it have its own paragraph earlier in the essay. If it doesn't fit the structure or argument of the essay, we will leave it out altogether and let it have its own essay later on. The last thing we want in our conclusion is an excuse for our readers' minds wandering off into some new field. Allowing a peer editor or friend to reread our essay before we hand it in is one way to check this impulse before it ruins our good intentions and hard work.
Never apologize for or otherwise undercut the argument you've made or leave your readers with the sense that "this is just little old' me talking." Leave your readers with the sense that they've been in the company of someone who knows what he or she is doing. Also, if you promised in the introduction that you were going to cover four points and you covered only two (because you couldn't find enough information or you took too long with the first two or you got tired), don't try to cram those last two points into your final paragraph. The "rush job" will be all too apparent. Instead, revise your introduction or take the time to do justice to these other points.

Here is a brief list of things that you might accomplish in your concluding paragraph(s).* There are certainly other things that you can do, and you certainly don't want to do all these things. They're only suggestions:
• include a brief summary of the paper's main points.
• ask a provocative question.
• use a quotation.
• evoke a vivid image.
• call for some sort of action.
• end with a warning.
• universalize (compare to other situations).
• suggest results or consequences.

The Concluding Paragraph

Although conclusions generally do not cause students as much trouble as introductions, they are nearly as difficult to get right. Contrary to popular belief, conclusions do not merely restate the thesis, and they should never begin with "In conclusion…" They represent your last chance to say something important to your readers, and can be used for some, or all, of the following tasks:

• Emphasizing the purpose and importance of your essay
• Explaining the significance or consequences of your findings
• Indicating the wider applications of the method developed in your essay
• Establishing your essay as the basis for further investigation
• To show other directions of inquiry into the subject

Exactly which tasks your conclusion fulfills will vary according to your subject, your audience, and your objectives for the essay. Generally, conclusions fulfill a rhetorical purpose—they persuade your readers to do something: take action on an issue, change a policy, make an observation, or understand a topic differently.

Structure

Conclusions vary widely in structure, and no prescription can guarantee that your essay has ended well. If the introduction and body of your essay have a clear trajectory, your readers should already expect you to conclude when the final paragraph arrives, so don’t overload it with words or phrases that indicate its status. Below is an outline for a hypothetical, abstract essay with five main sections:

V: Conclusion
A. Transition from last body paragraph
B. Sentences explaining how paper has fit together and leads to a stronger, more emphatic and more detailed version of your thesis
C. Discussion of implications for further research
1. Other areas that can use the same method
2. How your finds change the readers’ understanding of the topic
3. Discussion of areas in need of more detailed investigation
D. Final words
1. Why the essay was important or interesting
2. Any other areas in which your essay has significance: ethics, practical applications, politics

Sample Conclusions

Here are a few ways that some good writers ended their essays:
I have not here been considering the literary use of language, but merely language as an instrument for expressing and not for concealing or preventing thought….[O]ne ought to recognize that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy. You cannot speak any of the necessary dialects, and when you make a stupid remark its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself. Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one’s own habits, and from time to time one can even, if one jeers loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase…into the dustbin where it belongs.
—Orwell, "Politics and the English Language"

And so, while we are left on shore with the memory of a deflated and stinking carcass and of bullhorns that blared and scattered us like flies, somewhere out beyond the rolled waters and the shining winter sun, the whale sings its own death in matchless, sirenian strains.
—Finch, "Very Like a Whale"

For all we know, occasional viable crosses between humans and chimpanzees are possible. The natural experiment must have been tried very infrequently, at least recently. If such off-spring are ever produced, what will their legal status be? The cognitive abilities of chimpanzees force us, I think, to raise searching questions about the boundaries of the community of beings to which special ethical considerations are due, and can, I hope, help to extend our ethical perspectives downward through the taxa on Earth and upwards to extraterrestrial organisms, if they exist.
—Sagan, "The Abstractions of Beasts"

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE RESEARCH PAPER

Basic Concepts of the Research Paper
- Research is important for a librarian for at least two reasons. First, library and information science is a discipline as complex as and other academic discipline, and as such requires the same investigative and rigorous research procedures to acquire, test, and add to the knowledge and understanding of the field. Second, since it is one of the jobs of a librarian to assist patrons with research, the more we know about the research process itself the more help and assistance we can provide to users of the library. All sorts of quantitative data is used by librarians to evaluate collections, assess use patterns, and to provide better overall service. To this end data analysis as well as data description is an essential skill, supporting the concept of the librarian as a researcher.

