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SSCS Success Guide▪2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This Guide could not have been made possible without the support of many people. We would like to
thank each and every one of them:
• The Academic Dean, John McMahon, who financed this project through the Academic Success Grants
Projects;
• The Dean of the Faculty of Social Science, Commerce, Arts and Letters, Nancy Wargny for her support;
• Shirley Pettifer, Jock Mackay and Eric Lamoureux for their comments on various drafts of this Guide;
• Lyne Marie Larocque for her contributions to various sections of this Guide;
• To all of our colleagues from the Faculty of Social Science who made suggestions or contributed ideas
for the Guide;
• To Rose DeSouza from the Vanier College Library for her contributions to Chapter ten;
• To the Vanier College Learning Centre for their gracious permission to use a number of their handouts
throughout this Guide;
• To the Print-Shop staff for their help and expertise;
• To Bill Perkins and the Vanier Bookstore staff;
• To Amanda Evangelista, a Vanier College student of the Micropublishing and Hypermedia program,
for her incredible work creating the graphics and layout of the original Guide. And thanks to Lyne Marie
Larocque for the layout of this edition;
• To Patti Kingsmill of the Vanier College English Department for her tireless work as proof-reader for
this Guide.
Our warmest thanks to all of you,
Sincerely,
Mark Prentice
Miles DeNora
3 ▪ Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................ 2
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Preface: Becoming a College Student ......................................................................................................... 7
Chapter One - Time and Stress Management ............................................................................................ 9
1. Time Management ................................................................................................................................................................. 9
A. TIME MANAGEMENT QUIZ ............................................................................................................................................. 9
B. MANAGING YOUR SCHEDULE ...................................................................................................................................... 9
C. TIME MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ............................................................................................................................ 10
2. Stress Management ............................................................................................................................................................ 11
A. HOW TO RELIEVE STRESS ............................................................................................................................................ 11
B. SIGNS OF STRESS/DISTRESS ........................................................................................................................................ 12
C. HEALTHY WAYS TO COPE WITH STRESS ............................................................................................................... 13
Chapter Two - Learning Styles and Types of Intelligence ..................................................................... 15
1. Learning Styles ...................................................................................................................................................................... 15
A. ACTIVE AND REFLECTIVE LEARNERS ....................................................................................................................... 15
B. SENSING AND INTUITIVE LEARNERS ....................................................................................................................... 16
C. VISUAL AND VERBAL LEARNERS ............................................................................................................................... 17
D. SEQUENTIAL AND GLOBAL LEARNERS .................................................................................................................. 17
2. Types of Intelligence .......................................................................................................................................................... 19
A. VERBAL-LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE ........................................................................................................................ 19
B. LOGICAL-MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE ............................................................................................................ 20
C. BODILY-KINAESTHETIC INTELLIGENCE .................................................................................................................. 20
D. VISUAL-SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE ............................................................................................................................... 21
E. INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE ............................................................................................................................... 21
F. INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE ............................................................................................................................... 22
G. MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE .............................................................................................................................................. 22
H. NATURALISTIC INTELLIGENCE ................................................................................................................................... 23
Chapter Three - Active Reading and Studying in College ..................................................................... 24
1. Active Reading ...................................................................................................................................................................... 24
A. THE SQ4R SYSTEM .......................................................................................................................................................... 24
B. TEN TIPS FOR READING A TEXTBOOK .................................................................................................................... 25
C. STEPS FOR PREVIEWING AN ARTICLE OR CHAPTER ........................................................................................ 27
2. Studying in College ............................................................................................................................................................. 28
SSCS Success Guide▪4
A. STUDY HABITS QUIZ ...................................................................................................................................................... 28
B. CONCEPT MAPPING ...................................................................................................................................................... 30
C. STUDY HABITS: TIPS....................................................................................................................................................... 32
Chapter Four - Listening and Note Taking in Class................................................................................. 33
1. Listen Actively and Selectively ........................................................................................................................................ 33
A. VERBAL SIGNPOSTS ....................................................................................................................................................... 33
2. Note Taking in Class ........................................................................................................................................................... 34
A. TIPS ON NOTE TAKING ................................................................................................................................................ 34
B. THE CORNELL NOTE TAKING SYSTEM .................................................................................................................... 34
C. VARIATIONS ON THE CORNELL NOTE TAKING SYSTEM ................................................................................ 37
D. OUTLINE FORMAT FOR NOTE TAKING .................................................................................................................. 38
E. USING SHORTHAND IN NOTE TAKING .................................................................................................................. 39
Chapter Five - Brainstorming: Organizing your Ideas and Thoughts .................................................. 41
1. Brainstorming ........................................................................................................................................................................ 41
2. Listing/Bulleting ................................................................................................................................................................... 43
3. Three Perspectives............................................................................................................................................................... 43
4. Cubing ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 43
5. Similes ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 44
6. Clustering/Mapping/Webbing: ...................................................................................................................................... 44
7. Journalistic Questions ........................................................................................................................................................ 45
8. Thinking Outside the Box ................................................................................................................................................. 45
9. Using Charts or Shapes ..................................................................................................................................................... 46
10. Consider Purpose and Audience ................................................................................................................................. 46
11. Dictionaries, Thesauruses, Encyclopaedias ............................................................................................................. 46
12. Closing ................................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Chapter Six - Researching and Writing an Essay ..................................................................................... 48
1. Identify the Type of Essay You Will Write .................................................................................................................. 48
2. Identify the Type of Data You Will Use ....................................................................................................................... 48
3. Three Main Stages of Essay Writing ............................................................................................................................. 49
A. DEFINE YOUR ESSAY TOPIC ........................................................................................................................................ 49
1. Develop your topic. .................................................................................................................................................. 49
2. Preliminary readings ................................................................................................................................................ 50
3. Write your thesis statement or research question. ...................................................................................... 50
4. Write a preliminary title and outline. ................................................................................................................ 51
B. GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING OUTLINES ........................................................................................................... 52
C. RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION ....................................................................................................................... 53
5. Define a search strategy. ........................................................................................................................................ 53
6. Research your topic.................................................................................................................................................. 53
5 ▪ Table of Contents
7. Evaluate the relevance of your documents. ................................................................................................... 54
8. Read your documents and take notes. ............................................................................................................. 54
9. Organize your notes. ............................................................................................................................................... 54
10. Produce a detailed outline. ................................................................................................................................. 55
D. THE WRITING PROCESS ............................................................................................................................................... 55
11. Write your first draft. ............................................................................................................................................. 55
12. Take a break, seriously! ........................................................................................................................................ 56
13. Edit, baby, edit! ........................................................................................................................................................ 56
14. Write, format and submit the final paper. .................................................................................................... 56
E. ORAL PRESENTATION .................................................................................................................................................... 58
15. Preparing for the oral presentation ................................................................................................................. 58
16. General outline for the oral presentation ..................................................................................................... 58
17. Characteristics of a good speaker .................................................................................................................... 59
Chapter Seven - Using the APA Style ....................................................................................................... 61
1. The APA Citation Style: General Rules ......................................................................................................................... 61
2. The APA Style Reference List: General Rules ............................................................................................................ 63
Chapter Eight - Studying for Tests and Exams ....................................................................................... 64
1. Preparing For Exams ........................................................................................................................................................... 64
2. Ten Test-Taking Tips .......................................................................................................................................................... 65
3. Exam Anxiety ......................................................................................................................................................................... 66
4. Multiple Choice Exams ...................................................................................................................................................... 68
5. Taking the Essay Exam ....................................................................................................................................................... 69
6. Checklist: The Taking of Exams ...................................................................................................................................... 71
7. Meaning of Terms Used in Essay Questions ............................................................................................................. 72
Chapter Nine - Enhancing One’s Communication Skills ........................................................................ 74
1. Building Your Vocabulary ................................................................................................................................................. 74
2. Vocabulary in Context: Deducing the Meaning of Words .................................................................................. 76
3. Spelling Strategies: Improving Your Written Communication Skills ............................................................... 77
4. List of Frequently Confused Words. ............................................................................................................................. 79
5. Subject-Verb Agreement .................................................................................................................................................. 80
6. Six Special Cases .................................................................................................................................................................. 80
7. Punctuation ............................................................................................................................................................................ 81
Chapter Ten - What is Plagiarism and How to Avoid it ........................................................................ 84
1. What is Plagiarism? ............................................................................................................................................................. 84
A. PREVENTING PLAGIARISM: STUDENT RESOURCES ........................................................................................... 84
B. TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW (OR WHAT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE?) .................................................. 87
References .................................................................................................................................................... 89
7 ▪ Table of Contents
PREFACE: BECOMING A COLLEGE STUDENT
Welcome to Vanier College, a new and exciting phase in your life. CEGEP is different from high
school and the sooner you recognize that reality, the more successful and fulfilling your
experience will be. The pace, intensity and academic expectations are different. You need to hit
the ground running, making sure that you are ready from the very beginning of each semester.
This Student Guide is designed to help you adjust to CEGEP by serving as a primer on key topics:
time management, learning styles, reading and studying, note-taking, using the APA reference
style, essay writing and studying, as well as many others.
One of the biggest changes in your life will be learning to adapt to college life. This means that you are
expected to use the considerable freedom that college allows in a productive way. If you skip classes,
you will suffer the consequences. Many studies have shown, and
teachers will confirm this, that there is a direct relationship
between class attendance and achieved grades. Also keep in
mind that for each hour of class, you are expected to put in one
hour of study time. So if your history class is 3 hours in total,
you should put in 3 hours of studying a week for that specific
course. Work is sometimes explicitly given – as in reading notes
from readings, or doing a specific assignment. But whether
explicitly given or not – a college student ALWAYS has
homework. You should review and organize your class notes
and readings every day.
If you have a course load of six classes – 18 hours a week – you
should plan on devoting another 18 hours a week to study time.
That is a total of 36 hours of class/study time a week! This is the
reason we recommend that you do not work more than 10 to
12 hours a week. We don‘t want to scare you, but we do want
you to know what you should expect and what will be required
of you.
The Social Science program provides courses in all fields for you
to discover. It is meant to be general, and it is meant to help
you develop interests in a potential university program. This is
why Social Science is a ―pre-university‖ program. It is meant to
prepare you to become an autonomous, critical-thinking and
competent university student. There are many reasons why
students choose to study in Social Science. Some of you already
have a specific career or university option in mind and have
chosen Social Science in order to achieve that goal. However,
and this is completely normal, many of you do not know what
to do in terms of career choice. You have registered in Social
Science in order to explore the wealth of possibilities offered by this program. Remember that it is
totally normal to be unsure about what you want to do with the rest of your life; after all, you are
probably still young and some of the employment opportunities in the future may not have been
invented yet.
All reasons for being here are valid. And so, because we (teachers, the college) know you may be
searching for your interests, and because Social Science is such a broad field, you will receive an
introductory course in all (or most) of the social science disciplines. Why? So that you may actually
begin identifying which of these you enjoy the most, and which one of these you enjoy the least
(identifying ―dislikes‖ is as important as identifying ―likes‖). When you are in class, watch out for
More specifically, this guide is
designed to help you adapt to,
and succeed in the Social Science
Program. Your teachers are here
to help you and guide you, but
you must be willing to invest
time, energy and effort. Keep
your guide with you and bring it
to all your classes. It will become
one of your most important
resources. Nearly everything you
need to know can be found in
these pages.
This guide was put together by
the teachers in the Social
Sciences Program at Vanier
College. These are people who
have many years of experience as
teachers and social scientists as
well as at least a master’s degree
in the field in which they teach.
Put another way: they know their
stuff and they are looking
forward to transmitting that
knowledge to you so that you
can succeed in College and be
well prepared for University.
SSCS Success Guide▪8
moments where your minds or hearts ―tingle‖ when listening to a discussion topic. This is when you
may begin thinking of university or career options because you have begun identifying what you enjoy,
and who you are.
In order to facilitate your introduction to Social Science and to your varied courses, your teachers will
reference this common guide, as all incoming students must buy it. However, you must keep in mind
that your teachers are the final authority; this guide is an aid but not the final word: that rests with your
teachers.
