Unit 7: Academic Writing and Research in College
This unit addresses a very important topic: college-level writing. Improved writing is one of the major, universal skills that you will take away from a college experience, and it will likely be the skill you use most in your post-college life. Consider for a minute the many ways in which your writing is the first impression people have of you: for example, when you compose emails, write thank-you notes to your parents' friends, complete job applications, draft the report your supervisor forwards to the CEO, or post to your blog or personal website. Good writing will distinguish you dramatically from your peers and bring you terrific advantages in the long term.
Yet, college writing is a very specific kind of writing, with its own set of rules and requirements that are different from any writing you will probably do before or after college. College writing is designed to teach you about methodical thinking. Writing out a problem, organizing the pieces of the solution to the problem, and then describing the solution clearly for the reader requires you, the writer, to think carefully about the problem itself. So, good writing is both a goal in itself and a tool you will use to reach other goals.
Writing in college is often also designed to teach you about academic research, provide you with opportunities to conduct research, and teach you how to present the results of research. In some classes, you might write about research you physically do, such as lab research in a biology or psychology class, but in other classes research means reading what many other people think about a topic, then coming to your own conclusion on it. This unit covers the basic process for doing this second form of research, including the important issue of how to find quality information and trusted resources on the Internet.
In sum, this unit of the course will help you understand the steps you need to follow to become a better academic writer.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 15 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- identify key differences between writing in high school and writing in college;
- define academic writing;
- identify the expectations for college writing;
- compare writing techniques for improving essays, papers, and reports;
- develop productive pre-writing and revision strategies;
- distinguish between revision and editing;
- define and identify plagiarism;
- describe how to integrate research into your writing; and
- differentiate between credible online sources and non-credible online sources when you are performing academic research.
7.1: What Is Academic Writing?
Complete this chapter's self-assessments, titled "Where Are You Now?" and "Where Do You Want to Go?". Then, read the introduction to Chapter 8, titled "The Importance of Writing." Pause to consider your own writing skills and how often you use them. Jot down any reflections on your past writing in your notebook.
7.1.1: Differences between High School and College Writing
Read the first part of Section 8.1, focusing on the introduction and the section titled "Difference between High School and College Writing." Note that college writing assignments will likely ask you to use one or all of the higher-level thinking skills you learned about in Unit 5. As you read, make a list of the main differences between high school and college writing in your academic journal, and note the differences you may already have encountered in your own education thus far.
7.1.2: Types of Academic Writing Assignments
Read this webpage, beginning with the section titled "Understanding Writing Assignments" (click on the title to access the full webpage covering this topic). Then, click on the nine different types of writing assignments listed on the webpage. Read each section for an introduction to various types of writing assignments. In particular, note the different approaches suggested for each type of assignment. In some cases, an instructor will not be clear about which type of writing he or she wants; in this case, you can ask the instructor for clarification and use your critical thinking and problem solving skills to determine the best approach. In fact, it may be very helpful to you to bookmark this webpage for use throughout your college experience.
7.2: Approaches to a Writing Assignment
Read the second part of Section 8.1, comprising the text under the heading titled "What Kinds of Papers Are Commonly Assigned in College Classes?" In conjunction with the nine types of writing presented on the Purdue website, this reading will give you some very useful tools for evaluating specific writing assignments. Use these tools once you have received a writing assignment from an instructor. After you finish the reading, make sure to complete the checkpoint exercises at the end of the section.
Complete this activity in which you will practice the skills you have learned in Subunit 7.2 by evaluating three different writing prompts.
7.3: Becoming a Better Writer
7.3.1: A College Instructor's Expectations for Writing
Read the Section 8.2 introduction and the text under the "What Do Instructors Really Want?" heading. Do not rush through this reading; college instructors often will not take time to explain to you exactly what they want, especially for a writing assignment. They may assume you already know this information, so it benefits you to have a solid understanding of these expectations.
Access a sample student essay on the novel Robinson Crusoe. You do not need to know anything about the novel to complete this reading. Scroll down to the heading that reads, "Robinson Crusoe," and read the writing prompt for the two essays; then read the two essays and begin to think about how each essay responds to the writing prompt. You will evaluate the introductory paragraph of the first essay in the assignment that follows this reading.
Follow these instructions to evaluate an introductory paragraph written by a college student. After you have evaluated the paragraph, you will rewrite it to improve it. Once you complete this assignment, check your answers against the guide to responding.
7.3.2: The Writing Process
In Section 8.2, read the text under the headings titled "The Writing Process," "How Can I Make the Process Work for Me?," "What's the Difference between Revising and Editing?," and "What If I Need Help with Writing?" Be sure not to rush through this material and to carefully take notes on the information provided in this reading. Remember that writing is the most commonly required skill for a college student - you need to know how to do it well!
7.3.3: Using Style Guides and Writing Handbooks
Explore the different resources available via the links on the webpage above. Note in particular the sections that can help you refine your own writing process ("The Writing Process"); answer your questions about basic writing skills ("Mechanics, Grammar, and Punctuation"); and the extremely helpful citation guides on the left-hand navigation under the heading titled "Suggested Resources" (particularly the MLA Guide and the APA Guide). Note that you may click on each heading on the webpage to access a particular section for more detailed information.
