Grammar Girl on How to Write a Sentence

As you begin the push for your research papers, I thought this link to Grammar Girl's tip about How to Write a Sentence might prove helpful:

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/writing/how-to-write-a-sentence-infographic

Have a great weekend! Happy writing!

Study Guide for Tomorrow's Quiz

Chapter 7

1. "Making the implicit explicit" - The idea behind this is to state as much as possible about the assumptions made as an author so the reader does not lose your point based on ambiguity.

2. "What goes wrong in using a thesis is the result of a writer leaping too quickly to a generalization ... and treating evidence only as something to be mustered in support of that idea." - This points to a practice of collecting data first and using that data to formulate a thesis later.

3. Unsubstantiated claims - This is the mistake that writers will make of putting out the conclusion of some evidence while omitting the evidence. Doing this deprives the reader of the details which could clarify the conclusion.

4. Distinguishing evidence from claims - This is something that the reading suggests that we do in order to make sure that a claim we make is not an unsubstantiated claim.

5. What counts as evidence? - This focuses on two questions we should ask ourselves before using a piece of information as evidence for our claims: First, is the information relevant? Second, is the information colored by the point of view?

Chapter 5

1. "Binaries are dangerous ... they perpetuate reductive thinking" - This underlines that using binaries often paints an issue as something that is black and white, when in reality it may be far from it.

2. Analyze and Define Key Terms - By making sure that the definitions of important words are clear, we can reduce ambiguity and make sure that our argument is properly framed. 

3. Simple Cause/Complex Effect Error - The section on this error pointed out that boiling your entire issue down to a single cause will lead you to ignoring a wealth of other information and viewpoints. 

4. Substitute "To what extent?" for "either/or" - By using "to what extent?", you end up looking at both sides of the argument and finding valid points for both sides. This will lead you to favor one side over the other as opposed to completely supporting one side while completely opposing the other. 

5. Problems with Debate-Style Argument - This section points out that arguing does not necessarily imply opposition, but rather implies reasoning and attempting to understand other viewpoints. However, those who enter with the mindset that they will be arguing an issue often fall into the trap of assuming this means opposition to the other point or points of view.

Library Research Guide

http://lewisu.libguides.com/servicelearning

Here is the link for the Research Guide for Service Learning that Andrew showed us during the Library Research Workshop on Friday. 

Survey Link

http://kwiksurveys.com/app/rendersurvey.asp?sid=qcn9xwsph25edql502322&refer=

Introductions that Tell a Story

Here is a sample from a student paper that does a great job 

"telling the story" of the ad for the introduction. 

"Envision a typical white collar worker, running for their commuter train, amidst the cold, harsh, wintery mix of snow and frigid temperatures; barely boarding the train before the doors close and the train begins its journey to the destination where this worker endeavors the stress of daily life in the workforce. As the strained worker locates a seat, settles in, then opens the magazine for the mundane trip to the office, an advertisement for Cunard Cruise Lines is the first page this person views. The image illustrates a cruise ship in the distant ocean blue pristine waters; a cruise line steward is walking in the water to the sandy shores carrying a tray with a single glass filled with what appears to be champagne, directed toward a woman lounging on a comfortable raft, embracing the warm sun, as her fingers gently touch the sandy shores beneath the raft she is resting on. Her poise exhibits a sense of tranquility, contentment, relaxation and satisfaction, as she displays her serene effortless grin of utopia. There is a caption above the image, “Our philosophy on staffing: one crew member per every whim.”  This advertisement influences us to believe that if one books a cruise with Cunard Cruise Line, your vacation will be pure ecstasy, with the added bonus of your private steward who will walk from the ship to deliver a glass of champagne to you, as you bask in the sun, and forget about the stressors in life in the serenity of the tranquil atmosphere."

Rhetorical Analysis of a Space Blog

After you write your description (a paragraph or two) of the space, make sure post it to your blog. You can do what I did right here and just take a picture of your "Data and Interpretation" chart and a picture of your paragraph or two and post those pictures to the blog. Or, you can type it up all nice and neat. Any way is fine, just get it up on your blog so we can review them in class on Friday.

Blog: Describe Your Service Experience

·      Explain the mission statement of the organization you volunteered service for and describe some background about the organization. Provide dates and statistics. If available, post a link to the organization website. *Note, just linking to the website does not substitute for your description. Also, make sure you use quotes and cite your sources in your posting.

·      When did this experience take place? (Date, time, how long?) Where did it take place?

·      Who else was there? Who wasn’t there?

·      What did I do? What did others do? What actions did I/we take? What did I/we communicate?

·      Who didn’t speak or act? Did I/others laugh, cry, make a face, complain, criticize, argue, smile, etc?

·      If you want to take pictures of yourself in action to post on your blog, make sure you have permission from the organization (and any one included in the picture) to do so.

·      Identify and describe one effective interaction (e.g. positive, helpful) with someone during your service experience. Who talked the most? What kinds of statements were made? What were you talking about? Who ended the interaction and why?

·      What did you learn from your Service Experience? What questions do you still have? Would you do this Service Experience again? Why, or why not? Explain.