GOOD LUCK, MAKE USE OF THIS GUIDE
AND ENHANCE YOUR CEGEP EXPERIENCE!
Adapted from MatthieuSossoyan
9 ▪ Chapter One -Time and Stress Management
CHAPTER ONE -TIME AND STRESS MANAGEMENT
1. Time Management
College semesters go by fast. There are seventy-five teaching days which translates into just fifteen
weeks of classes. In other words, for each of your Social Science courses there will only be thirty classes.
For that reason, you must be ready to apply yourself as soon as the semester begins. Planning and
managing your time is a key component in achieving success at the college level. Unlike high school,
your days, depending on your schedule, will have a lot of unstructured ―free‖ time. Along with this
freedom and flexibility comes responsibility – it is up to you to use this time wisely and productively.
There are potentially a lot of distractions at College, among which are friends and activities. For these
reasons, organizing and planning are essential.
As well, many students must or want to work, and jobs can eat up a significant amount of time. Studies
have shown that working more than fifteen hours per week has an overall negative impact on grades
and dropout rates (Riggert, Boyle, Petrosko, Ash & Rude-Parkins, 2006). Time management practices are
much more effective when they are implemented before the stresses of college life occur; they are less
useful when used as a means of trying to catch up mid-semester. Effective time management can help
you to reduce the stress that accompanies life as a college student.
A. TIME MANAGEMENT QUIZ
• Do you estimate how many hours you will need to study each week? [ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you meet assignment deadlines? [ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you begin working on semester-long projects early in the semester? [ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you write a daily ―to do‖ list? [ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you prevent social activities from interfering with your study time? [ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you have a job that requires fewer than fifteen hours per week? [ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you set specific goals for each study period? [ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you begin your study time with your most difficult assignment? [ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you complete most of your studying during your most productive hours each day?
[ ] yes [ ] no
• Do you think of being a full-time student as you would an employee with a full-time job?
[ ] yes [ ] no
If you answered yes to all ten questions then you are using effective time management techniques. If
the number of questions you answered yes to is low then it may be useful to apply new time
management strategies from the list that follows.
B. MANAGING YOUR SCHEDULE
1. Create a semester calendar. This will allow you to map out your work for
the entire semester so that you know when to expect pressure and stress. The
dates for your quizzes, tests, projects and papers, as well as work hours,
meetings, social commitments and out of town weekends, should be
SSCS Success Guide▪10
included. It is essential that this calendar be updated on a regular basis as due dates change,
assignments are added and activities planned. Keeping an accurate semester schedule facilitates the
next step of this process, assessing and planning your weekly workload.
2. Assess and plan your work load each week. Before the week begins, make a list of what you have
to accomplish during the coming week, including class assignments and class attendance. Make sure to
include extra-curricular activities, work hours, errands, exercise, meals and time with friends on your list
of things to do for the week. Honestly estimate how long each task will take. Also, identify the day on
which you will accomplish each task, keeping in mind the amount of time the task will take and other
things you must also do that day.
3. Adjust your plan each day. Write out a daily schedule at the beginning of each day. Include
uncompleted tasks from the previous day as well as new tasks. Make sure as you write out your daily
schedule that you assess your priorities.
4. Evaluate your schedule. Evaluate your schedule in the morning and in the evening to see if the tasks
you are setting out for yourself are realistic and assess whether you accomplished your goals for the
day.
After examining your weekly schedule you should assess how many hours per week you need for
studying to see if you are devoting enough time to achieving your academic goals. It should be noted
that the Quebec Ministry of Education recommends a minimum of one hour of study (Note that study
includes reviewing class notes, reading, completing assignments etc...) for each hour spent in class. If
you are taking seven Social Science courses that means that you need at least 21 hours of study time. If
you do not have that much study time in your weekly schedule you will need to reduce the amount of
time spent doing other things. What can you do to find that time?
C. TIME MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Here are some strategies that you may find helpful if your schedule is not working as efficiently or
effectively as you would like. When trying any new strategy, it is important to practice it regularly and to
practice it long enough that you have a way of evaluating whether or not it is helping. Tests are good
ways to evaluate new study strategies. If you begin a new strategy after one test on which you didn‘t
perform as well as you would like, try a new strategy until you receive the results of the next test to get
an idea whether the new strategy is working for you.
Identify your best time of day. When do you work best? Morning? Afternoon? Early evening? Figuring
this out will enable you to finish your assignments more quickly and effectively. Research studies show
that what we can accomplish in 60 minutes when we‘re less fatigued will take as much as 90 minutes to
accomplish when we are more fatigued.
Study difficult subjects first. Study subjects that are more of a challenge to you first when you are less
fatigued. Save subjects you like to study for later, when you are feeling more tired but need to continue
to study to keep up with your work. It will be easier to find the motivation to study something you find
enjoyable when you are tired than for a subject you do not enjoy studying.
Avoid distractions. Many things can provide a distraction to studying if we are looking for ways to
procrastinate. Identify the 5 ways in which you waste most of your time. For the next few weeks, try to
find ways to reduce the frequency with which these distracters are interfering with your study time. This
might mean finding another place to study.
Use the same place to study every time. Studying in the same place each day is like going to class in the
same room. You begin to associate a particular activity with a particular location, so, when you are in
that location, you are able to focus on the task at hand more quickly. Studying on your bed or in your
bedroom is not advised because you probably associate your bed and bedroom with sleeping, not
studying. It‘s too easy to take those 10 minute naps that turn into 2 hour naps.
11 ▪ Chapter One -Time and Stress Management
Use the library. Libraries are good places to study because this is the only activity we do in this
environment. If there are reasons you choose not to use the library, try to find another location outside
of your room that provides a good study environment and is relatively free of distractions.
Use waiting time. If you use public transportation to commute to and from campus, there is probably
some waiting time involved. This is a great time to study discrete pieces of information such as learning
vocabulary or reviewing class notes. Write this information on note cards and carry them with you so
you can study your cards during your waiting time
Treat school as a full-time job. Try to accomplish as many of your school tasks as possible within a
concentrated period of time, such as 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you use these hours
either for attending class or studying, you‘ll have much more free time in the evenings and on the
weekends to spend with friends. Your classes are likely to get the amount of
attention they require as well. It doesn‘t mean that you‘ll never need to study
in the evenings or on the weekends because there will still be crunch times
such as midterm and end of term. However, treating school as a full-time job
and adopting the hours of a full-time job will probably result in better, more
efficient management of your time and ultimetly better results.
Time management strategies for improving academic performance. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2009, from Virginia Tech University,
Student Affairs, Cook Counselling Centre web site: http.www.ucc.vt.edu/lynch/TimeManagement.htm
2. Stress Management
A. HOW TO RELIEVE STRESS
Feeling stressed? You’re not alone
―Stress‖ is our body‘s normal, automatic response to change in our lives. The change may be negative,
positive, or imagined. When we feel unable to cope with a new demand, we begin to feel stress. Stress
is highly individual ~ what may be very relaxing to one person may be stressful to another. Not all stress
is bad. We need a certain amount of stress in our lives because it stimulates and energizes us. At low
levels, it motivates us to face challenges, and it adds excitement to our lives. Without stress, we may feel
bored or depressed.
There are two main types of stress: eustress, the ―good‖ type of stress, and distress, which is considered
―bad‖ stress. Distress occurs when our stress level becomes too high and unmanageable.
As with body temperature, we can‘t function well if stress is too low or too high. Each person needs to
find an optimal level of stress that is motivating but not overwhelming. Then stress will work for you
instead of against you.
How change can create stress
The ―stress reaction‖ originally helped prehistoric humans survive dangerous situations by preparing
them for ―fight or flight.‖ It consists of 3 phases:
1. Alarm - the body is aroused by a stressor and releases hormones to cope with the threat.
2. Resistance - the body repairs any damage done during the alarm stage and returns to normal.
3. Exhaustion - this may occur if the stressor continues or several stressors are present; the body is
chronically aroused, cannot repair itself and adapt, and the person becomes impaired. The stress
reaction should typically be short-term and infrequent.While physical threats are now less common, the
fight or flight response can still be activated by any change or threat, real or imagined. If we think a
situation is harmful to us, the body will overreact as if it were a life or death matter.
SSCS Success Guide▪12
SOME CAUSES OF STRESS INCLUDE:
1. external stressors such as things outside the person, often things we can‘t change (e.g., noise, new
residence, bad weather, schedule changes);
2. relational stressors such as things we can sometimes change (e.g., conflicts with roommates, friends,
family, dating partners, or co-workers; losing a relationship; problems with professors);
3. internal stressors such as things we say or do to ourselves, often things we can change (e.g.,
perfectionism, negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves, selecting a major or career).
B. SIGNS OF STRESS/DISTRESS
Physical Symptoms
Headaches
Digestive problems
Muscle tension or soreness
Skin outbreaks
Rapid breathing, shortness of breath
Change in appetite and/or eating
Sleep disturbance
Fatigue, exhaustion
Restlessness
Underactivity, overactivity
Increased illness
Decreased sex drive
Mental Symptoms
Poor concentration
Lack of interest
Negative attitude
Procrastination
Being disorganized
Forgetfulness
Indecision
Poor judgment
Confusion
Calculation errors, increased mistakes
Reduced creativity
Spiritual Symptoms
Apathy, indifference
Emptiness
Loss of life‘s meaning
Unforgiving
Loss of direction or purpose
Emotional Symptoms
Depression
Anxiety, worry
Feeling overwhelmed
Irritability
Mood swings
Cry easily
Feeling pressured
Emotional outbursts
Being overly sensitive/emotional
Anger, resentment, hostility
Impatience
Loss of sense of humour
Low self-esteem
Social/Behavioural Symptoms
Withdrawal from others
Avoiding social situations
Decreased productivity
Lack of intimacy
Loneliness
Accident proneness
Alcohol, tobacco, and/or drug use
Buying things you don‘t need
THE IMPORTANCE OF MANAGING STRESS
Recognizing stress is the first step toward reducing it. Stress can build up gradually, and you may not be
aware of it until it has reached a critical level. If you are experiencing stress symptoms, you have gone
beyond your optimal stress level. This is a signal that you need to reduce the stress in your life and/or
improve your ability to manage it.
13 ▪ Chapter One -Time and Stress Management
Remember, the goal is not to eliminate all stress. Your aim is to manage it, keep it at a healthy level, and
prevent distress.
KEY STEPS IN STRESS MANAGEMENT INCLUDING
1. identifying your current stressors (external, relational, internal);
2. identifying your current coping reactions (helpful, not helpful);
3. changing stressful situations and/or your reactions;
4. increasing your positive, healthy coping reactions.
C. HEALTHY WAYS TO COPE WITH STRESS
For Your Body
Eat healthily and regularly.
Get your ―normal‖ amount of sleep (relax 1-2 hours before sleep).
Practice deep, diaphragmatic breathing and regular exercise and other physical activity (keeps
energy high, loosens muscles, improves sleep).
Listen to your body‘s stress signals.
For Your Mind
Have realistic expectations of yourself.
Recognize that you are always in control of how you cope with problems and stress.
―Reframe‖ your problems as challenges that are opportunities for personal growth.
Familiarize yourself with sources of support such as the Learning Centre, the Social Science
Resource room, resource rooms for individual disciplines such as Psychology, Economics,
English and Math.
Pace yourself and reduce time pressures.
Practice positive self-talk (―I may not get an A in history, but I‘m doing above average work and
as well as I can right now.‖).
Realize that making mistakes is part of the risk-taking needed for growth.
Anticipate and plan for change.
Improve time management (control your time and energy, create a realistic and balanced
schedule, focus on priorities, break large demands into small parts and do one task at a time).
Take periodic vacations or mini-breaks from your work.
For Your Emotions
Affirm yourself, your abilities, and your accomplishments daily.
Know your limits and let go of things beyond your control.
Let yourself cry (crying can relieve stress and anxiety).
Reward and pamper yourself when you have achieved a goal.
Practice relaxation techniques.
Expect some frustrations, failures, and sorrows.
