Class Format Review Essay #1, summary grading rubric: 6:45-7:00pm Whole-class workshop: 7:00-7:30 MLA Format and Citation: 7:30-8:00 BREAK Timed Writing Strategies: 8:15-9:00 Review for midterm: 9:00-end

Class Website

Whole-Class Workshop Read the essay. Write your name on the essay. Annotate the essay (see handout). Discuss your notes with your group. Discuss your notes with the whole class.

Essay #1 – Writing Task State your position on the importance (or unimportance) of attending college. Provide support for your position through the use of supporting details, including personal experience as well as the class readings.

Thesis Statement The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of an essay. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

Organization Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? Does the content of each paragraph relate to the topic sentence?

Organization Topic sentence: What the paragraph is going to be about. Supporting details: Personal examples Hypothetical scenarios Connections to outside sources Quotes from authorities Supporting details should answer the questions of “how?” and “why?”

Essay Structure Essay components: Introduction: Body paragraphs: Introduce topic Provide background and context Thesis/purpose Body paragraphs: Develop thesis/purpose Provide evidence in support of thesis Conclusion: Reiterate main ideas Reflect on content Look ahead, make predictions

Avoiding Plagiarism and Citing Sources

Intellectual Challenges in American Academic Writing You Must: Yet: Write something new and original Improve upon and/or disagree with those same opinions Make your own significant contribution Use your own words and your own voice Develop a topic based on what has already been said and written Rely on experts’ and authorities’ opinions Give credit to previous researchers Improve your use of Standard Academic English through reading the works of scholars From: Purdue OWL, “Is It Plagiarism Yet?”

Plagiarism: Why It Matters The American academic tradition is to document sources of words, ideas, images, sounds, etc. Effectively utilizing research demonstrates an understanding of joining the “scholarly conversation.”

Plagiarism: Why It Matters A charge of plagiarism can have severe consequences, including expulsion from a university, and loss of your credibility as a writer and scholar. LAVC Policy: Student discipline charges resulting in warning, reprimand, restitution, disciplinary probation, suspension, or expulsion become part of a student’s academic record and may affect transfer and/or gainful employment opportunities.

What is Plagiarism? To: Steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; Use (another's production) without crediting the source; Commit literary theft; Present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary definition of “plagiarize”)

What is Plagiarism? Plagiarism is the representation of expression of ideas from either published or unpublished work(s) as students own. Using text from internet sources without proper citation is considered to be plagiarism. LAVC Catalog, “Policy on Academic Dishonesty.”

Intentional vs. Unintentional Some instructors will consider a student’s intent. “Unintentional” plagiarism can still be met with consequences.

Discussion: Plagiarism or Not?

Using Outside Sources Summary: Condensed version of a longer text. Typically does not include direct quotes. Paraphrase: Restating someone else’s words or ideas. Approximate length as original. Quote: Exact wording as the original.

When and What to Cite

How to Cite: MLA Basics MLA privileges the AUTHOR and TITLE of a source. Always use verbs in the present tense (“Argues”; “Discusses”). Two ways to cite: 1.) Signal phrases; 2.) In-text citations.

Signal Phrases Used to introduce a source. Author(s) name, title of text, active verb. Example: Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman exemplifies the “American Dream” gone wrong. Example: In his article, “Education’s Cheating Epidemic” Victor Dorff explains that many students have accepted cheating as a “crucial part of any path to success.”

In-text citations Used to cite any “borrowed” information. Author(s) last name (if not included in signal phrase), page number. Example: Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). Example: Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).