In ILS 680 students became familiar with the basic concept of the research paper in many ways, not the least of which was having to conduct a research study of our own. A well-written research paper has several essential components. The title should be a distillation of the main topic, simple and to the point. An abstract should accurately summarize the contents of the paper. An introduction should present the issue, relate it to previous literature in the field and discuss what benefit the study might provide. The method section describes the research tools used. The results section summarizes the data and information collected. Lastly, the discussion portion of the paper should interpret and evaluate the results of the study. The last assignment for this class was to write a proposal for a research study that showed we had learned the basic components of the research process.

Choosing Your Subject

Choose a subject which interests you. The outstanding American expert on Tibet spends half of her time in Washington as advisor to governmental agencies, yet she has never traveled beyond the boundaries of the United States. when asked how she became so well versed on Tibet, she answered, "I'm simply fascinated by the subject, and have read everything I could get my hands on."

A research paper, then, is an opportunity to further your interest in some subject or area.

Narrowing Your Subject

The most common criticism of research papers is , "topic too broad." You may well wonder, "Well, how can I be sure that I have sufficiently narrowed my topic?" A Cornell English professor has this sure-fire method: put your subject through three significant narrowings, i.e., moving from one category to a class within a category, each time.

For example, here are some sample narrowings for papers of 10 to 12 pages:

1. Public opinion polls: accuracy of polls: the accuracy of such polls in national elections: factors which determine the accuracy of public opinion polls in national elections.

2. The climate of opinion between World War I and World War II: the moral climate, etc.: the particular arguments involved in the debate over Prohibition: the arguments for Prohibition used by the "Drys" in support of the 18th Amendment and their arguments in the late 1920's and early 1930's to prevent repeal.

3. Discrimination against African-Americans: Northern attitudes vs. Southern attitudes: the particular geographical distinction: how Mason and Dixon's Line became a line of demarcation.


4. The Civil War: crucial battles: one battle: Napoleonic strategy and the battle of Fredricksburg.

5. Comparative religion-two religions; Judaism and Christianity; "salvation" in Judaism.

Provide A Focus For Gathering Material

To avoid the gross error of making your paper a mere accumulation of facts, you must crystallize a genuine question, and your facts must then be used to answer this question. Whether it can be definitely answered or not is unimportant.

A detailed outline at this stage is not usually possible since you are not sure of the material that you will uncover. Nevertheless, the specific question in mind will give you the needed focus for gathering pertinent material.

Select A Bibliography

College libraries, or any good library for that matter, contain many valuable sources of reference material. It will pay you in the long run to find out just what these sources are and how you can learn to use them with the maximum efficiency. Don't make the mistake of waiting until just a few days before your paper is due to make your first acquaintance with the many reference books your library contains. A few minutes spent in the library at the beginning of the term, when you are not under pressure to finish a paper, will help you in the future.

The "backbone" of all libraries is the card catalogue system, which tells you not only what books the library possesses, but also where you can find them. Look, therefore, through the library's card file and record all pertinent references on separate 3x5 slips of paper.

Efficiency will be increased if all the information is systematically recorded in the following ways:

A. Record the name of the library where the reference is located. Many universities have special libraries located in separate schools on campus.

B. Record the short title of your subject. This will be important when working on current and subsequent papers.

C. Record the library call number. You will not have to refer to the card catalogue whenever you want to use the same book again.

D. Record accurately the full reference in exactly the same form that you plan to use in the bibliographic portion of your paper. This insures your including all the essential parts of the reference; also, the correct form will make easier the mechanics of typing.

E. Record briefly your opinion of the reference; e.g., "not useful-does not discuss principles"; "excellent for case studies of poor readers at the secondary-school level."