Listen to your thoughts and feelings and what they are telling you.
Enjoy yourself and the humour in life.
SSCS Success Guide▪14
For Your Relationships, Social Life, and Leisure
Build a support system of people that help you feel good.
Be assertive, support your own needs and interests.
Spend time with friends regularly - talking, ―hanging out,‖ sharing feelings and concerns.
Take time for fun, doing activities that are enjoyable and good for you.
Create a comfortable environment that includes pleasant space and people.
Allow other people to help you with tasks.
For Your Spirit
Pray, meditate.
Take private quiet time - for a walk, a hot bath, listening to calming music.
Stress and time management: How to go from stressed to unstressed! (n.d.). Retrieved March 10,
2009, fromCollege of Saint Benedict, Saint John‘s University, CSB Health Advocate web site:
http://www.csbsju.edu/healthadvocate/stressandtimemgmt.htm
Your notes here:
15 ▪ Chapter Two -Learning Styles and Types of Intelligence
CHAPTER TWO -LEARNING STYLES AND TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE
1. Learning Styles
Have you ever wondered why you have difficulty learning from a particular teacher, but another seems
to explain things just the right way? Did you ever question why the course that your friend said was so
easy turned out to be a struggle for you? Do you notice that you and your roommate have different
opinions on whether or not to have the radio on while you‘re studying? The reason behind some of
these variations may be differences in learning styles and your specific type of multiple intelligences!
WHAT IS A “LEARNING STYLE”?
Simply put, your learning style (or learning preference) is the way you tend to learn best. It involves your
preferred method of taking in, organizing, and making sense of information. Learning styles do not tell
us about a person‘s abilities or intelligence, but they can help us understand why some tasks seem
easier for us than others. There are several benefits of thinking about and trying to understand your
learning preferences:
People learn most effectively when the strategies used are closely matched with their preferred
learning style.
Sometimes we can improve our learning by knowing what our strengths are and then doing
more of what we are good at.
Often we can improve our learning by knowing what our weaknesses are and trying to enhance
our skills in these areas.
Different situations and learning environments require different learning strategies, so it‘s best
to have a large repertoire from which to draw.
Find out what your learning styles are: Go to the following web site:
http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html (University of Western Ontario)
A. ACTIVE AND REFLECTIVE LEARNERS
Active learners tend to retain and understand information best by doing something active with it—
discussing it, applying it or explaining it to others. Reflective learners prefer to think about it quietly
first.
―Let‘s try it out and see how it works‖ is an active learner‘s phrase; ―Let‘s think it through first‖ is the
reflective learner‘s response. Active learners tend to like group work more than reflective learners, who
prefer working alone. Sitting through lectures without getting to do anything physical but take notes is
hard for both learning types, but particularly hard for active learners.
Everybody is active sometimes and reflective sometimes. Your preference for one category or the other
may be strong, moderate, or mild. A balance of the two is desirable. If you always act before reflecting
you can jump into things prematurely and get into trouble, while if you spend too much time reflecting
you may never get anything done.
SSCS Success Guide▪16
HOW CAN ACTIVE LEARNERS HELP THEMSELVES?
If you are an active learner in a class that allows little or no class time for discussion or problem-solving
activities, you should try to compensate for this lack of activity when you study. Study in a group in
which the members take turns explaining different topics to each other. Work with others to guess what
you will be asked on the next test and figure out how you will answer. You will always retain information
better if you find ways to do something with it.
HOW CAN REFLECTIVE LEARNERS HELP THEMSELVES?
If you are a reflective learner in a class that allows little or no class time for thinking about new
information, you should try to compensate for this lack of time when you study. Don‘t simply read or
memorize the material; stop periodically to review what you have read and to think of possible
questions or applications. You might find it helpful to write short summaries of readings or class notes
in your own words. Doing so may take extra time but will enable you to retain the material more
effectively.
B. SENSING AND INTUITIVE LEARNERS
Sensing learners tend to like learning facts; intuitive learners often prefer discovering possibilities and
relationships.
Sensors often like solving problems by well-established methods and dislike complications and
surprises; intuitors like innovation and dislike repetition. Sensors are more likely than intuitors to resent
being tested on material that has not been explicitly covered in class.
Sensors tend to be patient with details and good at memorizing facts and doing hands-on (laboratory)
work; intuitors may be better at grasping new concepts and are often more comfortable than sensors
with abstractions and mathematical formulations.
Sensors tend to be more practical and careful than intuitors; intuitors tend to work faster and to be
more innovative than sensors.
Sensors don‘t like courses that have no apparent connection to the real world; intuitors don‘t like ―plug-
and-chug‖ courses that involve a lot of memorization and routine calculations.
Everybody is sensing sometimes and intuitive sometimes. Your preference for one or the other may be
strong, moderate, or mild. To be effective as a learner and problem solver, you need to be able to
function both ways. If you overemphasize intuition, you may miss important details or make careless
mistakes in calculations or hands-on work; if you overemphasize sensing, you may rely too much on
memorization and familiar methods and not concentrate enough on understanding and innovative
thinking.
HOW CAN SENSING LEARNERS HELP THEMSELVES?
Sensors remember and understand information best if they can see how it connects to the real world. If
you are in a class where most of the material is abstract and theoretical, you may have difficulty. Ask
your instructor for specific examples of concepts and procedures, and find out how the concepts apply
in practice. If the teacher does not provide enough specifics, try to find some in your course text or
other references or by brainstorming with friends or classmates.
17 ▪ Chapter Two -Learning Styles and Types of Intelligence
HOW CAN INTUITIVE LEARNERS HELP THEMSELVES?
Many college lecture classes are aimed at intuitors. However, if you are an intuitor and you happen to
be in a class that deals primarily with memorization and rote substitution in formulas, you may have
trouble with boredom. Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link the facts, or try to find
the connections yourself. You may also be prone to careless mistakes on test because you are impatient
with details and don‘t like repetition (as in checking your completed solutions). Take time to read the
entire question before you start answering and be sure to check your results
C. VISUAL AND VERBAL LEARNERS
Visual learners remember best what they see--pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and
demonstrations. Verbal learners get more out of words--written and spoken explanations. Everyone
learns more when information is presented both visually and verbally.
In most college classes very little visual information is presented: students mainly listen to lectures and
read material written on chalkboards and in textbooks and handouts. Unfortunately, most people are
visual learners, which means that most students do not get nearly as much as they would if more visual
presentation were used in class. Good learners are capable of processing information presented either
visually or verbally.
HOW CAN VISUAL LEARNERS HELP THEMSELVES?
If you are a visual learner, try to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts, or any
other visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal. Ask your instructor, consult
reference books, and see if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course material are available.
Prepare a concept map by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with
arrows between concepts to show connections. Color-code your notes with a highlighter so that
everything relating to one topic is the same color.
HOW CAN VERBAL LEARNERS HELP THEMSELVES?
Write summaries or outlines of course material in your own words. Working in groups can be
particularly effective: you gain an understanding of material by hearing classmates‘ explanations and
you learn even more when you do the explaining.
D. SEQUENTIAL AND GLOBAL LEARNERS
Sequential learners tend to gain understanding in linear steps, with each step following logically from
the previous one. Global learners tend to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost randomly
without seeing connections, and then suddenly ―getting it.‖
Sequential learners tend to follow logical stepwise paths in finding solutions; global learners may be
able to solve complex problems quickly or put things together in novel ways once they have grasped
the big picture, but they may have difficulty explaining how they did it.
Many people who read this description may conclude incorrectly that they are global, since everyone
has experienced bewilderment followed by a sudden flash of understanding. What makes you global or
not is what happens before the light bulb goes on. Sequential learners may not fully understand the
material but they can nevertheless do something with it (like solve the homework problems or pass the
test) since the pieces they have absorbed are logically connected. Strongly global learners who lack
good sequential thinking abilities, on the other hand, may have serious difficulties until they have the
SSCS Success Guide▪18
big picture. Even after they have it, they may be fuzzy about the details of the subject, while sequential
learners may know a lot about specific aspects of a subject but may have trouble relating them to
different aspects of the same subject or to different subjects.
HOW CAN SEQUENTIAL LEARNERS HELP THEMSELVES?
Most college courses are taught in a sequential manner. However, if you are a sequential learner and
you have an instructor who jumps around from topic to topic or skips steps, you may have difficulty
following and remembering. Ask the instructor to fill in the skipped steps, or fill them in yourself by
consulting references. When you are studying, take the time to outline the lecture material for yourself
in logical order. In the long run doing so will save you time. You might also try to strengthen your
global thinking skills by relating each new topic you study to things you already know. The more you
can do so, the deeper your understanding of the topic is likely to be.
HOW CAN GLOBAL LEARNERS HELP THEMSELVES?
If you are a global learner, it can be helpful for you to realize that you need the big picture of a subject
before you can master details. If your instructor plunges directly into new topics without bothering to
explain how they relate to what you already know, it can cause problems for you. Fortunately, there are
steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more rapidly. Before you begin to study the
first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter to get an overview. Doing so may be
time-consuming initially but it may save you from going over and over individual parts later. Instead of
spending a short time on every subject every night, you might find it more productive to immerse
yourself in one subject for a large time block. Try to relate the subject to things you already know, either
by asking the instructor to help you see connections or by consulting references. Above all, don‘t lose
faith in yourself; you will eventually understand the new material, and once you do your understanding
of how it connects to other topics and disciplines may enable you to apply it in ways that most
sequential thinkers would never dream of.
Felder, R. M., &Soloman, B. A. (n.d.). Learning styles and strategies. Retrieved April 2, 2009, from North Carolina State, University,
Richard Felder‘s Home Page: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/RMF.html
19 ▪ Chapter Two -Learning Styles and Types of Intelligence
2. Types of Intelligence
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES: HOW ARE YOU SMART
The theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) was developed by Howard Gardner, a Harvard professor. The
MI theory is based on the belief that we all possess at least eight unique intelligences through which we
are able to learn/teach new information. Although we each have all eight, no two individuals have them
in the same exact amounts. According to Gardner:
- All human beings possess all intelligences in varying amounts.
- Each person has a different intellectual composition.
- We can improve education by addressing the multiple intelligences of our students.
- These intelligences are located in different areas of the brain and can either work independently or
together.
- These intelligences may define the human species.
A. VERBAL-LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE
Use written and spoken language to express complex meaning
The capacity to use language, your native language, and perhaps other languages, to express
what‘s on your mind and to understand other people
Poets really specialize in linguistic intelligence, but any kind of writer, orator, speaker, lawyer, or
a person for whom language is an important stock in trade, highlights linguistic intelligence
Well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of words
Occurs through written and spoken words, such as in essays, speeches, books, informal
conversation, debates, and jokes
This intelligence involves the knowing that comes through the language, through reading, writing, and
speaking. It involves understanding the order and meaning of words in both speech and writing and
how to properly use the language. It involves understanding the socio-cultural nuances of a language,
including idioms, plays on words, and linguistically based humour.
If this is a strong intelligence for you, you have highly developed skills for reading, speaking, and writing
and you tend to think in words. You probably like various kinds of literature, playing word games,
making up poetry and stories, getting into involved discussions with other people, debating, working
crossword puzzles, formal speaking, creative writing, and the remembering of and art of telling jokes.
You are likely precise in expressing yourself and irritated when others are not. You love learning new
words, you do well with written assignments, and your comprehension of anything you read is high.
Careers:Poets, public speakers, journalists, writers (authors, advertising, script and speech writers),
speech pathologists, lawyers, secretaries, editors, proof-readers, comedians, debaters, archivists,
translators, TV and radio newscasters, commentators, announcers.
People with this type of intelligence:Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Margery Williams, Maya Angelou,
Hemingway, Longfellow, Louisa May Alcott, Robert Frost, Mark Twain, Mary Higgins Clark, Steinbeck, J.
