Sunday, February 10, 2019
Friday, February 8, 2019
WRITING STYLES
TYPES OF WRITING STYLES:
by J. Dick
CONTENT developed using structure from ABOUT WRITING
There are four main types of writing: EXPOSITORY, DESCRIPTIVE, PERSUASIVE, AND NARRATIVE. Each of these writing styles is used for a specific purpose. A single text may include more than one writing style if the author chooses to do so. When an author is writing for himself, he can choose to intertwine writing styles if he wishes, but this freedom does not apply to writings crafted in a school-setting or assignments for work. Those writings require specific style, content, and structure to be followed.
For papers written for a specific purpose, to a specific audience, in a specific classroom, as part of a graded assignment, the author must follow the writing style assigned by the instructor. Instructors at the college-level will typically assign a persuasive argument assignment, and so the specific details relating to that style of writing must always be adhered to. At the college-level, authors will always assess the writing prompt for clear details as to what writing style is assigned and the key specifics that the instructor will require.
EXPOSITORY
Expository writing is one of the most common types of writing. When an author writes in an expository style, all they are trying to do is explain a concept, imparting information from themselves to a wider audience. Expository writing does not include the author’s opinions but focuses on accepted facts about a topic, including statistics or other evidence. The purpose of this style of writing is simply to EXPOSE information about a topic—with an even-hand and free from bias.
CONTENTS of About Writing: A Guide
The links below will take you directly to the online textbook used in this website. Clicking the links below will take you out of this site and to the OpenTextbook website where the full guide is stored.
This content is shared on my Writing STYLE site to provide the minimum knowledge to be able to properly draft an Academic Essay. If the OpenTextbook is ever removed from the external site, you can always use the links within this blog to retrieve the same information.
Thanks to Robin Jeffrey for creating this guide for Klamath Community College’s Learning Resource Center, in Spring of 2015. The Revised Edition was created by Robin Jeffrey, LRC Director at Klamath Community College, in Summer of 2016. If you would like to contact her, email her at jeffrey@klamathcc.edu or robinsheajeffrey@gmail.com. You can also reach her by phone at (541) 880-2256.
CMS (TURABIAN) SIGNAL PHRASES
CMS (turabian) SIGNAL PHRASES
Keep things interesting for your readers by switching up the language and placement of your signal phrases.
MODEL PHRASES
In the words of geneticist Gregor Mendel, “…”1
As Derek Terrence Crab has argued, “…”2
APA CITATION EXAMPLES
APA CITATION EXAMPLES
IN-TEXT CITATIONS
An in-text citation is used to let the reader of your work know that an outside source contributed to your writing of a particular phrase, idea, or argument. In-text citations need to be used following every direct quotation and paraphrase/summary that you write.
IN-TEXT CITATION FOR SOURCE WITH KNOWN AUTHOR
These citations need to include the author’s last name, date that the information was published, and the page (p.) /paragraph (para.) number on which you found the information. If a signal phrase is used earlier in the sentence which includes the author’s name, the name does not need to be included in the citation.
APA SIGNAL PHRASES
APA SIGNAL PHRASES
Keep things interesting for your readers by switching up the language and placement of your signal phrases.
MODEL PHRASES
In the words of Peterson (2012), “…”
As Johnson and Allen (2006) have noted, “…”
Einstein and Yvanovich (1956), researchers in physics, pointed out that, “…”
“…,” claimed Carter (1998).
“…,” wrote Dietrich (2002), “…”
MLA CITATIONS
MLA CITATION EXAMPLES
IN-TEXT CITATIONS
In-text citations in MLA style are sometimes called parenthetical citations. An in-text citation is used to let the reader of your work know that an outside source contributed to your writing of a particular phrase, idea, or argument. In-text citations need to be used following every direct quotation and paraphrase/summary that you write.
MLA SIGNAL PHRASES
MLA SIGNAL PHRASES
Keep things interesting for your readers by switching up the language and placement of your signal phrases.
MODEL PHRASES
In the words of professors Greer and Dewey, “…”
As sociology scholar Janice Kinsey has noted, “…”
Creative Commons, an organization that helps internet users understand and create copyright for materials, reports that “…”
MLA, APA, and Turabian
WHAT IS MLA, APA, AND CMS (Turabian)?
MLA stands for Modern Language Association. It is a style of formatting academic papers that is used mostly in the arts and humanities.
APA stands for American Psychological Association, the professional guild who first developed the guidelines of the style. APA is a style of formatting academic papers that is used mostly in the social sciences.
CMS stands for the Chicago Manual of Style. It is a style of formatting written works that is most widely used in publishing.
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
| Using something word-for-word from another source? |
Put quotation marks around the excerpt, use a signal phrase, and include a parenthetical citation with the page number:
McGuffin and Cross have said, “No one should ever eat cake without frosting” (22).
