Writing Center Tip: How To Use Evidence in Body Paragraphs (Prezi Slideshow)

Students often ask me how much evidence they should use in a paper in each paragraph. I've created a visual explanation using the free online presentation tool, Prezi, to share my answer with all of you. Have a look at the "How To Use Evidence in Body Paragraphs" Prezi by clicking here. Just click the right and left arrows underneath the slides to move backward or forward through the presentation.

If you're interested in creating your own Prezi, let me know. I'd be glad to walk you through the process of creating your own student account and composing your own presentation with this tool. Their slideshows are more dynamic, in terms of transitions and slide design, than those you can create in Microsoft PowerPoint, I think.

Happy writing,

Sara

P.S. Don't forget about the free writing resources available through our website. You can find help with MLA, APA, Chicago Style, and other citation styles, as well as with grammar, spelling, and punctuation issues.

Everyday Thoughts from the Writing Center: Resources

Hello everyone! My name is Abby Wraight, and I have just started working at the Writing Center a couple weeks ago. I am a senior English major who is thrilled to finally have a job that is on campus (no more fast food jobs for me) and related to something that I enjoy: writing. The Writing Center is a great place for all students on campus to come and use no matter what stage in the writing process he or she is in. It is a place where learning and growing occurs, both for the students that use it and for those that work there. In the short time that I have worked at the Writing Center, I have learned the importance of consulting The Everyday Writer, as well as other reference materials in the Writing Center to help students with their citations. One of the most common questions students have asked me is, “How do I correctly cite this?” As a senior working on capstone currently, I tend to think that I have a pretty firm grasp on how to cite my work in the MLA format, because I am doing so on a regular basis. Even though I still normally consult my Everyday Writer for my papers (to make sure that I have the citation completed properly), I have found that it is very important to consult it during every writing consultation.

One way in which I have needed to refer to The Everyday Writer was when I was helping a student who needed to work on an internet citation for a Composition I paper. Typically, I am more used to citing databases for my papers that require outside research; since this student was a freshman who was not yet required to use the RSU databases, she used an internet source from the Web, which can be trickier to cite. Web pages often do not have all of the information that one needs to make a proper MLA citation. This particular internet source included a short story with the title and author. It was missing the publisher or sponsor information and the date of publication. The source came from a university website so I still felt that it could be a viable source for the student to use. After consulting page 435 in the most recent edition (page 397 in the fourth edition) I was able to show the student how to correctly cite this source. Following along with the handbook, the student wrote the author’s last name and first name, the title of the short story with quotation marks, the name of the website, “N.p.” to indicate there was no available publisher or sponsor, “n.d.” for no date of publication, “Web” to indicate the story came from a website, and lastly the date of access with a period at the end. By going through the correct way to cite an internet source with this student, I not only helped her to learn how to cite similar sources, but it was also a great refresher lesson for me.

There are many ways that the sources in the Writing Center can be helpful for students. Using The Everyday Writer while working on papers can complement the other sources that are available for students such as the online writing resources that are listed on our university’s website under the Writing Center tab. Here is a direct link to these resources. By not being afraid to look to the materials such as The Everyday Writer and this link, one can continue to grow more educated in the field of writing. I hope to continue to allow these tools to help me as I finish my career as an under graduate student and beyond into my future.

-Abby

P.S. If you are unable to use the book to look up MLA citations here is a link for The Everyday Writer online .

Writing Center Video -- Made with Animoto

Rogers State University Writing Center

Interested in learning how to use Animoto? Just ask!

RSU Writing Center Tip: How To Use Evidence in Body Paragraphs (bonus: learn about Prezi)

Students often ask me how much evidence they should use in a paper in each paragraph. I've created a visual explanation using the free online presentation tool, Prezi, to share my answer with all of you. Have a look at the "How To Use Evidence in Body Paragraphs" Prezi by clicking here. Just click the right and left arrows underneath the slides to move backward or forward through the presentation.

If you're interested in creating your own Prezi, let me know. I'd be glad to walk you through the process of creating your own student account and composing your own presentation with this tool. Their slideshows are more dynamic, in terms of transitions and slide design, than those you can create in Microsoft PowerPoint, I think.

Happy writing,

Sara

P.S. Don't forget about the free writing resources available through our website. You can find help with MLA, APA, Chicago Style, and other citation styles, as well as with grammar, spelling, and punctuation issues. 

