Day Ten: Library Day

Today we will have our class in Room 291 of the Undergraduate Library. One of the Graduate Assistants will be leading a session on effective research strategies, as well as an overview of the resources available to you through the UIUC UGL. I will put up the links to the material that she covers in her session on this post after today's class.

Library Links

-UGL ESL Guide

-UIUC Writer's Workshop

Avoiding Plagiarism (cont'd)

After our library info session, we will continue talking about plagiarism, this time focusing on identifying plagiarism and trying to explain what exactly constitutes plagiarism. We will do this by completing this activity. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Tuesday, 10/1/2013

-Watch these two videos on plagiarism: Avoiding Plagiarism: Part 1 and Avoiding Plagiarism: Part 2. Then write a short reflection (around 300 words) where you answer the following questions: what is plagiarism? Why is it important to avoid plagiarism, both personally and in a more general sense? What are some strategies for avoiding plagiarism? How are  these strategies similar? How are they different? 

When you finish, save your file with the title, "PlagiarismReflection_YourName" and upload it to the "Reflections" folder in your Dropbox. 

-Come to class with two good possible topics to write a research paper on. They should be appropriately academic and not too specific. We will use these topics to start our discussion on how to choose a good topic for your individual research papers.  

Day Nine: Avoiding Plagiarism

We have finished Unit 1! Congratulations! Today we will begin Unit 2: The Pre-Research Process. In this unit, we will continue to emphasize the idea of writing as a process (and not something you do quickly, the night before an assignment is due!). This unit is designed to discuss all the necessary steps one must take when beginning a major, formal EAP essay, even before finding sources and doing the actual research. Unit 3: Annotated Bibliography will discuss finding sources, researching and creating an annotated bibliography. Unit 4: Writing the Research Paper is when we'll actually be writing the final, Individual Problem Solution Research Paper (IRP). Now you possess a very general roadmap for the rest of this semester! With that being said, let's start our discussion of the pre-research process with a discussion on how to avoid plagiarism. The lesson outline can be found below: 

Avoiding Plagiarism 

I. Stealing: Please take a moment to provide your answer to this question. 

II. Naughty Boys Introduction: Click here for our introductory activity.

III. Brainstorming: How do you define plagiarism? What are some examples of plagiarism? What are some consequences of plagiarizing? Is plagiarism a bad thing? Why or why not? 

IV. Plagiarism "Quiz": In pairs, please fill out this short quiz on plagiarism. Feel free to use any online resources about plagiarism that you may already be familiar with or go to the Purdue OWL website section on plagiarism. 

V. Plagiarism at UIUC: An Overview

Click here for a short presentation on what constitutes plagiarism here at UIUC, what some of the consequences are for plagiarizing and how to avoid plagiarism. 

VI. Defining Common Knowledge 

This  activity is designed to help illustrate the difference between common knowledge and specific knowledge that must be cited. Please complete this worksheet with a partner. We'll then go over the individual answers as a class. 

VII. Identifying Plagiarism

This activity is a test of your ability to decide whether a source has been used acceptably or been plagiarized. Click here to begin. Be sure you can provide a reason (why?) for each answer. A word of caution: be careful about trusting your intuition... unless you are a professional editor/writer, some of these situations may be trickier than they seem. Be sure sure 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday, 9/26/13

-Library Day (9/26): On Thursday we will be having our class at the Undergraduate Library (Room 291). We will meet at the upper Main Entrance and go down to the room together. Please try and be there at at 4:55 pm. In preparation for the library day, the librarian would like you to practice using a concept map. Please fill out the map found here: concept map. Please print it out, fill it out by hand and bring it with you to class on Thursday. Our question will be, "What are some solutions to the problem of animal abuse?" Click here for an example. 

-Writer's Help: Please do three "Writer's Help" exercises on avoiding plagiarism. For the first two, please choose from the four marked "Exercise: Avoiding Plagiarism in APA papers 1-4". For the last one, everyone should do the exercise titled, "Recognizing Common Knowledge in APA papers". As always, you must receive an 80% or higher to get credit. 