K. Rowlings, Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
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B. LOGICAL-MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE
Discern logical or numerical patterns; deductive reasoning
Ability to think conceptually and abstractly and capacity to discern logical or numerical patterns
People with highly developed logical/mathematical intelligences understand the underlying
principles of some kind of a causal system, the way a scientist or a logician does
Can manipulate numbers, quantities, and operations, the way a mathematician does
Uses numbers, logic, scientific reasoning, and calculating to help solve problems and meet
challenges
This intelligence uses numbers, math, and logic to find and understand the various patterns that occur
in our lives: thought patterns, number patterns, visual patterns, and color patterns. It begins with
concrete patterns in the real world but gets increasingly abstract as we try to understand relationships
among patterns.
If you happen to be a logical-mathematically inclined person, you think more conceptually and
abstractly and are often able to see patterns and relationships that others miss. You probably like to
conduct experiments, solve puzzles and other problems, ask cosmic questions, and analyze
circumstances and people‘s behaviour. You most likely enjoy working with numbers and mathematical
formulas and operations, and you love the challenge of a complex problem to solve. You are probably
systematic and organized, and you likely always have a logical rationale or argument for what you are
doing or thinking at any given time.
Careers:Computer technicians and programmers, underwriters, accountants, statisticians, poll takers,
stock brokers, auditors, actuaries, purchasing agents, bankers, accountants, professional debaters, math
teachers, attorneys, scientific researchers, arbitrators, underwriters, medical professionals, data analysts,
logicians.
People with this type of intelligence:Archimedes, Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, Einstein,
Pythagoras, Euclid, Pascal.
C. BODILY-KINAESTHETIC INTELLIGENCE
Ability to control body movements and handle objects skilfully
The capacity to use your whole body or parts of your body: (your hands, your fingers, your
arms), to solve a problem, make something, or put on some kind of production
The most evident examples are people in athletics or the performing arts, particularly when
dancing or acting
Uses physical movement and performance (a.k.a. learning by doing) to understand
We often talk about learning by doing. This way of knowing happens through physical movement and
through the ―knowings‖ of our physical body. The body knows a great deal that is not necessarily
known by the conscious, logical mind, such as how to ride a bike, Parallel Park a car, dance the waltz,
catch a thrown object, maintain balance while walking, and type on a computer keyboard.
If you are strong in this intelligence area, you tend to have a keen sense of body awareness. You like
physical movement--dancing, making and inventing with your hands, and role-playing. You probably
communicate well through body language and other physical gestures. You can often perform a task
much better after seeing someone else does it first and then mimicking those actions. You probably like
physical games of all kinds. And you like to demonstrate how to do something for someone else. You
may find it difficult to sit still for long periods of time and are easily bored or distracted if you are not
actively involved in what is going on around you.
Careers:Gymnasts, physical therapists, models, mechanics, choreographers, actors, recreation directors,
crafts persons, athletes, invertors, builders, dancers, circus artists, bodybuilders, doctors, nurses, exercise
instructors, sport coaches, law enforcement personnel.
21 ▪ Chapter Two -Learning Styles and Types of Intelligence
People with this type of intelligENCE: Baryshnikov, Cathy Rigby, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, David
Copperfield, Marcel Marceau, Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini, Mia Hamm.
D. VISUAL-SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE
Perceive the visual world accurately; Create mental images; Capacity to think in images and pictures, to
visualize accurately and abstractly
The ability to represent the spatial world internally in your mind – the way a sailor or airplane
pilot navigates the large spatial world, or the way a chess player or sculptor represents a more
circumscribed spatial world
Can be used in the arts or in the sciences. If you are spatially intelligent and oriented toward the
arts, you are more likely to become a painter or sculptor or architect than, say a musician or a
writer. Similarly, certain sciences like anatomy or topology emphasize spatial intelligence
Uses the sense of sight and being able to imagine and visualize an object, including making
mental images inside our head
We often say, ―A picture is worth a thousand words,‖ or ―Seeing is believing.‖ Visual-spatial intelligence
represents the knowing that occurs through the shapes, images, patterns, designs, and textures we see
with our external eyes, but it also includes the images we are able to conjure inside our heads.
If you are strong in this intelligence you tend to think in images and pictures. You are likely very aware
of objects, shapes, colors, textures, and patterns in the environment around you. You probably like to
draw, paint, make interesting designs and patters, and work with clay, coloured markers, construction
paper and fabric. Many who are strong in visual-spatial intelligence love to work jigsaw puzzles, read
maps, and find their way around new places. You probably have definite opinions about colors that go
together well, textures that are appropriate and leasing, and how a room should be decorated. You also
are probably excellent at performing tasks that require seeing with the mind‘s eyes, such as visualizing,
pretending, imaging, and forming mental images.
Careers: Interior decorators, graphic design artists, cartographers, photographers, architects, airline
pilots, surgeons, painters, sculptors, chefs (with their food presentations), quilters, needle point
embroiders, landscapers, theatre set designers, professional drivers, cinematographers, book illustrators,
tour guides, jewellery and clothing designers.
People with this type of intelligence:Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet,
Rembrandt, Diane Arbus, Grandma Moses, I.M. Pei, Frank Lloyd Wright, Meryl Streep, Annie Liebovitz,
Steven Spielberg, Georgia O‘Keefe.
E. INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE
Understand others; discern verbal and non-verbal cues; Capacity to detect and respond appropriately to
the moods, motivations and desires of others
Understanding other people
An ability we all need, but is at a premium if you are a teacher, clinician, salesperson, or a
politician. Anybody who deals with other people has to be skilled in the interpersonal sphere
Uses person-to-person relating, communication, teamwork, and collaboration with others
This is the person-to-person way of knowing. It is the knowing that happens when we work with and
relate to other people, often as part of a team. This way of knowing also requires developing a whole
range of social skills that are needed for effective person-to-person communication and relating.
If this person-to-person way knowing is more developed in you, you learn through personal
interactions. You probably have lots of friends show a great deal of empathy for other people, and
exhibit a deep understand of others points of view. You probably love team activities of all kinds and
are a good team member--you pull your own weight and often much more. You are sensitive to other
people‘s feelings and ideas and are good at piggybacking your ideas on others‘ thoughts. You are also
SSCS Success Guide▪22
likely skilled drawing others out in a discussion and you probably are skilled in conflict resolution,
mediation, and finding compromise when people are in radical opposition to each other.
Careers:Teachers, administrators, arbitrators, anthropologists, organization leaders (presidents and
CEOs), sociologists, talk show hosts, politicians, public relations or customer service personnel,
salespersons, travel agents, consultants, social affairs directors.
People with this type of intelligence:Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Ghandi, Dr. Joyce Brothers,
Oprah Winfrey, Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King, Rev. Billy Graham.
F. INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE
Understand oneself; Engage in self-reflection & metacognition; Capacity to be self-aware and in tune with
inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes
Having an understanding of yourself, of knowing who you are, what you can do, what you want
to do, how you react to things, which things to avoid, and which things to gravitate toward
We are drawn to people who have a good understanding of themselves because those people
tend not to screw up. They tend to know what they can do, what they can‘t do, and they tend to
know where to go if they need help
The knowing which comes from introspection, self-reflection, and raising questions about life‘s
meaning and purpose
At the heart of this intelligence are our human self-reflective abilities by which we can step outside of
ourselves and think about our own lives. This is the introspective intelligence. It involves our uniquely
human propensity to want to know the meaning, purpose, and significance life. It involves our
awareness of the inner world of the self, emotions, values, beliefs, and our various quests for genuine
spirituality.
If this intelligence is one of your strong points, you may like to work alone and sometimes you may shy
away for others. You are probably self-reflective n self-aware, and thus you tend to be in tune with your
inner feelings, values, beliefs, and thinking processes. You are frequently a bearer of creative wisdom
and insight, you are highly intuitive, and you are inwardly motivated rather than needing external
rewards to keep you going. You are often strong willed, self-confident, and have definite, well=though-
out opinions on almost any issue. Other people will often come to you for advice and counsel.
Careers:Therapists, psychologists, human potential researchers, philosophers, religious leaders (pastors
and priests), social workers, mediation guides, counsellors, self-help advisors, cognitive pattern
researchers, mental health professionals.
People with this type of intelligence:Neil Armstrong, Helen Keller, Columbus, Charles Lindbergh,
Cleopatra, Sir Edmond Hillary.
G. MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE
Produce and appreciate forms of musical expressiveness
Ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber
The capacity to think in music, to be able to hear patterns, recognize them, and perhaps
manipulate them
People don‘t just remember music easily - they can‘t get it out of their minds, it‘s so
omnipresent
Learns through sounds, rhythms, tones, beats, music produced by other people or present in
the environment
23 ▪ Chapter Two -Learning Styles and Types of Intelligence
This is the knowing that happens through sound and vibration. This intelligence is not limited to music
and rhythm. Some refer to this intelligence as auditory-vibrational, for it deals with the whole realm of
sound, tones, beats, and vibrational patterns as well as music.
If you are strong in this intelligence area, you likely have a love of music and rhythmic patterns. You are
probably very sensitive to sounds in the environment; the chirp of a cricket, rain on the roof, varying
traffic patterns. You may study and work better with music in the background. You can often reproduce
a melody or rhythmic pattern after hearing it only once. Various sounds, tones, and rhythms may have a
visible effect on you-- others can often see a change in facial expression, body movement, or emotional
response. You probably like to create music and enjoy listening to a wide variety of music. You may be
skilled at mimicking sounds, language accents, and others‘ speech patterns, and you can probably
readily recognize different musical instruments in a composition.
Careers:Music therapist, advertising professionals, motion picture soundtrack creators, music teachers,
piano tuners, music studio directors and recorders, song writers, music performers, conductors, sound
engineers, music copyists.
People with this type of intelligence:Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Gershwin, Haydn, John Lennon,
Stevie Wonder, Burt Bacharach, Carole King, John Williams, Carlos Santana.
H. NATURALISTIC INTELLIGENCE
Ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature
Weather conditions of the natural world
Recognize patterns and distinctions in the natural world
This intelligence involves understanding the natural world of plants and animals, noticing their
characteristics, and categorizing them; it generally involves keen observation and the ability to classify
other things as well. It may be exercised by exploring nature, making collections of objects, studying
them, and grouping them.
Careers:Forest rangers, nature guides, animal trainers, zoo keepers, landscape designers, gardeners,
scientists investigating the biological and physical worlds, bird watchers, veterinarians, farmers, people
involved in scouting and camping, botanists, horticulturists, florists, meteorologists, conservations.
People with this type of intelligence:Galileo, Rachael Carson, John Audubon, Lewis & Clark, Jane
Goodall, Jacques Cousteau, Diana Fossey, John Muir.
If you would like to know what types of intelligences correspond to you, go to the following web site
and fill out the questionnaire:
http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html
Richard Hamptons‘ web site: http://lth3.k12.il.us/rhampton/mi/MIIDENTIFIED.htm
SSCS Success Guide▪24
CHAPTER THREE -ACTIVE READING AND STUDYING IN COLLEGE
Effective reading and studying are key components to achieving academic success at the College level:
these are the skills needed to effectively extract, study and retain information from the various
textbooks and readings you will be required to read. Virtually every class you will take at College will be,
in part, based on reading. The purpose of this chapter is to give students tools for reading and studying.
Not every tool will be applicable to every student; it is necessary for each student to discover the
method which works best for her. Try them out and see!
1. Active Reading
A. THE SQ4R SYSTEM
Introduction
This method is classic because students have found it useful since the early 1960‘s. It‘s probably worth
your time to try all the steps at first and then choose and apply only those that work effectively for each
of your courses. Although using the SQ4R method may seem time consuming at first, once you know
the steps the process takes only a few minutes.
S = SURVEY
Before you crack open your book to page one and dive in, take a few minutes to read the preface and
introduction to the text, and browse through the table of contents and the index. This will tell you the
main topics that the book will cover, the author‘s particular approach to the subject (i.e., why he/she
wrote another text on the subject when there are probably twenty on the market), and what the basic
organizational structure will be.
A similar process is repeated before each chapter. Read all the titles and subtitles, study any pictures,
charts or graphs, and, if there are any, read the summary at the end of the chapter and any study
questions. Surveying a chapter in this way gives you the ―big picture,‖ a framework of the main ideas
which will help to hold the details together later.
