After successfully completing this week's Learning Module, you should:

• Understand how to use an outline after writing an essay to check that each element necessary to convince readers is present

• Apply your knowledge of formal, expert audiences to revise your Essay #2 introduction--including switching any personal experience used to build credibility with reporting from news sources readers would recognize and likely trust

• Transform existing background from Essay #2, which might have been local or assumed knowledge of a member of the community, to a broader and more universal background that is open to a wider audience

• Write a tentative thesis statement for Essay #4 that includes at least one additional reason than what you used in Essay #2

• Determine where you'll find your one required scholarly source and other sources with high perceived credibility and begin assembling evidence for your thesis

• Understand how to effectively integrate research into your essay by focusing on definitions of plagiarism, review the role signal phrases play in giving credit to our sources, and better understand MLA source documentation rules

• Continue working to develop a full rough draft for peer review next week using the Essay #4 Checklist and Scoring Rubric

This week you'll continue the fourth and final essay assignment. That essay focuses on taking Essay #2, which you already wrote earlier this semester about an issue in higher education, and adding length while translating it for a more formal audience. This will also involve finding additional sources, including at least one scholarly source, and adding MLA in-text as well as Works Cited citations.

With that in mind, we'll work in this week's module to get you a plan for each section of the essay, work to translate the introduction while extending the thesis, and make sure you're on the right track when it comes to finding your sources. We'll also work to review some of the trickier aspects of adding sources and look at a checklist and scoring rubric intended to help you make sure all required parts are covered. We'll also spend some time looking at definitions of plagiarism and how signal phrases are crucial for avoiding it. Next week you'll need to be ready for peer review and on track for submission of a final draft by December 15th. No work can be accepted after this date, so be sure you also check for missing assignments. 

Don't forget: you've got just two weeks left to schedule an individual conference if we haven't met during office hours this semester. This is worth 50 bonus points (equal to +5% of your course grade), and it's a good time to get feedback on the final essay before you turn it in for a grade or ask questions about any other late or missing work. The last day to get these points is Friday, December 13th; and again, you can arrange a different day/time that works better with your availability by emailing or texting your professor to check if a time is available.  

If you're feeling stuck or overwhelmed, start by reviewing past modules and email or text if your professor can help to clarify anything. 

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You can see a video walkthrough of this week's assignments and where to submit them here.

Writing Tip: Reverse Outlining

In the long list of things I wish I had learned about writing earlier, using outlines effectively is at the top. What I know now is that outlines not only help me to keep writing organized early in the process, they're also useful after you finish writing to check what you have done. You can see reminders of that use for outlines, which is called reverse outlining, from writing centers like the one at Duke University here.

In short, reverse outlining involves taking an essay you've finished--like Essay #2 which you're using as the foundation for Essay #4--and identifying the moves you made in each paragraph. That might mean seeing that you have exigence, background, and a thesis in the introduction, or it might mean checking for topic sentences, signal phrases with quotations and in-text citations, and work to explain or connect the quote before a concluding sentence in the body paragraphs. Once you've labeled all those parts and the rest in your reverse outline for your finished essay, you'd check to make sure nothing's missing using your own understanding of the assignment or the sample outline provided earlier this semester: 

While this might seem like an unusual move, the idea here is that our brains tend to fill gaps and make assumptions that nothing has been missed as we write. And we're generally fine with that until there's a particularly important moment when missing something costs us. For example, whenever I leave my apartment I reflexively check that I have--at a minimum--my keys and my phone. And that's because I've trained myself with a kind of checklist habit because more than once I've locked myself out of the house (seriously, I'm pretty bad about it).  

My suggestion, even if it takes a few minutes, is to begin building our final essay by using the outline above as a checklist to make sure you didn't miss anything in Essay #2. That's because if Essay #2 is the foundation for the final, we need to be absolutely certain that we're building on a solid foundation. 

Translating Exigence for a Formal and Expert Audience

As you looked at the outline above, you should notice that the first thing we do when we begin an essay is to explain the exigence. That's the problem or current event that's causing us to write. You've almost certainly heard of this as a "hook" to get a reader's attention, but the more complex explanation we're using here builds deeper engagement than simply getting someone's attention. 

