​Today you will blend in the quotations you inserted into your paper using lead-ins and lead-outs (commentary). Compare the model essays on pages 91-93 and 103-106, paying attention to how the quoted snippets that were inserted in the previous step have now been blended into the text of the paper. Quotes that were fragments have often been blended in using Blended lead-ins or Sentence lead-ins, while quotes that were complete thoughts have been blended in using Sentence lead-ins or Somebody Said lead-ins.
 
Flip back and forth between the two essays, comparing how EACH inserted quote now connects to the overall message in the writer’s own voice. NO QUOTE may start a sentence – each quote MUST have a substantive lead-ins, even Somebody Said lead-ins. Read carefully the guidelines for the different types of lead-ins on pages 94-101 of the Essay Guide and apply the guidelines as you add lead-ins to your own paper.
 
Read, also, the guidelines for lead-outs (commentary), page 102, and look at the models in the model essays on pages 103-106 and page 140. Note that lead-outs do NOT simply tell what the quote means (your reader should be able to read and comprehend what the quote says). The commentary should explain WHY the message of the quote is important to the point you are making in that paragraph. Tell HOW the message proves what you are trying to say in the paragraph.
 
Follow these steps:

1. Read pages 94-106 in the Essay Guide.
2. View the presentation: Blending Quotations Examples .pptx.
3. Look at the model on p. 140 of the Essay guide.
4. Open your research paper file.
5. Add lead-ins and lead-outs to your quotations.
6. You will NOT submit this to Turnitin. You will continue with the next step in this same file.

 

​Today, you will add the citations for your paraphrases, and you will insert the quoted snippets and their accompanying citations into your essay. Tomorrow, we will talk about blending these quotations with appropriate lead-ins and commentary. You will need to bring a PRINTED COPY of your paper with you to class.

​Today you will cite the sources of the information you included in what you wrote yesterday that actually came from the sources you read as you were doing your research. What you wrote yesterday likely included information that actually came from your sources. That is the most natural way to paraphrase information – since you were not looking at the sources when you wrote your paragraphs, the information was naturally translated into your own voice. BUT, even though it is in your own voice, it is NOT your information – you read it somewhere when you were doing your research. It is the intellectual property of someone else. You MUST cite that information.
 
Follow these steps:

1. Open and look at the “Paraphrasing Rev” ppt or pdf (in the Writing folder on the Google drive).
2. Read pages 72-79 in the Essay Guide and look at the example essay.
3. Review the presentation: Citing Paraphrases Examples.pptx.
4. Open your research paper file.
5. Add the citations for the information you naturally paraphrased in your paper (follow the models on page 75 of the Essay Guide!).
6. You will NOT submit this to Turnitin. You will continue with the next step in this same file.

 
Your next step is to select the phrases and snippets from your scholarly sources that you will actually quote (not paraphrase) in your paper. While most of your scholarly sources should be paraphrased in order to maintain your voice throughout your paper, you SHOULD quote particularly vivid or important elements to lend ethos to your text. Today, you will NOT worry about lead-ins or blending. All you need to do is insert the scholarly quotes you have chosen into your paper where you think they will best support the point you are trying to make.
 
Here are some important guidelines for this task:

• You MUST put quoted material in quotation marks AND every quote MUST be followed by a citation – go ahead and add the citation when you insert the quote so you don’t have to track it down again later.
• QUOTE PURPOSEFULLY! Only quote information that REALLY supports the points you make, and don’t quote words you don’t need. You DO NOT need to quote complete sentences – see the Essay Guide for information about shortening quotations (pages 84-86).
• You MUST quote your sources EXACTLY. Changing a quote without indicating that you’ve changed it is just as bad as plagiarism. See the Essay Guide for directions and models for modifying quotations if they need to be adjusted for blending (pages 81-83).
• Make sure you get the punctuation and the citations in the correct order. See the guidelines and examples on pages 84-86 of the Essay Guide.
• Look at the model essay on pages 91-93 of the Essay Guide. You can see that quoted fragments and phrases are inserted with their appropriate citations. Compare this to the model essay at the previous step in order to see the difference (pages 76-79).

