Apr 27 - APA Research Paper Formatting

Today we will...

1. leanr how to do the APA formatting
2. take a look at a sample student research paper and see what you should do for your final assignment

APA Formatting

Okay, let's first watch a short video on APA formatting and see what it is all about.

Now let's see go through the APA formatting guide and see what we should do.

Student Sample Research Paper

Here is a student sample paper that you need to produce for your final assignment.

Reminder

1. Please come to class on Wednesday with your complete first draft.
2. Remember that you need to come to the Individual Conferences.
3. The final due date of the research paper will be May 8, next Friday, on Compass 2g.

Apr 24 - IRP Introduction & Conclusion Workshop

Today we will...

1. practice writing an effective introduction and conclusion for your IRP
2. have a peer perception with each other to give feedback on the introduction and conlusion

Workshop

Please review your introduction and conclusion and finish these two paragraphs.

Peer Perception

Now work with the person next to you and read each other's introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Give feedback to each other and revise your introduction and conclusion.

Apr 22 - IRP Introduction & Conclusion

Today we will...

1. learn the different components of IRP introduction and conclusion
2. learn how to write an effective introduction and conclusion for your research paper

IRP Introduction

How is IRP introduction different from the introduction for the diagnostic essay you wrote?

Let's take a look at a sample here. Please sort out the corrrect order of the introduction.

Check out the answer key here.

IRP Conclusion

What is the difference between the IRP conclusion and the conclusion for the diagnostic essay?

Here is a guideline we need to follow to write an effective IRP conclusion.

Now let's see how to rewrite the thesis in your conclusion and practice it.

Homework

Please write introduction and conclusion for your IRP and bring them to class on Friday. We will have a workshop and peer perception.

Apr 20 - Avoiding Plagiarism: In-text Citations

Today we will...

1. learn how to use reporting verbs appropriately to introduce quotes and paraphrases
2. learn the two major types of in-text citations: author prominent and content prominent

In-text Citations

We have learned how to do APA style reference page, and now we are going to learn in-text citations.

What is in-text citation? How do we do in-text citations correctly? Here is a guideline.

Reporting Verbs

In academic writing, there are certain words that need to be used to introduce quotes and paraphrases, and they are called reporting verbs.

Practice 1

Please open this worksheet, and follow the instructions and answer the questions.

Practice 2

Please open this worksheet, and use the appropriate reporting verbs to fill in the blanks.

Answer Keys

Here is the answer key to practice 1.
Here is the answer key to practice 2.

Apr 17 - Paraphrasing & Quoting

Today we will...

1. review how to paraphrase academic sources
2. compare paraphrasing and quoting, and differentiate when to use which
3. learn how to quote effectively

Review of Paraphrasing

Do you still remember the different steps to paraphrase effectively?

Here is what Owl Purdue tells us how to paraphrase.

Practice paraphrasing. Open this document, and follow the steps to paraphrase the paragraph on gorilla poaching.

Avoiding Plagiarism (Paraphrasing & Quoting)

Paraphrasing and quoting are the basics in academic writing to avoid plagiarism. Here is why we need to avoid plagiarism.

Comparing Paraphrasing & Quoting

What are the differences between paraphrasing and quoting?

When should we quoting and when should we paraphrase?

You can find the answers here.

2 Types of Citation

We have learned how to do the APA reference page, but how to cite sources in the paper?

There are basically 2 types of citations we can use in academic writing.

Reminder

Please remember to submit your Annotated Bibliography assignment on Compass 2g today by 11:59 pm.

Apr 15 - Source Synthesis 2

Today we will...

1. continue talking about how to synthesize academic sources
2. see some samples and practice synthsizing academic sources
3. learn some strategies to synthesizing sources

Review & Practice

Do you still remember how to synthesize academic sources?

Now let's practice writing a source synthesis.

First, read the sample student paper, which is one solution on a problem. It has the description, the critique and the recommendation. Read it carefully, then fill in this chart to analyze the sample.

Here is a form you can always use when you synthesize your sources.

Comparison

Compare these two source synthesis, and decide which one is better.

Read this following student writing sample. Pay attention to the highlighted parts and see what you can notice.

Synthesis Strategies

Here are some synthesis strategies that you can use in research paper.

Apr 13 - Source Synthesis 1

Today we will...

1. learn the importance of synthesizing sources and how to find the similarities between different sources
2. learn how to synthesize sources before you start writing your research paper

Question

What is synthesis?

What is source synthesis?

Sample

Let's take a look at a sample source synthesis. See what you can notice.

Source Synthesis

Now let's see how to do a good source synthesis.

Practice

Now let's practice.

First, read three short folktales.

