Developing Research Paper Writing Skills
This assignment sequence, though it is a particularly challenging area for non-native speakers, is also a sequence that would be helpful for native speakers. The sequence will take one week, and should be taught after students have engaged in research, chosen a thesis and composed an outline for their paper. The assignment will assist them in beginning to write paragraphs that effectively use source material in the context of a paragraph. The supplementary signal phrase resource provides non-native speakers with the language they need to effectively transition into a piece of source information within a paragraph.Using Source Information in Academic Writing
Imagine you are writing an argumentative research paper designed to convince an audience that it is important to understand and accept gender differences. Consider the following quotations.
Part 1: Which of these would be helpful in proving your thesis? Which would require more information to be able to support a statement about gender differences? What kind of information would be necessary?
Part 2: Which would you summarize, which would paraphrase, and which would you quote?
1. “Why are so many men reluctant to ask directions? Why aren’t women? And why can’t women understand why men don’t want to ask? The explanation, for this and for countless minor and major frustrations that women and men encounter when they talk to each other, lies in the different ways they use language--..”
Source: Deborah Tannen “Sex, Sighs and Conversation: Why Men and Women Can’t Communicate,” pg 211
2. “Don Elium, coauthor of the best-selling 1992 book, Raising a Son, says that with troubled boys, there’s often a common theme: distant, uninvolved fathers, and mothers who have taken on more responsibility to fill the gap.”
Source: Barbara Kantrowiez and Claudia Kalb “Boys Will Be Boys,” pg 205
3. “For girls, the first crisis point often comes in early...