Writing syllabus. Paper Formatting. Paper assignments. What I m looking for. Blind Grading. Writing and Papers in Rules

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1 Writing and Papers in I can't believe it! Reading and writing actually paid off! - Homer J. Simpson Writing syllabus Rules #1. Due time #2. Space limit & font #3. Formatting #4. Placement of name Grading Your likely performance Paper assignments In this course, you will write 5 papers and 1 paper revision (6 papers in total) Each paper is due at the beginning of the class on the due date. Please submit papers in class AND online, at TurnItIn.com. All 6 papers must be turned in to pass No late papers will be accepted Paper Formatting Each paper will be no more than 2 pages Each paper will be written in Courier (10 point) or Times New Roman (12 point) font Each paper must be double spaced with one inch margins on all sides (this may not be the default SO DOUBLECHECK) Failure to adhere to these guidelines will result in a 5-point deduction from the paper grade Blind Grading To prevent any biases, all grading will be BLIND AKA, I don t want to know what paper is yours To do this, I ask that you write your name lightly on the BACK of the last page nowhere else To maintain anonymity during grading, I check TurnItIn.com only after I ve graded all papers Unless I m concerned with plagiarism in a paper What I m looking for 10 points will be based on content and 5 points will be based on grammar, formatting, & style Assume that you are writing for someone with a college degree, who has no background in social psychology This paper should use scientific/academic writing, not expository writing write efficiently. 1

2 What I m looking for, continued Organize your papers around a central thesis Support your thesis with material from class Papers should be based on information from lectures and the text, not personal experience (unless specifically asked for). Writing Feedback I will attempt to have all papers graded and returned within ONE WEEK of the deadline I will use the editing symbols from the back of the Longman book Make sure that you are going through at least one revision for each paper (often reading the paper out loud will help you proofread) How to write a paper Your goal is to clearly and accurately convey ideas through logical argumentation 1. Establish a working thesis 2. Develop support for your thesis 3. Write out a plan/outline 4. Write out a draft How to write a paper Constructing Paragraphs Topic Sentence Transitions Editing Vary length and opening of sentence Avoid overuse of one word But use parallel structure Accepted terminology may need to be repeated Check spelling, grammar, overall readability Writing in your own words For these papers, I want you to use your own words i.e., direct quotations are inappropriate Citations are very important! When you are explaining specific material from the course, make sure to cite the lecture or the text if you don t, you are plagiarizing. When do I cite? Whenever you use info you didn t know before this class. This includes (but is not limited to): Definitions of concepts Attraction is, Stereotypes are Explanation of theories According to the theory, people Reference to ideas People want to feel good about themselves 2

3 In general, you write the location from which you received the information in parentheses after the information. The exact format will vary depending on the source of the material: Lecture or handout, use the format (lecture, date) or (course handout, date) attraction (lecture, 1/6/03). attraction (course handout, 1/6/03). Textbook, use the format (textbook, page #) attraction (textbook, p. 3). Outside source, cite the author s last names and the year of publication Attitudes can be changed through two different processes (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). A note on plagiarism All papers are to be submitted to TurnItIn.com for plagiarism detection. See handout for directions on registering with this service Plagiarism is a form of cheating, and is NOT WORTH IT! Furthermore, by explaining things in your own words, you demonstrate greater understanding of the course material If you ever need help Ask me Visit the Writing Center Mendenhall, 125 S. Oval Younkin Success Center, II floor Website 3

4 1. Don t use contractions! They re bad! There is no time throughout the paper during which you should use contractions. Simply substitute the two words for the contraction. 2. You should not use you. The use of you seems to suggest that the rest of the sentence only applies to the reader, when in fact, the sentence is meant to apply to a more general target. Try using a researcher, a person, a participant, or some other more concrete subject. 3. Always use your speel checker. There is no excuse for having misspelled words throughout your paper. All major word processing programs have a spell checker -- for good reason! If you need help learning to use a spell checker, ask me or a computer consultant at any campus lab. 4. P roof reed, bee cause the pro graham mite naught sea awl Miss Takes! Although a spell checker can save you a great deal of trouble, do not think that the check alone will serve to proofread your paper. Look especially hard for typing mistakes such as homonyms that the spell checker will not catch. 5. Thing is a bad thing to see in a paper. So is this. Be more precise! Thing is too vague to convey any information at all. A stand-alone this (e.g., This is a powerful theory ), will always make the reader backtrack. Using the Longman Pocket Writer s Companion Papers will be written in APA Style If something doesn t sound right to you, chances are there s a section in Longman that can help you figure out what is correct The back has all of the editing marks that I will use when grading your papers 4

5 Writing Efficiently In order to fit all the needed information for your papers into limited space, it is important that you write concisely Virtually all experienced writers agree that any written expression that deserves to be called vigorous writing, whether it is a short story, an article for a professional journal, or a complete book, is characterized by the attribute of being succinct, concise, and to the point. A sentence--no matter where in the writing it occurs--should contain no unnecessary or superfluous words, words that stand in the way of the writer's direct expression of his or her meaning and purpose. In a very similar fashion, a paragraph-- the basic unit of organization in English prose--should contain no unnecessary or superfluous sentences, sentences that introduce peripheral content into the writing or stray from its basic narrative line. It is in this sense that a writer is like an artist executing a drawing, and it is in this sense that a writer is like an engineer designing a machine. Good writing should be economical for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines, and good writing should be streamlined in the same way that a machine is designed to have no unnecessary parts, parts that contribute little or nothing to its intended function. Through the magic of revisions... Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. almost 200 words becomes less than 35 words and the content remains nearly identical. 5