Annotated Bibliography

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Expository Writing

Week 4

Punctuation:

Commas

Punctuation: Commas Continued

Textbook (pp. 283-290)

Use Commas to Separate Independent (main) clauses when they are joined by and, or, nor, but, for, yet, or so.

I find studying the English language interesting, but I do not understand the confusing spelling rules.

Items in a Series or Coordinate Adjectives

In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.

red, white, and blue (also acceptable: red, white and blue)

gold, silver, and copper (gold, silver and copper)

Commas separate more than one descriptive word describing the same word.

The dog has short, coarse hair.

Introductory Elements/Transitional Words and Phrases

An Introductory dependent clause, verbal phrase, or prepositional phrase is generally set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma.

Examples

Transitional expressions

Often used to begin sentences, transitional expressions help the reader follow a writer’s movement from point to point, showing how one sentence is related to the next. (These are not always used at the beginning of a sentence.)

Besides, it is summer.

Students, therefore, frequently complain about the amount of homework assigned.

Setting off Nonessential Material

Restrictive clauses and words do not require commas.

Nonrestrictive words and clauses do.

Nonrestrictive	Restrictive
Some dances, like the limbo, require broomsticks or poles.	A dance like the limbo requires a broomstick or pole.
One of my friends, Pat, goes to law school.	My friend Pat goes to law school.
Snakes, which don’t have fur, aren’t much fun to pet.	Animals that have fur are fun to pet.
Do not use my hairbrush, unless you want to get lice.	Do not use a comma unless a pause is needed for clarity.

Restrictive elements define and limit a sentence. They must be present for a sentence to retain its intended meaning.

Nonrestrictive elements, which are parenthetical, do not.

Notice that in each of the sentences with nonrestrictive elements, the material contained in commas could be removed without changing the sentence’s meaning.

Commas: Restrictive vs. Non-Restrictive (Essential vs. Non-essential) Contd.

That is used to introduce restrictive clauses only – restrictive clauses beginning with that will never be set off with commas

Daisy Miller bought a novel that was written by Henry James.

Use Commas to set off nonessential appositives. (An appositive phrase restates, and thus clarifies or defines, the term next to it.)

The owner, a self-made man, would not pay any player more than $250,000 a year.

Commas Contd.

Parenthetical comments: Parenthetical comments interrupt the flow of a sentence with a brief aside.

These are all indications, I think, of Jan’s drive for power.

The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.

Contrasting expressions: Contrasting expressions generally come at the end of a sentence and are introduced by not, no, or nothing.

Nick is the perfect example of a young, hungry manager trying to climb to the top, not bothered by the feeling of others.

My uncle talked to me as if I were a person, not a child.

Necessary Commas vs. Unnecessary Commas p. 289-290

Colons

Use a colon to indicate that an initial clause will be further explained by the material that follows the colon.

The local government was famous for its inefficiency: the city councilmen were always duplicating the work of the county commissioners.

Use the colon to introduce a series of examples or a list of items.

Many schools are organized in the following way: Grades 1-6, Grades 7-9, and Grades 10-12.

Colons contd.

Do not use a colon between a preposition and its object.

Inappropriate: She has always thought highly of: Henry James, Fyodor Dostoyevski, and Gustave Flaubert.

Do not use a colon after a verb, after the word that, or after the expression such as.

Inappropriate: Emmett has always enjoyed: tennis, golf, basketball, and handball.

Inappropriate: Jasmine enjoys some of America’s classics, such as: The Dear Slayer, The Scarlet Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Moby Dick.

Dashes

Use a pair of dashes to set off a parenthetical expression that you want to emphasize.

New York, Los Angeles, and Denver – but not Phoenix – are all acceptable convention sites.

Use a pair of dashes to set off a parenthetical element that contains commas.

Four tragedies – Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and Othello – are generally considered Shakespeare’s best plays.

Use a dash between an introductory series and the main part of the sentence that explains it.

Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe – these were the men who made up his list of the world’s greatest poets.

Use a dash to introduce a word or group of words that you want to emphasize.

There is one thing Angelo enjoys more than eating – golf.

Faulty Predication

Faulty Predication occurs when the subject and the verb do not make sense together.

To check for faulty predication, ask yourself if it's possible for each subject to “do” or “be” the verb. If it's not possible, then change your wording.

Logical Wording: Faulty Predication

Furthermore, the jobs offered to the town will seek to employ only 240 residents in a town of roughly 1,300.

Anti- immigrant rhetoric continues to blame immigrants for the continued economic slump.

The legalization of marijuana would release offenders that were detained for selling/distributing marijuana and cutting expenses in state prisons.

