Building Blocks of Academic Writing
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Building Blocks of Academic Writing Building Blocks of Academic Writing Carellin Brooks Crystle M. Bruno, Fabio Coelho, Peter Gambrill, Jen Hagemann, and Jen Jebens BCCAMPUS VICTORIA, B.C. Building Blocks of Academic Writing by Carellin Brooks is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. © 2020 Carellin Brooks Building Blocks of Academic Writing is an adaptation of Commonsense Composition by Crystle Bruno, Jen Jebens, Fabio Coelho, Jen Hagemann, and Peter Gambrill, and edited by Jan Jose State University (© 2019 CK-12 Foundation), which is under a CC BY-NC 3.0 Licence. For more information about the changes made in this adaptation, refer to the Adaptation Statement. The CC BY-NC licence permits you to retain, reuse, copy, redistribute, and revise this book—in whole or in part—for free (but not for commercial purposes) providing the author is attributed as follows: Building Blocks of Academic Writing by Carellin Brooks is used under a CC BY-NC 4.0 Licence. If you redistribute all or part of this book, it is recommended the following statement be added to the copyright page so readers can access the original book at no cost: Download for free from the B.C. Open Textbook Collection. Sample APA-style citation: This textbook can be referenced. In APA citation style, it would appear as follows: Brooks, C. (2020). Building Blocks of Academic Writing. Victoria, B.C.: BCcampus. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/buildingblocks/. CC BY-NC 4.0 Licence. Cover image attribution: “Blocks” by Dan Cederholm is used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Licence. Ebook ISBN: 978-1-77420-057-5 Print ISBN: 978-1-77420-056-8 Visit BCcampus Open Education to learn about open education in British Columbia. This book was produced with Pressbooks (https://pressbooks.com) and rendered with Prince. Contents Accessibility Statement vii About BCcampus Open Education xi Chapter 1: Research 1.1 Finding Sources 3 1.2 Citation Styles 5 Chapter 2: Prewriting 2.1 Outlines 9 2.2 Mind Maps 11 2.3 Freewriting 13 Chapter 3: Paragraph Structure 3.1 Descriptive Paragraphs 17 3.2 Narrative Paragraphs 25 3.3 Expository Paragraphs 29 3.4 Persuasive Paragraphs 39 Chapter 4: Summary 4.1 Accurate Summary 51 4.2 Representing Counterarguments 53 Chapter 5: The Essay 5.1 The Introduction 57 5.2 The Body 59 5.3 The Conclusion 61 5.4 Handling Evidence 63 5.5 Your Point of View 65 Chapter 6: Creative Writing 6.1 The Short Story 69 6.2 The Poem 71 6.3 Creative Nonfiction 73 Chapter 7: Revising Your Work 7.1 Making Major Changes 77 7.2 Peer Review 79 7.3 Drafting 81 7.4 Proofreading 83 Chapter 8: Responding to Other Views 8.1 The Review 87 Chapter 9: Oral Presentations 9.1 Organizing Your Presentation 93 9.2 During the Presentation 95 9.3 Leading Class Discussions 97 Chapter 10: Business Documents 10.1 Business Documents 101 10.2 Making a Positive Impression Online 113 Chapter 11: Tone and Style 11.1 Tone and Style 123 Appendix A: Grammar Review 139 About the Author 165 Adaptation Statement 167 Versioning History 169 Accessibility Statement BCcampus Open Education believes that education must be available to everyone. This means supporting the creation of free, open, and accessible educational resources. We are actively committed to increasing the accessibility and usability of the textbooks we produce. The web version of this resource has been designed to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, level AA. In addition, it follows all guidelines in Appendix A: Checklist for Accessibility of the Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition. Ways to Read This Textbook This textbook is available in the following formats: • Online webbook. You can read this textbook online on a computer or mobile device in one of the following browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. • PDF. You can download this book as a PDF to read on a computer (Digital PDF) or print out (Print PDF). • Mobile. If you want to read this textbook on your phone or tablet, you can use the EPUB (eReader) or MOBI (Kindle) files. • HTML. An HTML file can be opened in a browser. It has very little style so it doesn’t look very nice, but some people might find it useful. You can access the online webbook and download any of the formats for free here: Building Blocks for Academic Writing. To download the book in a different format, look for the “Download this book” drop-down menu and select the file type you want. vii viii Carellin Brooks How can I use the different formats? Screen Internet Format Device Required apps Features reader required? compatible An Internet Computer, WCAG 2.0 AA compliant, option Online browser (Chrome, Yes