When you built exigence for Essay #2 you were encouraged to explain a problem or current event for higher education based, ideally, on your own experience. That's because with a less formal audience we need to find a way to show our own expertise in order to have credibility. As we translate our writing for a new, more formal audience, that changes. In this situation, our readers are unlikely to see our experience as establishing credibility; instead, we have to bring in outside experts who have their own credibility and use them as backup. 

You really have two options for doing this with exigence in your final essay:

1) Find a source that asserts your problem does in fact exist or that recognizes the current event you see as motivation to speak on the topic

2) Find a source (usually a news source) that shares someone else's personal experience with the problem or current event that is motivating you to write

Let's look at a quick example just in case it's not quite making sense. First, here's an example of exigence based on personal experience from an editorial about higher education turned in for Essay #2. 

Every spring, students across the country complete the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, to establish their eligibility for financial aid like loans and grants. But this form, which is so important for attending college, is complex and difficult for many first generation college students to complete. I remember when I first applied for college we were encouraged to complete the FAFSA in November, but the form required tax information that my family wasn't able to provide. As a result of the FAFSA process, I was certain I wouldn't be able to attend college the following fall.

The problem, or exigence, in this example is that the FAFSA is hard to complete for some students, and it might mean some people get discouraged about attending college. These would be the first lines of my essay, and I'd follow it with some background (more on this in a second) about the FAFSA process before eventually giving a thesis about what should be done to fix the problem. Keep in mind, this exigence is informal because the writer used only their own explanation and experience to convince you there is, in fact, a problem. 

Here's an example now where the writer translated for a more formal audience by switching personal experience for something using a source with perceived credibility. 

Every spring, students across the country complete the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, to establish their eligibility for financial aid like loans and grants. But this form, which is so important for attending college, is complex and difficult for many first generation college students to complete. According to a group of authors writing in USA Today on December 9th of 2019, "The complexity of the form not only prevents families from getting the support they need — it has also been shown to prevent students well prepared for college from ever enrolling" (Cook et al.). This is because the application isn't very clear to those without previous experience, and it asks for information that can be hard to find (Cook et al.).

Quick note here about the in-text citation. The source being used for exigence has four authors, and MLA's rule when there are three or more authors is to use the first last name from the multiple authors and "et al." which is a Latin expression meaning "and others." 

In-text citation aside, the big difference in our second example for a formal audience is that the student removed personal experience and instead used a recognizable and likely trustworthy source to stand behind the problem. This is the kind of exigence you'll want to have in your final essay, especially if you might have done something different in Essay #2. Beyond that, it's a helpful reminder that when you've noticed that you're writing an essay for a formal audience (like most writing you'll do in college courses) this is the approach you should take in your first few lines instead of giving a definition or asking a question or any other tricks you might have used in the past. 

Revising Background to Include Broad Groups of Readers

Working our way down the outline, the next stop is background. This section of an introduction has the important job of helping readers unfamiliar with the topic catch up so they can continue reading. In the example we used above, there's a chance you found yourself having questions about the FAFSA. Maybe you remember hearing it mentioned a while back in high school but didn't complete one to attend RCC. Or maybe you didn't grow up in the United States and haven't even heard it mentioned before. For readers in these situations--and for readers who think they understand it but don't--I have to give an objective overview of the subject as background before I move on to convince readers to agree with my thesis claim. 

If it has been a while since you've really thought in depth about background sections in your essays, it's helpful to focus on the "five Ws" which is a concept for information gathering and problem solving generally used by news reporters or criminal investigators. In short, it means focusing on who, what, when, where, and why to guide the information you provide. Here's the breakdown based on some informal research online, but in a second we'll put it all together in our background paragraph and check where we need sources:

WHO?

Students planning to attend college or returning to college who meet certain eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or an eligible non-citizen, have a high school diploma or GED, and have not been found guilty of the sale or possession of illegal drugs while federal aid was being received. Male students between the ages of 18-25 are also required to register for Selective Service. 

WHAT?

An application to determine eligibility for student financial aid, including grants, loans, and work study. 

WHEN? 

Generally completed as early as October and as late as the end of June prior to the fall semester a student would attend. 

WHERE?