Almost everyone of these types of shows are engaging in sexual intercourse in some way as if it is a daily exercise.

"Whether" Vs. "If"

The word "if" is often mistakenly used as a substitute for the word "whether". Use the following rules to guide your word choice: Use "if" to express a condition. You may borrow my car if you are careful with it. Use "whether" to express alternatives. She did not know whether to say yes or no.

SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT

Subject – Verb Agreement

Use subjects and verbs that agree in person and number

The number of the subject determines the number of the verb: A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb.

Agreement problems often occur when a sentence has a complicated subject or verb, especially when the subject and verb are separated by other words

The large amounts of money that are associated with sports is/are not the problem.

(The plural subject amounts, requires a plural verb, are.)

Subject-Verb Agreement

Eating disorders have become a part of our culture and affects people of all socioeconomic classes and both genders.

Having a baby is a life changing experience and any lessons to help prepare for this change is beneficial for the parents and the babies.

Special Rules

Make sure the subject and verb agree even if they are separated by other words.

Support from a few foundations and federal agencies for curriculum reform and collaborative research (have/has) added significant resources to English and other disciplines.

Special Rules Contd.

Use a plural verb with a compound subject

Compound subject: Two or more words acting as a subject that are linked by and

My pad and pencil are on the desk

Compound subjects sometimes cause problems when writers invert the normal order, putting the verb before the subject.

Enclosed is [are] my application and a check for the fee.

Use a verb that agrees with a subject placed after it.

There seems [seem] to be at least one factual error and several false assumptions in this report.

Special Rules Contd.

With subjects joined with or or nor make the verb agree with the part of the subject nearer to the verb.

A driver’s license or credit card is/are required.

Neither the teacher nor the students was/were in the lab.

* Note: If one part of the subject is singular and the other is plural, put the plural one last to avoid awkwardness.

Special Rules Contd.

Use a verb that agrees with the antecedent of the pronoun who, which, or that.

Antecedent: The word or words that a pronoun replaces and to which it refers

With the phrase one of the followed by a plural noun, use a verb that agrees with the noun.

He is one of those actors who has [have] a brilliantly secure technique and who never gets [get] anything but rave reviews.

Moving From a Research Problem/Question to a Tentative Thesis

Introduction to Writing a Research Essay/Editorial

Goal: To learn to make well-reasoned arguments on controversial issues and to think critically about our own as well as others’ arguments

What arguing a position involves

It presents a controversial issue

It asserts a clear position on the issue

It argues for the position by presenting plausible reasons and support

It anticipates readers’ objections and arguments, either by conceding or refuting them

From Problems to Sources

What are you looking for in finding your sources?

You are looking for sources with data, arguments, and views that either confirm your tentative thesis or give you reason to reject it.

You are looking for sources that are reliable.

You are looking for sources that are current.

Finding Sources in the Library

Caution: using an internet search engine to start research on your project is a bad way to find reliable sources

Begin your search with your library

Librarians

The library catalogues (www.loc.gov)

In the stacks

Online Databases

Finding Sources on the Internet

Printed sources are more reliable than almost any source on the internet.

There are some situations in which you can use the information you find on Internet sources reliably:

It is provided by a reliable journal or online publisher

It is in precisely the same form you would find in a library. (Many government, civic, and business reports are released simultaneously on the Internet and in print.)

It supplements print sources. Some journals use the internet to archive data not included in articles, to disseminate illustrations to expensive to print, or to host discussions between authors and readers.

It is too recent to be found in libraries.

It is available only on the Internet. Many government and academic databases are now available only online.

It is your primary source. What is posted on the Internet is primary data about what people are thinking, the views of specific groups, and so on.

Gathering Data Directly From People

Make sure your source knows what you are focusing on so they will know what information will be most useful (give them your three step formula)

Experts as sources of bibliography

People as primary sources

Bibliographical Trails

Example Journal

Preserving What You Find

Get a source journal

Record Complete Biographical Data

The author or authors’ name (s)

Book or journal title

Title of chapters, essays, or articles that you consulted within the book or journal

Name of the publisher

Place of publication

Year of Publication

Volume and Issue Numbers (if applicable)

The page number where the information appeared.

General Principles for Note Taking

Put notes about different topics on different pages

On each sheet of notes record at the top the author, title, pages, and keywords

Important: Clearly and unambiguously distinguish four kinds of references

What you quote directly

What you paraphrase

What you summarize

What you write as your own thoughts

Writing an Annotated Bibliography

A bibliography is a list of sources relevant to a subject (or of sources a writer has consulted while conducting research).

To annotate is to analyze, summarize or explain.

An annotated bibliography is a summary and evaluation of each source used for research.