Day Eight: Formal Academic Style

For those of you keeping tabs on our progress, we've now finished our discussions of EAP essay content (how to determine what goes into an essay) and EAP essay structure (how to effectively organize the information we include in our essay for optimal reader comprehension). Today we will be talking about some of the stylistic conventions used in EAP writing. While not as important as the information you choose to include in your essay or the way that you choose to organize that information, stylistic choices help make your paper more engaging and readable. An outline of today's lesson can be found below: 

Academic Style, Advanced Punctuation and Basic Formatting Rules

I. Brainstorming: What kind of language do you use when talking to your friends? Do you use the same language with your parents? How about with your professors? If there is any variance, why do you think that is the case? (our discussion about 'audience' and 'purpose'). 

What are some examples of colloquial (slang) words/expressions? Can you say the same thing in a more formal (academic) way!

II. The Rules of Formal Language

Let's take a look at this short overview of the rules of formal language. While you watch, take a look at these questions: 

-"Who" are the FANBOYS? What should we remember about their use in academic writing?

-Is it a good idea to use phrases like "I think..." or "I believe..." in formal academic writing? Why or       

why not? Can you think of any exceptions to the rule? 

-Elaborate on the use of contractions in formal writing. 

-Does addressing the reader help make your writing more academic and persuasive? 

-Elaborate on the use of pronouns in formal academic writing. 

III. Review: The Elements of Academic Style

Here is a short review of the major elements of academic style. There is also a short practice at the end. For more information, check out the link titled, "How to Maintain an Appropriately Academic Tone" in the Class Links list. 

IV. Advanced Punctuation

One of the ways to ensure your style is appropriately academic is through the correct use of some more advanced punctuation. Let's take a look at this overview. Afterwards, I'd like you to do numbers 1-10 on this worksheet. If you so choose, you can complete the worksheet for 5 points of extra credit on the Diagnostic Assignment grade (it will be due on Tuesday as well)

Here is a funny look at using semi-colons from the web comic, "The Oatmeal".

V. APA Formatting

Finally, we will talk about how to format our essays using APA style formatting rules. First, let's all format a title page for the Diagnostic Assignment. Following this example, open a new MS Word document and create your own title page. Then save it to your Dropbox. Be sure to include this as the first page of your final work! 

Now, let's review some of the basic tenets of APA formatting. Complete this survey with a partner. Some questions ask you to modify the sample paragraphs, which can be found here. Then we will go over the answers as a class. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Tuesday (9/24/2013)

-Diagnostic Analysis Paragraph #6: Academic Style In a short paragraph (no more than 300 words) answer the following questions: looking at the first paragraph of your original diagnostic analysis essay, answer these questions, making sure to connect your answers to the material discussed in class. 

-Is the language complex and precise? If not, what specific changes can you make to achieve these goals?

-Is the tone formal enough? If not, what specific changes can you make to improve it? 

-Evaluate your use of advanced punctuation through the first paragraph. Do you use it effectively? Do you use it at all? 

-For the whole essay, is it correctly formatted? If not, how can you improve it?

When you finish, title your file "DA_6_YourName" and upload it to your Dropbox folder. Please do this no later than Saturday, 9/21/13 at Midnight so that I have time to give you some feedback before you decide which three paragraphs to include in your final portfolio.

-Final Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio and Revision Assignment Due on Tuesday, 9/24/13, by 5pm. Please submit this assignment via SafeAssign on the Compass 2G  site. Submit each component of the assignment together, in one document, with separate titles.

Day Seven: Writing Coherently

Up to this point we've talked about the three general factors that determine the content to include in an EAP essay: audience (who is going to read our work?), purpose (why are we writing, what is the goal?) and tone (how will our essay be written?). A good visualization of the interplay between these factors can be found in the diagram below: 

From there we went on to discuss the most important structural components of any EAP essay. During our discussion on structure, we touched on the importance of a good thesis statement as well as the dual role it plays in stating the purpose or goal of the essay as well as providing a brief preview of the subsequent organization of the essay's body paragraphs. We also talked about an efficient way of structuring our body paragraphs through the use of the PIE-C technique. To review, PIE-C is an acronym that stands for: 

Point (the topic sentence of the paragraph that expresses the main idea)

Illustration (an example from a scholarly/credible source, i.e. quotations, statistics, expert opinion)

Explanation (where you, the writer, make the connection between the illustration and the point in your own words!)