Another valuable source of reference material which is somewhat like the card catalogue system is the periodical indexes, such as the Reader's Guide and Poole's Index To Periodical Literature. Often, there will be special indexes which list new books and articles for one field; for example, the Psychological Abstracts for the field of psychology, and the Educational Index for the field of education. Of course, do not overlook the general encyclopedias, such as the Britannica Americana and the New International, nor the more specialized works like the Encyclopedia of Banking and Finance and Who's Who In America. Finally, there are the yearbooks, of which the World Almanac and the Book of Facts are notable examples.

One frequently overlooked source of information is the personal interview. Every campus and town has its share of experts and authorities. If possible, arrange for an interview and be prepared to take notes.

Gathering Notes

1. Use note paper of uniform size. The 3x5 slips of paper are suggested because they are uniform, less bulky, and less expensive than cards.

2. Use only one side of the slip, and then record only one topic on each slip.

3. Identify the reference information on the note slips by writing the author's last name, or the title of the reference in the top left corner of the note slip. The page number or numbers should appear in parentheses at the end of the item of information. This system will enable you to find quickly again the exact page if further information is needed.

4. Write notes in your own words. This will help insure that you understand what you are reading. Furthermore, you will be putting the information into a form which can be used in your paper. Always distinguish clearly between your words and the author's. Failure to do so might lead you unwittingly into plagiarism.

5. Just as in taking notes on a textbook, always skim the article or chapter you are reading before writing the notes.

6. Notations should be concise, yet sufficiently detailed to provide an accurate meaning.

7. Taking time to write notations neatly will avoid the time and frustration of later deciphering.

8. Use ink. Notes written in pencil will become blurred through handling and sorting.

9. If you need direct quotations, use only a few of the outstanding phrases or sentences. Most students tend to quote too much and too often.

10. Abbreviate only the common words, otherwise much time will be lost in "figuring out" unfamiliar "shorthand."

11. When ideas and insights occur, write them on separate note slips under the caption "my own."

Categorizing Notes

Having recorded only one topic on each slip mow permits you to arrange your slips into separate topic stacks. Also, having written on only one side of the slip enables you to see your full notes without turning slips back and forth. Now you will appreciate that you really were not "wasting"paper when you left the reverse side of each slip blank.

Deciding On An Approach

To gain control over your material the crux of some matter must be dug out and presented in a way that illuminates the issue; some analysis or appraisal ought to be given. A reader who is presented with an assortment of facts-no matter how neatly arranged-asks, "So what?" and rightly so. You ought to have clearly in mind before you begin writing what you want this material to add up to. Remember, the predication is as important as the "subject."

Drawing Up A Detailed Outline

Only by working out a detailed outline can you order and control your data so that it can be marshaled to support your stated objective. Worked into the outline, also, should be your approach, point of view, and strategy.
In the process of writing an outline, you will acquire the prerequisite of all good writing-you will be forced to "think through" your material. This "thinking through" is what the professional writers call "digesting" your random facts. Once you do this, then you will quite naturally, as you write, draw from a reservoir of facts rather than stringing together a compartmentalized series of "snippets" which are usually someone else's paraphrased words. As a final "bonus" effect, the detailed outline will save you time during the revision stage since your facts will be in the right order from the beginning.


Writing The First Draft

With the outline before you, write as rapidly and spontaneously as possible. Recording your thoughts as they go through your mind will help to insure continuity. It is when you stop to ponder alternatives that gaps in continuity occur. Though this manner of writing often results in too much material, don't be concerned because it is easier to cut than to add.

Make A Clear Copy

The first draft is usually rough-full of deletions, additions, and directions which are understandable only to the writer. If left in this state for even a day, much time might be lost in trying to recall exactly how you meant to blend in some of the hastily written interlineation. Furthermore, if you retype or rewrite while the material is still very fresh, some spontaneous revision may take place. The result, of course, will be a clear copy which will be ready for revision after a "cooling off" period of a day or so.