Students complete the FAFSA online, on the MyStudentAid mobile app, or they can call a 1-800 number to request a PDF application. 

WHY?

The FAFSA is completed in order to receive federal funds that can lower the cost of attending college. 

When I've worked through these questions--and to be clear, not all of them will be necessary and some may overlap--I can be relatively certain I've provided enough information that someone who doesn't know about the FAFSA can understand my essay. Here's my condensed and revised version based on the questions above:

The FAFSA is completed by students planning to attend college or returning to college who meet certain eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or an eligible non-citizen, have a high school diploma or GED, and have not been found guilty of the sale or possession of illegal drugs while federal aid was being received. Male students between the ages of 18-25 are also required to register for Selective Service. The FAFSA is an application to determine eligibility for student financial aid, including grants, loans, and work study. Generally it is completed as early as October and as late as the end of June prior to the fall semester a student would attend. Students complete the FAFSA online, on the MyStudentAid mobile app, or they can call to request a PDF application. The FAFSA is completed in order to receive federal funds that can lower the cost of attending college. 

One final step here is to check that the order of information makes sense and verify that I don't have any sentences that would benefit from having a clear source; those are going to be ones readers could dispute and those that aren't widely known. Here's that example:

The FAFSA is an application to determine eligibility for student financial aid, including grants, loans, and work study that can lower the cost of attending college.  It is completed by students planning to attend college or returning to college who meet certain eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or an eligible non-citizen, have a high school diploma or GED, and have not been found guilty of the sale or possession of illegal drugs while federal aid was being received ("Eligibility for Federal Student Aid"). Male students between the ages of 18-25 are also required to register for Selective Service ("Eligibility for Federal Student Aid"). Generally the FAFSA is completed as early as October and as late as the end of June prior to the fall semester a student would attend (Mulhere). Students complete the FAFSA online, on the MyStudentAid mobile app, or they can call to request a PDF application (Mulhere). 

The decision where to include a source can be tricky (as some people learned while researching the Information Literacy Essay). As a general guideline, follow these criteria from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater Library and always cite a source when you have:

• Direct quotation

• Paraphrasing of a quotation, passage, or idea

• Summary of another's idea or research

• Specific reference to a fact, figure, or phrase

I'll also point out, that deciding to include a source and to cite a source is a very important way to add length to an essay. More than just dumping in extra words, when you use sources to add length you also make your argument stronger. 

Expanding Thesis Statements to Add Length

As the sample outline shows, the last stop in your introduction for an argumentative essay will always be the thesis statement. This semester I've encouraged using a thesis following this structure:

Claim + because + reasons

In this case, my thesis for the example topic we've been using might look something like this if I copied it from Essay #2:

Colleges and universities should do more to help current and prospective students complete the FAFSA because it makes college more affordable for lower income students, works to include older non-traditional applicants, and it reduces a significant barrier for first generation students.

With this example, I'd plan to have three different body sections/paragraphs--one for each of my reasons. Of course, it's good to remember that some reasons are complex and require more than one paragraph to prove effectively.

But what happens when I need to make an essay longer? You can just add another reason to the end and get 1-2 additional paragraphs, and that's part of why we've used this model for a thesis. It really gives you the chance to add or cut length by adding or cutting a thesis reason. Here's my example from before, but I've done a little informal research online to see if I could come up with another reason:

Colleges and universities should do more to help current and prospective students complete the FAFSA because it makes college more affordable for lower income students, works to include older non-traditional applicants, reduces a significant barrier for first generation students, and it could help save time for students who work or who are parents.  

That's just a first draft, and there's a good chance it'll make some changes once I start looking for sources. The key, however, is to see this this thesis model as expanding or contracting by using reasons, which is something that helps any time you write an argumentative essay and need to meet an assignment requirement. 

What You Need to Know about Sources for Essay #4

While you've almost certainly been in classes that simply gave you a set number of sources to include, it's not a very authentic way to write. That's because the number of sources required will depend on how challenging the thing you're trying to prove is. I mean, if it's noon and I want to prove it's sunny outside I might just need to point at the window; but if it's midnight and I want to prove it's sunny outside, I better bring lots of really good evidence. 

You might have also seen classes that tell you what kinds of sources to include. That's because instead of letting you understand the audience and determine what sources might be a good fit, it's sometimes easier and more reliable just to tell you. 