Conclusion (a sentence that sums up what you've written about and connects that discussion to a greater end)

By utilizing the PIE-C paragraph structure technique, we can ensure that everything mentioned in our essays refers back to the main points as laid out in the thesis, which is one way to achieve greater coherence in your writing. Today we will be talking about other ways to achieve maximum coherence in your writing. The outline for today's class is as follows: 

Writing Coherently 

I. Brainstorming: What is coherence? What is cohesion? How are these two concepts different? What are some ways to write coherently? How about cohesively? 

II. Unity, Coherence and Cohesion Defined

Follow this link for a brief overview on what the above concepts mean, as well as some practical ways to achieve these goals. After the presentation, we will do this practice on using transition words. For a list of transition words, look here.

After we've discussed this activity, we'll do a short practice that combines the concepts of coherence and cohesion in one sample paragraph. 

III. A Strategy for Detecting and Maintaining Coherence: Word Chains 

Let's take a look at this short video that explains how word chains work and why they're a good way to help check to see if you've been coherent throughout your body paragraphs. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday (9/19/2013)

Due Date Reminder: Your "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio" and "Diagnostic Essay Revision" are due next Tuesday, September 24th, 2013, before class. You will submit this assignment via the SafeAssign feature on Compass 2G as one document with two titles. We will discuss how to do this in class on Thursday. 

"Writer's Help" Activity: Transitions between Sentences

Review the information in "Writer's Help" on transitions and then do the corresponding activity. As always, you must receive an 80% to get credit for the activity. 

Diagnostic Analysis Paragraph #5: write a short paragraph (no more than 300 words) that answers the following questions: what is "coherence"? What is "cohesion"? How are they related? How are the different? Why are they both important to the writing process? Finally, take your first body paragraph and try and code it for word chains. Is you paragraph coherent? Explain why or why not? When you are finished, titled your document, "DA_5_YourName" and upload it to the "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio" in your Dropbox. The paragraph is due before our next class. 

Day Six: Organizing Your Body Paragraphs: the PIE-C Technique

During our last class, we talked about the elements of a good thesis statement and the vitally important role that thesis statements play in organizing your essay. A good thesis statement will clearly state the author's purpose/goal/reason for writing as well as offer a preview of the supporting arguments that he or she will use to support his/her argument. Today we will be talking about how to logically organize the body paragraphs in an essay so that they easy to read, convincing and connect back to the main purpose as stated in the thesis. The outline for today's class can be found below: 

Effective Body Paragraph Structure: PIE-C

I. Brainstorming: How do you normally organize the information in the body paragraphs in your EAP essays? Is it important to organize this information? What comes first? What comes last? How about in the middle of the paragraph? 

II. Using PIE-C to Structure Your Body Paragraphs

Today we'll be talking about an easy-to-use and very effective way to logically structure the body paragraphs for your EAP essays. It's called the "PIE-C" or "PIE" technique. No, we will not be eating any desserts in class. "PIE-C" is an acronym that stands for: 

P: Point

I: Illustration

E: Explanation

C: Concluding Sentence 

To better explain this concept, let's talk a look at this PowerPoint presentation. Please follow along using this handout. At the end, we'll do a little practice to help improve to identify each of the four major PIE-C computers in a couple of example paragraphs. 

III. In-Class Work Time

For the last part of class, you will have some time to start working on the fourth Diagnostic Analysis Paragraph (see instructions below) and/or the assigned "Writer's Help" activities. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Tuesday (9/17/2013)

-I linked you all to the section in "Writer's Help" on "Parallelism". I'd like each of you to read through the introductory information on maintaining parallel structure in your essays. Then, everyone one should do the first activity at the bottom of the page entitled, "Exercise: Identifying Parallel Structure" as well as one of the following three exercises: Parallelism 1, Parallelism 2 or Parallelism 3. You may do all if you like, but it's only necessary to do one. 

-Diagnostic Analysis Paragraph #4: Write a short paragraph (no more than 300 words) that answers the following question: Identify the PIE-C structure for your first body paragraph from the first draft of your diagnostic essay. Highlight each component in a different color just like we did in class. After doing so, answer these questions: for each paragraph, did you follow the PIE-C structure? If so, where did you learn to do so? If not, what is missing? Identify one or two things you did well (with respect to PIE-C) and one or two things you could improve. Then create a plan to revise your body paragraphs for your final draft. 

