1. Writing Basics
Wise Writes Director, Dr. Emily Dotson

2. A slow and deliberate process makes a better paper!

3. Know Your Audience
What do they care about? What do they know? Tech Knowledge What basic facts MUST they understand?

4. Know Your PURPOSE
Analyze? Compare/Contrast? Argument?

5. Organize Your Ideas Outlines Post It Notes Brainstorming Clustering
Free Writing*
A rich and even lengthy free write is NOT an organized draft!

6. Develop a Working* Thesis
A thesis is
usually a single sentence
usually in the introduction
that directly states
the point or purpose
of your writing project.
*It will likely change as your paper develops.

7. A Thesis is …
Not Crazy, Anecdotal, or a Generalization: It can be argued using facts by peer reviewed experts. All women ... Not Obvious: It makes a real point that can be countered or explored with info that is not common knowledge. Child abuse is bad. Usually Not Unqualified: If there are two sides then they are usually both acknowledged to some extent especially in the Sciences. While a vital tool for saving lives, breast cancer gene screening can also be problematic because it can give false positives which can be emotionally devastating for patients.

8. Prove your thesis with Main Ideas
Main Ideas should be
1) Explained in Your Own Words in a TOPIC SENTENCE
AND
2) Supported/Proven/Documented by
Recent, Reliable, Peer Reviewed Research

9. Good Papers
INTRO: That provides context and a purpose for the paper (Thesis)
BODY: Main Ideas expressed in topic sentences and proven with research
CLOSE: Summary and/or final argument

10. Get Good Research
The best research is Peer Reviewed by experts in that field for free in academic journals. Choose Peer Reviewed when searching a Database Wikipedia is a start, but should never be the end. Find and Cite the original whenever possible. Zotero.org

13. Talking about Scholarship
Tag authors not nationally known and give their first and last name initially. Then, use only the last name. Book or article titles are only necessary when it is a groundbreaking work. Historian John Smith’s recent book discussed the development of Vietnamese Irrigation. Smith argues that while French …

14. Don’t Plagiarize: Acknowledge the Work of Others
You must cite all information other than common knowledge which you discover in another source Ask your professor about citation style!

15. Quote Identify exact language with quotations and a cite.
Even one distinctive word counts
Quote only what is important.
Use each quote only once.
Smith argues, “Dogs are better than cats.” ( 32).
Smith argues that owners who choose dogs often find them “better” than cats (32).

16. Paraphrase
Paraphrases are complete revisions of an original sentence in which the wording, and the sentence structure are completely different from the original. “Dogs are better than cats.” ( Smith 32). Cat owners never know the superior thrill of dog ownership (Smith 32). Don’t forget the citation!

17. Paragraphs
Topic Sentences Top or Bottom Mini Essays Break When Ideas Change Never Repeat Ideas, Words, or Sentences 3+ Sentences

18. Within and Between Paragraphs
USE TRANSITIONS
Within and Between Paragraphs

19. Using Visuals?
Label or Tag all Visuals Describe Visuals in Nearby Text Need to Know Basis
Figure 1: Example of label under a visual aid

20. NEVER FORGET THE AESTHETICS OF THE PAGE. Formats matter.
Appearance Matters
NEVER FORGET THE AESTHETICS OF THE PAGE. Formats matter.

21. EDIT
TURN ON GRAMMAR AND SPELLING CHECKER.USE IT. ALWAYS.
Grammarly. com

22. ELEVATE TO ACADEMIC TONE and LANGUAGE
State Facility
Prison
Pen

23. Avoid Wordiness.
Based on the fact that data was unavailable construction will be delayed by one week.
Because data was unavailable construction will be delayed by one week.

24. The difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between light and the lightening bug. -Mark Twain
Thesaurus.com

25. Subject + Predicate = Sentence
Always do a S+P check on complex sentences. Set off details with commas. Choose which details relate or are necessary. Cut details for clarity or … Start a new sentence!

26. Wallace Smith Associates (WSA) is a major worldwide transportation planning and infrastructure design consultant that offers a wide array of planning engineering and construction phase services yet maintains a local presence that provides clients a quicker response time personal relationships and familiarity with project areas especially in the areas of intersection and reconstruction projects all while maintaining a world class reputation for skill and knowledge unmatched in the design construction and engineering industries.

27. Possible Rewrite
Wallace Smith Associates (WSA) is a major worldwide transportation, planning, and infrastructure design consultant that offers a wide array of planning, engineering, and construction phase services, yet maintains a local presence that provides clients a quicker response time, personal relationships, and familiarity with project areas, especially in the areas of intersection and reconstruction projects, all while maintaining a world class reputation for skill, and knowledge unmatched in the design, construction, and engineering industries.

28. Commas Commas are a pause or breath in a sentence.
They separate items or ideas in a sentence
into segments.
They mark off what is the main idea
from what is extra or subordinate information.
Let’s eat Grandma.
Let’s eat, Grandma

29. Introductory Commas
Determined to make an “A” in all her classes, Victoria never missed class. Recently, I have begun to take better notes.

30. Passive Voice
Passive Voice hides the true subject at the end of the sentence. Noun- verb phrase- noun The verb is acted upon rather than acting. Johnny Depp was divorced by Amber Heard.

31. Passive Voice
Minor keys and modal movements are shared by both musical traditions. The test tubes were filled with 30 oz of saline solution. Trick Question: Passive is preferred in Science!

32. Breathless Punctuation
Em dash- emphatic afterthoughts = !
This is long- and time consuming.
Colon: Lists, but only after a complete sentence.
My boss needs:
Semicolon; connect two interconnected complete thoughts
Call me tomorrow; I will have an answer then.
Bullets and Lists Not Reader Friendly

33. Their v. There Their car broke. (individuals)
They shouldn’t have parked there . (environment)

34. It’s easy to get confused because English doesn’t always follow its own rules. It’s = contraction that means It is or It has Its = posessive ownership Grammarly. com

35. Read aloud. Get a second opinion.
REVISE AND EDIT
Read aloud. Get a second opinion.

36. NEED HELP? Research Help- Reference Desk Library 4th Floor
Writing Help- Writing Center Library 1st Floor
General Tutoring- Tutor Connection Zehmer Hall
ASK YOUR PROFESSOR!

37. Thank you.