So what about this class and Essay #4? Well, I did say that you'll need at least four sources--which is just my way of saying that if you didn't find at least four places in the essay that needed support to make your point then your argument might not be debatable enough to fit the assignment. I also said you'll need at least one scholarly source--which is a source written by an expert that has been evaluated by other experts in the same research area, which is a process called peer review (note, this is similar to the peer review we do in class). The reason I made this requirement explicit is because I want you to know that this is a formal and expert audience, and as such, the audience will expect scholarly sources. That doesn't mean every source has to be scholarly, however; you'll also use websites with high perceived credibility--things that are names readers will recognize and likely trust. 

One last thing I'll say about the sources for this essay that you might not have caught: your MLA in-text citations and Works Cited page are counted toward your assignment word count. That means not only does having more sources help you write a longer essay, but having the citations can really expand your return on time invested. Keep that in mind as you do research and decide how many sources to include. 

Source Types for Formal Audiences

As you might recall from the assignment sheet or last week's Learning Module, Essay #4 uses sources and MLA citations since it's what an academic audience expects. You may have used one or two websites for Essay #2, but now as you translate for a formal audience there will likely be some changes. The biggest change will be using more formal sources to match our more formal audience. Next week we'll spend some time reviewing the other challenging part, which is the citations

For now, let's start by talking about two kinds of sources and how to find them:

How to Find Credible Websites

No matter what audience we write for we have to make sure the sources we use are at the same level as our readers. We also have to make sure we're able to find enough sources to prove any thing we say that readers might dispute. That means we don't always want to use only scientific or technical and scholarly evidence that most average readers wouldn't be willing or able to understand. It also means we don't want to leave something debatable unsupported by a source just because we weren't able to find a scholarly source. This is where credible websites come into play, 

For our class, I'm going to suggest evaluating websites you find in a typical Google search using something called "perceived credibility" which refers to how likely your audience is to know and trust the source. Results found on Google News can provide a pretty interesting case study. 

If I search for news stories about abuse in online gaming communities I get these results:

That means my choices for which source to use, assuming each one was talking about the same thing I'm saying in my essay, would be The New York Times, CNET, Boing Boing, The Mercury News, and a website called Unicorn Booty. When I'm evaluating websites found in a typical Google search for perceived credibility, I ask myself:

Which of these sources is likely to be something readers recognize and trust?

Obviously, I think, the highest perceived credibility in this case is The New York Times followed by CNET since most readers will have heard of them before. If I wasn't sure, I'd spend some time doing a quick search to learn a bit about these organizations. That's extra work, but if you want a convincing argument it's worth the time. On the other hand, if nothing else I'm hoping you'll get a strong instinct to avoid sources you've never heard of before. That's good practice for avoiding generally misleading information online, and it's certainly a way to do better on your college research papers. 

Another thing I want to suggest here is that you should feel comfortable using sources you find through Google, especially if you narrow those searches by using terms that emerge from specific keywords in a thesis reason. Then, as you're looking through the results, choose first based on which result is the best fit for what you're trying to prove; if there is more than one source that could work, decide based on this idea of perceived credibility and pick something readers will most likely recognize and trust. 

It's worth pointing out here that this notion of readers recognizing and trusting our sources is why we don't use Wikipedia as a source. It's not because the information in Wikipedia is incorrect (there are several peer-reviewed studies showing that it is most often just as accurate as traditional sources); instead, it's because our readers have been told that Wikipedia isn't a good source. Since our focus is on the reader's reaction, we shouldn't use Wikipedia and instead stick with sources readers will recognize as reliable. 

How to Find Scholarly Sources

Unlike websites we can find in Google, scholarly sources can be tricky to locate--though it's another skill worth learning to make the rest of your time in college less stressful. The reason why is because they are generally behind a paywall that requires expensive subscriptions that colleges and universities pay using student fees. This means that most scholarly sources are accessed using a library database. 

