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Research Writing Packet
This packet contains: 1. My notes on research writing competencies 2. A sample argumentative research paper in MLA style from Diana Hacker 3. A discussion of avoiding plagiarism from the Purdue On-Line Writing Lab
Notes on Research Writing Competencies
ENGL 150
Overall Purpose of Research • Completing coursework vs. scholarship community • Negotiating the discourse community of academia Documentation • Purposes o To identify what information comes from a source o To identify the source information comes from o To avoid plagiarism • Format o Bibliography o In-Text Citations • Tools o MLA Book o Purdue OWL o Software o Web Tools
Researching • Purposes o To understand a topic o To inform your writing o To develop insight . o Not limited to justifying existing ideas • Skills for Secondary Research o Searching o Sorting o Evaluating Credibility • Searching o Library databases o Library resources o The internet o Gateway sources o Sideways searching o Primary sources • Evaluation o What the source says (logic, use of evidence) o Who wrote it o Why was it published o When was it published o Where was it published
• Organization
o Note taking o Outlining o High and low tech o Good messy vs. bad messy Argumentation • Critical Thinking • Types of Evidence • Types of Appeals • Logic & Fallacies • Dealing with Numbers • Audience & Discourse Community • Anticipating Objections • Agonistic vs. Irenic Rhetoric Composition • Establishing Credibility • Outlining • Drafting • Revision • Editing o Academic Style o Style vs. Correctness • Research Writing Mechanics o Quoting vs. paraphrase/summary o Quote mechanics • Signal phrases • Punctuation • Documentation • Block quotes • Omissions & additions • Preserving Context • Indirect quotes o Paraphrase/Summary mechanics • Signal phrases • Avoiding inadvertent plagiarism • Preserving meaning & context • Documentation Avoiding Plagiarism • In the Western world: o Academic scholarship is done to increase understanding of a certain topic for the sake of knowledge itself.
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o Scholars publish research with the understanding that others will build on it o Part of that understanding includes giving credit for others’ work. Plagiarism is the uncredited use of someone else’s work. o This “work” can include • Presenting someone else’s research or unique ideas as one’s own • Presenting someone else’s writing or phrasing as one’s own o Unintentional plagiarism is still plagiarism To avoid plagiarism, both these requirements must be met: o All use of external sources needs to be documented according to the requirements of the situation o All use of exact words from another source needs to be marked as a quotation
Notes on terminology: • “MLA” is a format for documenting research and formatting academic manuscripts published by the Modern Language Association. It is correct to say ‘Tm writing a paper in MLA style,” and not correct to say ‘Tm writing an MLA paper.” • MLA “style” refers to the style of formatting the documentation (in-text citations and Works Cited page) or the page layout (title, spacing, page numbers, etc.) and not to the choice of words and phrases you use. The word “research” can mean both gathering information (“researching a topic”) and the finished product (“publishing my research”). A “source” is a discrete piece of information, such as an article. A “resource” is something you use to find sources, such as a library database. It is not correct to say “My paper has four resources listed on the Works Cited page.” A “Works Cited page” is MLA’s term for the bibliography. All formal research papers have bibliographies. Only MLA-style papers have a Works Cited page. (APA-style papers have a References page, for example.) A “formal” research paper means that it follows an existing form, such as MLA format, for presenting research. When paraphrasing, the instruction is often to write a passage of research “in your own words.” It would probably be more accurate to say “in different words,” or “in a rephrased manner that matches the style of the rest of your paper which should be your version of an academic voice,” which you may or may not consider to be “your” words. In the context of writing academic research papers, “good” writing refers only to writing of those kinds of papers. There are many kinds of writing, and “good” writing changes depending on the context.
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MLA Research Paper (Daly)
Daly 1 Angela Daly Professor Chavez English 101 14 March XXXX A Call to Action: Regulate Use of Cell Phones on the Road
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When a cell phone goes off in a classroom or at a concert, we are irritated, but at Least our Lives are not endangered. When we are on the road, however, irresponsible cell phone users are more than irritating: They are putting our Lives at risk. Many of us have witnessed drivers so distracted by dialing and chatting that they resemble drunk drivers, weaving between Lanes, for example, or nearly running down pedestrians in crosswalks. A number of bills to regulate use of cell phones on the road have been introduced in state Legislatures, and the time has come to push for their passage. Regulation is needed because drivers using phones are seriously impaired and because Laws on negligent and reckless driving are not sufficient to punish offenders. No one can deny that cell phones have caused traffic deaths and injuries. Cell phones were implicated in three fatal accidents in November 1999 alone. Early in November, two-year-old Morgan Pena was killed by a driver distracted by his cell phone. Morgan’s mother, Patti Pena, reports that the driver “ran a stop sign at 45 mph, broadsided my vehicle and killed Morgan as she sat in her car seat.” A week Later, corrections officer Shannon Smith, who was guarding prisoners by the side of the road, was killed by a woman distracted by a phone call (Besthoff). On Thanksgiving weekend
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