College Composition I:Unit 7 Seminar

Susan W. Trestrail, M.S. Ed., Instructor

Unit 7 Work Reading

Ways to improve your second draft: Revising and creating a post draft outline APA Manuscript Style

Unit 7 Work Discussion:

Prepare a post-draft outline of any draft of your essay. In your post, include:

▪ Your thesis sentence▪ Your post-draft outline▪ A paragraph about what you learned from reviewing the

outline ▪ Any questions you have about drafting your essay or revision

Respond to at least two classmates’ postings. Comment specifically on the post-draft outline. Do the sentences seem to “boil down” a clear idea of the thesis points that correspond to post-draft items 2–4 (the body paragraphs)? If so, how can you tell? If not, what might be changed?

Unit 7 Work Seminar

You’re here!

Unit 7 Work Project

Create a second draft that includes:▪ A minimum of two pages of essay text. ▪ A three point thesis sentence that is the last sentence

of the introduction. ▪ An introduction and conclusion. ▪ Body paragraphs that provide specific, focused

analysis of your main points, supported by your sources.

▪ Information from at least three sources. ▪ In text citations in APA format. ▪ A reference page and title page in APA format. ▪ APA manuscript format: double-spaced, 12-point font

size, page numbers, running headers.

Unit 7 Work Project

Grading – Pass/Fail (75 points/0 points) You get a passing grade if you meet *all* of the

following criteria:▪ Draft consists of a minimum of 5 paragraphs

(introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph). 

▪ The last sentence of the introduction paragraph is a thesis statement with 3 main points that become the bases for three body paragraphs (1 point per paragraph). 

▪ Includes careful attempt at APA format (title page, in-text citation, and references page.)

Questions?

Lecture: Post Draft Outline Post draft outline:

Exactly what it sounds like: you create an outline of what has already been written, as opposed to what you want to write.

Done to a finished project, and it helps to check for coherence, clarity, and organization.

! 

Lecture: Post Draft Outline

Post draft outline: There are two levels of post-draft outline.

The first level - the one you will do for this class - is of the paragraphs themselves.

You count the paragraphs and then write down numbers (for your essay, it should be 1 through 5).

Go back and read each paragraph. Try to summarize it in one sentence - and only one

sentence! Do not just use the topic sentence! 

Lecture: Post Draft Outline

If you cannot get a single sentence summary for each paragraph, there are too many ideas in the paragraph. 

If you discover there is a problem at the paragraph level: Do you need to move the order of paragraphs

around? Similarly, you may discover that there are three

or four ideas in one paragraph.  Or that you aren’t even sure *what* that

paragraph is about. 

Lecture: Post Draft Outline In that case, you go to the sentence-level

outline. Sentence-level outline:

Count the number of sentences within the paragraph Do the same thing – but instead of sentences, go with

phrases Don’t use the same wording - try to rethink it.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline

Giving credit is a part of everyday life. Filmgoers expect the routine. Over the aroma and crunch of popcorn and the gentle glide of candy moving from cardboard containers to waiting hands, the film begins with music, motion, and a list of the major players, the director, and perhaps a producer or two on the screen. Viewers watch the film, and as it ends they again expect to see a list, this time a longer one, of people who helped create the film. Virtually every person who played a significant role in the film’s production will receive a nod in these credits. The same ethic applies to writing as a student or as a professional. Essay writers use research to support their own ideas. Therefore, these writers must identify the sources they use or risk plagiarism penalties. A variety of documentation styles exist, but the formats have similar minimum requirements for acknowledging sources and avoiding plagiarism. The essay writer who understands plagiarism, the basic requirements of documentation, and techniques such as paraphrase and quotation can use sources ethically and avoid plagiarism.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline Introduction Paragraph Post Draft Outline

Summary: 1. Like filmmakers, essay writers give

credit to sources to avoid plagiarism.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline

First, understanding what plagiarism is can be the best way to avoid unintentionally plagiarizing a source, and most universities have clear definitions and policies. According to Kaplan University’s “What You Need to Know about Plagiarism” (2006), plagiarism is “academic dishonesty that can be intentional or unintentional.” Examples of plagiarism include using the exact words of an article, book, or web site without using quotation marks and proper citation, cutting and pasting large sections of a source and representing these sections as one’s own writing, or buying a paper from a “paper mill” (Villano, 2006). Moreover, one need not use a source’s exact words to plagiarize; even when we reword a source’s ideas, not giving credit to that source for its unique perspectives is plagiarism (Segal, 2006). The bottom line is that representing as one’s own the work of another is plagiarism regardless of intention. After all, university officials have no way of evaluating the intention behind a case of plagiarism because intention is impossible to prove. Therefore, a student may misunderstand the rules for giving credit to sources, but any student who uses another person’s specific ideas or words without giving credit in and after the essay is plagiarizing. On an encouraging note, many educators realize that students accidentally plagiarize because these students do not know they are breaking the rules (Landau, Druen, & Arcuri, 2002). However, using sources can be like speed limits and taxes; universities expect self-motivated learners to use texts and other resources to learn the specific rules of citing sources or accept the consequences. For this reason alone, understanding what plagiarism is and how to avoid it can take center stage in courses.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline First Body Paragraph Post Draft Outline

