ENGL 101: Introduction to Writing

© Melinda Dewsbury, 2020

CRACKING THE CODE

ENGL 101: Introduction to Writing (2021 SP)

Professor: Shine Hong

(Course pack writer: Melinda Dewsbury)

© Melinda Dewsbury, 2020 1

Module 1.

REVIEW OF SCHOLARLY

WRITING

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Expectations of Academic Writing

 It is formal.

 It has accurate grammar and vocabulary. It uses complete sentences.

 It is not usually a 5 paragraph essay!

 It follows all of the rules of formatting, such as margins, font, indented paragraphs, and page

numbers.

 It does not require long, complicated sentences.

 It demonstrates your level as a scholar.

 It includes a lot of citations and references.

 It requires your own voice and your own thinking.

 It presents your argument directly and provides clear evidence.

 Different kinds of essays (genres) have different expectations.

 Different kinds of essays require different cognitive tasks.

 Each discipline has its own style and expectations.

What to avoid:

First person (I/me/my) unless you are writing a personal response.

Second person (you/your)

Contractions (don’t/can’t/won’t, he’s, they’re…)

Slang and informal expressions

Passive voice (“The problem was started by activists.”)

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Sample of Academic Writing

Non-indigenous environmental activists are recognizing the rightful place of First Nations at the

forefront of environmental fights. As activist Dave Ages (Unist'ot'en Camp) has said, expressing why

non-indigenous activists are rallying behind First Nations leadership, these environmental fights are

happening in First Nations territories, but their fights are all of our fights (Interview, September 2014).

While perhaps these allegiances were in the past partially instrumental, there is now a deep intertwining

of First Nations' indigenous rights struggles and environmental fights in BC. This is partially due the

decades of intimate sharing of struggle and growing incorporation of indigenous rights within the

environmentalist agendas. It is also at least as much due to learned strategies of First Nations leaders for

maintaining their leadership of these collaborations by requiring participating NGOs and individual

activists to commit to indigenous leadership as a precondition for participation (Frost, 2018). These

strategies are exemplified by Unist'ot'en Camp (Huson & Toghestiy (Wet'suwet'en), Interview, May

2014), the Lelu Island occupation (Brown, (Tsim-shian), 2016), the Burnaby Mountain WatchHouse in

southern BC (George, (Tsleil-waututh), 2018) as well as the stance held by the Skeena Watershed

Conservation Coalition in relationship to their collaboration with various Gitxsan houses (Shannon

McPhail, interview, August 2015). Progress has been made in both attitudes of environmentalists

toward First Nations and institutional structures for indigenous leadership, but there still exist tensions

in many instances between some environmentalists' and First Nations' objectives. These protocols of

sovereignty recognition serve to both structurally maintain First Nations leadership and educate

environmentalists on environmental justice and indigenous rights.

Excerpt from p. 138:

Frost, K. (2019). First Nations sovereignty, environmental justice, and degrowth in Northwest BC, Canada.

Ecological Economics, 162, 133-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.04.017

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MODULE 2.

WRITING THE ARTICLE

REVIEW

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What Is an Article Review? The Miriam Webster Dictionary defines review as “a critical evaluation.”

The Cambridge Dictionary says, “If critics review a book, play, film, etc. they write

their opinion of it.”

Therefore, when you review an article (or anything else), you are offering your

opinion, the positive and negative points about it.

In University

Your professor might assign you to write a review of an article or book from your class. If you are

taking media courses, you may write a review of a film or album. In theatre classes, your

professor might want you to review a play or performance. Reviews are common assignments.

The principles we learn here can apply to any kind of review.

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Writing the Article Review BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

 You need to provide the full bibliography of the text or piece you are reviewing. This is often

presented at the top of the page in regular APA format for a reference.

 An alternative is to embed it in the text, like this:

In her article, “Why ‘domestic’ work is a global issue”, Emily Rauhalla (2011) argues that…

INTRODUCTION Your introductory paragraph should be short (3-4 sentences in total). Here is the information you should

provide in the introduction:

 the author’s full name and his or her background/credentials

 the general topic of the article/book (A sentence like, “The article explores the lives of foreign

domestic workers, such as nannies”).

 the author’s perspective, bias, and/or basic outlook on the topic (OR this might appear in the

summary section. Do not put it in two times). An example is “The author provides an economic

perspective on the topic.”

