- Dr. Katherine Schmidt
- WOU Writing Center
Assignment Examples Deciphering Your Professor’s Directions - Biology 101
- Document the processes of your lab experiment in a one-page report.
- Political Science 101
- Consider McCain’s and Obama’s work as senators. Who has effected more change and why?
- Psychology 101
- Examine how your past shapes your present: (a) analyze your childhood, and (b) explain how it has shaped you into the adult you are today.
- English 101
- Analyze Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.
Approaching Writing Assignments - Before you leave the classroom:
- written directions versus verbal directions
- how will the professor grade the paper (i.e., what is most important to her)?
- When you’re on your own:
- define/clarify key terms
- who is your audience?
- what kind of research is required to complete the assignment? and who can help?
- what kind of format should be used?
Discipline-Specific Formats - What is a discipline?
- Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.
- A branch of knowledge or teaching.
- Style Guides:
- AP
- APA
- AAA
- CBE
- Chicago/Turabian
- MLA
Academic Writing: Top Tips - The five-paragraph essay is no longer an option (hint: making a skeleton is the key to success).
- Avoid table talk:
- Point of View
- 1st or 3rd: determine the most appropriate POV for the particular discipline and assignment
- Contractions
- Word Choice
- Exclamation Marks
- Do not use it, this, or these at the start of a sentence.
- Watch your homophones — there, their, and they’re
- Watch your but use — however is an excellent replacement.
- Do not use the terms Miss, Mr., Mrs., Ms. when referring to an individual you have researched or interviewed: use Manuel Aguilar the first time and Aguilar only every time thereafter.
- Do not ever cite Wikipedia as a source in your paper.
Your Routine - Who is currently involved in sports?
- Who is currently involved in music—playing, composing, or both?
- Who is an artist?
- Who is a video gamer? u-tuber? facebooker?
- What is the common thread in the stories you hear?
- time
- motivation to study and practice
- sacrifice
- improvement is a constant goal
- What if you could feel the same motivators when it comes to attending your classes, completing your homework, and writing your papers?
- When you taste success, you just might get hooked . . .
- If you were to approach writing a paper like you would approach your sport/music/art/hobbies, what would the process look like?
WOU Writing Center - www.wou.edu/writingcenter
Share with your friends: |
