This is the General Instructions document that I hand out in class every semester. I've just revised it so I thought I'd post it here for everyone to enjoy.
Dr. Timothy Michael Summer 2011 and after
(6 pages total)
GENERAL DIRECTIONS & COMMENTS FOR ALL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
This document is considered to be part of the syllabus for any class I teach, therefore you should read it very carefully before working on your writing assignments
I. CITATION PURPOSE AND FORMAT
The hardest part of any non-fiction writing is the documentation of sources, but without sources you might as well be writing a blog. In some cases (especially in the working world, and especially when you’re starting out) your audience won’t care what your opinion is, but they will care where you got your information and they will want to be able to go back and read what you read on the way to your conclusions (your source material).
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
From an academic standpoint, writing down what someone else said and passing it off as your own is called “plagiarism.” That includes many things, but we’ll keep it simple here: if you use more than three of the same words as a source author uses without quotation marks and a page number reference, you’re stealing, and that's plagiarism. Also, if you use someone else’s idea without a reference to who thought of it and which article it’s from, it’s plagiarism.
You don’t need to steal ideas to effectively present, use and discuss them, so please don’t lower yourself to that standard. Ignorance is no excuse – you are bound by the UHCL Student Handbook to understand this stuff. Plus, you can always ask your professor to clarify things for you.
NOTE: IF YOUR PAPER IS TURNED IN WITHOUT PROPER DOCUMENTATION IN THE FORM OF QUOTATIONS AND CITATIONS YOU WILL BE CHARGED WITH PLAGIARISM. You will not have an opportunity to take it back and "fix" it once you've turned it in. Should you want to ask for clarification of what you "should do" about references, you'll need to do that BEFORE you turn it in, and well before any deadline for the assignment. On the date that it is due, anything you turn in will be considered to be the final assignment, and any lack of documentation will be charged as plagiarism. Even your “rough draft” should contain properly-documented references.
If you turn in someone else's work, I will contact you to start the hearing process and I will not assign a grade to the work. In addition, you will receive a grade of F on any assignment that has plagiarism in it, including tests. I also will assign a course grade of F if I catch you plagiarizing or cheating in my class, regardless of your other grades. You will have the opportunity to appeal my grade before the Academic Honesty Council of the university.
If you’re not sure about plagiarism, you can always take advantage of UHCL’s Writing Center. They can even answer questions online, and I think they’ll proofread papers for you and help you fine-tune the writing process. There’s no excuse for turning in a plagiarized document.
DIRECTIONS FOR CITING SOURCES
For purposes of effectiveness you can always use an established reference format: MLA, APA, etc. You may have used these in other classes. At a minimum, however, you need to make sure that your reference format includes the following (for your protection AND mine).
Step 1. Create a full list of everything you read in the preparation of your report or essay, put it at the end of the paper, and title it "Bibliography" at the top of the page. This list should include all papers, articles, books & interviews that you read for your paper, even those that you didn’t directly quote or paraphrase in your writing. The format for this “bibliography” needs to include sufficient information to allow your reader to go find the item you read, such as names of all authors, full title of the work, date of publication, publisher (for books), volume number, issue number, pages of the work, etc. Even if you only read something for background, you should list it here so that your readers know where you’re coming from.
I realize that several citation formats don’t support this, asking only that you cite what you quote or paraphrase. My method, however, works best in practice. It also makes it easier on you if someone wants you to go back and do more work later on the same topic.
WHAT'S AN ACCEPTABLE SOURCE?
First, your source must be credible. For example, the fact that Lady Gaga has millions of followers on Twitter is meaningless - it means she's qualified to comment on having millions of followers on Twitter, and nothing else. You should start looking for sources with recognized credible sources that fit the topic. For economy or business, it should be Financial Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek. Forbes, Fortune, etc. also count. For company information, start with the company itself via its 10-K filings online.
Wikipedia is NEVER a valid source, although it might point you in the right direction (via the "References" part). Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, any time. Recognize that all sources are biased - that's the point of writing, to inform someone or persuade them. Choosing how and what and when to report is a function of one's biases. Blogs aren't valuable sources unless the person writing it has some credibility in the field in question. The Internet has taught us that EVERYONE has an opinion, and unfortunately most of the opinions on the Internet are worthless because the writer has neither knowledge nor a reputation that they've put at stake.
Step 2. Once you have your bibliography together, make sure you use either a numbered note system for references (where you number each citation when it happens and then create a separate reference list of “endnotes”) or you can cite in the document with some unique reference marker such as (Michael, 2004a, page 23) at the end of the relevant sentence. Again, if you use more than three of somebody’s words, you have to cite at the end of that sentence, with no exceptions. You can either use a note marker such as I’ve done here, or do what I did inside parentheses.1 If you just choose to use a numbering system, then you'll need to create a list of endnotes on a page at the end of your document that you can use to cite page numbers in an appropriate way. With the bibliography already done in advance, the endnote page is simple. You can always use footnotes if you'd like to.
Step 3. A recent copy of the APA or MLA style guides have examples of how to cite different types of work (books, magazines, journals, Web sites, etc.) Remember, the most important thing is traceability – can I find your source with the information you’ve given me in the bibliography? Can I find your quote? If neither of these is true, even the “correct” format doesn’t get the job done.
Step 4. Citation Summary and Checklist: At a minimum
- when you start doing research for the assignment, make a list of all of your sources, get their full information, and keep them ordered them by the last name of your first author
- every time you use something from each of these, either
- put quotations and then cite the author, year, and page number at the end of the sentence, or
- number the quote and put it in a list of endnotes.
- for paraphrased ideas or expositions, use a parenthetical or a note as soon as you use someone else's idea.