Due Date: Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio and Diagnostic Revision

This is a reminder that the due date for our first major assignment is approaching. The "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio" and the "Diagnostic Revision" are due before class on Tuesday, September 24th. The Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio involves you selecting your three best "DA" paragraphs from the daily homework you've been submitting for each lesson. The Diagnostic Revision involves you revising your original diagnostic essay to reflect your understanding of the material we cover throughout Unit 1. This assignment is worth 20% of your final grade, so if you have any questions, be sure to send me an email or stop by my office during office hours. The full assignment description (as well as the grading rubric) can be found here.

Day Five: Thesis Statements and PIE Structure (Part 1)

Happy Tuesday! Hopefully you all had a restful weekend. Today we are going to continue our discussion of the basic concepts of EAP writing by focusing on the heart of the EAP essay: the thesis statement. Thesis statements are arguably the most important single sentence in any essay your write. They are so important because they tell your reader the purpose (or goal) of the essay as well as give a short preview of the supporting arguments that will be used to 'prove' the stance taken...all in one sentence. 

Today's class outline can be found below: 

Thesis Statements

I. Brainstorming: what are the characteristics of a good thesis statement? What adjectives would you use to describe a good thesis statement? 

II. An Introduction to Thesis Statements

Click here for a brief PPT overview of the requirements for a good thesis statement

III. Identifying Academic Thesis Paragraphs

Read the these two paragraphs. One comes from a newspaper and another comes from a standard academic journal. Identify the thesis statement in each writing sample and then answer the four questions at the bottom of the page with a partner. We will discuss the answers as a class afterwards. 

IV. Providing the Reader with a Preview of the Essay's Content

Many writers understand that a good thesis statement must explain the purpose for writing an essay, but fewer writers realize that it's necessary to include a "preview" of the supporting arguments that will appear in the body paragraphs following the introduction. The reader should be able to identify how many body paragraphs the essay will contain as well as exactly what they will contain. In that way, they will have a basic outline of the logic that will be used to support the purpose for writing the essay after reading a single sentence. 

To practice this idea, complete this worksheet with a partner. We will discuss the answers as a class. 

V. Grammar Focus: Maintaining Parallelism

Complete this worksheet on parallel structure with a partner. Be prepared to discuss your answers with the class afterwards. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday (9/12/13)

-Diagnostic Analysis Paragraph #3: Write a short paragraph (no more than 300 words) that answers the following question: review the thesis statement that you wrote for your first draft of the diagnostic essay. Point out specifically where you demonstrate each of the three main components of a good thesis statement as discussed in class. If you were missing any (or all) of these three components, indicate what was missing and why. Then revise your thesis statement so that it betters embodies the three main criteria and explain what you added/modified and why. 

When finished, please save your paragraph with the title, "DA_3_YourName" and upload it to the "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio" folder in your Dropbox. It is due before class on Thursday. 

Day Four: Connecting Audience and Purpose

Welcome back once again! We spent the majority of our last class discussing the importance of knowing who our audience is when writing anything, but especially when writing for academic purposes. By thinking critically about who our intended audience is, we can better tailor our writing to suit their needs, interests and expectations.

Today, we will spend some time talking about why it is important to understand the purpose of a giving writing assignment. We write for many different reasons: to express ourselves, to tell stories, to persuade, to inform, to analyze, to critique and to compare and contrast (...and this is not an exhaustive list). Just like we must tailor our writing according to the audience that will be reading it, we must also make adjustments to better promote the specific purpose we're using our writing to achieve.

Below you'll find an outline for today's class:

Audience and Purpose
I. Brainstorming Discussion: Once more, define 'audience' and explain it's role in communication. Now, define 'purpose' and explain the role it plays in the communication model. Finally, explain the connection between 'audience' and 'purpose'

II. Comparing Two Writing Samples
Read these two writing samples both produced by the same student. After reading, discuss any differences in tone, vocabulary, examples used, sentence structure, specifics mentioned, organization, etc. with your partner. Also consider the following questions:

Who was the intended audience for paragraph #1? Paragraph #2? How do you know?
What did the writer include in the first example that she left out in the second? Why?
What was the purpose for writing paragraph #1? Paragraph #2? How do you know?

