ACADEMIC WRITING IApril 19th 2012

Today• Supporting details

• Citation and referencing (APA)

Supporting details• If I state a point in an essay, I need to support that point

with some form of evidence.

• Those forms of evidence are…?

Supporting details• Facts

• Quotations

• Statistics

• Paraphrases

• Summaries

Supporting details• In academic writing…

• You are expected to support your ideas and opinions with:

• - Facts• - Quotes• - Statistics• - A paraphrase or a summary of other’s work

Sources• Supporting details can be gathered from many different

sources.

• Books• Journals (printed and online)• Magazines• Newspapers• Websites• Interviews

- The type of source will depend on the kind of information you are presenting.

Sources• Naver café vs. academic journal.

• Wikipedia vs. government website.

• Look for reliable, trustworthy sources!

Facts vs. Opinions• Opinion: Subjective.• - Your own beliefs or attitudes.

• Examples:

• iPhones are better than Android phones.

• English is an easy language to learn.

• Sushi tastes great.

Facts vs. Opinions• Opinions are not an acceptable form of support.•

(However, you will often be encouraged to express your own ideas in writing)

Opinions normally must be supported with facts.

Facts vs. Opinions• Facts: Objective.• - Statements of truths.

• Examples:

• At sea level, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

• Women live longer than men.

• Cigarettes are addictive.

Facts vs. Opinions• Facts often need PROOF to prove they are facts.

Examples:

At sea level, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

Women live longer than men.

Cigarettes are addictive.Need proof

Facts vs. Opinions• Women live longer than men.

• Cigarettes are addictive.

• - People may not believe these, or may not agree with these.

• - Supporting details (proof) are needed.

Facts vs. Opinions (Examples)

a. Punishment for identity thieves is not severe enough.

b. People who steal identities do a lot of damage before their victims are aware of it.

c. Last year, the losses of identity theft victims totaled more than $7 billion.

Facts vs. Opinions (Examples)

a. Punishment for identity thieves is not severe enough.

• - Opinion.

• - An example of punishment could help this.

• - Statistics about repeat offenders after punishment would also support this.

Facts vs. Opinions (Examples)

b. People who steal identities do a lot of damage before their victims are aware of it.

• - a fact that needs proof.• • - an example of a victim and the effects of identity theft

would strengthen this.

• - Statistics about how much damage can be done before victims are aware of identity theft could help.

Facts vs. Opinions (Examples)

c. Last year, the losses of identity theft victims totaled more than $7 billion.

• - This is a specific supporting detail (statistic).

• All it needs is a SOURCE (citation…more on that in a minute!)

How to provide support• Several ways:

• - Facts• - Quotes• - Statistics• - A paraphrase or summary of other’s work

Plagiarism

•This deserves mentioning again!

•What is it?

Plagiarism• Using someone else’s words or ideas as your own.

• - This is a very serious issue.

• Plagiarizing can result in:

• - Failure of an assignment or course.

• - Suspension from school.

• - Expulsion from school.

Plagiarism is…• Using someone else’s words or ideas as your own.

• So…

• Whenever you use outside information, you must give credit (cite) to the work.

Citation• At KAC, we cite using the APA format.

• APA = American Psychological Association.

• It can be complicated, so it will take time to get familiar with it!

Citation• Citing a source means to tell the reader where you got your information.

• Example:

• Students who are motivated by money tend to learn less than students who are motivated to learn by their own interest in a subject (Brown, 2007).

Citation• Why cite?

• Because you must give credit to the idea’s originator.

• Citing RELIABLE sources in your own work significantly strengthens your points/arguments.

• If you make a statement without a source, I could say “That’s just what you think.”

• If you make a statement supported by a relevant, reliable source, it is much harder for me to argue with you.

Citation

But, when do I cite?!

Source: geardiary.com

Citation• Cite whenever you present someone else’s idea.

• i.e., If you state a fact

• The population of South Korea is 48,754,657 (The U.S. Department of State, 2012).

Citation• When you cite a source in the text of your essay, it follows the

following format:

• (author(s)’s last name, year published).

• i.e.,

• (Brown, 2007)

• (Smith, Rogers, & Timmons, 1968).

Citation• WHAT ABOUT WEBSITES ?!?!

• If there is no author listed on a website, you can reference as follows:

• (website name, date of publication or update).

• (The U.S. Department of State, 2012)

Citation• WHAT ABOUT WEBSITES ?!?!

• If there is no author listed on a website, you can reference as follows:

• (website name, date of publication or update).

• If there is no date available, use ‘n.d.’

• (The U.S. Department of State, n.d.)

Citation• NOTE: there are several ways to cite sources in-text.

• See the website link about HOW this is done.

• http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/apa#websites

• (APA style guide).

Referencing• If you cite a source in your text, then that source MUST

appear in the reference section (at the end of the essay).

• i.e.,

• Students who are motivated by money tend to learn less than students who are motivated to learn by their own interest in a subject (Brown, 2007).

Bacon, S. & Finnemann, M. (1992). Sex differences in self-reported beliefs aboutlanguage learning and authentic oral and written output. Language Learning, 42,471-495.