tablet, to enlarge text, and compatible Yes webbook Firefox, Edge, or phone with browser text-to-speech tools. Safari) Computer, Ability to zoom in, highlight, and PDF No Adobe Reader Unsure print copy annotate the text. Kindle app Computer, EPUB and (MOBI) or Option to enlarge text, change font No tablet, Unsure MOBI eReader app style, size, and colour. phone (EPUB) An Internet Computer, WCAG 2.0 AA compliant and browser (Chrome, HTML No tablet, compatible with browser Yes Firefox, Edge, or phone text-to-speech tools. Safari) Tips for Using This Textbook • Search the textbook. ◦ If using the online webbook, you can use the search bar in the top right corner to search the entire book for a key word or phrase. To search a specific chapter, open that chapter and use your browser’s search feature by hitting [Cntr] + [f] on your keyboard if using a Windows computer or [Command] + [f] if using a Mac computer. ◦ The [Cntr] + [f] and [Command] + [f] keys will also allow you to search a PDF, HTML, EPUB, and MOBI files if you are reading them on a computer. ◦ If using an eBook app to read this textbook, the app should have a built-in search tool. • Navigate the textbook. ◦ This textbook has a table of contents to help you navigate through the book easier. If using the online webbook, you can find the full table of contents on the book’s homepage or by selecting “Contents” from the top menu when you are in a chapter. • Annotate the textbook. ◦ If you like to highlight or write on your textbooks, you can do that by getting a print copy, using the PDF in Adobe Reader, or using the highlighting tools in eReader apps. Building Blocks of Academic Writing ix Known Accessibility Issues and Areas for Improvement There are no known accessibility issues at this time. However, note that external websites linked to through this resource may not meet accessibility guidelines. Let Us Know if You are Having Problems Accessing This Book We are always looking for ways to make our textbooks more accessible. If you have problems accessing this textbook, please contact us to let us know so we can fix the issue. Please include the following information: • The name of the textbook • The location of the problem by providing a web address or page description. • A description of the problem • The computer, software, browser, and any assistive technology you are using that can help us diagnose and solve your issue (e.g., Windows 10, Google Chrome (Version 65.0.3325.181), NVDA screen reader) You can contact us one of the following ways: • Web form: BCcampus IT Support • Web form: Report an Open Textbook Error This statement was last updated on June 11, 2020. About BCcampus Open Education Building Blocks of Academic Writing by Carellin Brooks was funded by BCcampus Open Education. BCcampus Open Education began in 2012 as the B.C. Open Textbook Project with the goal of making post-secondary education in British Columbia more accessible by reducing students’ costs through the use of open textbooks and other OER. BCcampus supports the post-secondary institutions of British Columbia as they adapt and evolve their teaching and learning practices to enable powerful learning opportunities for the students of B.C. BCcampus Open Education is funded by the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training, and the Hewlett Foundation. Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources that, through permissions granted by the copyright holder, allow others to use, distribute, keep, or make changes to them. Our open textbooks are openly licensed using a Creative Commons licence, and are offered in various e-book formats free of charge, or as printed books that are available at cost. For more information about open education in British Columbia, please visit the BCcampus Open Education website. If you are an instructor who is using this book for a course, please fill out our Adoption of an Open Textbook form. xi Chapter 1: Research Learning Objectives • Differentiate between sources that suit your purpose and those that don’t. • Determine if an electronic source is trustworthy. • Format a simple MLA or APA style bibliographic entry. • Explain the importance of citation as an academic practice. How do you gather background material on your topic? How can you tell a useful source from one that might lead you astray or provide inaccurate information, especially on the internet, where anyone can publish anything? And once you’ve located a trustworthy source, how do you credit it in your own bibliographical list of sources? Is citation even a big deal anymore, anyhow? 1 1.1 Finding Sources With today’s easy access to the internet and its limitless resources, finding appropriate sources seems like the easiest part of your work as a writer.