THESIS STATEMENT At the end of the introductory paragraph, write your own thesis statement. This sentence basically

states your opinion of the piece, your overall rating. The thesis statement for an article review is

different from other kinds of thesis statements. Here are some features.

1. IT SHOULD INCLUDE AN OVERALL OPINION

 not your opinion on the TOPIC (such as what you think about using foreign labour) but on

the quality of the article or the author’s argument

 Do NOT say something like

“I agree with Rauhala when she says that domestic work is wrong.”

 Present your opinion of the relationship between the strengths and weaknesses of the

article. Which is more significant?

 Use evaluative language (for example, adjectives such as well-argued, poorly-supported,

fallacious, concrete, intriguing, provoking…)

 Use your sentence structure to represent how the positive and negative are connected.

Thesis Structure: [Although] + less important, SVO (more significant).

Although Rauhala uses specific countries as illustrations, her discussion is weak because…

Although Rauhala perpetuates a cultural bias, she presents a clear argument…

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2. IT SHOULD CLARIFY THE STANDARDS YOU HAVE USED FOR EVALUATION.

 Do NOT just say “some strengths and some weaknesses”

Although Rauhala has some good points, her argument is a little weak.

 Make sure your reader knows what you consider to be strong or weak so BE SPECIFIC

Although Rauhala writes persuasively about a very worthy topic, her argument is weakened

by her absence of strong evidence and by perpetuating the myth that Asian women are

domestic servants.

SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE’S ARGUMENT AND EVIDENCE  Type the heading Summary on the left hand side.

 Summarize the “gist” of the text only. First, tell the author’s thesis or main idea.

 Then, show your reader how the author/speaker unfolds the message. As you summarize, guide your reader. Remember that he/she may not have read the actual text before. You are responsible to recreate the meaning. Use the author’s name frequently along with reporting verbs such as begins, continues, asserts, explains, illustrates, suggests, concludes, compares, contrasts, adds to, expands… This helps to convey both WHAT the text says as well as HOW the author/speaker created it.

 Do not include examples or details of any kind.

 Usually, the summary should be no more than 1/3 the total paper length.

THE REVIEW PART (YOUR CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT THE ARTICLE) Type the subheading on the left hand side of the page. What you call this part depends on what your

professor wants you to do. The main part of your review can take several forms, depending on the

assignment itself. If you are not sure what to do, ask your professor. Here are some common terms

your professors might use.

Analysis/Evaluation/Critical Interaction/Discussion

 breaking the reading down to examine main ideas thoroughly

 judging and evaluating the ideas for their meaning, significance, relevance, bias, and logic

 examining the kinds of evidence and use of evidence

 discussing agreement or disagreement with the ideas

Application

 examining the article as it compares with theory/concepts learned in class

 often comparing and contrasting what you’ve read with a certain perspective (for example,

a biblical view)

Personal Response

 drawing connections to your own experiences or making comparisons (such as cultural

comparisons)

 explaining your own thoughts on the topic or your reactions to the article

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CONCLUSION

Write a very short concluding paragraph. Sometimes the conclusion is a personal response. Sometimes

the conclusion offers a recommendation or a statement of the usefulness of the article (such as “This

article provides a basic starting point for understanding the topic of domestic work”).

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Writing a Gist Summary

You might be nervous to write a summary. How can you take so many pages and complex ideas and

condense them into one page or less?

 Keep in mind that the reasons for a summary are 1) to show the professor that you read the

article/book and 2) to give readers background to understand your evaluation. Therefore, you

don’t have to try to include every idea.

 Rather, your job is to capture the author’s argument – its shape, its logic, and its main

assertions.

 To do this, do not try to write a point by point summary. Have you heard the idiom, “you can’t

see the forest for the trees?” You will find too many ideas that you might miss out on the actual

argument. Your summary will sound more like a list.

Try to understand the argument by making an outline or a visual map.