Or
Cake, according to McGuffin and Cross, is one of those foods that should never be eaten “without frosting” (22).
|
WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR A CITATION?
WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR A CITATION?
This is a general list of the information you might need to create a complete citation. Depending on the citation style you are using, different information may be required for each of these sources (see the section on MLA/APA/CMS for more information on citation styles).
FOR BOOKS
- Author(s)
- Editors/translators
- Edition (if not first)
- Name, date, and city of publication/publisher
EVALUATING WEB SOURCES
EVALUATING WEB SOURCES
AUTHOR
Most reputable websites will list or cite an author, even though you might have to dig into the site deeper than just the section you’re interested in to find it. Most pages will have a home page or “About Us”/”About This Site” link where an author will be credited.
Once you find the name of the author, see what else you can find out about them, including their background in the area they are writing about. If these author’s qualifications are not listed on the site itself, search on author sites or in other sources.
EVALUATING SOURCES
EVALUATING SOURCES
BIAS
Do a background check on the author and publisher of the material. Do they support a particular political or religious view that could be affecting their objectivity in the piece? If they are associated with a special-interest group (i.e. the American Library Association or Keep America Safe), this might also be an indication of bias, unless alternative views are presented and addressed with appropriate respect.
ASSESS THE ARGUMENT
SCHOLARLY SOURCES
IS THIS SOURCE SCHOLARLY?
What is a ‘scholarly’ or ‘peer reviewed’ source? A scholarly source is any material that has been produced by an expert in their field, reviewed by other experts in that field, and published for an audience also highly involved in that field. A source is scholarly if the following are true:
- The source is written with formal language and presented formally
- The author(s) of the source have an academic background (scientist, professor, etc.).
- The source includes a bibliography documenting the works cited in the source
- The source includes original work and analysis, rather than just summary of what’s already out there
- The source includes evidence from primary sources
- The source includes a description of the author(s) methods of research.
KEYWORD SEARCHING
KEYWORD SEARCHING: DO IT BETTER!
What do you do if the results you want aren’t coming up when you keyword search the web or a database? Here are a few helpful tips:
- Searching a phrase? Put it in quotation marks: “textbook affordability” will get you results for that exact phrase.
- Searching for two terms that you think are topically related? Use AND (or +) to connect them: education AND racism, or, education + racism, will only bring up results that include both terms
- Searching for a term that’s commonly associated with a topic you don’t want to learn about? Use NOT (or -) in front of the keyword you don’t want results from: articles NOT magazines, or, articles – magazines, will bring up results that are about articles, but exclude any results that also include the term magazines.
- Want to get back as many results on a topic as possible? Use * at the end of a word for any letters that might vary: smok*, will bring up results that include the term smoke, smoking, and smokers.
INDUCTIVE REASONING
PUTTING INDUCTIVE REASONING TO THE TEST
Inductive reasoning, a way of thinking that makes sense of things by making specific observations and then drawing broad conclusions based on those observations, is a great way to come to a probable conclusion. Ask three simple questions of the evidence you’re using to back up your conclusion, and you can see if your argument is supported by inductive reasoning.
- Is the evidence sufficient?
- Does the evidence reflect the characteristics of all the individuals involved?
- Is the evidence relevant to your topic?
COUNTERING OPPOSING ARGUMENTS
COUNTERING OPPOSING ARGUMENTS
Almost anything you can argue or claim in a paper can be refuted. Opposing points of view and arguments exist in every debate, and it’s important to anticipate possible objections to your arguments. In order to do that, ask yourself the following questions:
- Could someone draw a different conclusion from the facts or examples you present?
- Could a reader question any of your assumptions or claims?
- Could a reader offer a different explanation of an issue?
- Is there any evidence out there that could weaken your position?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, the next set of questions can help you respond to these potential objections:
WRITE A SUMMARY
HOW TO: WRITE A SUMMARY
At the very beginning of your summary, mention the title of the text you are summarizing, the name of the author, and the central point or argument of the text. Always maintain a neutral tone and use the third-person point of view and present tense (i.e. Tompkins asserts…). Keep the focus of the summary on the text, not on what you think of it, and try to put as most of the summary as you can in your own words. Present the text’s main points only and be concise! Every word counts.
ACADEMIC WRITING: VERB TENSE
ACADEMIC WRITING: VERB TENSE
Scholars of literature use the present tense to talk about a text: Humphrey’s continual references to the color pink further emphasizes the imagery of the rose…
Scientists (including social scientists) use the past tense to talk about experiments, and only use the present tense when discussing results of those experiments: In 2013, Baker conducted the first of his experiments… His results are interesting, if inconclusive.
