sentences are wordy and contain a lot of details — break down into smaller amounts
You are to revise your paper down to FOUR pages pages exactly — not one word more, not one word less. Remember that works cited pages NEVER count in the page number. If you do not revise the paper down to four pages, you will receive a 50/100.
Revise, Revise, Revise!!
This will be the best paper you have ever written in college! You will be able to use this as a writing sample.
A few things of note:
- You are allowed only ONE direct quote per source, and only ONE per page (four page paper, two total quotes, from two different sources). You do not have to use two direct quotes, but you must use at least one, and it must be properly embedded, explained, and cited in the paper. If you use more than three or use more than one from the same source, the highest grade you can receive is a 50/100, assuming every other aspect of the paper is correct.
- Paraphrased information must be cited. If your paper is not properly cited with in text citations, it is plagiarized and will receive a 0/100.
- Paraphrasing must be completely your own words — if it matches too much to the original source, then the paper is plagiarized and will receive a 0/100.
- Your citations on your works cited page must have the proper format: They must be in alphabetical order, have a hanging indent (lots of You Tube Videos can teach you this), and be in full 9th edition MLA format. Improper citation is also a form of plagiarism, and the highest grade you can receive if your Works Cited page is not correct is a 50/100 — you have turned in a version of this page several times already (sourcing, AB, research submission and rough draft) and have been given ample opportunity to fix these errors.
- EACH PARAGRAPH MUST CONTAIN CITATIONS TO AT LEAST TWO SOURCES.
- DO NOT REFERENCE THE RESEARCH IN THE TEXT OF YOUR WRITING (see below for discussion of this)
I did not read your rough draft for content — I read for formatting and other components. Therefore, it is entirely possible for you to do very well on the rough draft and extremely poorly on the final — as I will be reading for both format and content at that time.
Remember, you want to revise your paper down to FOUR exact pages. Not one extra or less word.
If you have any questions, please send me a message or email.
Prof. Roddy
Below is a copy of the announcement with the writing tips in case you missed it:
READ THIS CAREFULLY AND MULTIPLE TIMES. All of it is review of all of the lectures for the past modules and much of it is covered in this module’s lecture as well. However, make sure that you understand all of it before you write. If not, send me a message.
Before you write, be sure to review the PAC of this assignment.
- Purpose: to make a reader see things your way;
- To convince them of your arguments or position
- USE the research to support
- Audience: general/classmates
- Content:
- Include: THIRD PERSON,
- argumentative points
- USE of the research
- Exclude: first and second person, personal opinion, abstract language
- Tone: persuasive
- Include: THIRD PERSON,
WHAT DOES USE OF THE RESEARCH MEAN?
It means that you use the research; you don’t summarize, reflect, or respond to it. As such: DO NOT REFERENCE THE RESEARCH IN THE TEXT OF YOUR WRITING.
Even though you won’t include the author’s name in your writing, you will still need documentation (citation). Referencing and documentation are not the same thing. Be sure you understand the difference.
- Referencing texts means: “According to ….” Or “In a study …” or by providing a summary or reflection of a source. Do not do this. If you do this, you will earn an automatic F.
- You are USING the research
- This means that you state your point and then you provide fact to prove that your point is correct.
- Difference between telling someone “hey, I heard on TV that the hurricane season will be bad” and saying “The hurricane season will be bad” (TV weatherman).
- In the first one, you come off as a repeater of information — a summarizer. No one thinks you actually KNOW the information, you’re just repeating what you heard.
- In the other, you come off as the expert — you did your research and you have the receipts to prove your knowledge.
Introduction: Your introduction should contain the context of your issue. Do not assume that the reader will know anything about your topic. You may need to provide some background information — at least enough for the reader to understand that there is some level of debate.
- Thesis statement: must identify the issue AND set up the position of your paper
- Sentences in the introduction must be sentences that are individual to your paper
- No global or broad stroke sentence (Since the beginning of time, man has fought wars …)
- Every sentence in the introduction should be one that cannot be used in any other paper.
Argumentative Points: you will make 4/5 argumentative points that support your position.
- Supported by USING the research
- Provide citations and documentation
- Each point should be supported by at LEAST two different sources
- Only one DQ per source (and for this class, this means you may only have 2 DQs total, as you were only allowed to pull DQs from two sources)
- you are limited to the DQ researching submission for these
- Must follow the rules for DQ use
- Each paragraph must make a connection to the thesis and your position — do not assume the reader will figure it out
Conclusion: Do not restate your thesis or summarize your paper in the conclusion.
- Do not have a “call to action” – this is not appropriate for this PAC.
- Write a theme statement: message or point of the paper
- these are general statements that could be applied other papers
For thesis and theme review, see the early lectures in the first two modules.
Last, be sure to meet the length requirement; the works cited page never counts, and a partial page is not a full page. Use MLA style and formatting. and do not write a five paragraph paper — this paper is far too long for that.