To use the RCC Library databases start by going here: http://www.rcc.mass.edu/library/ 

Next, use the search box on the front page:

After you search from the front page you'll get a list of results. The important move once your results are displayed is to limit them to "Peer Reviewed," "Full Text," and "Academic Journals":

Once you've found a source and clicked "Access options" the you'll often run into the paywall and have to enter your RCC email address and last four digits of your student ID number. Note: If you don't know your ID number search your email or check in MyRCC; the library can also help if you send them an email here: Library1@rcc.mass.edu  

Of course, there's another option that many students prefer because it doesn't require a library login and it uses a simple search that's already familiar: Google Scholar. The key if you use Google Scholar, one that can be annoying, is that to access the article you find you shouldn't click the title like you would in a typical Google Search. Instead, you'll click on the right side where it says [PDF]:

As easy as this process might seem compared to the library database, the downside is that there aren't always as many sources available for free. No matter what, make sure you never pay for a source. Instead, contact an RCC librarian for help requesting the article from another library or email your professor to see if they have access. 

How Can I Find (More) Sources to Support My Thesis?

You know by now that Essay #4 is a research-based argument, and with that you know you'll need to find sources to support your ideas--just like you did for the Information Literacy Essay, which was an informative guide for college students. While the similarity here will likely be helpful as you search online to support your ideas with this assignment, it can still be overwhelming. My job this week is to make sure you have all the knowledge and tools at your disposal to not just do the research work well, but also to do it efficiently--meaning with the least amount of effort. Let's start by reviewing some common questions:

What Am I Proving?

The first thing you need to know when you start looking for sources is what you're trying to prove. I mean, think about what it's like going to the grocery store when you're hungry and don't know what you want vs. when you go with a shopping list. So let's get a list. 

If you've been using the thesis model I've been suggesting--the claim+because+reasons model--then you should know that your job is to use body paragraphs to prove that each reason from your thesis is true. This is a kind of deductive reasoning that says if the claim and reasons are clearly connected, then proving the reasons will prove the claim. 

For example, I want to prove that: 

Colleges should emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion in hiring because it can help show students that they are welcome, increase the range of ideas and perspectives in solving problems on campus, and help ensure that all students are having their needs heard. 

When I start my research, I won't focus on proving that the hiring should be more diverse; instead, I'll try to find evidence that diverse hiring helps students see themselves in their classrooms (see my first reason above). 

The bottom line here: having a thesis can make finding sources easier. Having a thesis that includes reasons makes the search even more focused and can save time. Either way, you'll need to think of each body paragraph as playing an essential role in proving that some part of the thesis is true. 

One additional note here: since you've already got your Essay #2 written as the basis for our final it means you'll also be looking for sentences that readers could challenge and then trying to find sources to support them. So how do you spot something a reader might challenge? Let's test your ability with this skill using an example: Which of the following sentences would readers likely see as debatable?

a) Colleges have been seeing increasingly diverse student populations for many years. 

b) Colleges have seen a 16% increase in the number of students of color between 1996 and 2006. 

The answer here is the second one, mostly because it uses a specific number. But in truth, it would be smart to find a source for both examples since the source adds length and strengthens your essay. As you look at your Essay #2 and try to spot places to add a source, look for specific numbers, look for statements where you know there are two sides to the issue, and look for any place readers might have a doubt. Focus on each sentence in your body paragraphs as a potential to add a source except the topic sentence and concluding sentence. These, if you've structured the paragraph well, will be the sentences that help establish the paragraph focus on your thesis reason but they shouldn't be used to present evidence (in other words, no sources in the first or last sentence of a paragraph). 

What Do I Search?

Knowing what we're trying to prove is only half the challenge. We also need to know what search terms to use. The good news is that you've almost certainly been in this situation before. Maybe you're trying to find a good place to get a flat tire fixed near your current location. You might try searching "tires" but only find places that sell new tires or rims. You might try searching "tire repair" and end up only finding places in Worcester or places focused on fixing bicycle tires. But with the right keywords, "auto tire repair near me," I find exactly what I'm looking for. 

Of course, if you're like me then finding the right keywords is often about trial and error: if I search one combination and don't find what I need, I try another combination, and another, and another until I get what I'm looking for. But there's a more structured way that can actually give you more results in the same amount of time. Here's the process:

1) Start by identifying the keywords (nouns, verbs) in your thesis reason. I'm going to use a different general topic here that wouldn't be a good fit for Essay #4 just as an example. 

