Renewable energy

/in /by
ENGL 150
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.
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 kin
ds of writing, and
“good” writing changes depending on the context.

Needs help with similar assignment?

We are available 24x7 to deliver the best services and assignment ready within 3-4 hours? Order a custom-written, plagiarism-free paper

Get Answer Over WhatsApp Order Paper Now