Annotated Bibliography Guidelines

Logical Fallacies

Ad hominem: an attack on the character of a person rather than her/his opinions or arguments

Straw Man: oversimplifies an opponent’s viewpoints and then attacks the hollow argument

Research Essay Contd.: Counterargument

Importance of writing the voices of others into your text.

“Broadly speaking, Academic writing is argumentative writing, and we believe that to argue well you need to do more than assert your own position. You need to enter a conversation, using what others say (or might say) as a launching pad or sounding board for your own views.”

Example

“The characters in the Sopranos are very complex.”

“Some say that the Sopranos presents caricatures of Italian Americans. However, the characters in the series are very complex.”

Templates for Introducing a Counterargument

A number of sociologists have recently suggested that X’s work has several fundamental problems.

In their recent work, Y and Z have offered harsh critiques of ______ .

Many Americans believe that ____________.

Many people assume that ________.

Of course some might object that _________. Although I concede that ______, I still maintain that __________.

Formulating an Opinion

Identify and research an important issue

Formulate a reasoned opinion

Brainstorming

Topic

Relevance

Thesis

Supporting Arguments

Counterarguments

Research Essay Contd.

Suggested Structure

Introduction - The lead/relevance and committal statement

Background

Arguments for your thesis

Strongest argument against your thesis

Conclusion

Avoiding Plagiarism

Rules for avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism and Common Knowledge

Self-plagiarism

Document and Citation Formats

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/

Academic Voice

Most academic papers should be written in academic voice.

Academic voice tends to suppress the natural voice of the author in an effort to focus the reader on the material instead of the author's persona. Therefore, you write academic papers in third person.

If you write in first person (I, we, etc.), the reader tends to focus on the author.

If you write in second person (you), the reader tends to focus on her/himself. I wrote this handout in second person because I am addressing you – telling you to do something.

You want your reader to focus on the material about which you are writing; therefore, your paper must be written in third person (him, her, they, etc.).

Other general rules for academic writing include:

1. Avoid weak language (maybe, possibly, might); act like you know what you are talking about (even if you do not).

2. Avoid contractions (can't, won't, etc.).

3. Avoid slang.

4. When writing about literature (literary analysis) use present tense.

5. State your opinion as fact.

6. Avoid rhetorical questions.

7. Never start a paper with, "This paper is going to be about…" or anything similar to that.

Inappropriate Shifts in Pronouns

Be consistent in your use of a pronoun.

Do not switch from singular forms to plural forms.

After one has written a paper they should take a break.

Shifts in Person/Number

One of the most common problems in writing comes with a shift in person/number.

“I continue to teach these teenagers that despite the odds against them, what they have been through, and their nationality you can still overcome diversity in all areas and become successful.”

“Like a serpent without its head, a gang will theoretically become unstable when the people holding them together are removed from power.”

“Everyone should try to read more because it can help with your communication skills.”

Ambiguous Pronoun References

Common pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, we, they, her, him, them, this, and that.

We use them instead of repeating nouns or ideas mentioned earlier.

One of the most common writing problems occurs in sentences that have unclear antecedents (the nouns that the pronoun refers to).

Clear Pronoun References

Shirley called to say she would be glad to help decorate for the party on Friday.

The movie’s humor was rather sophomoric, and it didn’t go over well with most of the audience.

Unclear Pronoun References

We will now have a chance to find out if charter schools can outperform public schools when efforts are made to improve them.

During the 1960s, many American college students joined in demonstrations against the Vietnam War; during the same period many students also joined in civil rights demonstrations. This fact surprised the media.

Before we can improve the access problems for students with disabilities, we must learn where they are.

Indefinite Pronoun References

Indefinite pronoun references occurs in the following situations:

1. when a pronoun is used to refer to the object of a prepositional phrase.

In the average television drama, it presents a false picture of life.

In the directions, they said that the small box should be opened last.

2. When a pronoun does not refer to a specific antecedent at all.

Public transportation makes it easy to get around the city.

An ambiguous pronoun reference occurs when it is not clear what noun a pronoun refers to.

(Here, this refers to an implied concept that could be phrased something like “the fact that she gave the Red Cross all her money” rather to a specific noun.)

Practice

In the preface, it says why the author wrote the book.

It says in the book that Elizabeth was a great queen.

They say that The Impending Crisis is a good book.

Person Number:

Singular

Number:

Plural

First

I We

Second

You You (Pl)

Y’all

Third

He, she, it They

Person	Number: Singular	Number: Plural
First	I	We
Second	You	You (Pl) Y’all
Third	He, she, it	They

Research Paper Proposal Guidelines