RSU Writing Center Tip: Help with Resumes and Cover Letters

Technical Communications

Writing for the Professions

Tech Writing

Business Writing

These are the sort of terms we give to writing that is composed for an audience of business-minded folks, people looking to become employed, to hire employees, to manage employees, etc. I'm working on incorporating some of this kind of writing into my Composition courses for two main reasons:

1. It's writing! Those same concepts of writing process, purpose, and audience are just as important to this sort of writing. They translate across boundaries and are valuable in all majors.

2. A great writing exercise to employ (see what I did there?) is the job application materials assignment. It encourages students to think about their future, research potential employers, practice writing for a specific audience, familiarize themselves with the job hunting and hiring processes, generate templates for use during future job searches, and learn about how design can complement document function.

RSU Career Services can help you with your job search and has posted some resources to help you generate documents like resumes and cover letters.

Here's one more resource you could use as you work: the Resumes and Job Application page of the Bedford/St. Martin's Writing that Works textbook, 11th edition. Oh! And, if you have a copy of The Everyday Writer, check out chapter 64 (starts on page 552), "Writing for Business," for more models and advice.

Did you know you can bring job application documents to the Writing Center for help? We can help with any and all college-level writing tasks--including resumes, cover letters, and any other writing required during a job search. Just email writingcenter@rsu.edu for more information!

~Sara

RSU Writing Center Tip: Evaluating Web Sources

Source

Sources of information that you find through the University's Library catalog and databases are a bit easier to judge than sources that you find out there on the web at large. This is because the sources students and faculty can access through the catalog and databases are presented in a standardized manner, and you can find information about the author, article title, journal title, date of publication, etc. in pretty much the same place in every record.

So, what are the best practices for evaluating those sources of information you find out there on the web? Click here to view tips and read a quick demonstration web site evaluation from The Bedford Research Room.

After evaluating a source and finding it fit to use, you may need help citing it in your paper. Click here for help with MLA citation, and click here for help with APA citation.

Good luck on your search,

Sara

Reflection on Editing Wikipedia for the First Time

I began by creating an account, which was very easy. They asked for a user name, password, and captcha verification that I was not a robot. After that, I thought about what articles I might want to review. What do I know about? First, I looked at the RSU page. It is pretty well looked-after, as you might expect. Then I looked up the Anna Sewell page, since I recently did a project on her and know quite a bit about her life. Her page is in pretty good shape, but I noticed they listed a cause of death and I know her biographers debate what she actually died of. The cause of death was uncited. I googled the causes and found one source that matched; suspiciously, the wording was EXACTLY the same as the Wiki entry… someone was copying someone… at the bottom of the second page there was a note saying the content came straight from Wikipedia. So a dead end there.

I noticed there are Article/Talk tabs on the left side of the page for each entry and Read/Edit/New Section/View History tabs on the right side. You can switch between views to see what’s going on what I’d call “on-stage” or “backstage” for each entry. “Edit” is where it gets complicated—in terms of code and content! “History” shows the history of all edits, who made them, when they were made, etc.

I pulled Sewell’s most recent biography from my shelf and checked to see if the cause of death listed on the Wiki page was there… Found it! The Wiki writers were correct, the cause of death they listed was Sewell’s official cause of death, according to doctors of her time; however, today it’s speculated that Sewell’s death may really have been caused by complications from the SLE form of Lupus. I’m not sure if I’m ready to go into all that and also Wiki policy advices writers stay away from speculation. So, I just decided to add a citation to the cause of death. Sewell’s most recent bio wasn’t mentioned in the entry’s references at all, and it really should be there, anyway.

So, actually adding the reference took a bit of time, but it was fairly easy to add after clicking Help and finding the code to copy-and-paste. Basically, on the Edit page, I changed

Sewell died on 25 April 1878 of [[hepatitis]] or [[Tuberculosis|phthisis]], five months after her book was published, living long enough to see its initial success.

to

Sewell died on 25 April 1878 of [[hepatitis]] or [[Tuberculosis|phthisis]]<ref name="test">''Dark Horse: The Life of Anna Sewell'' by Adrienne E. Gavin. p. 165. Sutton Publishing (2004). ISBN 0-7509-2838-7.</ref>, five months after her book was published, living long enough to see its initial success.

