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August 15, 2016
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I was having trouble with students not understanding how to use cited information to support ideas. They would have articles listed in the reference, but the information they pulled from the articles was frequently a minor detail. They were not using the focus of the article to inform their work. I created this announcement and it has helped. Janet
Academic Writing Tip:
When you use an article, make sure to read the title so you are clear about the focus of that article. When you think about it, the title was created because it describes what the article is about. As you search for articles for papers or your discussion, be sure to take a look at the title of the article and address that in your writing. While you do not need to summarize the entire article, you should have the point that you cite be related to the title of the article as you connect with it and share examples, etc.
For example:
The use of information from an article titled "10 Things every literacy educator should know about research" would need to include the 10 items that the author of that article outlined or mention that what you are sharing is one of 10, etc.
Using an article titled "Raising literacy levels with collaborative on-site professional development in an urban disadvantaged school" would need to discuss how literacy levels were raised in an urban disadvantaged school through the use of collaborative on-site PD.
A summary of an article titled, "Who's in charge?" should explain what the author felt was an issue regarding the leadership of PDs, and specifically issues with who is in charge and what difference that might make.
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2 Replies
Hi Janet:
Great advice. Thank you for sharing!
Janice
Janet, thanks for your post. This is an excellent way to explain to students how articles should be used to support what they claim.
Another tip I provide for students about when and where to use cited information to support what they say is an explanation of layperson and common knowledge. Sometimes when students write about a topic that is interesting to them, it might be because they have obtained knowledge about the subject through working in the field. I explain to them how each of us is a layperson about some fields. That means we are not noted as an expert of someone working in that field. Therefore, when we write, we must be prepared to find a scholarly source to support any piece of information that is not common knowledge.
That leads to a discussion of how subordination and coordination can be your friend when writing, but that is another topic. Again, thank you for a very important point about student writing and how we can help them grow.
Dr. Priscilla Bamba