Summary: 2. Plagiarism is academic dishonesty of any kind

and can be intentional or unintentional; the penalty for plagiarism is usually the same regardless of intention.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline

After one understands plagiarism, learning to document according to professional standards is the next step in giving credit to sources. Many universities, including Kaplan, use the American Psychological Association’s (APA) style for giving credit to, or citing, sources (“What You Need,” 2006). APA, therefore, is the professional standard that applies to source citation for most assignments. Again, plagiarism often occurs because of failure to follow APA guidelines rather than because of an intention to use sources without giving them credit. According to the APA Publication Manual (2001), APA style includes two basic components: in-text citation and a references page. These two parts of an APA-formatted essay both must be present for a writer to give credit to sources; the in-text citations occur in parentheses each time a source’s information occurs in a paper and the references page lists each source used in the essay (“What You Need,” 2006). In addition, different sources should have different information in the in-text parenthetical citation and references page. For example, a printed book with an author and a library-database article with no author listed will have different information in their in-text citations and reference-list entries (“About APA Style,” 2006). However, each of these sources requires in-text citation and placement in the references list—the basic APA elements. In many classes, professors introduce students to basic APA rules, but a typical course syllabus will note that students ultimately take responsibility for finding out the correct citation and references listing for each source. Practice is crucial. Students find that professors may deduct some points for incorrect APA format, but that a paper that plagiarizes often will fail. Overall, many emerging scholars will agree that an honest but incorrect effort often equals fewer points lost than complete disregard for correct citation. Therefore, student writers can take some time to become letter perfect in APA citation, but an earnest effort to understand and apply the rules helps an essay dodge plagiarism charges.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline Second Body Paragraph Post Draft Outline

Summary: 3. APA has two parts and can help writers

avoid plagiarism.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline

Finally, the nuts and bolts of avoiding plagiarism exist in creating cited paraphrase and quotation that fit into an essay without taking over the voice of the essay’s author. Paraphrasing a source means that a writer has completely changed the words and sentence structure of a source (“What You Need,” 2006). As Kaplan University’s “What You Need to Know about Plagiarism” (2006) points out, although the words and sentence structure change, the ideas still belong to the source’s author, so citation is necessary to avoid plagiarism. Summary is another kind of paraphrase, but summary, unlike regular paraphrase, seeks to make the ideas of the original source briefer (Landau, Druen, & Arcuri, 2002). Direct quotation, on the other hand, requires enclosing exact words of a source in quotation marks. Quotation, like paraphrase, requires citation. In general, direct quotation is appropriate only when the essay writer cannot express an idea more clearly than the original source (“What You Need,” 2006). For this reason, writers use paraphrase much more often than they use quotation; after all, paraphrase allows the writer to use borrowed and cited information while putting the ideas in his or her own writing voice.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline Third Body Paragraph Post Draft Outline

Summary: 4. Using paraphrasing and quoting with APA

citation style is an important technique for avoiding plagiarism. 

Lecture: Post Draft Outline

Rewording or using distinctive direct quotation establishes the need for documentation style to avoid even unintentional plagiarism. When a scholar uses the ideas or words of another in an essay, the credits roll in the form of in-text citation and a list of references. Absence of either or both of these elements often carries the same penalty as intentional, “cutting and pasting” or “paper mill” plagiarism. Acknowledging the contributions of others to one’s work is the right thing to do; in addition, this acknowledgement is the professional and academic way to avoid plagiarism. Disregarding the importance of giving credit, many film audiences see the beginning of the credits as the cue to leave the theater. In fact, very few viewers remain by the time the filmmakers thank the small towns where specific film scenes occurred and the people who catered food for the cast and crew. Although one can neglect film credits with little impact to the film’s profits, the same principle does not apply to academic work.

Lecture: Post Draft Outline Conclusion Paragraph Post Draft Outline

Summary: 5. With the right knowledge and skills,

writers can avoid plagiarism.

Questions?

Lecture: APA Format

APA manuscript style has three parts The title page The body pages The references page

Lecture: APA Format

The title page should include: “A running head” (basically just a shortened

version of the title) The paper’s title The author’s name. Please be sure to also include the course name

and number (College Composition I: Effective Writing. CM107-xx).

You may also choose to include “Kaplan University.”

Lecture: APA Format The body pages should:

Be double-spaced Include the running head Use a 12-point font (preferably Times New Roman,

Arial, or Courier) The paragraphs should have the first line

indented, but there should not be any additional spacing between them.

Lecture: APA Format The references page should:

Have the running head Then the word References (not in all caps) centered as

the first line on the page. The sources should appear (double-spaced, just like the

rest of the paper) and in alphabetical order by author (or title, if there is no author).

The second and subsequent lines of each source should use hanging indent – i.e. be indented, but the first line is flush with the margin. (Basically, the opposite of the paragraphs in the body in.)

Questions?

College Composition I:Unit 7 Seminar

The End