Ex. monitoring children's entertainment screen time can help reduce behavior problems

Keywords: monitor, screen time, behavior problems

Note: words such as "children" and "entertainment" do not relate to the core concepts of the reason (they're also implied) and are not likely to be effective keywords. Compound words like "screen time" and "behavior problems" would need to have "quotation marks" in order to search for them as a single term. 

Here are my results for the first search without quotation marks; here is how they change with quotation marks (106 million vs. 18 thousand results, which is more manageable to sort through as I look for a source). 

2) Next, brainstorm alternative keywords that an author might have used. This includes different word forms and synonyms for "monitor," "screen time," and "behavior problems":

check

supervise

oversee

exposure to entertainment

time spent watching

using screens

acting out

misbehaving 

trouble

I know that can seem like more work, but spending some time outlining the words you can use to expand a search will actually make the search process more productive. And if you do find a good source, look inside the text for different terms they might use to describe what you're describing and add/replace those in your search.

3) Finally, consider adding a restriction to your search so it only looks at certain kinds of website or for a certain date range or even for a certain kind of result (e.g. a PDF file, which is most likely a scholarly article). You can do this by using the advanced search option in Google or by adding the following to your regular search:

site:.edu

site:.gov

file:.pdf

For example, if I search the same keywords I did in step 1 above but limit to .edu so I'm only finding university research I get better quality results that can reduce the number of Google results pages I have to skim through to find something useful for the essay (now 852 down from 18 thousand). 

One more strategy, one that only works when we're looking to add sources to something we've already written, is to copy the complete sentence from your essay and paste it into Google. When you get the search results back, look for pages that support what you said but double-check that they have perceived credibility, meaning they come from websites your readers would recognize and trust. 

effectively integrating research into your essay

Finding sources is only part of the challenge for good writing in college. The other part is largely focused on getting the source into the essay in a way that shows it as supporting you rather than letting it dominate. Here are a few tools to help:

Signal Phrases

You've used these before to introduce sources, and they really might be the most important part of using sources in our writing. That's because not using a signal phrase when you include words or ideas from an outside sources means readers will assume they're yours. If they assume the words or ideas are yours and they're not, then you've plagiarized (more on this in a minute). 

The good news is that signal phrases are not hard.

1st mention/use: Give the author's full name (all authors, not just one) and credentials (what they do/where they work)

ex. Callie Crossley, a reporter for WGBH News, has said "Maybe that is why I do not harbor anger or resentment against people who are poor. I don’t believe that these are people who are trying to scam the system or take something from me and mine."

2nd mention/use: Give the author's last name (not first name, since it's too informal)

ex. Crossley goes on to say "I’ve truly struggled to understand why there are so many others who do feel that way." 

If you want to be absolutely certain you're doing these correctly and see some variations from "According to" consider reviewing this handout from St. Louis Community College. 

Corroboration

This is one we introduced in the previous essay. Simply put, corroboration means using more than one source to support the same idea. It contrasts the bad habit many of us develop early in college (or as far back as high school) where once we find a source we move on. The key with corroboration, aside from adding length to an essay, is that it is very persuasive when readers see that more than one source agrees with you. 

To do corroboration effectively you might try following this formula:

1) Topic sentence establishing the point you're proving in the paragraph (matched to a reason in your thesis)

2) Signal phrase, quotation or paraphrase, in-text citation

3) Your own words to explain the quotation or to give an example or to connect it with another idea

4) Signal phrase saying: [Author], a [credentials] agrees, stating that [quotation/paraphrase] (citation). 

5) Your own words to explain the quotation or to give an example or to connect it with another idea

6) Concluding sentence to roughly repeat the topic sentence and establish the point you wanted to make. 

Integrating Sources

In the example above, you're seeing that #3 and #5 are how you get your own words into a body paragraph. To be clear, the topic sentence (#1) and concluding sentence (#6) are also your own words, meaning they don't use a source. The key in doing these things is to integrate our sources with our own words. We do that so readers still see us present rather than letting our quotations dominate the essay. You can see a little more about this on a handout from Bowling Green State University, though following close to the pattern described above would also help make sure your sources are effectively integrated in your essay. 