Q = QUESTION
Before beginning to read, take the subtitle of the section (or the first sentence of a paragraph) and turn
it into a question. For example, if you‘re reading part of a chapter called The Crusades, ask yourself,
―What do I already know about the Crusades?‖ or ―what do I want to know about the Crusades?‖
R#1 = READ
You then read, not passively sliding your eyes over the words, but actively engaging the text, trying to
find the answer to your questions. Be cautious, however, that you don‘t end up skimming for the answer
to your questions and missing other important information.
25 ▪ Chapter Three -Active Reading and Studying in College
R#2 = RESPOND
Once you‘ve read the section, close the textbook and answer your question, either orally or on paper, in
your own words. If you can‘t answer the question, you should reread that section until you can. If, after
several tries, you still can‘t answer your question, go on to the next few sections and see if things
become clearer. You may find that you need to change your question. For example, you may have first
posed the question, ―What is the Treaty of Versailles?‖ for the subtitle ―The Treaty of Versailles,‖ but,
after reading the section, you may find that a better question is, ―Why was the Treaty of Versailles
created?‖ If changing your question doesn‘t help clarify the reading, it is time to get some help. Your
teacher is a good place to start, or try the Social Science Resource Centre or the Vanier College Learning
Centre.
R#3 = RECORD
Once you‘ve understood the material and can summarize it in your own words, the next step is to
record the information in some way. Some common methods are to highlight and/or mark the text, or
take notes, or some combination of both. Whichever method or combination of methods you choose
(some pros and cons are summarized next), it is critical that you remember to read and understand the
material first, and then go back and record.
R#4 = REVIEW
In courses with a lot of factual material to remember, a regular review period (usually once a week) can
be a very effective strategy for retaining information. Integrating a weekly review period into your study
routine will help you remember more of the information longer, thereby changing the nature of the
studying done at exam time. Rather than relearning material that has been forgotten because you
haven‘t looked at it since reading it or writing it down, preparing for an exam can include a review of
familiar material and rehearsal strategies like trying old exams.
The secret to making regular review periods effective is to start from the beginning of the course in
each review session. The volume of material to review increases as the semester progresses, but the
amount of time needed to review older material decreases. After you‘ve reviewed the first week‘s
material a few times, it will take only minutes to skim over it and recall the key points. Also, reviewing
new materials such as reading or lecture notes moves information from short to long-term memory, a
key to effectively retaining information. Information left without review for five weeks, for instance, loses
its meaning. They must be looked at immediately, and regularly. A good trick is to try writing down
what you know about the topic without looking at your notes. This will help you gauge how much more
studying you need to do.
B. TEN TIPS FOR READING A TEXTBOOK
1. GET IT RIGHT AWAY.
Don‘t put off buying the textbook until the day before your first test! Cramming at the last moment is
difficult, particularly in courses with a lot of reading! (Money problems? See about student loans or ask
your teacher to place a copy of the text on reserve in the Vanier library).
SSCS Success Guide▪26
2. PLAN A READING SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT.
Spreading out your reading time over the course of the term will make your actual reading more
productive. Plan to read one chapter a night, for example, and you‘ll find you have less work to do for
tests and exams.
3. SURVEY THE BOOK.
Glance over the textbook chapter headings, subtitles, and charts or graphs which sum up and clarify
main points before you start a complete reading.
4. MARK IT UP.
Simply reading the text will not help you really absorb the information it provides. Underline or
highlight important facts, figures and phrases, and write your own comments and questions in the
margins.
5. TAKE NOTES
Yes, you took notes from class lectures. Now, take notes from the textbook itself. It means a bit more
homework, but you‘ll find it pays off come exam time!
6. READ AND REREAD.
Does this sound repetitive to you? Well, it is, and that‘s the whole point! Repetition is one of the most
useful--and least used--ways to get the most out of your text. Read the text thoroughly and actively
(highlight and take notes) and then skim read the text several times to get an overall sense of the main
ideas without having to read every single line again. Your brain is like a muscle that must be flexed over
and over in order for it to work well.
7. ASK IT QUESTIONS.
Think of questions you have for the text and read it to answer those questions. This kind of interactive
approach will make your reading more effective.
8. ASK YOUR TEACHER QUESTIONS.
If your questions about certain concepts and theories aren‘t answered to your satisfaction by the
textbook, ask your teacher in class or during his/her office hours.
9. REVIEW ORALLY.
After you have read a section or chapter of your textbook, close the book and try to describe out loud
the main ideas you have learned. Talking about ideas helps you to understand and remember them. Or
write them out while they are fresh in your mind.
10. PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO INTRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS.
These sections of textbooks are really important because they highlight important ideas and facts. Some
textbooks present these sections in point form for extra clarity.
Fastfacts – SQ4R: A classic method of studying texts. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2009, from University of Guelph, Learning Services
Web site: http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/assistance/learning_services/fastfacts/SQ4R.cfm
27 ▪ Chapter Three -Active Reading and Studying in College
HIGHLIGHTING
THE PROS
- Takes less time than note taking.
- Charts and graphs from text readily available.
THE CONS
- Very easy to do badly; can fool you into thinking you‘re learning material when what
you‘re really doing is colouring.
- Tendency to mark too much to avoid missing something important; experts say
highlight 10-15%; students usually highlight 70-80%.
- Because fragments of sentences are highlighted, tendency is to read whole sentence for
complete meaning and so most of the book ends up being re-read.
- Necessary to study for tests from heavy, clumsy textbook.
- Difficult to integrate with lecture notes.
- Textbook ends up looking very used and reduces resale value.
NOTE TAKING
THE PROS
- Because it is time consuming, encourages you to be concise and more selective of
important information.
- Information is in point form but still grammatically complete.
- Provides a portable, easy-to-manage study tool.
- Condensed study notes can be made in margins as you go, saving time when
preparing for exams.
- Easy to integrate text and lecture notes if done on loose-leaf paper.
THE CONS
- Time-consuming.
- Tendency to copy text rather than take notes in your own words.
C. STEPS FOR PREVIEWING AN ARTICLE OR CHAPTER
You can preview, or survey, an article in a magazine or a chapter by following these quick steps:
SSCS Success Guide▪28
STEP 1
Title: Read the chapter title and think about what it says or means. In the Social Sciences, the title often
summarizes what the article is about.
STEP 2
Subtitles/Headings/Subheadings: Read the subtitles, headings and subheadings. They reveal the
author‘s organization of material as well as key phrases which reveal the basic content. If you know
anything about these subjects or have studied them before, the key phrases will trigger what you have
stored in your memory and bring it from your subconscious to your conscious mind. A subtitle is a short
summary appearing under or next to the title. Subheadings are breakdowns of main headings and they
usually reveal the important points related to the major heading. A large font or bold print often stands
out as a visual aid for the reader.
STEP 3
Introduction and Conclusion: By reading the first few paragraphs, you will be introduced to the
subject and purpose of the article or chapter. In the last few paragraphs, the writer will present
conclusions or a summary. When you know the important points in the article, you will pay more
attention to them as you read. The introduction and conclusion can give you a quick overview of what
the entire article or chapter is about.
STEP 4
Look carefully at any Pictures, Charts, Graphs or Illustrations that accompany the text. Looking at
such aids before you read puts your mind into the correct frame of reference. Also note any key words
which may be used to describe the pictures - they will usually refer to the main points.
STEP 5
See if there is a Summary or Set of Questions at the end of the chapter or article. Read the questions
and try to predict the answers. By now you should have a good overview of what you are about to read.
2. Studying in College
A. STUDY HABITS QUIZ
Complete the Vanier College Learning Centre‘s Study Habits Checklist to rate the effectiveness of your
study habits.
Give yourself a score for each of the following:
Rarely/Never = 0 points; Sometimes = 3 points; Often/Always = 5 points
In Class: 0 3 5
I never miss more than one or two classes per semester in □ □ □
any given subject.
Before lectures, I prepare by reading any assigned material □ □ □
being covered that day.
During lectures, I listen carefully for key words and main ideas. □ □ □
I take notes while the teacher is talking. □ □ □
If a concept is unclear, I ask for help, in class or afterwards. □ □ □
29 ▪ Chapter Three -Active Reading and Studying in College
Reading:
I overview the entire text (through the table of contents, □ □ □
headings etc...) before I begin reading.
While reading, I look for the main ideas and note them. □ □ □
I look for relationships within the material. □ □ □
I underline key terms and concepts that verify that I □ □ □
understand them.
I keep a list of definitions. □ □ □
I read actively, by asking myself questions and evaluating □ □ □
the author‘s point of view.
Study Area and Time Management:
My desk or table is big enough for me to work comfortably. □ □ □
My space is tidy and equipped with the materials I need. □ □ □
I study in a quiet area, free from distractions. □ □ □
I keep up with my assignments and do not fall behind. □ □ □
I keep a study schedule and allot time for all my tasks. □ □ □
Studying:
I review my notes regularly. □ □ □
I summarize material in my own words to understand it better. □ □ □
I break my long study assignments into small parts and work on □ □ □
one part at a time.
I review the material with a friend. □ □ □
Preparing for Exams:
I make a master outline of all the important material I need to □ □ □
learn for an exam.
I make a study schedule, which includes several study sessions, □ □ □
for each exam.
I review the most important facts and principles for each exam. □ □ □
I draw diagrams, maps, etc... and visualize the material. □ □ □
I make up my own exam questions, based on important material, □ □ □
and answer them.
I get plenty of sleep and eat a good breakfast before an exam. □ □ □
SSCS Success Guide▪30
Concept
Mapping
for Success
Master
your
course
material Improve
your
memory
Organize
your
essay
Taking Exams:
Before beginning, I read over the instructions and questions □ □ □
carefully.
I break up my time so I spend a fixed amount on each question. □ □ □
For essay exams, I make an outline of my answer before I □ □ □
begin writing.
I always leave time at the end of the exam to proofread and to □ □ □
make sure I haven‘t missed any questions.
Total Score: _______ / 150
0 - 80: Your study skills could use some work! You need to use most of the following tips on how to
study more productively and efficiently.
81 – 110: You have some good study habits, but you could be more organized and focused. If
you think your marks could be better, use some of the following tips to achieve those marks.
111 – 150: You have good study skills overall! If you find yourself in trouble when preparing for
tests and exams, or with material for a particular course, use some of the following tips for help.
B. CONCEPT MAPPING
Concept mapping is an active study tool for visualizing material and making connections. Concept
mapping only comes after you have read through your notes and the text.
THE BENEFITS
By creating concept maps every week for all new material:
You will have a better understanding of the main topics in your course.
You will be better able to make links between different elements in the course.
You will remember more than if you simply recopy your notes.
You will save time reviewing material at the end of the semester.
31 ▪ Chapter Three -Active Reading and Studying in College
STEPS
1. Make a list of keywords/ideas.
2. Organize the concepts into categories or subdivisions so that you have several lists or groups of
ideas.
3. Determine the major topic and place it at the centre of a blank sheet of paper (legal size paper
works well).
4. Draw branches out from the centre and connect the central word/idea to other words/ideas. You
can number the branches or even label them (if you label them, use words that describe the
relationship between the two words/ideas you are linking.)
5. Keep adding branches, but try to create structure within your map. Avoid having too many
branches attached to a single concept - a concept that you relate to ten other concepts (Figure A) is
more difficult for your mind to grasp than a concept that you relate to only three other concepts
which then each relate to two or three other concepts (Figure B). Which of these maps is more
structured? Which one would help you organize ideas more clearly in your mind? Why?
6. Once you think you are finished, look again. Can you find even more connections between concepts
that you overlooked the first time? Don‘t be scared to draw in large arrows, looping all around the
page!
Figure A
Figure B
Central
Idea
Words
/ IdeasWords
/ Ideas
Words
/ Ideas
Words
/ IdeasWords
/ Ideas
Words
/ Ideas
Words
/ Ideas
Words
/ Ideas
Central Idea
Words/Ideas
Words/Ideas Words/Ideas
Words/Ideas Words/Ideas
Words/Ideas
Words/Ideas
SSCS Success Guide▪32
7. The more branches the better! It is the thinking process that is important, not the final look of the
map.