 
Follow these steps:

1. Read pages 79-93 in the Essay Guide.
2. View the presentation: Adding Quotes and Citations.pptx.
3. Open your research paper file.
4. Add the information you wish to quote, along with an appropriate citations, to your paper.
5. You will NOT submit this to Turnitin. You will continue with the next step in this same file.

 

​Today you will type the rough draft of your research paper. At this point, it is okay if each paragraph has only the topic sentence and 2 to 3 additional sentences. Follow these steps:

1. Open your research paper file.
2. Put away all of your notes and articles (do NOT look at them while you complete this next step!).
3. You already have the topic sentences for your paragraph (look at your feedback and make sure you haven’t received feedback that indicates you need to fix/change something!).
4. Type your body paragraphs (WITHOUT LOOKING AT YOUR SOURCES!!).
5. Just type. You have the topic sentences to tell you what point you are trying to make in each paragraph – that is all you need. Just type your paper. Say what you want to say. Make the points that you want to make. Don’t worry about quoting or citing anything at this point. Just say what you want to say. If you remember that there is a particularly vivid detail or statistic that you want to use, DON’T LOOK IT UP. If you don’t remember the actual number, just use the # sign in place of the number – you will look it up later. Read pages 64-71 in the Essay Guide for direction and examples.
6. You will NOT submit this to Turnitin. You will continue with the next step in this same file.

 

​Today, you will take the keywords you collected while you annotated your articles and use them to construct your sentence outline (topic sentences) for your paper.
 
If the topics you found in your research don’t really support the claim you initially created, you have two choices: 1) do more research and find notes that actually DO support your claim, or 2) revise your claim to match the notes you found. Option #2 is definitely easier and less time consuming – it is the option I would choose (See pages 42-44 of the Essay Guide for information on revising your claim).
 

1. First, go to the Google driveà Writing à Videos folder and watch the video titled Building the Research Paper.
2. Put your cursor in front of the first (indented) word of your claim statement and type or copy and paste the paragraph you wrote yesterday with the background information and justification of your topic. If you put this information in front of your claim statement, your claim statement will become the LAST sentence of this paragraph. This paragraph is your introduction. YOUR CLAIM STATEMENT SHOULD ALWAYS BE THE LAST SENTENCE OF YOUR INTRODUCTION. Is your introduction perfect at this point? No, probably not. However, you now have something to work with.
3. Read pages 46-49 of the Essay Guide about introductions and fix the introduction until you are happy with it.
4. Underline your claim statement (IT SHOULD BE THE LAST SENTENCE).
5. Find your list of topics and decide which topics you will discuss.
6. Read pages 50-51, 57-62 of the Essay Guide for information about the topic sentences, organization of your argument, warrants and counterclaims.

 
A Note about Length
Your paper MAY (or MAY NOT) have three body paragraphs. Your paper should have however many body paragraphs are right for YOUR paper – there is NO one-size-fits-all essay formula. I’m going to be grading on the quality of your argument, so you need to discuss as many topics as it takes to convince me that your claim is correct. One person may need to discuss only two major topics; another person may need to discuss five. Look at your topic list for the answer. Consider the counterclaim(s) – you MUST address the counterclaim(s) that are appropriate for your topic. You may or may not want to specifically state your warrant (it may just be understood). Do whatever is right for YOUR topic and claim.
 

1. Using your topics and the guidelines in the Essay Guide, create the topic sentences for each of the body paragraphs of your paper. Make sure each topic sentence introduces the topic for the individual body paragraph (the point you are trying to make in that paragraph) AND has a clear connection to the claim (see a labeled example on page 137 of the Essay Guide, and look at the Sentence Outline.pptx presentation in the Writing, Argument Essay folder in the Google drive).

Submit your paper (that contains your introduction and your topic sentences) to the U4L4A4 Sentence Outline assignment in Turnitin by 11:59 PM on Friday, March 26.