Brown, J., Robson, G., & Rosenkjar, P. (2001). Personality, motivation, anxiety,strategies, and language proficiency of Japanese students. In Z. Dornyei & R.Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition (pp. 361-398).Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Chang, H. (2005). The relationship between extrinsic/intrinsic motivation and language learning strategies among college students of English in Taiwan. Unpublished master’s thesis for master’s degree, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

References

Referencing• In your “References” section, references are listed in

alphabetical order.

• BY LAST NAME

Citation and references• Cite in-text.

• Put the source in the reference section.

Citation

But, when do I cite?!

Source: geardiary.com

Citation

•Whenever you are in doubt…

• CITE!

Support from outside sources• Several ways:

• - Facts• - Quotes• - Statistics• - A paraphrase or summary of other’s work

Support from outside sources• Generally accepted facts (don’t necessarily need a source).

• Example:

• At sea level, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

• The Internet is used all over the world.

• Brazil is a country in South America.

Support from outside sources• Quotations (quotes)

• - Good source of proof if they are from reliable and knowledgeable sources (i.e., research articles, expert interviews)

Quotations• 2 kinds of quotations:

1. Direct quotation:• - copy someone’s exact words (spoken or written)

and put the words into quotation marks.

Quotations• 2 kinds of quotations:

• 2. Indirect quotation:

• - report someone’s words without quotation marks. A reporting expression is used instead (i.e., according to XYZ…

Direct quotations

• It seems apparent that if athletes want to win, they must

consider using drugs. Dr. Michael Karsten, a Dutch

physician who said he has prescribed steroids to

hundreds of athletes, states, “If you are especially

gifted, you may win once, but from my experience

you can’t continue to win without drugs. The field is

just too filled with drug users” (Bamberger and Yaeger,

1997, p. 62).

Direct quotations• Usually need reporting verbs or phrases:

• - assert - according to• - insist - As XYZ says• - claim• - say• - state• - suggest

Direct quotations• Reporting verbs/phrases can come before, in the middle

of, or after borrowed information (quotes).

• One young bicyclist says, “To win in world-class competition, you have to take drugs” (Jones, 1999, p. 31).

• “To win in world-class competition,” says one young bicyclist, “you have to take drugs” (Jones, 1999, p. 31).

• “To win in world-class competition, you have to take drugs,” says one young bicyclist (Jones, 1999, p. 31).

Direct quotations• Including the source with the reporting verb/phrase gives

authority to the writing:

• The Institute of Global Ethics warns, “The Olympics could well become just another media promotion in which contestants are more motivated by money and fame than by athletic glory” (Kidder, 2000, p. 135).

Direct Quotations• See website link (“Files”) for punctuation rules for direct

quotes.

Indirect quotations• Indirect quotations are introduced by the same reporting

verbs/phrases as direct quotes.

• The word that is often added for clarity.

Indirect quotations

• It seems apparent that if athletes want to win, they must

consider using drugs. Dr. Michael Karsten, a Dutch

physician who said he had prescribed steroids to

hundreds of athletes, stated that is [athletes] were

especially gifted, [they] might win once, but from his

experience [they] couldn’t continue to win without drugs.

He asserted that the field was just too filled with drug

users (Bamberger and Yaeger, 2010, p. 62).

Changing from direct to indirect quotes

1. Omit the quotation marks.

2. Add the subordinator that. (Unless the meaning is clear without it)

3. Change the verb tense if necessary (see website link for rules).

4. Change pronouns to keep the sense of the original.

Statistics• Statistics or data taken from reliable sources (government

stats books, journals, magazines, etc.) can also serve as good supporting details.

• As with quotations, you must cite the source of your statistics.

• e.g.,

• Canada is a sparsely populated country. According to a recent census, only 33,000,000 people live in its 9,984,000 square km of area (Stats Canada, 2006).

Statistics- Statistics and data are often paired with the reporting

expression,

• according to XYZ…• • According to a United Nations study, the world’s

population has more than doubled in the last 50 years (Population Reference Bureau, 2004).

Statistics• Other reporting expressions include:

• _____ found that…

• Studies indicate….

• _______ shows that…

Paraphrasing- Rewriting information from an outside source in your own

words without changing the meaning.

- A paraphrase uses all, or almost all of the information of the original source.

- Is usually almost as long as the original source.

Paraphrasing• REMEMBER:

• If you simply copy the original source, you MUST use quotation marks (it is not a paraphrase).

• If you do paraphrase something, you still have to cite the source. If not, you could be caught for plagiarizing.

See website link for a step-by-step guide to paraphrasing.

Paraphrasing• Some simple things to remember for paraphrasing:

1. Use your own words and your own sentence structure.

2. Make your paraphrase approximately the same length as the original source.

3. Do not change the meaning of the original source.

Summarizing- A shortened version of the original source.• - Only the important points are included in a summary.• - Little details are left out.

- If your summary is almost as long as the original source…

it’s not a summary!

Summarizing• Some simple things to remember for making a summary:

1. Use your own words and your own sentence structure.

2. Remember that a summary is much shorter than a paraphrase. Include only the main points and main supporting points, leaving out most details.

3. Do not change the meaning of the original source.

Remember• Supporting points in writing need proof to support them.

• Always cite the sources of your proof (if a source was used).

• Be careful not to plagiarize.

• Make sure there is a connection between your idea and the supporting proof.

• - Don’t just drop random facts or statistics into the essay.

Don’t forget to cite !!