III. Audience, Purpose and Tone
Now, we'll take a look at some of the connections between these three very important topics. Click here for the PowerPoint presentation. While review this material, consider the following questions:

What are the different purposes for writing an academic essay?
What are a few of the different modes of writing?
What was the purpose of the diagnostic essay? 

IV. Tone and Writing Objectively

What is tone?

You should use the best language possible to achieve your writing goals. Carefully consider the language you use; it should be tailored as precisely as possible to best reach your intended audience as well as fulfill your intended purpose. For this class, you will be writing for a general academic audience, so you will need to explain your ideas and use terms easily understood by any and all college students.

For every major assignment in this class, we will strive to focus on ideas and data and to avoid personal bias. We want our writing to "show (or explain), not tell". As such we will always use an objective tone when writing our major assignment. An objective tone means there is no personal (subjective) bias. Here is an exercise designed to help you affect a more objective tone.

Also, here is a great website that explains how to write objectively.

V. Connecting it all
With a partner, take some time to fill out this chart. It makes connections between different writing styles, audiences, purposes and tone. Afterwards, we'll have a short discussion.


Housekeeping Details and Homework for Tuesday (9/10/13)
-Check your Dropbox folders tonight for my comments on your Diagnostic Essays.
-Review the assignment description for the "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio and Revision Assignment". Let me know if you have any questions.

-Do the activity on "Idiomatic Expressions" in "Writer's Help". You must receive 80% to get full credit. 

-Diagnostic Analysis Paragraph #2: Write a short paragraph (no more than 300 words) that answers the following question: describe the purpose of the diagnostic essay activity. Did you write your first draft with this purpose in mind? If so, give examples. If not, how could you improve what you wrote to more effectively achieve this purpose. Give specific examples.

When finished, please save your paragraph with the title, "DA_2_YourName" and upload it to the "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio" folder. It is due before class on Tuesday (9/10/13).

Day Three: Audience and The Communication Model

Happy Tuesday! Welcome back to class. I hope you all enjoyed a fun (and restful) weekend. Today we will begin our discussion of the writing process by talking about those people who read our writing, the audience. We'll spend some time talking about the way the culture helps determine audience expectations (which in turn influence the way we write). Finally, we'll talk about the way that written communication works, using an idea known as "the communication model". Below you'll find an outline for today's class.

Audience and Culture
I. Brainstorming: What does the idea of 'culture' mean to you?

II. Discussion: the elements of culture and focused discussion questions
         -What are the elements of culture?
         -How does culture determine the way we communicate?
         -How are writing and culture related?

III. Define: the idea of "audience". Explain why it is important to the writing process. Why do we need to know about the audience we are writing for before we begin writing?

Describe the Intended Audience for Each of the Following Media Clips
-Audience Analysis #1
-Analysis Audience #2
-Audience Analysis #3

IV. A brief introduction to 'Audience'

V. The Communication Model
Now we will watch a short video on the 'communication model'. As you watch, be sure to take notes on the terms used using this worksheet. If something is unfamiliar, please ask for clarification.

VI. Discussion of Audience & Purpose
Read the following two writing samples here. They are from the same student, Fatimeh Ghazi (Egypt). One was written to a friend back home and one was written for a class on social relations. Look for ways that the emphasis changes depending on the author's relationship with the audience.

With a partner, discuss the differences in: vocabulary, examples used, sentence structure, use of pronouns, organization and tone.

What did the writer include in the first example that she left out in the second? Why?
What did the writer include in the second example that she left out in the first? Why?


Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday
-Setting up "Writer's Help": Any questions?
-Setting up Dropbox folders: Please create three folders inside the Dropbox folder you have already shared with me. Title them, "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio", "Diagnostic Revision" and "Reflections"
-Review the material "Unit 1: Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio & Revision"

Diagnostic Analysis Paragraph #1: Write a short paragraph (no more than 300 words) answering the following question: Think about the diagnostic essay prompt "Should parents be concerned about their young children using iPads?" Does the prompt identify (either explicitly or implicitly) an audience? If so, explain who the audience is. If not, who do think the audience should be? Did you write your essay thinking about a specific audience? Why is it important to consider an audience when writing?

When you finish, please save your paragraph with the title, "DA_1_YourName" and upload it to
the "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio". All work is due before the start of class on Thursday.