Novel Unit Coming Soon!
Our final demonstration of reading comprehension and analysis will come through our study of a novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (order your copy from Amazon now! https://smile.amazon.com/Brave-New-World-Aldous-Huxley/dp/0060850523/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3RQU2OLU2FIRF&dchild=1&keywords=brave+new+world+by+aldous+huxley&qid=1605817821&sprefix=brave+new+world%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-2  ISBN: 978-0-06-085052-4).
 
I will provide access to an electronic version of the text, but it might be easier for you if you have an actual copy of the book.
 
Today’s Assignments:
Today and tomorrow, you will be annotating your sources. Please note that annotating sources does NOT mean just highlighting or underlining. If you just underline or highlight a sentence, every time you go back and look at it you will have to re-read it and figure out why you highlighted it in the first place. EVERY TIME YOU LOOK AT IT!!! That is a LOT of wasted time. Be kind to yourself and leave bread crumbs or key words (as an added bonus, it will help you write your paper!). Here’s how to do it:

1. As you read an article, highlight information that you think is particularly important.
2. In the margin, leave yourself a note that tells what that piece of information pertains to (the topic, such as Dangers, Consequences, Benefits, and so forth).
3. For more information, read pages 40-42 in the Essay Guide.

It is FAR easier to do this on a hard, printed copy of your sources, but if you are unable to print your sources, you can take notes on paper. To do this, you will need a piece of notebook paper that has two columns: a narrow column for the key words and a wider column where you can copy the actual words from the article. If you are doing this by hand on notebook paper, add a citation to each note you copy from the article with the author’s name (or article title if there is no author) and page and/or paragraph number (so you can go back and find the piece of information later).
 
Go to the U4L4A3 Background discussion board. Write ONE paragraph that provides background on your topic and justifies why it is an appropriate topic to write about. Do NOT use first person. Do NOT talk about your paper. Talk ONLY about the subject you are writing about.
 
You need to provide enough information that other people will understand why your topic is important.
 
Once you have written your paragraph. Read at least TWO other people’s paragraphs and write a (kind, polite) response. If you have questions about their topic, feel free to express them (it might help them make sure they’ve covered all the important stuff in their paper!).
 
Once you have completed the discussion board, you will finish annotating your sources. Please remember that annotating sources does NOT mean just highlighting or underlining. Review the directions on pages 40-42 of the Essay Guide if you need a refresher on what to do.
 
You will need to bring a list of keywords to class on Friday.  You should post your initial background paragraph to the discussion board by 11:59 PM tonight and your responses to others by 11:59 PM on March 25.
 

Hand in Vocab Journal #7 by 11:59 PM.
NO VOCAB DUE NEXT WEEK!!!! Next Vocab Journal Due April 27.
 
Today, we will discuss how to search effectively for scholarly sources. Then you will begin your research.
 
Please see the announcements in CTLS on Saving Internet Articles and Documenting Internet Sources (there are videos to help you).
 
Researching and Documenting Sources
1. Scroll to the last page of your research paper file. It already has the title, Works Cited, at the top. As you conduct your research and locate sources for your paper, you will create a bibliographic citation for each source you find on the Works Cited page.
2.  Read page 16 of the Essay Guide and watch one or more of the following videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJygQwYV84
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0DQfwc72PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9XZk9CLxK4
 
3. Begin searching for articles that you can use for your research paper to support your claim.
4. As you find each good article, SAVE it on your computer and create a bibliographic citation for the article on the Works Cited page of your research paper file. (If you aren’t sure how to save a copy of your articles or if you need help creating the bibliographic citations, look at the information below.)
 

Announcement: Documenting Sources Videos
I have created a series of videos that are designed to walk you through creating the bibliographic citation for an Internet source. The videos mention creating the citation for an Annotated Bibliography, but a bibliographic citation is the same no matter what document you are creating it for. The videos are numbered, just like the pieces of the citation in the Essay Guide (pp. 29-40):

• 1 Bib Citation Author
• 2 Bib Citation Title of Source
• 3 Bib Citation Title of Container
• 4 5 6 Bib Citation Contributors Version Number
• 7 Bib Citation Publisher
• 8 Bib Citation Publication Date
• 9 Bib Citation Location
• 10 Bib Citation Optional Elements

The videos can be found on the Google drive, in a folder titled Videos that is inside the Writing folder.
 