But I know this isn't correct because of this: Home - Honolulu, Hawaii News, Sports & Weather - KITV Channel 4

When I look online at a trusted sample, it's pretty clear that the automated site pulled in information that it shouldn't have. Here's the correct template from the Purdue OWL (see "Page on a Website"):

"Webpage Title." Website Name, DD Mon. YEAR, web address. 

If we had used the template, or at least gone back to double check, we'd end up with this:

As you move up in your course levels on the way to a degree you'll be expected to have this under control. And since resources to help are so easily available--not to mention the Learning Center and my own willingness to assist you--it really comes down to attention to detail. 

Bonus: MLA Page Format

Don't forget that you'll still need to follow the MLA page format guidelines we've used in the last three essays for this class. You can review those here or by looking at any MLA sample essay and matching 100%. You could also use the MLA template in Word or Google Docs and even find a walkthrough on YouTube by searching "MLA format" and the platform you use to type your essays (here's an example for Word). 

Like citations, the MLA page format isn't going away until you finish college--which means it's worth spending a few minutes to get it right. 

If you get stuck or have questions, especially this late in the semester, make sure you reach out and connect with your professor for help. 

What Is Plagiarism and How Do I Avoid It?

I'm starting with the assumption that you already have a pretty good idea what plagiarism is--whether that's from classes like this, the statement almost all professors include on a syllabus, or just common sense. Still, I think it's important to review for Essay #4 in particular since by not using in-text citations or a Works Cited page it creates an increased risk and demands that you are extra cautious. 

Defining Plagiarism

While there are lots of definitions of plagiarism available online, and even one specific to Roxbury Community College on our course syllabus, I think it's more helpful to consider how the Purdue OWL explains it.

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"There are some actions that can almost unquestionably be labeled plagiarism. Some of these include buying, stealing, or borrowing a paper (including, of course, copying an entire paper or article from the Web); hiring someone to write your paper for you; and copying large sections of text from a source without quotation marks or proper citation.

But then there are actions that are usually in more of a gray area. Some of these include using the words of a source too closely when paraphrasing (where quotation marks should have been used) or building on someone's ideas without citing their spoken or written work. Sometimes teachers suspecting students of plagiarism will consider the students' intent, and whether it appeared the student was deliberately trying to make ideas of others appear to be his or her own.

However, other teachers and administrators may not distinguish between deliberate and accidental plagiarism. So let's look at some strategies for avoiding even suspicion of plagiarism in the first place."

When Do We Give Credit?

The key to avoiding plagiarism is to make sure you give credit where it is due. This may be credit for something somebody said, wrote, emailed, drew, or implied. Many professional organizations, including the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), have lengthy guidelines for citing sources. However, students are often so busy trying to learn the rules of MLA format and style or APA format and style that they sometimes forget exactly what needs to be credited. Here, then, is a brief list of what needs to be credited or documented:

• Words or ideas presented in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium

• Information you gain through interviewing or conversing with another person, face to face, over the phone, or in writing

• When you copy the exact words or a unique phrase

• When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or other visual materials

• When you reuse or repost any electronically-available media, including images, audio, video, or other media

Bottom line, document any words, ideas, or other productions that originate somewhere outside of you.

There are, of course, certain things that do not need documentation or credit, including:

• Writing your own lived experiences, your own observations and insights, your own thoughts, and your own conclusions about a subject

• When you are writing up your own results obtained through lab or field experiments

• When you use your own artwork, digital photographs, video, audio, etc.

• When you are using "common knowledge," things like folklore, common sense observations, myths, urban legends, and historical events (but not historical documents)

• When you are using generally-accepted facts, e.g., pollution is bad for the environment, including facts that are accepted within particular discourse communities, e.g., in the field of composition studies, "writing is a process" is a generally-accepted fact.

Deciding If Something Is "Common Knowledge"

Generally speaking, you can regard something as common knowledge if you find the same information undocumented in at least five credible sources. Additionally, it might be common knowledge if you think the information you're presenting is something your readers will already know, or something that a person could easily find in general reference sources. But when in doubt, cite; if the citation turns out to be unnecessary, your teacher or editor will tell you.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

In your Essay #4 you must use signal phrases when you bring in an outside source--something you'll also have to do in order to make a convincing argument that leverages the credibility of sources. In fact, if you don't use a signal phrase it results in plagiarism which the course syllabus explains has severe consequences, including failing the assignment which often means failing the course. So be careful. 