Leave For A Day

The "cooling off" period is important. During the writing stage, your mind is so full of associations with the words which you have written that you are liable to impose clarity and step-by-step sequences where these do not, in fact, exist; that is, your mind can fill in and bridge the gaps.

After your mind has dropped some of these associations, then when you read your manuscript , you will have to "read" the words to gain meaning. You can now easily spot the glaring errors-you can be critically objective.


The Importance of Editing Your Own Work


The editing function is one of the few really important big things that you can learn in college-the ability to view your own production with enough courage to anticipate (and be concerned about) the potential reader's reaction. This means polishing, boiling down ideas, struggling to say things clearer and clearer, perhaps starting over, or writing even 3 or 4 drafts.

Your Final Copy

1. In preparing the finished draft of your research paper, use only one side of white paper. Although a few instructors will specify precisely what size paper to use, the most commonly used paper measures 81/2 x 11 inches.

2. Type your paper without any strike-overs (erase errors thoroughly and neatly) and be sure to double space.

3. Leave generous margins at the top, bottom and about a one and one-half inch margin on both sides to provide room for the instructor's comments.

4. Put your dictionary to good use by checking spellings and divisions of words you are not sure of.

5. Hand in the paper on time. It is not uncommon for instructors to deduct points for late papers.

METHODS IN GATHERING DATA

Data Gathering Methods
It is important to consider the variety of methods of gathering data, in order to answer your research question, and choose the one which will best suit your research. The main methods of gathering data are:

Questionnaires
- A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case. The questionnaire was invented by Sir Francis Galton.
Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap, do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers that make it simple to compile data. However, such standardized answers may frustrate users. Questionnaires are also sharply limited by the fact that respondents must be able to read the questions and respond to them. Thus, for some demographic groups conducting a survey by questionnaire may not be practical.

Interviews

- An interview is a conversation between two or more people (the interviewer and the interviewee) where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.
Observation
- Observation is either an activity of a living being (such as a human), consisting of receiving knowledge of the outside world through the senses, or the recording of data using scientific instruments. The term may also refer to any datum collected during this activity.

Focus Groups
- Focus groups were originally called "focused interviews" or "group depth interviews". The technique was developed after World War II to evaluate audience response to radio programs (Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990). Since then social scientists and program evaluators have found focus groups to be useful in understanding how or why people hold certain beliefs about a topic or program of interest.

A focus group could be defined as a group of interacting individuals having some common interest or characteristics, brought together by a moderator, who uses the group and its interaction as a way to gain information about a specific or focused issue.

A focus group is typically 7-10 people who are unfamiliar with each other. These participants are selected because they have certain characteristics in common that relate to the topic of the focus group. The moderator or interviewer creates a permissive and nurturing environment that encourages different perceptions and points of view, without pressuring participants to vote, plan or reach consensus (Krueger, 1988). The group discussion is conducted several times with similar types of participants to identify trends and patterns in perceptions. Careful and systematic analysis of the discussions provide clues and insights as to how a product, service, or opportunity is perceived by the group.
Archive or Documentary Material

- A piece of evidence is not documentary evidence if it is presented for some purpose other than the examination of the contents of the document. For example, if a blood-spattered letter is introduced solely to show that the defendant stabbed the author of the letter from behind as it was being written, then the evidence is physical evidence, not documentary evidence. However, a film of the murder taking place would be documentary evidence (just as a written description of the event from an eyewitness). If the content of that same letter is then introduced to show the motive for the murder, then the evidence would be both physical and documentary.
These are dealt with under their own sections.

Response Rate
In a similar way to the section on 'access', it is often helpful to anticipate the reactions or feelings of the recipient of your questionnaire, or request for interview. Often they are busy people with many demands on their time, it is therefore important:
to briefly explain who you are, and what you are trying to achieve
to be clear about what exactly you wish them to do
to estimate how long their commitment will take
to emphasise that confidentiality will be respected if that is their wish

If in doubt:
keep it short
prepare well
be polite

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER

Title Page
Select an informative title as illustrated in the examples in your writing portfolio example package. Include the name(s) and address(es) of all authors, and date submitted. "Biology lab #1" would not be an informative title, for example.