You have already visited Purdue University's Online Writing Lab and explored some of the resources there. There are many other good online resources to assist you in your writing. Several more options are listed in the article above. The most important thing for you to do at this time is to become very familiar with what is available among these resources. By evaluating these resources now, you can access and navigate them more quickly when you need to refer to them for specific college assignments. Be sure to bookmark these resources so that you can quickly find particular guides when you need them in the future.
7.4: Using Others' Writing Correctly
In Section 8.2 of the textbook, read the text below the headings titled "Plagiarism - and How To Avoid It" and "Forms of Citation." Be sure that you understand the underlying reasons why it is important to cite where you have found information. Many students learn how to cite without understanding that citation is an important research tool and a critical component of academic integrity - not a meaningless rule. After you have completed this reading, work through the checkpoint exercises at the end of the section.
Just like words, ideas also belong to the original writer. In college, you will be encouraged to read and use other people's words and ideas, but you will need to know the correct and incorrect ways to do so! Many students struggle with knowing what is common knowledge and what needs a citation. If you are ever in doubt about whether to cite something or not, err on the side of caution and cite it. You will never get in trouble for telling someone where you found your information - but you might get in trouble if you do not. You have already explored several great online resources and citation manuals. For your convenience, links to two important citation styles, MLA and APA, have been provided again below for your review. Click on one or both of the links below to further explore these resources. Specifically pay attention to the menu of clickable links that run down the left-hand side of the page. These links include both style guides as well as examples of specific citations and documents that you can use as models. Do this right now, while you are thinking about citations. Don't wait until you need this information at the end of a research assignment! Because different instructors may ask for different types of citation formats, it might be a good idea to bookmark both of these webpages for later use.
The website above contains three videos (including a quiz). Start by clicking on the words "1. What is Plagiarism?" to watch the first video and learn about what plagiarism is and some possible consequences that committing plagiarism could bring to your academic career. Continue to the second video by clicking on the words "Click Here for Part 2" on your screen. This section will explain how to cite your research in the correct way in order to avoid plagiarism. Continue to the third video by clicking on the words "Click Here for Part 3." When you come to the quiz show section, select your answers and then read the responses. After you have finished watching these videos, take the time to locate and familiarize yourself with your own college or university's academic honesty policy by searching the school's website or asking an advisor.
Read this article to learn about the complex issue of crediting your sources in order to avoid plagiarism. Following your reading, answer the following questions in your notebook: How do you feel about the different examples described in the article? Have you ever been in a situation where you were not sure whether you should cite a source? Considering what you know now, how would you have handled that situation?
Many new college writers struggle with how to integrate the research they have collected from other sources into their own writing. Learning the mechanics of how to do this is one thing (which you learned earlier in this unit) but what about style? Read the "Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing" resource found via the first link below to understand your different choices. Then, click on the second link below, which provides you with an essay and a sample summary, paraphrase, and quotation from the essay. Before reviewing the sample summary, paraphrase, and quotation, you may want practice writing your own summary, paraphrase, and quotation based on the essay, and then compare your work to the sample provided. Make sure you understand how these elements are different from each other and how to create your own summary, paraphrase, and quotation in the future.
Read this guide to quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing another author's work. You will use this resource to inform your own summary, paraphrase, and quotation in the reading below.
Read this sample essay. Then, in your notebook, write down your own summary, paraphrase, and quotation from the essay before reading the examples provided below the essay. How do your summary, paraphrase, and quotation compare with those on the webpage?
7.5: Integrating Research into Your Writing
7.5.1: Begin Research
Read all the content under the tab titled "Begin Research." Click the button that says "Next" on the bottom right hand of each webpage in the section to read all 17 entries and answer any questions within these entries.
7.5.2: The Knowledge Cycle
Read all the content under the tab titled "Knowledge Cycle." Click the button that says "Next" on the bottom right of each webpage in the section to read all 16 entries.
7.5.3: Finding Books
Read the content under the tab titled "Find Books." Click the button that says "Next" on the bottom right of each webpage in the section to read all 15 entries.
7.5.4: Finding Scholarly Articles
Read the content under the tab titled "Find Articles." Click on the button that says "Next" at the bottom right of each webpage in the section to read all 10 entries.
7.5.5: Search Strategies
Read the content under the Basic Search and Advanced Search tabs. Click the button that says "Next" on the bottom right each webpage to read all 20 entries in the first tab and all 16 entries in the second tab.
7.6: Evaluating Online Sources
Use this document to complete the following activity.
After you have reviewed Jim Kapoun's guide to evaluating webpage resources, especially the "5 Ws", evaluate one of the websites linked at the bottom of this activity. Write your evaluation in your notebook.
Unit 7 Assessment
Writing is a critical life skill, and your mastery of writing will have a tremendous impact on your academic and professional career. Like many skills, the best way to improve your writing is to practice. This assignment will help you apply many of the writing guidelines and techniques that you have explored in this unit.
You will find more information about this assignment at the link, including an essay review checklist to help you check your work after you have finished writing.