Academic Writing Skills

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Academic Writing Skills

• RPW 305
• Research Paper Writing

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Basics about Your Instructor

• Name Surname
• Office
• Office Number
• E-mail address

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RPW 305- RESEARCH PAPER WRITING

• COURSE OBJECTIVES
• Students will develop their reading and writing
  skills needed for academic settings,
• advance their competence and confidence in using
  the English language form and function.
• summarize given short and long texts.
• paraphrase sentences and paragraphs.
• evaluate sources for relevance to their research
  topics.
• apply research methods,
• apply referencing rules (APA style documentation)
• Write a documented expository essay.

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RPW 305 Course Requirements

• 2 hours per week / 1 credit
• 6 hours of absence at most
• Doctors report (within 15 days)
• Clash (copy of students program)
• Excuses related to Çankaya (document from the
  university)
• Working (any document)
• All documents about absence will be given to the
  instructor

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RPW 305 - Grading

• MIDTERM 30
• FINAL PAPER 20 (Writing)
• FINAL 40
• TEACHER ASSESSMENT 5
• ORAL PERFORMANCE IN CLASS 5

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RPW 305 - PORTFOLIO

• TASK 1 Making an outline for a research paper
  (expository essay) (in-class)
• TASK 2 Non-documented expository essay (400-500
  words) (During the midterm exam)
• TASK 3 Referencing, summarizing, and
  paraphrasing library and online database sources
  (at least 4 sources) (in-class)
• TASK 4 Documented expository essay (a revised
  and integrated version of task 2 and 3) (600-800
  words) (take-home, 20 pts)

ATTENTION Do not leave gathering your sources to
the last minute, choose your topic and hand in
your sources in the 3rd week.
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RPW 305 - COURSE BOOK

• Academic English Survival Skills II
• Gülcü, M., Gülen, G, Sesen, E., Tokdemir, G.
  (2011). Academic English Survival Skills II (4th
  ed.), Ankara Black Swan.
• ENG 305 Study Pack (available at the photocopy
  room)
• Both materials need to be brought to the class
  each week.

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PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT POLICY

• 1) Task 1 and 3 will be written in-class and the
  teacher will give in-class feedback, but they
  will not be graded.
• 2) Task 2 will be written during the midterm.
  Students can bring their outlines to the midterm
  exam.
• 3) Students are not required to write second
  drafts.

CANKAYA UNIVERSITY - OFFICE OF BASIC AND ELECTIVE
COURSES- ENGLISH UNIT
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PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT POLICY

• You have to type your task 4 on a computer with
  the online document called Student Assignment
  Sheet on top of it. Your final draft has to be
  double spaced and typed in Times New Roman 12
  point characters.
• Due Date for Task 4 is week 14.

CANKAYA UNIVERSITY - OFFICE OF BASIC AND ELECTIVE
COURSES- ENGLISH UNIT
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PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT POLICY

• 6) If you dont submit task 4 on time, late
  submission is possible only within 7 days.
  However, you should know that half of the points
  assigned to that task is extracted from your
  grade.

CANKAYA UNIVERSITY - OFFICE OF BASIC AND ELECTIVE
COURSES- ENGLISH UNIT
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RESEARCH

• Sources can only be obtained from printed
  library materials or online databases.
• Online databases can be accessed from Çankaya
  University Librarys website
• http//library.cankaya.edu.tr/onlinevtabani.html

CANKAYA UNIVERSITY - OFFICE OF BASIC AND ELECTIVE
COURSES- ENGLISH UNIT
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TURNITIN MEMBERSHIP
- All students need to get a turnitin membership
to upload task 4 Go to www.turnitin.com And get a
student account. Its easy when you follow the
instructions! ?
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RESEARCH TOPICS

• Engineering Departments and MCS
• Contributions of 3 Great Mathematicians to Modern
  Mathematics (3 or more)
• Sustainable (Renewable) Energy Sources
• How Technology Fosters Education
• Advances in Communication Technology

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• PSIR and ECON
• US Influence on Third World Countries
• Ways to control Inflation
• Globalization and Economy
• The Dangers-Restrictions / Benefits EU Would
  Bring Along 

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• MAN IE INTT
• International Economical Unions of which Turkey
  is a member
• Restrictions on International Trade
• Competition

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• IE
• Production Planning and Control Techniques for
  Performance Improvement
• Benefits of Total Quality Management
• Major Roles of Industrial Engineers in Production
  Process

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AR INAR

• Design Concepts
• Basic Principles of Interior Design
• The Influence of Ottoman Architecture on Turkish
  Architecture (Some masterpieces)
• Criteria for Designing Small Spaces
• Examples of Green Architecture
  / Benefits of Green Architecture

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PSY

• Good/bad Conditions of Children Living in the
  Social Service and Child Protection Institutions
• Major Subfields of Psychology 
• Working conditions of psychologists in Turkey
  (handle either negative or positive aspects)

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PSY

• The importance of family/marriage counseling for
  the maintanence of healthy relationships
• Ways of coping with problematic children in
  primary or secondary school education
• Psychological challenges that a pubescent
  encounters

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CHECK OUR WEBSITE REGULARLY!