Abstract
The summary should be two hundred words or less. See the examples in the writing portfolio package.

General intent

An abstract is a concise single paragraph summary of completed work or work in progress. In a minute or less a reader can learn the rationale behind the study, general approach to the problem, pertinent results, and important conclusions or new questions.

Writing an abstract
Write your summary after the rest of the paper is completed. After all, how can you summarize something that is not yet written? Economy of words is important throughout any paper, but especially in an abstract. However, use complete sentences and do not sacrifice readability for brevity. You can keep it concise by wording sentences so that they serve more than one purpose. For example, "In order to learn the role of protein synthesis in early development of the sea urchin, newly fertilized embryos were pulse-labeled with tritiated leucine, to provide a time course of changes in synthetic rate, as measured by total counts per minute (cpm)." This sentence provides the overall question, methods, and type of analysis, all in one sentence. The writer can now go directly to summarizing the results.
Summarize the study, including the following elements in any abstract. Try to keep the first two items to no more than one sentence each.
• Purpose of the study - hypothesis, overall question, objective
• Model organism or system and brief description of the experiment
• Results, including specific data - if the results are quantitative in nature, report quantitative data; results of any statistical analysis shoud be reported
• Important conclusions or questions that follow from the experiment(s)
Style:
• Single paragraph, and concise
• As a summary of work done, it is always written in past tense
• An abstract should stand on its own, and not refer to any other part of the paper such as a figure or table
• Focus on summarizing results - limit background information to a sentence or two, if absolutely necessary
• What you report in an abstract must be consistent with what you reported in the paper
• Corrrect spelling, clarity of sentences and phrases, and proper reporting of quantities (proper units, significant figures) are just as important in an abstract as they are anywhere else

Introduction
Your introductions should not exceed two pages (double spaced, typed). See the examples in the writing portfolio package.
General intent

The purpose of an introduction is to aquaint the reader with the rationale behind the work, with the intention of defending it. It places your work in a theoretical context, and enables the reader to understand and appreciate your objectives.
Writing an introduction

The abstract is the only text in a research paper to be written without using paragraphs in order to separate major points. Approaches vary widely, however for our studies the following approach can produce an effective introduction.
• Describe the importance (significance) of the study - why was this worth doing in the first place? Provide a broad context.
• Defend the model - why did you use this particular organism or system? What are its advantages? You might comment on its suitability from a theoretical point of view as well as indicate practical reasons for using it.
• Provide a rationale. State your specific hypothesis(es) or objective(s), and describe the reasoning that led you to select them.
• Very briefy describe the experimental design and how it accomplished the stated objectives.
Style:
• Use past tense except when referring to established facts. After all, the paper will be submitted after all of the work is completed.
• Organize your ideas, making one major point with each paragraph. If you make the four points listed above, you will need a minimum of four paragraphs.
• Present background information only as needed in order support a position. The reader does not want to read everything you know about a subject.
• State the hypothesis/objective precisely - do not oversimplify.
• As always, pay attention to spelling, clarity and appropriateness of sentences and phrases.

Materials and Methods
There is no specific page limit, but a key concept is to keep this section as concise as you possibly can. People will want to read this material selectively. The reader may only be interested in one formula or part of a procedure. Materials and methods may be reported under separate subheadings within this section or can be incorporated together.

