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8:30 Writing Rules

Introductions

Introductions are important because they outline what the paper is about. They are attention grabbers because they give a hook that will catch the reader's eye.

Guidelines:

  • Draw the reader in
  • State your claim
  • Don't use evidence in your introduction (save it for the body of your paper)Make a smooth transaction from introduction to the body of the paperGood Examples:
Good Example "When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the Earth, the separate and equal station in which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the cause which impale them to the separation." - Declaration of Independence (This draws the reader in, states the claim, and makes a smooth transaction for the rest of the paper.)

Bad Examples: One hundred thousand people died in the September 11 terrorist attacks, so terrorists should be stopped. (Don't use evidence in your introduction.)Exercising is a useful technique because it provides the body with its physical needs of increasing muscle mass in order to maintain a presentable physique. (Don't be boring!)

Topic Sentences

It's good to know how and to write good topic sentences because it is a set up for the following paragraph. It helps the reader to know where the paper is headed and it makes the paper flow. Without good topic sentences the paper is choppy and readers lose interest.
  • Make sure your topic sentence outlines what you say in the paragraph
  • They need to be clear, complete sentences, that make sense
  • Do not use a quote as a topic sentence
Bad Topic Sentence:
"Putting the two papers together would make the best rhetoric to use, when trying to persuade adults to help with the drug policy program." This topic sentence is unclear, the reader can be confused on what the author is trying to say.

Good Topic Sentence:
"The papers use two different kinds of rhetoric which are helpful in convincing adults to help with the drug policy program." This topic sentence is clear and shows what the paragraph is going to be about.

Conclusion

A conclusion is the final part of your paper. If your conclusion is not clear, your audience may be confused. It restates the body of your paper and summarizes your key points. The audience can forget about your points, so a good ending is really important because that is what they remember.

Effective Strategies for Writing a Conclusion

  • Play the “So What” game- If you are stuck and you feel like your paper isn’t saying anything new or interesting, ask a friend to read it. Have them ask “So What” after any statement in your conclusion.
  • Restate your main points in your conclusion.
  • Synthesize, don’t summarize. Don’t simply repeat things in your paper, instead show reader how everything fits together.
Things to Avoid When Writing a Conclusion
  • Beginning with an unnecessary phrase. Such as “in conclusion” or “in summary”
  • Stating the thesis for the first time in the conclusion
  • Introducing a new idea or subtopic in your conclusion
Examples
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”- Martin Luther King Jr.
“Declaration of Independence”- Thomas Jefferson

Conclusion Information taken from: Handouts and Links. Conclusions. www.unc.edu

IN TEXT CITATIONS

The skill is important because if you don't cite your paper correctly it would be considered as plagarism. It is also very important so that we can give credit to the author of the information. If someone is reading your paper and wants to know a little more about a specific topic it will be easier for them to know where to find information from your citations.

-Author named in the text: Put the author's name in a signal phrase in your sentence.
Ex. Sociology Daniel Bell called this emerging U.S. economy the "postindustrial society" (3).

-Author not named in the text:
Ex. In 1997, the Gallup poll reported that 55% of adults in the United States think secondhand smoke is "very harmful," compared to only 36% in 1994 (Saad 4).

-Work by no named author:
Ex. a review in The New Yorker of Ryan Adam's new album focuses on the artist's age ("Pure" 25).

Works Cited Page

Knowing how to do a works cited page is an important skill to have for a couple of reasons. First, it is important so that you don't plagerize. The second reason is to show the credibility of your work by citing credible sources. A works cited page can also be helpful to the reader if he or she wants to do more research on the topic.

Guidelines for a works cited page:

  • Center “Works Cited” at the top of the page
  • Alphabetize by the author’s last name, or by title if no author
  • Double space all entries
  • Use a hanging indent
  • For multiple works by the same author, use three hyphens for next entry
Basic format for most works cited entries:
for a book:
Author last name, first name. Title of source (underlined). City of publication: publisher, date published.

for an article:
Author last name, first name. "Title of article." Title of periodical, newspaper, etc. (underlined). Publication information (same as above).

A few bad examples:
Guardian. Eric Schlosser. 7 Apr. 2001, weekend sec.:13. "The Bitter Truth about Fast Food."

2003. Make a Difference. "Participation Summary 2002-03." 14 Nov. 2003. national Federation of State High School Associations. >http://www.nfhs.org/nf_survey_resources.asp>.

A few good examples:
Tyre, Peg. "Fighting 'Big Fat.'" Newsweek. 5 Aug. 2002: 38-40.

Robinson, Thomas N., and Joel D. Killen. "obesity Prevention for Children and Adolescents." Body Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in Youth: Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment. Ed. J. Kevin Thompson and Linda Smolak. Washington, DC: APA, 2001. 261-92.