8. Once you are done, compare your map with someone else‘s. Given the same set of concepts, two
people are unlikely to create the same map. Discuss your process and your logic in making
connections and building relationships. Together, you will surely uncover even more relationships.
9. Use your map as a review tool – you can easily summarize a whole chapter on one page! However,
avoid simply memorizing it. If you understand all the details contained in your map, you will
remember it without memorizing it.
10. If you have made several maps for different topics, try making one large map that encompasses all
the topics (you might need a Bristol Board!). This will help you see relationships between different
topics, and therefore help you learn about topics in context.
C. STUDY HABITS: TIPS
1. Have a clear notion of the aim of your studying – the aim of the book, the topic, or the assignment.
2. In some types of study it helps to review the previous lesson before going on to advanced work.
The subject matter is familiar and is then easier to hook onto.
3. Study alone unless you are absolutely sure the time spent with others is more efficiently spent than
alone.
4. When you have to go over work many times, distribute the repetitions over a long period of time.
5. It helps to prepare mentally and physically in order to pay attention. Sit up at your desk and take
the attitude, ―I can do this and I will!‖
6. Set yourself a time limit and work towards it (e.g., ―I‘ll have my history completed by 10:00 p.m.‖).
7. If a goal is too remote or an assignment too long, set up intermediate goals and attack eachin turn
(e.g., aim at one chapter completed by 9:30 p.m.). Studying for an exam in the History of Western
Civilization can involve reviewing many chapters; do not try to do it all at once.
8. Do not try to study and listen to music at the same time. It can‘t be done. You have only so much
mental energy. It cannot be used for two purposes.
9. Train yourself to ignore distractions from within. Don‘t daydream. If you are worrying over a
personal problem, take time to solve it. Don‘t let it intrude on your studying.
10. Be interested in your work – having a motive helps. Employ the principle of incentives. Promise
yourself a reward if you finish your work on time.
11. Be realistic about what you can achieve in the time you have allotted. Don‘t optimistically
underestimate the time required – this can be very frustrating.
12. Find out when you work best – when you are most fresh or faced with the fewest interruptions and
distractions. Schedule difficult tasks or work on difficult subjects you are not doing well in at those
times.
13. Do the easy tasks first. This gives you a sense of accomplishment and encourages you to keep
going.
Tipsheets; Reading & analyzing. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2009, from Vanier College, Learning Centre Web site: http://
www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/tlc/tipsheets.html
33 ▪ Chapter Four -Listening and Note Taking in Class
CHAPTER FOUR -LISTENING AND NOTE TAKING IN CLASS In order to understand the main points and supporting arguments of a lecture or conference, you need
to do more than listen passively. You must involve yourself in the process of communication. Since we
retain information only for a short period of time, it is important that you develop various techniques
for note taking and reviewing your notes. In this chapter we will give you tools to help you get the most
out of the notes you take during a lecture or a conference: We will introduce you to ways of becoming
an active listener.
1. Listen Actively and Selectively
ACTIVE LISTENING
Means that you focus on ideas, not just words. Throughout the lecture, continually ask yourself, ―What
are the important points that the instructor is trying to get across?‖ Then write down enough
information to help you understand those points. It also means that you pay attention to verbal
signposts, that is words or expressions that give you an idea of the type of information that is to come.
They also normally indicate important information. We have listed a number of these below along with
their meanings.
SELECTIVE LISTENING
Involves an awareness of what is and is not important enough to write down. Thus, selective listening
requires active decision making on your part. Instead of writing down everything the instructor says,
choose main ideas and corresponding supporting points, including explanations and examples. As you
listen, ask yourself the following questions, which will help you to pick out noteworthy ideas:
What is the topic?
What do I need to know about the topic?
Why is this topic important?
What is an example of the topic?
How did this event or procedure come about?
Lipsky, S. (2004). College study: The essential ingredients. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.
A. VERBAL SIGNPOSTS
1. Signals pointing to key concepts
There are two reasons for this
A critical point in the process involves
Most importantly
The result is
2. Signals pointing to differences
On the contrary
On the other hand
In contrast
However
3. Signals of support
For example
Specifically
For Instance
Similarly
4. Signals that summarize
Finally
Recapping this idea
In conclusion
As a result
Carter, C., Bishop, J., Kravits, S. L., &Maurin, P. J. (2007). Keys to success: Building successful intelligence and achieving your goals.
Toronto: Prentice Hall.
SSCS Success Guide▪34
2. Note Taking in Class
A. TIPS ON NOTE TAKING
Don‘t write down everything you read or hear. Be alert and attentive to the main points.
Concentrate on the ―meat‖ of the subject and forget the trimmings.
Notes should consist of key words or very short sentences. As a speaker gets sidetracked, it is
often possible to go back and add further information.
Take accurate notes. You should use your own words, but try not to change the meaning. If you
quote directly from the author, quote correctly.
Think a minute about the material before you start making notes. Don‘t take notes just to be
taking notes! Take notes that will be of real value to you when you review them at a later date.
Have a uniform system for punctuation and abbreviation that will make sense to you. Use a
skeleton outline that shows importance by indenting. Leave lots of white space for later
additions.
Omit descriptions and full explanations. Keep your notes short and to the point. Condense your
materials so you can grasp the main points rapidly.
Don‘t worry about missing a point. Leave space and pick up the material you missed at a later
date, either through reading, questioning, common sense, or looking at a classmate‘s notes.
Don‘t keep notes on oddly shaped pieces of paper. Keep notes in order and in one place. A
three-ringed or spiral notebook is preferred.
Shortly after taking your lecture notes or making textbook notes, go back and edit (not copy)
your notes by adding extra points, spelling out unclear items, etc... Remember, we forget
rapidly. Budget time for this vital step just as you do for the class itself.
Review your notes periodically; three types of review are daily, weekly, and a major review just
before a test. This is the only way to achieve lasting memory.
Note taking. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Muskingum College, Centre for Advancement and Learning, Learning Strategies
Database:http://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/general/notetaking.html
B. THE CORNELL NOTE TAKING SYSTEM
Forty years ago, Walter Pauk (1989) developed what is known as the Cornell Note Taking System to
help Cornell University students better organize their notes. Today, Pauk‘s note taking technique is
probably the most widely used system throughout the United States.
Pauk outlines six steps in the Cornell note taking system:
Record
Reduce (or question)
Recite
Reflect
Review
Recapitulate
RECORD
Simply record as many facts and ideas as you can in the six-inch column (see an example in the
following pages). Do not be concerned with getting every word down that the lecturer says or with
writing grammatically correct notes. Learn to write telegraphic sentences or a streamlined version of the
main points of the lecture by leaving out unnecessary words and using only key words. To ensure that
your notes make sense weeks later, after the lecture is over, fill in blanks or make incomplete sentences
complete.
35 ▪ Chapter Four -Listening and Note Taking in Class
REDUCE (OR QUESTION)
After you read through your notes, your next step is to reduce important facts and ideas to key words
or phrases, or to formulate questions based on the facts and ideas. Key words, phrases, and questions
are written in the narrow column left of the six-inch column. The words and phrases act as memory cues
so that when you review them, you will recall the ideas or facts. The questions help to clarify the
meanings of the facts and ideas.
RECITE
Recitation is a very powerful process in the retention of information. Reciting is different from rereading
in that you state out loud and in your own words the facts and ideas you are trying to learn. It is an
effective way to learn because hearing your thoughts helps you to sharpen your thinking process; and
stating ideas and facts in your own words challenges you to think about the meaning of the
information. When reciting, cover up your notes in the six-inch column, while leaving the cue words and
questions uncovered and readily accessible. Next, read each key word or question, then recite and state
aloud, in your own words, the information. If your answer is correct, continue on through the lecture by
reciting aloud.
REFLECT
Reflection is pondering or thinking about the information you have learned. Reflecting is a step beyond
learning note content. It reinforces deeper learning by the relating of facts and ideas to other learning
and knowledge. Questions like the following enhance reflecting: How do these facts and ideas fit into
what I already know? How can I apply them? How is knowing this important? What is the significance of
these facts and ideas?
REVIEW
A way to prevent forgetting is to review and recite your notes frequently. A good guideline to follow is
to review your notes nightly or several times during the week by reciting, not rereading. Brief review
sessions planned throughout the semester, perhaps weekly, will aid more complete comprehension and
retention of information than will cramming the day before a test. It will cut down on stress too!
Remember that first reviewing the material within 24 hours is key to efficient remembering.
RECAPITULATE
The recapitulation or summary of your notes goes at the bottom of the note page in the two-inch block
column. Taking a few minutes after you have reduced, recited, and reflected to summarize the facts and
ideas in your notes will help you integrate your information. The summary should not be a word-for-
word rewriting of your notes. It should be in your own words and reflect the main points you want to
remember from your notes. Reading through your summary (or summaries) in preparation for an exam
is a good way to review. There are three ways to go about summarizing:
1. Summarize each page of notes at the bottom of each page.
2. Summarize the whole lecture on the last page.
3. Do both 1 and 2, in combination.
SSCS Success Guide▪36
Introduction to Psychology (350-102-VA) Prof. Lisa Fiorentino Monday Sept. 12
CUE COLUMN
2 ½ inches wide
How do Psychologists
account for
remembering?
What‘s a ―memory
trace‖?
There are 3 memory
systems – sensory, short-
term and long term
How does sensory
memory retain
information?
How is memory
transferred to STM?
What is the retention
time of STM?
How to hold information
in STM – rehearse
What are the retention
times of STM?
What are the 6 ways to
transfer information
from STM to LTM?
NOTE TAKING COLUMN
6 inches wide
MEMORY(topic of the lecture)
Memory tricky – Can recall instantly many trivial things of childhood, yet forget things
recently worked hard to learn & retain.
Memory Trace:
Fact that we retain information means that some change was made in the brain.
Changes called ―memory trace‖.
―Trace‖ probably molecular arrangement similar to molecular changes in magnetic
recording tape.
3 memory systems: sensory, short term, long term:
1. Sensory (lasts 1 second)
Ex.: Words or numbers sent to brain by sight (visual image) start to disintegrate within a few
10ths of a second & gone in 1 full second unless quickly transferred to STM by verbal
repetition.
2. Short –term memory (STM) (Lasts 30 seconds)
Experiments show: a syllable of 3 letters remembered 50% of time after 3 seconds.
Totally forgotten end of 30 seconds
STM – limited capacity – holds average of 7 items.
More than 7 items – get rid of some to make room.
To hold items in STM, must rehearse – must hear sound of word internally or
externally.
3. Long-term memory (LTM) (lasts a lifetime or short time)
Transfer fact or idea by:
Associating with information already in LTM
Organizing information into meaningful units
Understanding by comparing & making relationships
Frameworking – fit pieces in like a jigsaw puzzle
Reorganizing – combine new & old into a new unit
Rehearsing – aloud to keep memory trace strong
SUMMARY
3 kinds of memory systems are sensory, which retains information for about 1 second : Short-term which retains
for a maximum of 30 seconds : and long-term which varies from a lifetime of retention to a relatively short time.
The 6 ways (activities) to transfer information to the LTM are: associating, organizing,
understanding,frameworking, reorganizing, and rehearsing.
37 ▪ Chapter Four -Listening and Note Taking in Class
C. VARIATIONS ON THE CORNELL NOTE TAKING SYSTEM
Here is a variation on the Cornell Note Taking System, that can be applied to almost all lecture
situations. Its keynote is simple efficiency: every step is designed to save time and effort; there is no
retyping or rewriting; and each step prepares the way for taking the next natural and logical step in the
learning process. In other words, it is a do-it-right-in-the-first-place system.
THE FIRST STEP: PREPARING THE SYSTEM
Use a large, loose-leaf notebook. The large size provides ample room for taking meaningful notes,
recording examples, and drawing diagrams. The loose-leaf feature enables you to insert photocopied
―handouts‖ and assignment sheets in topical or chronological order.