General intent
This should be the easiest section to write, but many students misunderstand the purpose. The objective is to document all specialized materials and general procedures, so that another individual may use some or all of the methods in another study or judge the scientific merit of your work. It is not to be a step by step description of everything you did, nor is a methods section a set of instructions. In particular, it is not supposed to tell a story. By the way, your notebook should contain all of the information that you need for this section.
Writing a materials and methods section
Materials:
• Describe materials separately only if the study is so complicated that it saves space this way.
• Include specialized chemicals, biological materials, and any equipment or supplies that are not commonly found in laboratories.
• Do not include commonly found supplies such as test tubes, pipet tips, beakers, etc., or standard lab equipment such as centrifuges, spectrophotometers, pipettors, etc.
• If use of a specific type of equipment, a specific enzyme, or a culture from a particular supplier is critical to the success of the experiment, then it and the source should be singled out, otherwise no.
• Materials may be reported in a separate paragraph or else they may be identified along with your procedures.
• In biosciences we frequently work with solutions - refer to them by name and describe completely, including concentrations of all reagents, and pH of aqueous solutions, solvent if non-aqueous.
Methods:
• See the examples in the writing portfolio package
• Report the methodology (not details of each procedure that employed the same methodology)
• Describe the mehodology completely, including such specifics as temperatures, incubation times, etc.
• To be concise, present methods under headings devoted to specific procedures or groups of procedures
• Generalize - report how procedures were done, not how they were specifically performed on a particular day. For example, report "samples were diluted to a final concentration of 2 mg/ml protein;" don't report that "135 microliters of sample one was diluted with 330 microliters of buffer to make the protein concentration 2 mg/ml." Always think about what would be relevant to an investigator at another institution, working on his/her own project.
• If well documented procedures were used, report the procedure by name, perhaps with reference, and that's all. For example, the Bradford assay is well known. You need not report the procedure in full - just that you used a Bradford assay to estimate protein concentration, and identify what you used as a standard. The same is true for the SDS-PAGE method, and many other well known procedures in biology and biochemistry.
Style:
• It is awkward or impossible to use active voice when documenting methods without using first person, which would focus the reader's attention on the investigator rather than the work. Therefore when writing up the methods most authors use third person passive voice.
• Use normal prose in this and in every other section of the paper – avoid informal lists, and use complete sentences.
What to avoid
• Materials and methods are not a set of instructions.
• Omit all explanatory information and background - save it for the discussion.
• Omit information that is irrelevant to a third party, such as what color ice bucket you used, or which individual logged in the data.

Results
The page length of this section is set by the amount and types of data to be reported. Continue to be concise, using figures and tables, if appropriate, to present results most effectively. See recommendations for content, below.

General intent
The purpose of a results section is to present and illustrate your findings. Make this section a completely objective report of the results, and save all interpretation for the discussion.

Writing a results section
IMPORTANT: You must clearly distinguish material that would normally be included in a research article from any raw data or other appendix material that would not be published. In fact, such material should not be submitted at all unless requested by the instructor.
Content
• Summarize your findings in text and illustrate them, if appropriate, with figures and tables.
• In text, describe each of your results, pointing the reader to observations that are most relevant.
• Provide a context, such as by describing the question that was addressed by making a particular observation.
• Describe results of control experiments and include observations that are not presented in a formal figure or table, if appropriate.
• Analyze your data, then prepare the analyzed (converted) data in the form of a figure (graph), table, or in text form.
What to avoid
• Do not discuss or interpret your results, report background information, or attempt to explain anything.
• Never include raw data or intermediate calculations in a research paper.
• Do not present the same data more than once.
• Text should complement any figures or tables, not repeat the same information.
• Please do not confuse figures with tables - there is a difference.
Style
• As always, use past tense when you refer to your results, and put everything in a logical order.
• In text, refer to each figure as "figure 1," "figure 2," etc. ; number your tables as well (see the reference text for details)
• Place figures and tables, properly numbered, in order at the end of the report (clearly distinguish them from any other material such as raw data, standard curves, etc.)
• If you prefer, you may place your figures and tables appropriately within the text of your results section.
Figures and tables
• Either place figures and tables within the text of the result, or include them in the back of the report (following Literature Cited) - do one or the other
• If you place figures and tables at the end of the report, make sure they are clearly distinguished from any attached appendix materials, such as raw data
• Regardless of placement, each figure must be numbered consecutively and complete with caption (caption goes under the figure)
• Regardless of placement, each table must be titled, numbered consecutively and complete with heading (title with description goes above the table)
• Each figure and table must be sufficiently complete that it could stand on its own, separate from text