History writers use present, or present perfect tense, to discuss their texts: Shirley Macintyre writes in her diary that the fighting was fiercest on the ridge… or Shirley Macintyre has written that the fighting was fiercest on the ridge…
ACADEMIC WRITING: POINT OF VIEW
ACADEMIC WRITING: POINT OF VIEW
If you’re sitting down to write an analytical or research essay (common in the humanities), use the third-person point of view: Achebe argues… or Carter describes her experiences as…
Scientists (including social scientists) tend to use third-person point of view as well, because they depend largely on quantitative research to present their findings or support their opinions: The results indicated…
Occasionally, social scientists and writers in the humanities will use first person to discuss their own experiences while doing research or if writing part of a personal narrative as evidence: After spending a year living with the Upendi, I came to the conclusion that… or Every Christmas we went to the same place, as if our memories could be rekindled…
RHETORICAL CONCEPTS
RHETORICAL CONCEPTS
During your time as a student of writing, you may hear instructors talk about “rhetorical situations.” This is a term used to talk about any set of circumstances in which one person is trying to change another person’s mind about something, most often via text (like a book, or blog post, or journal article).
These rhetorical situations can be better understood by examining the rhetorical concepts that they are built from. The philosopher Aristotle called these concepts logos, ethos, pathos, telos, and kairos – also known as text, author, audience, purposes, and setting.
TEXT (LOGOS)
Texts can come in all shapes and sizes, such as those listed earlier. But in this context, text is not limited to something written down. The text in a rhetorical situation could be a film, or a photograph, or a recording of a song or history. The important thing to ask yourself when faced with a text, no matter what it is, is what is gained by having the text composed in this format/genre. What are the relevant characteristics of a book versus a song? What might an oral history version of a text communicate that a book version would not?
ANALYZING A TEXT
ANALYZING A TEXT
WRITTEN TEXTS
When you analyze an essay or article, consider these questions:
- What is the thesis or central idea of the text?
- Who is the intended audience?
- What questions does the author address?
- How does the author structure the text?
- What are the key parts of the text?
- How do the key parts of the text interrelate?
- How do the key parts of the text relate to the thesis?
- What does the author do to generate interest in the argument?
- How does the author convince the readers of their argument’s merit?
- What evidence is provided in support of the thesis?
- Is the evidence in the text convincing?
- Has the author anticipated opposing views and countered them?
- Is the author’s reasoning sound?
ACTIVE READING
ACTIVE READING
Start by getting familiar with the basic parts and structure of the text:
- What kind of text are you reading? An essay? A web site?
- Every author has a purpose; find it.
- Who is the audience and how does the author try to appeal to them?
- What argument is the author making/question does the text try to answer?
- What evidence does the author provide?
- Are there any key terms the author defines?
Visuals Help to Communicate
VISUALS HELP YOU COMMUNICATE
PIE CHART
Pie charts are great for illustrating comparisons between a part and the whole. Segments of the chart represent percentages of the whole.
LINE GRAPH
Line graphs help you emphasize a particular trend over time.
BAR GRAPH
Bar graphs serve basically the same purpose as line graphs, emphasizing trends over a particular period of time.
Working with TRANSITIONS
TRANSITIONS
| Addition | and, also, besides, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, next, too, first, second |
| Examples | for example, for instance, to illustrate, in fact, specifically |
| Compare | also, similarly, likewise |
| Contrast | but, however, on the other hand, in contrast, nevertheless, still, even though, on the contrary, yet, although |
| Summarize/Conclude | in other words, in short, in conclusion, to sum up, therefore |
| Time | after, as, before, next, during, later, finally, meanwhile, since, then, when, while, immediately |
| Place/Direction | above, below, beyond, farther on, nearby, opposite, close, to the left |
| Logical Relationship | if, so, therefore, consequently, thus, as a result, for this reason, because, since |
LICENSE
Transitions by Robin Jeffrey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
PLANNING A DOCUMENT
CHECKLIST: PLANNING A DOCUMENT
- Determine your document’s purpose.
- Plan your document’s design to support this purpose.
- Identify your document’s audience.
- Identify your audience’s expectations.
- Decide what format your document will require (include layout, margins, line spacing, font styles, etc.).
- Decide whether or not visuals will be helpful to include in your document. If you decide to use visuals, determine what kind of visual would be most useful.
LICENSE
Checklist: Planning a Document by Robin Jeffrey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
CONSTRUCTING AN OUTLINE
CONSTRUCTING AN OUTLINE
I. Put the thesis at the top.
A. Make items at the same level have the same grammar/tenses.
B. Use full sentences when possible.
1. Use the conventional system of numbering (such as the one being demonstrated now).
2. Always include at least two items per level.
a. Use as few major sections (I., II., III., etc.) as possible.
b. If the list gets too long, try clustering the items into broader categories with more subcategories.
LICENSE
Constructing an Outline by Robin Jeffrey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
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