Saving to a PDF

1. If you can, it is best to search for your articles in Google Chrome because Chrome makes it really easy to save an electronic copy of the article.
2. Once you find an article you want to keep, select Ctrl+P (or select “Print” from the options menu).
3. For the Printer, select “Save as PDF.” In this dialogue box, scroll through the pages and make sure it looks like the article is going to save in a readable format (some web pages resist being saved or printed).
4. Click “Save” and Navigate to the location on your computer where you want to save the article.
5. Click “Save.” CHECK THE FILE on your computer and make sure it actually saved in a readable format. If it did, please print a hard copy of the article if you are able. If it didn’t print in a readable format WITH THE URL VISIBLE, you will need to follow the directions, below, for saving it to a document file.

Saving to a Document File

1. Find an article you want to keep.
2. Open a new document file and save the empty document on your computer. Name the empty document the name of the article you are saving to make it easier to find later.
3. On the web page, click ONE time in the navigation bar at the top to highlight the URL. Copy (Ctrl+C) the URL and Paste (Ctrl+V) it to the top line of the empty document.
4. Press enter to go to the next line of the document.
5. Back on the web page, start at the top and highlight the entire article, along with the title and the author’s name.
6. With everything highlighted, Copy (Ctrl+C) the information and Paste (Ctrl+V) it into the document underneath the URL you already pasted there.
7. Save the document. This should give you an electronic copy of the entire document, along with the URL. Print the article if possible.

 

REMINDER: Your Vocab Journal is due tomorrow by 11:59 PM in Turnitin.
 
Today, we will begin the research paper. There are several files with the research paper assignment provided in CTLS Resources as well as in the Writing folder on the Google drive:
Argument Research Synthesis Essay FA20.docx,
Research paper rubric FA20.docx,
Research Paper Timeline and Requirements SP21.docx.
 
If you wish to work collaboratively with a classmate (no more than 3 per group), you will need to let me know as soon as possible by filling out the Collaboration Contract at https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=-x3OL5-ROEmquMR_D8kYLUM3RZAT171EmpK7PWZ6M7tUODJVNjBWQUQwVDdSVDhEUDg5RVBOTVdTVy4u . The contract will not be valid until ALL persons working together have completed the contract. No more than three people may work together.
 
U4L4A1 Working Thesis
In the Essay Guide, read the section titled “Step 1: Create a Working Thesis” (pages 6, 8-11). There are lots of things to consider, lots of dos and don’ts, so read carefully. Your thesis/claim should be a SIMPLE sentence. It can be very brief – you don’t want your argument to be misunderstood.
 
From this point on, our Discussion Board posts will use the discussion section in CTLS. You can find the Discussions section in CTLS in the left margin, beneath the links for Home and Digital Sessions.
 
Post your working thesis to the U4L4A1 Working Thesis DISCUSSION BOARD. Remember – your thesis should be a brief, direct statement that indicates some change that needs to occur to make the world a better place.
 
Read over the claims that other persons/groups have posted and respond (Be nice! Be tactful!) to at least three of your classmates’ ideas. Help them by telling them why you think an idea may or may not work. (If you are the first person(s) to post, you will need to come back later in the day after more of your classmates have posted their ideas in order to respond to others.)
 
Read over the suggestions that your classmates have given you and determine whether or not you need to change or adjust your working thesis.
 
Once you have finalized your working thesis, go to the assignment in Turnitin titled U4L4A1 Working Thesis. Submit your one, simple statement of argument. I will provide feedback. If you are working with a group, please make sure the assignment that is submitted contains ALL members of your group.
 
U4L4A2 Research Paper Rubric Analysis

1. Download the research paper rubric, titled “Research paper rubric FA20.”
2. Download the file titled “Rubric Worksheet.”
3. Use the rubric to answer the questions on the rubric worksheet.
4. Submit your worksheet with the answers to Turnitin by 11:59 PM.