Writing and Information Literacy

General Writing Advice Understand the assignment. Be honest with your instructor if this is the first time you’ve encountered a particular type of writing assignment. Before you talk with your instructor, consider how you might approach the topic. Write rough drafts. Plan ahead by writing a rough draft of your paper a few days or a week before it’s due. Use your planer to determine when you’ll start and finish your draft.

General Writing Advice (continued) Obtain feedback. Another perspective and a second pair of eyes will help you see where: Evidence is missing. Your writing is too wordy. Your argument can be fine-tuned. Your sentences and word choice can be improved. Take advantage of the writing center on campus, or have others read over your paper draft.

Quick Tip Visit the Writing Center Writing center tutors can do more than just read your drafts. They can also help you brainstorm and pick a paper topic, and they are a good sounding board if you can’t get started or don’t know what else to write.

5 Ways to Improve Your Papers 1. Write an introduction that draws your reader in. 2. Vary sentence length to make the paper more interesting. 3. Don’t use too many quotations from your sources. 4. Don’t spend the entire conclusion of your essay summarizing your argument. 5. Be sure to edit, edit, edit!

Apply Critical Thinking Step 1: Ask questions. The more questions you ask and answer in advance, the more you’re thinking critically. Step 2: Evaluate your reactions. Allow your reactions to guide how you will approach the paper. Step 3: Write with a “critical lens.” Demonstrate that you have thoughtfully considered several perspectives, and explain why you believe each argument is or is not clearly articulated and supported.

Apply Critical Thinking (continued) Step 4: Make connections. By making meaningful connections among disparate aspects of the class in your paper, you can examine the big picture without losing sight of important details. Step 5: Bring your experiences into the assignment. Bringing “you” into your papers may not work in some subjects, but in others it can shape your thinking and make the paper more interesting and meaningful.

Reduce Paper-Writing Anxiety Before you start writing: Pick a topic that interests you. Establish your argument. Write a thorough outline. Take time to freewrite. While you’re writing: Break it down. Write in your own voice. Read your writing aloud. Cite your sources as you write.

Quick Tip Make Free-writing a Conversation Research papers can be especially challenging if you’re incorporating many sources. One strategy is to go through all your sources and type out relevant quotations or ideas you’d like to incorporate in your paper, along with citations for each source. That way, you won’t have to constantly go back to the sources to find what you’re looking for.

Cite Your Sources Avoid plagiarism. If you’re caught plagiarizing, you can get into serious trouble— from failing the course to being expelled. Use an accepted citation style. Humanities courses often use the MLA (Modern Language Association) style or The Chicago Manual of Style. Science and social science courses usually use APA (American Psychological Association) style or a style geared for engineering or science writing.

Quick Tip Keep Your Sources Sorted If you have any questions about whether and when you need to cite sources, ask your instructor or a reference librarian, or meet with an advisor at the Academic Advising Office or writing center. Better safe than sorry.

Technology and Information Literacy Navigating the world of research technology Evaluate online sources. Assess Web site credibility. Cite online sources carefully. Use electronic resources at the library. Librarians are a trusted resource. Don’t forget about printed books.

Your College Library is a Vast Resource