Discussion
Journal guidelines vary. Space is so valuable in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, that authors are asked to restrict discussions to four pages or less, double spaced, typed. That works out to one printed page. While you are learning to write effectively, the limit will be extended to five typed pages. If you practice economy of words, that should be plenty of space within which to say all that you need to say.
General intent
The objective here is to provide an interpretation of your results and support for all of your conclusions, using evidence from your experiment and generally accepted knowledge, if appropriate. The significance of findings should be clearly described.
Writing a discussion
Interpret your data in the discussion in appropriate depth. This means that when you explain a phenomenon you must describe mechanisms that may account for the observation. If your results differ from your expectations, explain why that may have happened. If your results agree, then describe the theory that the evidence supported. It is never appropriate to simply state that the data agreed with expectations, and let it drop at that.
• Decide if each hypothesis is supported, rejected, or if you cannot make a decision with confidence. Do not simply dismiss a study or part of a study as "inconclusive."
• Research papers are not accepted if the work is incomplete. Draw what conclusions you can based upon the results that you have, and treat the study as a finished work
• You may suggest future directions, such as how the experiment might be modified to accomplish another objective.
• Explain all of your observations as much as possible, focusing on mechanisms.
• Decide if the experimental design adequately addressed the hypothesis, and whether or not it was properly controlled.
• Try to offer alternative explanations if reasonable alternatives exist.
• One experiment will not answer an overall question, so keeping the big picture in mind, where do you go next? The best studies open up new avenues of research. What questions remain?
• Recommendations for specific papers will provide additional suggestions.
Style:
• When you refer to information, distinguish data generated by your own studies from published information or from information obtained from other students (verb tense is an important tool for accomplishing that purpose).
• Refer to work done by specific individuals (including yourself) in past tense.
• Refer to generally accepted facts and principles in present tense. For example, "Doofus, in a 1989 survey, found that anemia in basset hounds was correlated with advanced age. Anemia is a condition in which there is insufficient hemoglobin in the blood."
The biggest mistake that students make in discussions is to present a superficial interpretation that more or less re-states the results. It is necessary to suggest why results came out as they did, focusing on the mechanisms behind the observations.

Literature Cited
Please note that in the introductory laboratory course, you will not be required to properly document sources of all of your information. One reason is that your major source of information is this website, and websites are inappropriate as primary sources. Second, it is problematic to provide a hundred students with equal access to potential reference materials. You may nevertheless find outside sources, and you should cite any articles that the instructor provides or that you find for yourself.
List all literature cited in your paper, in alphabetical order, by first author. In a proper research paper, only primary literature is used (original research articles authored by the original investigators). Be cautious about using web sites as references - anyone can put just about anything on a web site, and you have no sure way of knowing if it is truth or fiction. If you are citing an on line journal, use the journal citation (name, volume, year, page numbers). Some of your papers may not require references, and if that is the case simply state that "no references were consulted."

Order of Parts of a Research Paper

The Title Page

The title page, correctly spaced and centered, should contain the following material in the order given:

1. Title of paper
2. Secondary title (optional)
3. Full name of author
4. Submission statement
5. Date submitted.

The Dedication (optional)

The Preface (optional)
A preface may contain remarks that an author wishes to make about his or her interest in the topic of the paper and an acknowledgment of indebtedness for help of any kind.

The Table of Contents (optional in short papers)
Should you happen to have a long research paper, you may wish to have a table of contents on a separate page labeled TABLE OF CONTENTS. It should contain, with the page number:
1. The title of each chapter or division, followed by the title of each important subdivision (if this plan has been followed.)
2. The appendix or appendices, if the paper contains such.
3. The bibliography

The Outline
Most research papers have an outline with a statement of the controlling purpose instead of a Table of Contents.

The Paper Itself
This is the final manuscript complete with footnotes and illustrative material of any kind.
Endnote Page
If all footnotes have been put on a separate page and numbered in the paper consecutively and therefore also consecutively on the special page, this page should follow the last page of the paper itself and immediately precede the Appendix or the Final Bibliography.

Final Bibliography
The final bibliography follows the text and the Endnote page--if you have one.

Appendix (optional)
Sometimes an appendix is a valuable addition to a research paper. It might contain some material which could be important to a reader but which you might not find place for in the text itself. This material could be a chronological or statistical table, a letter, a map, and the like.