How to write anything properly BEFORE you start writing! Proper Researching

“Neither man nor God is going to tell me what to write. ” James T “Neither man nor God is going to tell me what to write.” James T. Farrell

Understanding the Topic Once you get the assignment, make sure you go over it carefully and fully understand what it is you are to do and how you will be marked. Also check to see if you are banned from using certain resources or must use certain resources. Ask your teacher about any questions you have BEFORE you start so you do not have to redo work.

Understanding the Topic Choose your topic Refine your topic – for example a project on the history of the NHL is fairly vague and will lose focus quickly, however a project on the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs is more focused and a project on the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs of 1960 to 1965 is very focused Your project should be focused enough to be interesting and informative but not so focused that you can not find sources for it.

“Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet.” Anonymous

Researching Now that you have your topic settled you need to find some sources of information. You might used some of the following: Books – information will be reliable but may be out of date Journals – very detailed information, may be hard to find in high school Newspapers – recent information, may lack details Encyclopaedias – recent information, easy to read, will lack details – good to use to get to know your topic NOT as a primary source – check to see if you can use Wikipedia Database – very specific information, often restricted access – try using the library portal to gain access Web pages – potential very good information but also risk getting biased or even completely false information

Evaluating Web Pages Before we go further a quick test, identify which of the following websites are real and which are fake and if fake what gave it away. One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve

Evaluating Web Pages What the URL can tell you Is it a personal page? Look for a personal name (e.g., jbarker or barker) following a tilde ( ~ ), a percent sign ( % ), or or the words "users," "members," or "people.“ What type of domain is it? Government - .gov, University / Educational - .edu, Non-profit Organization - .org (not guaranteed any more), Company - .com, Canadian - .ca Is it published by an entity that makes sense?

Evaluating Web Pages Scan the perimeter of the page, looking for answers to these questions: Who wrote the page? Is the information dated or current? What are the authors credentials in this subject? Find this information by looking for links that say "About us," "Philosophy," "Background," "Biography", etc. or if you cannot find any links like these, you can often find this kind of information if you Truncate back the URL. Finally Look for the date "last updated" - usually at the bottom of a web page.

Evaluating Web Pages Look for indicators of quality information: Where did the author get the information? If there are links to other pages as sources, are they to reliable sources? Do the links work? If reproduced information (from another source), is it complete, not altered, not fake or forged?

Evaluating Web Pages What do others say? Look up the title or publisher of the page in a reputable directory that evaluates its contents (ipl2, Infomine, About.com, or a specialized directory you trust). Look up the author's name in Google or Yahoo! Find out what other web pages link to this page, use alexa.com.

Evaluating Web Pages Does it all add up? Why was the page put on the web? Might it be ironic? Satire or parody? Is this as credible and useful as the resources (books, journal articles, etc.) available in print or online through the library? This list has been summarized a complete list of web evaluation can be found at: UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops

“Quantity produces quality “Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed.” Ray Bradbury

Note Taking Once you have a source that is both relevant and reliable it is time to take notes: Record the source information. This will vary depending on the source but is the information you will need to do an entry for a Reference Page, but in general terms you will need the following: Author’s Name – if the author is an organization use the organization as the author Name of the book or web page When the book / web page was published Web address

Note Taking Write your notes, depending on what you are writing you should have several types: Direct quotations Stats or other tables copied completely and accurately Summarized information For an essay you should have lots of all three, for a power point you will need lots of summarized information and lots of either of the other two but not both Keep in mind that there is no such thing as to many notes! However if you do not have enough notes it is very hard to write an essay or a presentation. So if in doubt write it down!

Only if you have LOTS of notes! Go forth and write