Take notes on one side of the page only. Later, while studying, this will allow you to spread out the
pages to see the pattern of a lecture.
The key to the system is to draw a vertical line about 2-1/2 inches from the left edge of each
sheet. This is the recall column.
Classroom notes will be recorded in the space to the right of the line.
Later, key words and phrases will be written to the left of the line.
Before each new lecture, take a few minutes to look over your notes from the previous lecture, so that
you can connect them with the lecture you are about to hear.
THE SECOND STEP: DURING THE LECTURE
Record your notes in simple paragraph form. Your objective should be to make your notes
complete and clear enough so that they will make sense to you weeks later.
It is not necessary to make elaborate outlines.
Strive to capture general ideas rather than illustrative details. This will let you follow the train of
the argument or development of an idea. You can usually get names and dates from the
textbook.
Skip lines to show the end of one idea and the start of another. Indicate sub-ideas and
supporting details with numbers or letters under the major idea.
Use abbreviations to give yourself extra time to listen and write. BUT avoid abbreviations you might
have trouble deciphering weeks or months later.
Write legibly. You can if you discipline yourself. Later, when you review, legible handwriting will
let you concentrate on ideas and facts rather than on figuring out your scribbling. Doing your
notes right the first time saves time in rewriting or typing them.
THE THIRD STEP: AFTER THE LECTURE
Since forgetting is constantly taking its toll, it would be wise to consolidate your notes during your first
free time after class, or during the evening at the latest.
First, read through your notes to make any scribbles more legible, fill in spaces purposely left
blank, and emerge with an overview of the lecture.
Then underlineor box in the words containing the main ideas.
Now you are ready to use the recall column on the left side of the page.
SSCS Success Guide▪38
In this column, jot in key words and key phrases that will stand as cues for the ideas and facts
on the right.
In making these jottings, you will have reread all the lecturer‘s ideas, rethought them in your
own words, and reflected on them as you tried to think of a brief summarizing phrase or a key
word.
In doing so, you will have organized and structured the lecture both in your notebook and
more importantly, in your mind.
Now, cover up the right side of the sheet, exposing only the jottings in the recall column.
Using the jottings as cues or ―flags‖ to help you recall, recite aloud the facts and ideas of the
lecture as fully as you can, in your own words and with as much appreciation of the meaning as
you can.
Then uncover the notes and verify what you have said. This procedure of reciting is the most
powerful learning technique known to psychologists.
Larocque, L. M. (n.d.). Explorations II – Skills for the 21st century. St. Laurent, QC: Vanier College Bookstore.
D. OUTLINE FORMAT FOR NOTE TAKING
The outlining strategy involves organizing information so that inclusive material is followed by more
exclusive but related pieces of information. In other words, the information is arranged from general to
specific. The format may be used while recording notes, or it may be employed when recopying and
reorganizing notes.
Outlining is a fairly versatile format for organizing notes because it can be modified to accommodate
personal needs and preferences. For example, outlines can be formal or informal (e.g. with or without
Roman numerals) and symbols for distinguishing inclusive and exclusive material can be varied. Notes
in outline form help the student to detect and understand relationships and associations among
different pieces of information. Notes in outline form can also be modified easily into study guides for
exam preparation.
Directions for taking or transcribing notes into outline form are as follows:
Develop a Template
o Part of the outlining task can be completed before class.
o Do the required reading to be covered in class, and develop a ―skeleton‖ outline or
template based on the reading.
o Use the major headings in the chapter to form the major sections of the outline.
o The details are filled in during lecture.
Arrangement of Information
o Each major section of the outline should cover one major topic.
o Arrange the information within the section from most inclusive to most exclusive,
indenting the information each time the level of inclusiveness changes.
o All of the levels may or may not be used.
Symbols
o The most common symbols used in outlining are Roman numerals, upper and lower
case letters, and numbers.
o Other symbols like circles and squares may be added or substituted for these according
to personal preference.
39 ▪ Chapter Four -Listening and Note Taking in Class
Record Notes
o Short phrases, symbols, shorthand, and abbreviations may be used to record notes in
the outline.
o Drawings or figures may be incorporated to the right of the notes or between lines
Example of a Formal Outline
Professor Sossoyan - Intro to Prehistory
10/25/95 - Page 2
ORIGINS OF AGRICULTURE
I. AGRICULTURE COMPARED TO HUNTING-GATHERING
A. Advantages of Agriculture
1. More efficient use of land
a. agric: 1 sq km supports 50 people
b. h-g: 25-30 sq km supports 5-6 people
2. More Stable food source thru year (w/ storage)
3. More free time in non-critical seasons
B. Disadvantages of Agriculture
1. Malnourishment
a. farmers often deficient in protein
2. Labour intensive in critical seasons
3. High risk if crops/herds fail
II. IDENTIFYING DOMESTICATES IN ARCH‘L RECORD
A. Plants
1. Seeds are bigger in size
2. Seed coats are thicker
B. Animals
1. Size changes
2. Finer or thicker fur
3. Different horn shape
Note taking. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Muskingum College, Centre for Advancement and Learning,Learning Strategies
Database: http://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/general/notetaking.html
E. USING SHORTHAND IN NOTE TAKING
Note taking is hard work. It is impossible to write everything you hear in a lecture – unless you‘re a
stenographer! The idea is to take down as much important information as you can while doing it
rapidly. Symbols and abbreviations are useful for that purpose. Use abbreviations that fit your needs
and ones that you will remember easily. Introduce a few abbreviations and symbols in your note taking
at a time. Below are some frequently used symbols and abbreviations you might find useful when you
take lecture notes. You can also use your texting skills and integrate them in your note taking. Practice
integrating symbols and abbreviations in your note taking; it will make your life a lot easier!
SSCS Success Guide▪40
A few general rules:
Leave out articles like a, an, the.
Write numbers as 1, 2, 3 and not one, two, three.
Omit vowels from the middle of words.
Use apostrophes, for example gov‘t for government, cont‘d for continued.
Eliminate final letters. Use just enough of the beginning of a word to form an easily
recognizable abbreviation, such as assoc for associated, intro for introduction, max for
maximum.
Borrow from technical symbols, such as & for and, # for number, % for percentage.
If a term, phrase or name is initially written out in full during the lecture, substitute initials when
the term, phrase, or name is used again, for example the Modern Massachusetts Party becomes
MMP.
Symbol Meaning Example
Leads to, produces, causes Practiceperfection
& And Coffee & cream
P Page Read p.89
w/ With (something) War fought w/ NATO aid
w/o Without They fought w/o fear
b/c Because We pay taxes b/c it‘s the law
b/4 Before Chicken b/4 egg
e.g. For example Professionals e.g. doctors and lawyers
Ex. Example Look at ex. 4
Cf Compare Cf to previous theories
= Equal, is the same Sloth = laziness
Esp. Especially Tobacco esp. Cigarettes cause cancer
♀ Female, women The gathering is done by the ♀
♂ Male, man ♂are more prone to violence
US United States or American US invaded Iraq
i.e. For instance Men like sports i.e. hockey
+ More, increase Agriculture brought + food
- or Less, decrease There has been a child death
41 ▪ Chapter Five -Brainstorming: Organizing your Ideas and Thoughts
CHAPTER FIVE -BRAINSTORMING: ORGANIZING YOUR IDEAS AND
THOUGHTS
So far you have read chapters on time management, stress management, learning styles, reading and
studying, listening & note-taking. Now we turn our attention to writing College level essays. This is one
of the most important skills you will need to acquire in college. In Social Science you will be required to
write essays in one form or another in your program courses as well as in English and Humanities,
culminating in a ten page research essay in Integrative Project. That is a lot of essays!
The purpose of this chapter is to prepare you for writing the essay. Instead of simply diving straight into
the writing stage you need to organize your ideas, choose a topic that suits you, as well as develop a
coherent approach and argument regarding your topic. It is also critical that before you begin writing
you assess whether or not your topic idea is suitable; this is where brainstorming and free writing can
play a critical role.
1. Brainstorming
Introduction
If you consciously take advantage of your natural thinking processes by gathering your brain‘s energies
into a ―storm,‖ you can transform these energies into written words or diagrams that will lead to lively,
vibrant writing. Below you will find a brief discussion of what brainstorming is, why you might
brainstorm, and suggestions for how to brainstorm.
Whether you are starting with too much information or not enough, brainstorming can help you to put
a new writing task in motion or revive a project that hasn‘t reached completion. Let‘s take a look at each
case
You might need a storm to approach when you feel ―blank‖ about the topic, devoid of inspiration, full of
anxiety about the topic, or just too tired to craft an orderly outline. In this case, brainstorming stirs up
the dust, whips some air into your stilled pools of thought, and gets the breeze of inspiration moving
again.
There are times when you have too much chaos in your brain and need to bring in some conscious
order. In this case, brainstorming forces the mental chaos and random thoughts to rain out onto the
page, giving you some concrete words or schemas that you can then arrange according to their logical
relations.
Brainstorming techniques
What follows are great ideas on how to brainstorm—ideas from professional writers, novice writers,
people who would rather avoid writing, and people who spend a lot of time brainstorming about…well,
how to brainstorm.
Try out several of these options and challenge yourself to vary the techniques you rely on; some
techniques might suit a particular writer, academic discipline, or assignment better than others. If the
technique you try first doesn‘t seem to help you, move right along and try some others.
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Freewriting
When you freewrite, you let your thoughts flow as they will, putting pen to
paper and writing down whatever comes into your mind. You don‘t judge the
quality of what you write and you don‘t worry about style or any surface-level
issues, like spelling, grammar, or punctuation. If you can‘t think of what to say,
you write that down—really. The advantage of this technique is that you free up
your internal critic and allow yourself to write things you might not write if you were
being too self-conscious.
When you freewrite you can set a time limit (―I‘ll write for 15 minutes!‖) and even use a kitchen timer or
alarm clock, or you can set a space limit (―I‘ll write until I fill two full notebook pages, no matter what
tries to interrupt me!‖) and just write until you reach that goal. You might do this on the computer or on
paper, and you can even try it with your eyes shut or the monitor off, which encourages speed and
freedom of thought.
The crucial point is that you keep on writing even if you believe you are saying nothing. Word must
follow word, no matter the relevance. Your freewriting might even look like this:
“This paper is supposed to be on the politics of tobacco production but even though I went
to all the lectures and read the book I can’t think of what to say, and I’ve felt this way for
four minutes now and I have 11 minutes left and I wonder if I’ll keep thinking nothing
during every minute but I’m not sure if it matters that I am babbling, and I don’t know
what else to say about this topic and it is rainy today and I never noticed the number of
cracks in that wall before, and those cracks remind me of the walls in my grandfather’s
study and he smoked and he farmed and I wonder why he didn’t farm tobacco...”.
When you‘re done with your set number of minutes or have reached your page goal, read back over the
text. Yes, there will be a lot of filler and unusable thoughts but there also will be little gems, discoveries,
and insights. When you find these gems, highlight them or cut and paste them into your draft or onto
an ―ideas‖ sheet so you can use them in your paper. Even if you don‘t find any diamonds in there, you
will have either quieted some of the noisy chaos or greased the writing gears so that you can now face
the assigned paper topic.
Break down the topic into levels
Once you have a course assignment in front of you, you might brainstorm:
the general topic, like ―The relationship between tropical fruits and colonial powers‖;
a specific subtopic or required question, like ―How did the availability of multiple tropical fruits
influence competition amongst colonial powers trading from the larger Caribbean islands
during the 19th century?‖;
a single term or phrase that you sense you‘re overusing in the paper. For example: If you see
that you‘ve written ―increased the competition‖ about a dozen times in your ―tropical fruits‖
paper, you could brainstorm variations on the phrase itself or on each of the main terms:
―increased‖ and ―competition.‖
43 ▪ Chapter Five -Brainstorming: Organizing your Ideas and Thoughts
2. Listing/Bulleting
In this technique you jot down lists of words or phrases under a particular topic. Try this one by basing
your list either,
on the general topic;
on one or more words from your particular thesis claim, or
on a word or idea that is the complete opposite of your original word or idea.