Then, follow the instructions, and fill in this chart.

Academic Source Synthesis

How do we do academic source synthesis then? Here are some steps and techniques we can use.

Answer Key

Here is the answer key to the practice.

Apr 10 - APA Reference Page Citation

Today we will...

1. learn to describe the relationship between reference page citation and in-text citation
2. learn the APA citation rules
3. write and edit APA reference page citations for different kinds of sources (eg. books, articles, journals, websites, sources with multiple authors)

APA Reference Page

What is APA reference? How do we make our reference list in the APA format?

Let's first take a look at a sample APA reference list.

What do you notice? What is the format like?

APA Style

Let's take a look at what APA is like. Or it is like this.

Question

Now here is the question: why do we need to learn this?

APA Format

Here is the place where you can always go to find information about APA for different types of academic sources.

Practice

Now please practice writing an APA reference list for your five sources for the annotated bibliography.

Homework

The due date for the Annotated Bibliography is determined, and it is going to be April 17th (next Friday) by 11:59 pm on Compass 2g. I will create a submission session soon on Compass so that you can submit your assignment there.

Apr 8 - Summarizing Sources 2

Today we will...

1. learn how to summarize academic sources
2. use a checklist to evaluate the effectiveness of summary
3. learn how to avoid wordiness and how to combine sentences

Academic Source Summary

We have learned how to summarize articles and stories last time in class, and we will learn how to summarize academic sources today. Here is a presentation on how to summarize academic sources.

Practice

Now please take out the article that you will use for research paper writing. Open this file and answer all the questions.

Now use this file and follow the steps to summarize the article.

Again, use this checklist to evaluate the effectiveness of the summary.

More about Summary

When summarizing, we need to make it concise in order to make it effective.

Here is how to avoid wordiness.

Here is how to combine sentences.

Apr 6 - Summarizing Sources 1

Today we will...

1. learn to locate the most important information in a source necessary for a summary
2. learn to summarize non-academic sources in 5-7 sentences
3. use a checklist to evaluate the efficacy of a summary

Story Summary

First, let's watch a short video. When you watch the video, think about the questions here. Then you will need to summarize the story.

How to Summarize

Here is how to summarize.

Practice

Now you need to practice.

First, read this article.

Then, follow these steps to summarize the article.

Afterwards, you need to use this checklist to evaluate your summary.

Review

1. Please use this step-by-step guide to help you review the process of summarizing.
2. Here is the answer key to the summary practice.
3. Please remember to bring an academic article you will use for your research paper to class on Wednesday, and we will learn how to summarize academic sources.

Apr 3 - Annotated Bibliography

Today we will...

1. explain the function and importance of an annotated bibliography within the research process
2. list 4 common elements of an annotated bibliography: APA citation, summary, explanation of relevancy and reliability
3. practice writing an annotated bibliography for one of your sources

Warm-up

Please pull out one of the sources you are going to use for your research paper. Go to the reference list and count how many sources you have within that paper.

How can you keep track of so many sources when you are writing a paper?

How can you organize them?

Annotated Bibliography

Please take a look at the following 2 samples of annotated bibliography. Use this chart to analyze them.
Sample 1
Sample 2

What is annotated bibliography then? Why do we need it?

Here is the answer key.

Practice

Now you have known the importance of creating an annotated bibliography for your research paper, and you know the basic components of an annotated bibliography, it is your turn to practice writing an annotated bibliography.

Here is the research topic: Teenage Driving Accidents
Here is the research question: What Factors Reduce the Number of Accidents Caused Teen Drivers?

Here are 4 articles that you will be working on.
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4

Homework

1. Please remember to write a reflective essay and send it to my email by 11:59 pm on Sunday (April 5).
2. The Annotated Bibliography homework is now assigned, and it is worth 15% of your final grade. You need to create 5 annotated bibliographies, following the format that you have learned in class. The estimated due date is April 19, by 11:59 pm.

Apr 1 - Reflective Writing

Today we will...

1. learn to recognize the importance reflective writing
2. differentiate reflective writing from other types of writing (argumentative, analytical) in the ESL program
3. learn how to write a good reflective essay (3 common elements: description, interpretation, looking to the future)

What is Reflective Writing?

Let's watch this video, and see what it is all about.

What is reflective writing then?

Now we know what reflective writing is, the questions are:
How is it different from other types of writing?
Why do we need to do it?
How do we do it?

What is the Difference?

How is reflective writing different from other types of writing that we are doing in this course? For example, the diagnostic essay and the research paper.

How to Do It?

Here are some possible sample questions that you can incorporate in your reflective writing.

And, here is a sample reflective essay that you can look at.