1. What is the purpose? To argue, to give information, to express or entertain? In academic

contexts, readings are usually to argue or give information.

2. What kind of argument is it? Cause and Effect? Problem and Solution? Compare and Contrast?

Inductive or deductive? Process? If you figure out the kind of argument, you have figured out

the basic organization and you are ready to make a map or diagram.

3. Instead of finding every main idea, figure out the main ideas that form the overall argument. If

the article is problem-solution, identify the author’s ideas on the root of the problem, and the

corresponding solutions. If the article is reporting inductive scientific research, find out the

methodology and the kinds of information collected, and then summarize the conclusions.

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Writing Concisely You don’t have to list everything, such as every chapter or every part of a theory. However, it is a good

idea to give a couple of examples just to create the “gist.”

 Use words like “such as” and “some” to indicate that you are not listing everything.

The author explains how problems such as superstition contribute to the orphan problem.

 Use the colon to introduce lists or details.

SVO: list or explanation

Smith presents several case studies: a family living in poverty, a single mother with AIDS, a

father whose wife died in childbirth, and children orphaned by the earthquake.

 Use subordination rather than coordination to connect ideas. Avoid using and, and, and. Try

using after, since, although.

After SVO, SVO.

After he explains the purpose of his book, Smith explains the concept of childhood.

 Use ING clauses:

ING + simple past + that + SVO, author name (S) VO.

Having argued that all children have the right to a family, Smith adds that…

Noun, ING + noun, VO.

This book, combining personal narratives with psychological studies, delivers a strong argument.

 Use with:

With + noun phrase, SVO.

With detailed narration, Smith paints a picture of childhood in Haiti.

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Review Paragraph Pattern

Start with your assertion, which should include your basic evaluation and the key word for your

topic or category. Explain in another sentence or two. Provide a “quotation from the article” or some

specific information or details. Be sure to signal this by saying something like “In the article, [author’s

name] states.” The quotation and/or details are your evidence to prove your point. Next, use a signal to

show that you are evaluating. The signal should be an evaluative word or term, such as “strong” or

“credible” or “unconvincing.” Then explain why you think this. If you need to give another example

from the article, add that layer. Then signal and explain your evaluation of it. You may or may not need

to add a conclusion sentence. Add one if you feel that your ideas need to be re-stated simply.

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Personal Response Paragraph Pattern

Start by stating the key word/issue you want to respond to and a key word that shows your

response. Give a quotation or specific details directly from the article. Then signal that you are going to

respond by using I/me/my. An example is “In my own journey” or “This reminds me of …” Explain

your response at a specific level. Your response could be emotional (to the situation), intellectual (to

the idea), spiritual, or comparative (to something in your own life or to another situation, theory, or

article). Be sure to refer to key words from the quotation. Add a concluding sentence if you feel that you

need one.

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Vocabulary for Writing a Review Consider whether you want to evaluate or just describe.

Description:

This book gives a lot of details. Is this good or bad? Do you like this?

Evaluation:

This book is provoking in its use of details. This tells your opinion of the details.

ADJECTIVES

Creativity Quality Depth Process Writing Style Status/Importance

Unusual Useful Simple Careful Elegant Significant

Ambitious Competent Thorough Exploratory Verbose Insignificant

Innovative Remarkable In-depth Preliminary Repetitive Important

Intriguing Impressive Brief Tentative Redundant Influential

Provoking Well-written Detailed Conclusive Logical Notorious

Enlightening Strong Basic Inconclusive Interesting Famous

Standard Satisfactory General Traditional Well-known

Original Successful Modest Fluid Little-known

Ordinary Powerful Descriptive

Traditional Limited Confusing

Out-dated flawed Clear

Refreshing weak Carefully- worded

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VERBS

Success/Failure Action/Change Logic Question

Succeeds Urges Forwards Probes

Fails Demands Asserts Questions

impresses Calls for Suggests Wonders

empowers Complains Claims Explores

Weakens Laments insists hypothesizes

Strengthens Warns Contends

Hesitates Deplores Concedes

Confuses Condemns Concludes

Clarifies criticizes Generalizes

Misses the point provokes Overgeneralizes

Ignores Simplifies

Struggles Oversimplifies

enlightens

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Tips for Writing a Strong Review GUIDE YOUR READER.  Make it clear what ideas come from the book/article. To do this, use phrases like

“Rauhala points out…”

 Make it clear what ideas are your own. Ask your professor for preference about tone. Can you use

“I” or does the professor want you to be very formal?