- put a bibliography section and a notes section at the end of your document. Make sure that each contains enough information for a reader to be able to find the exact reference source easily.[1]
II. THE WRITING PROCESS
I suggest that you start with a thesis or topic, make an outline that you think you'll use, and then start finding and reading sources. As soon as you start reading, you're going to want to revise your outline, but that's normal. Also, you're going to want to keep notes of 1) what sources you're using (even if you don't quote them or paraphrase them), and 2) what info and ideas you found in each one.
Before you start researching: Think about using note cards or Excel to keep up with your sources and the ideas that you take from each of them. Sometimes the old ways are still the best ways. If you want to get high-tech, there are programs out there that will help you organize your thought process. Believe it or not, 3x5 note cards are still useful for this purpose. One reference, idea or fact per card.[2]
I've always found that writing each bibliographic source on its own notecard helps you to make and use your reference list along the way.
You'll want to revise your outline, as I mentioned, as you write, but the outline will help you make progress. Don't neglect it -- even if you're saying "I never needed that in high school" you'll need it in your professional writing because projects are just too big for off-the-cuff exposition. Practice using an outline and it will pay off later.
Another thing: write to your audience. An exception can be made if you want to make sure that anyone can pick up your piece and read it, but usually the more carefully you target something the better. Plus, if you keep all your sources handy you can go back and reframe your work easily for others' to read. Thinking about something from the audience's perspective should help you develop your thesis and outline.
Have an introduction, body and conclusion, and plan for documentation (and worksheets if appropriate) in a table or appendix format at the end of the paper. Make sure you actually write to fit the assignment, and if it isn't clear what the professor (or your boss) wants, go and ask. And ask again. And keep asking until it's clear. Take notes while you’re asking. Same with documentation of sources: if you're unsure, ask the professor about formatting, etc. Or just note something just in case.
Believe me, it’s much better to ask enough to get the assignment clarified than to do weeks or months of work only to find out that it’s opposite of what they wanted. That gives “live and learn” a new meaning.
III. PRESENTATION FORMAT AND DISTRIBUTION
Finally, in professional writing, most readers will prefer that you turn in a one-sided, double-spaced document (with page numbers) that is stapled in the top left corner. Leaving out page numbers is a big no-no. Also, those slide-on plastic binders that people use just get in the way. A single staple allows for easy page-turning, and one-sided, double-spaced allows for the easy writing of comments. If your document has a lot of sections or different arguments within it, make sure you have a table of contents (this doesn’t apply to anything less than about 5-6 pages, unless you just want to). If you have a good number of attachments, you might want to have a list of those at the beginning of your document.
Remember, if a professor gives you a “recommended” number of pages, it usually doesn’t include the cover or any table of contents, or reference pages. Those are extra.
Edit your document carefully for white space. This is a big problem with some student writers. Actually print it out and look at it before turning it in (even via email).
Use full justification if you can, because it is less distracting to your reader.[3]
Other big problems are typos and spelling errors. You should assume that your audience is actually going to read your work, and you should read it first. Proofreading EVERYTHING YOU DO, as a habit, is a great way to get your work noticed by your bosses and professors. It will set you apart from many of your peers (or competitors).
Finally, if you want to make things more durable (for discussion or distribution to those outside your unit)[4] you can use a plastic comb binder (so the document will open and lie flat on the desk) with Mylar or cardstock covers. For really big docs people use 3-ring-binders effectively, and cardstock numbered tabs make a good way to separate sections and/or appendices or add-ons. It also makes it easier to add or update attachments if it is a "working document." This binder approach is overkill for anything less than about 30 pages total.
In summary
- double-spaced if comments or notes are expected from your reader (they usually are)
- absolutely must have page numbers on every page but the cover & table of contents
- absolutely must have all titles, names and a date on the cover
- one-inch margins, 12-point font[5]; use Times Roman or something similar
- full justification unless told not to
- single-sided paper
- stapled in top left corner
- unless it's for wide distribution or needs to be durable; in that case use Mylar or cardstock covers and a comb or 3-ring binder, with cardstock tabs to index or separate sections
RESOURCES
The UHCL Writing Center has a lot of resources online. Neumann Library has some as well.
I have found online a working paper by Matthew O. Jackson entitled “Notes on Presenting a Paper” (http://www.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/present.pdf) that will help you understand citations in context.
I will also recommend a writing handbook such as “The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers” by Anson and Schwegler, Longman Publishing. (ISBN-10 0-205-74195-9, print version). http://www.coursesmart.com/9780205794331/part01
Remember, the APA or MLA style guides also contain a lot of good examples if you’re struggling. You may be able to find an older edition for cheap at a used book store.
A NOTE ABOUT KNOWN METHODS FOR SPOOFING SAFEASSIGN
Your paper should be turned in with NO CYRILLIC CHARACTERS. If it has Cyrillic characters it will be given a grade of zero until I can get a plain text version with no weird coding problems. I will use SafeAssign (in BlackBoard) to check your papers, and it doesn't like Cyrillic coding or Unicode-8 formats.
[1] Use an established method if you want to, but make sure I can follow your path if I need to. That’s the most important thing.
[2] I still think note cards are better than a PC, because you don’t need battery power. If you figure out a better, more portable, less error-prone method, please share it with me in an email sometime. Scrivener (software for Mac & Windows Beta) comes very close I think - it's a computerized corkboard for "notecards."
[3] Especially if that reader is me.
[4] Or to show to your parents so they’ll know (think) you’re actually learning something in school. This works, trust me.
[5] Unless it's a bunch of poetry; if it’s poetry you can do whatever you want to. Of course, your reader may not LIKE poetry, so this is risky. For business reports, don’t get happy with font and margin sizes, and don’t use lots of different fonts in a document. That’s called the "ransom note" effect.