• rpw305.cankaya.edu.tr
• You can find all course related materials and
  announcements from ppt presentations to syllabus
  on this website.
• BECOME A REGULAR VISITOR?

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LETS START WITH THE COURSE...

• (AESS II, p. 311)

CHARACTERISTICS of FORMAL WRITING
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• Whether youre a student, teacher, or
  businessperson, academic writing skills are
  necessary in todays world.
• Essays, reports, presentations and research
  papers are just some examples of documents
  written in the academic style.

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What is academic writing?

• In brief, academic writing is 'structured
  research' written by 'scholars' for other
  scholars (with all university writers being
  'scholars' in this context).
• Academic writing is
• factual,
• objective,
• and most importantly,
• FORMAL.

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What are the characteristics of formal writing
and informal writing?

• Formal English is used mainly in
• - academic writing, and
• - business communications
• Whereas informal English is
• -casual, and
• -appropriate when communicating with friends
  and family.

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Characteristics of Formal Writing
Formal Writing Informal Writing
Distant Language -Personal pronouns are usually avoided. -Passive voice is often preferred. Personal Language -Personal Pronouns are common. -Personal feelings and views are expressed. -Active voice is often preferred.
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Characteristics of Formal Writing

• Formal Writing is ACCURATE
• -Precise evidence is presented.
• -Facts are distinguished from opinions and
  feelings.
• -Sources are carefully used and acknowledged.
• -Sentences are clear and constructed carefully.
• -Punctuation marks are accurately used.

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Characteristics of Formal Writing

• Structure and vocabulary are formal
• -Full forms are used (What have, cannot...)
• -More formal, abstract words with Latin or Greek
  origins are often preferred.

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Yet informal writing is...

• OFTEN IMPRECISE
• -A personal viewpoint is expressed.
• -Statements are not necessarily accurate.
• -Facts and opinions are not necessarily distinct.
• -Sources are used rarely and carelessly.
• -Sentences are shorter, and not so carefully
  constructed.
• -Dramatic punctuation marks (?, !, ...) are
  common.

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Characteristics of Formal Writing

• Formal writing is TENTATIVE
• -There are few definite statements.
• -Quick conclusions are avoided.

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Yet in informal writing

• Structure and vocabulary are informal
• -Short forms and contractions (Ive, hes,
  cant...) are often used.
• -Shorter, less formal language is preferred (e.g.
  phrasal verbs, compound words, idioms, slang and
  colloquial language).

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However, informal writing is ASSERTIVE

• -There are often definite statements and
  generalizations.
• -Conclusions may be drawn from insufficient
  evidence.

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Formal Writing vs. Informal Writing
Formal Writing Informal Writing
DISTANT LANGUAGE PERSONAL LANGUAGE
ACCURATE OFTEN IMPRECISE
FORMAL STRUCTURE and VOCABULARY INFORMAL STRUCTURE and VOCABULARY
TENTATIVE ASSERTIVE
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The First Draft (Study Pack p. 3-4)

• The Short Research Paper
• In an academic context, students are required to
  write essays including references to other
  sources to support their thesis statements and
  main ideas.

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The First Draft (Study Pack p. 3-4)

• To support their ideas, they need to research
  what authorities have to say about their topics
  and include relevant support from outside sources
  by
• - summarizing,
• - quoting,
• - or paraphrasing it.

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The First Draft (Study Pack p. 3-4)

• However, you should always keep in mind that no
  one elses words are as important as yours!!!
• As a writer, you use summaries, quotes, or
  paraphrases from others only to strenghten your
  own points.

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• Your instructor wants to see that you have
  researched authorities ideas and findings, and
  that you have integrated those with your own
  writing well.

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Doing Research (Study Pack p. 1-2)

• CONCRETE SUPPORT
• What is concrete support?
• It is information from outside sources, such as
• Books,
• Articles
• and Websites
• that you insert into your essay to add weight to
  your arguments and make them more convincing.

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Doing Research (Study Pack p. 1-2)

• Guidelines for Choosing a Piece of Concrete
  Support
• Carefully consider the source use well known
  newspapers and magazines you can also use
  online versions of the well known ones.

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For Websites Be extra critical and skeptical
about the credibility of documents on the Web.

• 1. Ask yourself these questions
• What is the source? If you cannot find it, do not
  use the site.
• If you can find the source, is it trustworthy?
• 2. In general, do not use information that is
  older than five years.
• 3. Choose a passage that directly supports your
  point.

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• 4. Do not take a passage out of context.
• 5. Do not use more than two pieces of concrete
  support in one paragraph. Most of the paragragh
  should be your own words.
• 6. Do not choose a passage that is too technical
  or field specific for your reader to understand
  (Above all, you need to understand it well in the
  firt place).