 If you can use first person, you can write signals such as

“I was confused about…” or “I found Rauhala’s discussion convincing.”

 If you cannot use first person, use phrases like

“However, Rauhala misses the point” or “The author’s point is well stated.”

The evaluative words signal that you are offering your critique.

USE QUOTATIONS AND REFERENCES TO THE BOOK/ARTICLE. BE VERY SPECIFIC.  Weak:

She uses examples from different countries.

 Better:

Rauhala enriches her argument by illustrating the situation of domestic servants from different

countries, such as Cambodia, Jordan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

BE CAREFUL THAT YOU DO NOT JUST DESCRIBE. YOUR JOB IS TO EVALUATE.  Description:

Rauhala refers to Human Rights Watch as evidence.

 Evaluation:

Rauhala gives credibility to her argument by referring to well-known and respected organizations

such as Human Rights Watch and the International Labor Organization.

ORGANIZE YOUR POINTS These are all good options for organizing the review portion of your paper. Check the assignment to see

if your professor asks for anything specific.

a. chronological (your points following the order of the book or article)

b. importance (choose greatest to least or least to greatest)

c. positive/negative (devote one section to positive analysis and the next to critique

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Module 3.

RESEARCH WRITING

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What Is Research And Why Do You Need It?

The Merriam Webster Dictionary states that research is:

1. careful or diligent search

2. studious inquiry or examination

 especially : investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and

interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of

new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws

3. the collecting of information about a particular subject

THUS, when we research, we carefully and thoroughly look for information and examine it. We use the

information to make a theory or to discover something or to apply it.

We need to research in order to DISCOVER new knowledge and PROVE what we think.

In scholarly work, our own ideas are valuable but ONLY if we explain, develop, explore, and prove them.

STEPS:

1. Choose and examine a topic.

2. Identify a question about your topic that you want to answer.

3. Read everything you can find to get a thorough answer to your question.

4. Collect your findings together and look for patterns.

5. Organize your findings into categories and consider how these categories connect to one another.

6. In each category, what does your research show you? What does it mean?

7. Begin to write. Interact with the research findings to show your readers what you discovered. The writing should be a combination of your own voice and thoughts with the research that helped you find those ideas.

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Topic Development Always check your syllabus and any additional handouts from your professor. Follow the instructions

carefully, and ask your professor questions if you are not sure. Do NOT rely on what your friends tell

you!

If your professor has given you an open-ended topic, your next step is to spend time brainstorming,

exploring, and analyzing a topic.

HERE ARE SOME STARTING STRATEGIES:

1. Ask yourself, “What am I passionate about?”

2. Brainstorm how a topic could be addressed from any academic discipline or perspective

(marketing, economic, socioeconomic, demographic, management, leadership, art, music, pop

culture, media, historical, psychological, environmental…) This might help you narrow your

interests and exclude categories as well.

3. Enter your basic topic idea into a Google Image search. Sometimes an overview of images will

give you ideas and inspiration.

4. Enter your basic topic idea into a search on TedTalks. Browse the findings and listen to some of

the speeches to help you think of new questions and ideas.

Once you have chosen a topic and have some ideas, begin to explore ways to narrow it. A research topic

should not be too broad.

WHO: Do you want to narrow to a

specific demographic group

(gender, age, culture…)?

Is there a specific group of

people you are interested in?

WHAT: Do you want to narrow to a

specific problem or event?

WHEN: Do you want to focus on a

current issue? A historic

situation? Or do you want to

look at changes over time?

WHERE:

It is essential to narrow to a specific

context because problems differ greatly

according to place. You should not try to

look at women’s issues all around the

world, for instance. What country do you

want to examine? Do you want to narrow

it further to a specific city or region?

WHY:

Do you want to

limit your research

to investigating

one particular

cause or effect?

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