Image of Article History, including my most recent change

Image of Article as it now reads to viewers after my addition

And that’s it! My first contribution.

~Sara

RSU Writing Center Tip: Different Citation Styles -- MLA, APA, and Chicago

Looking for a quick way to shift from one citation style to another? The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) has a handy chart to help. Click this link to have a look.

For more explanation and models, see The Everyday Writer's "MLA Documentation" and "APA, Chicago, and CSE" in the back of the text in sections 48-54. You can also find that very same information in The Everyday Writer online supplement at this link.

Got questions about writing? Reply to this email, drop by the Writing Center in BH 206 during weekday walk-in hours (9 a.m. to noon), or reply to this email and request an appointment outside of walk-in hours. See our scheduling policies posted to our website at this link. Don't forget, we can help you online or over the phone, too!

Happy writing,

Sara

RSU Writing Center Tip: Citing a Work in an Anthology (MLA)

RSU Writing Center Tip: Citing a Work in an Anthology (MLA) 

To create a Work Cited entry for a text from an anthology, like The Norton Reader used in the Composition I courses, see the section "A Work in an Anthology, Work, or Collection" at the Purdue Online Writing Lab, which shares the model below:

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Edition number. Ed. Editor's                               Name(s). City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of                               Publication.

Remember, if you cite multiple works from the same anthology, you must do things differently. First, you'll create an entry for the entire anthology. Then, you'll create mini-entries for each of the multiple works you cite from the anthology. Those mini-entries will be like the model below:

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Essay/Story." Editor's Lastname Pagerange.

Example:

Didion, Joan. "On Going Home." Peterson et al. 1-3.

For more explanation and models, see The Everyday Writer pages 383 and 386, numbers 10 and 11. You can also find that information from The Everyday Writer at The Everyday Writer Online Supplement at this link, also under numbers 10 and 11.

Got questions about writing? Reply to this email, drop by the Writing Center in BH 206 during weekday walk-in hours (9 a.m. to noon), or reply to this email and request an appointment outside of walk-in hours. See our scheduling policies posted to our website at this link.

Happy writing,

Sara

Everday Thoughts from the Writing Center: Smooth Sailing

Since I’ve been working in the Writing Center this past year, a lot of people have asked me questions, like

“What’s it like to be a tutor?”

“Are you like a part-time teacher there?” 

or

“Do you take classes, too?” 

These are all great questions, but most of the time, I think maybe people are expecting something totally different than what they find. I’ve even had a few surprised reactions when people realize I’m a student too, and we may even be taking some of the same classes. A few have told me, “You don’t look like an English tutor!” Well, I’m not sure what the stereotypical tutor is thought to look like, but I can assure you that everyone in the Writing Center here at RSU is just as fresh and original as the students we help. I think there’s a myth out there that just because tutoring is an academic service, it should be stuffy and boring, or that sessions should be held in hushed tones among stacks of musty library books. We’re here to break that myth and let you know that getting help from the Writing Center can be a very customizable, refreshing, and— yes, even fun, experience!

One of the main reasons I took this job was to become a better communicator and help others feel more confident and excited about their writing. Though it may not be everyone’s favorite thing, writing can be an adventure, and I’ve come to realize that my favorite part of the job is helping people find their own style of adventuring. I’m by no means an omniscient figurehead of Almighty English, but I do know my stuff and I’m committed to helping you figure out how to be the best that you can be. I look at each tutoring session as embarking on a quest with the student, serving as a friendly first mate and letting them remain the captain of their own ship. I can provide a course map for you or find helpful resources, such as the many books or online sources we have at our disposal, but ultimately, you are in charge of your own ship (and by ship, I mean paper, of course). The most important thing to remember is that every student has a unique style in writing, learning, and communicating. Being flexible and confident in my own abilities, even in the face of a difficult task, allows me to help others overcome their challenges and hopefully, we both learn something new along the way.

Because we have so many different options in the tutoring lab, from on-site sessions to Skype calls, we can readily tailor the tutoring experience to fit your needs and writing style. I love that about this Center, because it goes to show that we are doing our best to accommodate individuality. As anyone who knows me can attest to, I’m all about being an individual and celebrating what works for you! So the next time an assignment looks like a storm on the horizon, remember that we are here to help you find your course and ensure that your writing process will be smooth sailing. 

-Jalexa