Signal Phrases

Signal phrases introduce anything you borrow from outside and give attribution to the source. They're not hard to do, and remembering to do them is the best way to protect yourself from plagiarism. They also help you avoid a writing error called a dropped quotation. 

The basic formula to use as a starting point is:  According to ________, "..." 

But I also want you to think of signal phrases as how we communicate credibility in our writing. And since credibility is necessary for persuasion, it's worth remembering. So rather than giving a title in your signal phrase, something that only communicates credibility if the reader has heard of the source, I want you to tell readers the author's credentials. Credentials can be a simple statement of where the person works and what they do:

According to Christopher Ferguson, Kimberlee Salmond, and Kamla Modi, university researchers who study child psychology, "the influence of reality television on adolescent behavior is complex" (1175). 

Even though this is a bit vague in terms of their credentials, it's still better than giving a title since it helps readers see these people as experts in this field. Note, too, that you only need to use the full name(s) and credentials the first time you use the source; after that, you would refer to them by last names only. 

Quotation

Remember, quotation is when you borrow someone's exact words. Those words go inside quotation marks and cannot be changed without indication in[side] of square brackets. To see more rules for quotation marks, including where to put punctuation, review this handout from the Purdue OWL. 

Paraphrase

Paraphrase is treated the same as quotation, but instead of using the exact words you'd reword the source's ideas into your own structure and language. This is hard and it increases the risk of unintentional plagiarism, but it's a mark of more advanced writing. Again, the signal phrase is what protects you, and that's why we say it's so important to learn. 

Using Generative AI

You should always check with your professors to see their policy on AI use in your assignments. Some professors will allow (or even encourage) you to use AI to generate ideas or problem solve; others will have a zero tolerance approach and could see it as plagiarism to use AI in any way on your coursework. Again, the key is transparency and honesty to avoid issues with academic integrity. 

Key Takeaways

• Outlines can be useful tools when planning an essay since they keep you organized, but they can also be useful once you've finished writing since they let you check that you haven't missed anything readers would need.

• When we change from a less formal audience to a formal one, our introduction will often require switching from personal experience to news reporting in order to show a problem or current event causing you to write.

• Another area of the introduction to revise when we change audiences is the background, which usually involves answering the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why) and adding sources for things readers could challenge. 

• When adding length to an essay to meet assignment requirements, it's a good idea to look to the thesis statement to expand your argument; if you used the claim+because+reasons model this semester that means adding an additional reason which then gets proven in one or more body paragraphs.

• While most sources for this essay (and there isn't a set number) will be mostly credible websites, you need at least one scholarly source--which you can find using the RCC Library databases or Google Scholar. Finding sources for research-based argumentative writing can be tricky, but knowing what you're working to prove and improving your search strategy can reduce time and frustration. 

• Once you find your sources, we still have to integrate them into the writing--which involves signal phrases, corroboration, and using your own words to integrate the source into the essay. 

• The last part of this puzzle when writing for formal, academic audiences is citation; for MLA, that requires using in-text citations at the end of each line with something borrowed and a Works Cited page with all the information readers would need to track down the source. 

• Knowing the definition of plagiarism is important when we write using sources, but it's not hard to avoid when you take a couple of simple steps using signal phrases, quotation, and paraphrase. It's also a good idea to be clear about a professor's policy on AI and academic integrity before you submit an assignment. 

• As we move into the last week for peer review you'll want to take a look at the Essay #4 checklist to be sure you haven't missed anything and review the Essay #4 Scoring Rubric to see if you can maximize points in each category where the assignment will be evaluated. 

Essay #4 Materials

Essay #4 Assignment Sheet

Essay #4 Scoring Rubric

Essay #4 Checklist

Essay #4 Student Sample

Process Portfolios Assignment Sheet

"College Writing" from the University of North Carolina

"Determine If a Source Is Scholarly" from the University of Illinois Library

MLA Sample Paper from the Purdue OWL

"MLA Quick Guide" from Appalachian State University