The Use and Misuse of Quotations

Simply quoting a passage does not demonstrate our understanding of it or the larger work it comes from. In terms of Bloom’s taxonomy, it is a level one activity, the lowest level of learning. That does not mean that we should never quote. It does mean that when we quote we should do so sparingly and for a good reason, for example, to explain our interpretation of a text, a level two activity or to provide support for our assessment, a level five activity. (For the proper use of single and double quotation marks and block quotations, The University of Wisconsin Colleges provides a nice summary: http://uwc.edu/students/academic-support/owl/quotation-marks)

Introduction

When we land on a webpage that does not capture our interest, we move on in a matter of seconds. We can expect our would-be readers to do the same, if we do not get their attention right away. Doing so is the goal of the essay’s first sentence, the so-called “hook.”

Compare the following two sentences:

This year the Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan.

Bob Dylan did not show up to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The first sentence is ho-hum. Unless we are already interested in the Nobel Prize or Bob Dylan, we will not read on. The second sentence may leave us wondering, “What’s up with Dylan? Was he being rude? Was he trying to make a point? If so, what was it? Why did the Nobel Committee give the prize in literature to someone known primarily as a songwriter? Was the committee trying to make a point? If so, what was it?”

Assuming that the second sentence hooks some readers, what then? Where do we go from here? The next step is to provide some background information, for example, noting other honors Dylan has received, for example, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Officier de la Legion d’honnuer, and other recipients of the Noble Prize in Literature.

We complete the introductory paragraph with the all-important thesis statement. Here we state our position and the support we will be offering for it, for example:

Bob Dylan’s refusal to show up for the Nobel Prize evidences a deep humility, a feeling of unworthiness, foreshadowed in his reactions to receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Officier de la Legion d’honnuer, and comments about previous recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

For guidance on crafting an effective thesis statement, please see page 7 of www.cambridge.org/download_file/586172/0/

Reading Aloud

A great way to tell if our writing flows smoothly is to read it aloud. If a phrase sounds odd to us or we find ourselves stumbling over a sentence, then revision is in order. Further, following the advice of the Purdue Online Writing Lab https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/, we may find it helpful to read our work aloud a friend and solicit feedback and/or listen to a friend read our work.

If, when reading our essay aloud, we find that our prose seems a bit “flabby” or “meanders” in some places, The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Writing Center provides a helpful corrective: “How to Write Clear, Concise, and Direct Sentences” http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Clear,_Concise,_and_Direct_Sentences.pdf

If we notice places in our essay where we seem to be moving too quickly and there are abrupt shifts, then we need to provide some transitions to help our reader follow the flow of our argument. Here the University of Virginia Writing Center’s “Transitions” is a helpful resource, https://www.uvu.edu/writingcenter/docs/handouts/transitions.pdf

Considering the Source

We need a set of standards for evaluating the reliability and appropriateness of resources for college-level writing. Many universities recommend the so-called CRAAP test, originally developed at the Miriam Library at the State University of California, Chico. The letters in the CRAAP acronym refer to the five areas of the test: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. To see if a given source is appropriate for our scholarly purposes, we answer the questions associated with each heading. So, for example, under the heading of Currency, the California State University, Chico, lists the following: “When was the information published or posted?”; “Has the information been revised or updated?”; “Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?”; “Are the links functional?”

https://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf

For accessing the CRAAP test, we can do no better than going to the original source, by clicking the above link. For a video overview of the test and its importance, the University of Mary Washington’s Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies provides:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV55BE9IscM

Writing to Demonstrate Understanding

With a little time and effort, each one of us could memorize a Shakespearean sonnet. Not so when it comes to writing one. With a lot more time and effort, we could memorize the periodic table of elements. However, cutting-edge research in chemistry is an altogether different matter. On one highly regarded and widely used classification of knowledge, “Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy,” there are six levels of learning, ranging from remembering to creating. As described in “Action Words for Bloom’s Taxonomy” (© 2014 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System), they are:

Remembering, Level 1, Recalling previously learned information

Understanding, Level 2, Explaining ideas or concepts

Applying, Level 3, Applying knowledge to actual situations

Analyzing, Level 4, Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships

Evaluating, Level 5, Justifying a decision or course of action

Creating, Level 6, Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things

Writing in Five Paragraphs

The first habit in Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is “to begin with the end in mind.” In the case of an essay or paper, our end is a composition consisting of three parts: an introductory paragraph, body paragraphs and a concluding paragraph. (See the University of Virginia’s “Basic Essay Format” https://www.uvu.edu/writingcenter/docs/handouts/basicessayformat.pdf for an excellent overview.)

Our paper will always have an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph, but the number of body paragraphs may vary. The “Five-Paragraph Essay,” a popular format for essays and short papers, has three body paragraphs along with an introduction and conclusion. Each paragraph type: introduction, body and conclusion, has a different role.

Revising

Writing is a process; proofreading and revision are vital aspects of that process. We do not proofread and revise if we have time; we set aside time to do so. When we do, we invariably find ways to improve our work significantly. That is why many writing-intensive courses require multiple drafts of a paper.

Researching to Write

Writing often involves research. Before we can begin writing about the impact of Twitter in the 2016 Presidential election, the symbolism of bullfighting in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, or whatever topic our professor may assign, we need to get at the relevant information. However, as the advent of fake news stories clearly illustrates, identifying/finding reliable sources in crucial.

Taking Notes

Whether our work involves close readings or critical readings, we will want to jot down questions and ideas as we work our way through a text. Active reading is hard work and we do not want to lose track of our insights. Since careful reading generates questions, one approach to note taking is to organize our reflections under question and sub-question headings, leaving plenty of space beneath each question for relevant observations and reflections. As we continue recording questions and reflections, we may discover our thesis statement and the outline of our paper.

Our note taking will be most efficient, if we take the time to document our sources, using the style our professor requires (see “Acknowledging Sources” under “Writing to Understand” below). And, we also double check to make sure that any quotations in our notes are exact; avoid inadvertent plagiarism by providing our own summaries and paraphrases of the material (see “Avoiding Plagiarism” below under “Revising.)

Critical Reading

After posing the question, “What does it mean to interpret a text critically?” SUNY Empire State College offers the following answer, “It means being a discerning reader who: questions what you read; thinks about what the author wants you to believe and works to convince you; decides whether the author’s views are worthy of agreement.” https://www.esc.edu/online-writing-center/resources/critical-reading-writing/general-reading/critical-reading/

If we are feeling at all shaky about our powers of discernment, we might be asking, “What are the sorts of questions discerning readers raise?” The University of Washington helps us out here with some questions based on an adaptation of J.K. Beyer’s “Critically Analyzing an Academic Article or Book” https://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/Handouts/Critical AnalysisPapers.pdf. SUNY Empire State provides complementary guidance in the form of worksheets, each with its own set of questions: Authority of the Writer; Logic of The Writer’s Argument; Ways in Which the Writer Gets Your Interest; Writer’s Use of Language and Style; Ideology that Informs the Text. .” https://www.esc.edu/online-writing-center/resources/critical-reading-writing/general-reading/critical-reading/

Student Resources for Writing-Intensive Independent Learning Courses

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