For example, if your general assignment is to write about the changes in inventions over time, and your
specific thesis claims that ―the 20th century presented a large number of inventions to advance US
society by improving upon the status of 19th-century society,‖ you could brainstorm two different lists
to ensure you are covering the topic thoroughly and that your thesis will be easy to prove.
The first list might be based on your thesis; you would jot down as many 20th-
century inventions as you could, as long as you know of their positive effects on
society. The second list might be based on the opposite claim and you would
instead jot down inventions that you associate with a decline in that society‘s
quality. You could do the same two lists for 19th-century inventions and then
compare the evidence from all four lists.
Using multiple lists will help you to gather more perspective on the topic and
ensure that, sure enough, your thesis is solid as a rock, or, …uh oh, your thesis is full of holes and you‘d
better alter your claim to one you can prove.
3. Three Perspectives
Looking at something from different perspectives helps you see it more completely—or at least in a
completely different way, sort of like how lying on the floor makes your desk look very different to you.
To use this strategy, answer the questions for each of the three perspectives, then look for interesting
relationships or mismatches you can explore.
Describe it: Describe your subject in detail. What is your topic? What are its components? What are its
interesting and distinguishing features? What are its puzzles? Distinguish your subject from those that
are similar to it. How is your subject unlike others?
Trace it: What is the history of your subject? How has it changed over time? Why? What are the
significant events that have influenced your subject?
Map it: What is your subject related to? What is it influenced by? How? What does it influence? How?
Who has a stake in your topic? Why? What fields do you draw on for the study of your subject? Why?
How has your subject been approached by others? How is their work related to yours?
4. Cubing
Cubing enables you to consider your topic from six different directions; just as a cube is six-sided, your
cubing brainstorming will result in six ―sides‖ or approaches to the topic. Take a sheet of paper, consider
your topic, and respond to these six commands.
1. Describe it.
2. Compare it.
3. Associate it.
4. Analyze it.
5. Apply it.
6. Argue for and against it.
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Look over what you‘ve written. Do any of the responses suggest anything new about your topic? What
interactions do you notice among the ―sides‖? That is, do you see patterns repeating, or a theme
emerging that you could use to approach the topic or draft a thesis? Does one side seem particularly
fruitful in getting your brain moving? Could that one side help you draft your thesis statement? Use this
technique in a way that serves your topic. It should, at least, give you a broader awareness of the topic‘s
complexities, if not a sharper focus on what you will do with it.
5. Similes
In this technique, complete the following sentence:
____________________ is/was/are/were like _____________________.
In the first blank put one of the terms or concepts your paper centres on.
Then try to brainstorm as many answers as possible for the second blank,
writing them down as you come up with them.
After you have produced a list of options, look over your ideas. What
kinds of ideas come forward? What patterns or associations do you find?
6. Clustering/Mapping/Webbing:
The general idea:
This technique has three (or more) different names, according to how you describe the activity itself, or
what the end product looks like. In short, you will write a lot of different terms and phrases onto a sheet
of paper in a random fashion and later go back to link the words together into a sort of ―map‖ or ―web‖
that forms groups from the separate parts. Allow yourself to start with chaos. After the chaos subsides,
you will be able to create some order out of it.
To really let yourself go in this brainstorming technique, use a large piece of paper or tape two pieces
together. You could also use a blackboard if you are working with a group of people. This big vertical
space allows all members room to ―storm‖ at the same time, but you might have to copy down the
results onto another sheet of paper later. If you don‘t have big paper at the moment, don‘t worry. You
can do this on an 8 ½ by 11 as well.
How to do it:
1. Take your sheet(s) of paper and write your main topic in the centre, using a word or two or
three.
2. Moving out from the centre and filling in the open space any way you are driven to fill it, start
to write down, fast, as many related concepts or terms as you can associate with the central
topic. Jot them quickly; move into another space; jot some more down; move to another blank,
and just keep moving around and jotting. If you run out of similar concepts, jot down
opposites; jot down things that are only slightly related, or jot down your grandpa‘s name, but
try to keep moving and associating. Don‘t worry about the (lack of) sense of what you write, for
you can choose to keep or toss out these ideas when the activity is over.
3. Once the storm has subsided and you are faced with a hail of terms and phrases, you can start
to cluster. Circle terms that seem related and then draw a line connecting the circles. Find some
more and circle them, and draw more lines to connect them with what you think is closely
related. When you run out of terms that associate, start with another term. Look for concepts
45 ▪ Chapter Five -Brainstorming: Organizing your Ideas and Thoughts
and terms that might relate to that term. Circle them and then link them with a connecting line.
Continue this process until you have found all the associated terms. Some of the terms might
end up uncircled, but these ―loners‖ can also be useful to you. (Note: You can use different
coloured pens/pencils/chalk for this part, if you like. If that‘s not possible, try to vary the kind of
line you use to encircle the topics; use a wavy line, a straight line, a dashed line, a dotted line, a
zigzaggy line, etc... in order to see what goes with what.)
4. There! When you stand back and survey your work, you should see a set of clusters, or a big
web, or a sort of map: hence the names for this activity. At this point you can start to form
conclusions about how to approach your topic. There are about as many possible results to this
activity as there are stars in the night sky, so what you do from here will depend on your
particular results. Let‘s take an example or two in order to illustrate how you might form some
logical relationships between the clusters and loners you‘ve decided to keep. At the end of the
day, what you do with the particular ―map‖ or ―cluster set‖ or ―web‖ that you produce depends
on what you need. What does this map or web tell you to do? Explore an option or two and get
your draft going!
7. Journalistic Questions
In this technique you would use the ―big six‖ questions that journalists rely on to thoroughly research a
story. The six are: Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?, and How?. Write each question word on a sheet
of paper, leaving space between them. Then, write out some sentences or phrases in answer form, as
they fit your particular topic. You might also answer into a tape recorder, Blackberry or cell phone if
you‘d rather talk out your ideas.
Now look over your batch of responses. Do you see that you have more to say about one or two of the
questions? Or, are your answers for each question pretty well balanced in depth and content? Was there
one question that you had absolutely no answer for? How might this awareness help you to decide how
to frame your thesis claim or to organize your paper? Or, how might it reveal what you must work on
further, doing library research or interviews or further note-taking?
For example, if your answers reveal that you know a lot more about ―where‖ and ―why‖ something
happened than you know about ―what‖ and ―when,‖ how could you use this lack of balance to direct
your research or to shape your paper? How might you organize your paper so that it emphasizes the
known versus the unknown aspects of evidence in the field of study? What else might you do with your
results?
8. Thinking Outsidethe Box
Even when you are writing within a particular academic discipline, you can take
advantage of your semesters of experience in other courses from other
departments. Let‘s say you are writing a paper for a psychology course. You
could ask yourself, ―Hmmm, if I were writing about this very same topic in an
anthropology course or using this term in a history course, how might I see or
understand it differently? Are there varying definitions for this concept within,
say, philosophy or economics, that might encourage me to think about this
term from a new, richer point of view?‖
For example, when discussing ―culture‖ in your english, religious studies, or sociology course, you could
incorporate the definition of ―culture‖ that is frequently used in the biological sciences. Remember
those little Petri dishes from your lab experiments in high school? Those dishes are used to ―culture‖
substances for bacterial growth and analysis, right? How might it help you write your paper if you
thought of ―culture‖ as a medium upon which certain things will grow, will develop in new ways or will
even flourish beyond expectations, but upon which the growth of other things might be retarded,
significantly altered, or stopped altogether?
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9. Using Charts or Shapes
If you are more visually inclined, you might create charts, graphs, or tables in lieu of word lists or
phrases as you try to shape or explore an idea. You could use the same phrases or words that are
central to your topic and try different ways to arrange them spatially, say in a graph, on a grid, or in a
table or chart. The important thing here is to get out of the realm of words alone and see how different
spatial representations might help you see the relationships among your ideas. If you can‘t imagine the
shape of a chart at first, just put down the words on the page and then draw lines between or around
them. Or think of a shape. Do your ideas most easily form a triangle? square? umbrella? Can you put
some ideas in parallel formation? In a line?
10. Consider Purpose and Audience
What is your purpose? What are you trying to do? What verb captures your intent? Are you trying to
inform? Convince? Describe? Each purpose will lead you to a different set of information and help you
shape material to include and exclude in a draft. Write about why you are writing this draft in this form.
Who is your audience? Who are you communicating with beyond the teacher? Will you be presenting
your information to your classmates? What does that audience need to know? What do they already
know? What information does that audience need first, second, third? Write about who you are writing
to and what they need.
11. Dictionaries, Thesauruses, Encyclopaedias
When all else fails, there is a tried and true method, loved for centuries by
writers of all stripes. Visit the library reference areas or stop by the Learning
Centre to browse various dictionaries, thesauruses (or other guide books
and reference texts), encyclopaedias or surf their online counterparts.
Sometimes these basic steps are the best ones. It is almost guaranteed that
you‘ll learn several things you did not know.
If you‘re looking at a hard copy reference, turn to your most important
terms and see what sort of variety you find in the definitions. The obscure or
archaic definition might help you to appreciate the term‘s breadth or realize how much its meaning has
changed as the language changed. Could that realization be built into your paper somehow?
If you go to online sources, use their own search functions to find your key terms and see what
suggestions they offer. For example, if you plug ―good‖ into a thesaurus search, you will be given 14
different entries. Whew! If you were analyzing the film Good Will Hunting, imagine how you could
enrich your paper by addressing the six or seven ways that ―good‖ could be interpreted according to
how the scenes, lighting, editing, music, etc..., emphasized various aspects of ―good.‖
An encyclopaedia is sometimes a valuable resource if you need to clarify facts, get quick background, or
get a broader context for an event or item. If you are stuck because you have a vague sense of a
seemingly important issue, do a quick check with this reference and you may be able to move forward
with your ideas.
12. Closing
Armed with a full quiver of brainstorming techniques and facing sheets of jotted ideas, bulleted
subtopics, or spidery webs relating to your paper, what do you do now?
Take the next step and start to write your first draft, or fill in those gaps you‘ve been brainstorming
about to complete your ―almost ready‖ paper. If you‘re a fan of outlining, prepare one that incorporates
as much of your brainstorming data as seems logical to you. If you‘re not a fan, don‘t make one.
47 ▪ Chapter Five -Brainstorming: Organizing your Ideas and Thoughts
Instead, start to write out some larger chunks (large groups of sentences or full paragraphs) to expand
upon your smaller clusters and phrases. Keep building from there into larger sections of your paper.
You don‘t have to start at the beginning of the draft. Start writing the section that comes together most
easily. You can always go back to write the introduction later.
Remember, once you‘ve begun the paper, you can stop and try another brainstorming technique
whenever you feel stuck. Keep the energy moving and try several techniques to find what suits you or
the particular project you are working on.
Handouts and links. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2009, from University of North Carolina, The Writing Centre Web site:
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/brainstorming.html
Your notes here:
SSCS Success Guide▪48
CHAPTER SIX -RESEARCHING AND WRITING AN ESSAY
Writing is one of the most important skills required to succeed in College, especially in Social Science.
Whether the writing is in the form of essays, research papers, book reviews, or other types of written
assignments, they will make up a very important part of the grades you will receive. While in College
you have the perfect opportunity to learn how to acquire and develop your writing and research skills.
Remember, in University, you can expect to have to write about one 15 page research paper or essay for
most of the 30 courses you will need to obtain your BA in one of the Social Sciences.
1. Identify the Type of Essay You Will Write
An essay is a generic term referring to a written paper (called an essay, term paper, research paper or
just a paper) that is anywhere from 3 pages to 15 pages. Its aim is to provide a more or less detailed
answer to a research question or thesis statement.
Here are examples of the most common types of essays you will have to produce in College:
1. Descriptive Essay: You will describe a person, a thing, a place or an event in such a way that the
reader can visualize the topic. For example, describe the changes in airport security after
September 11th, 2001.
2. Narrative Essay: You have to tell a story or part of a story. The classic ―What I did last summer‖
is the story of what you did, told from your perspective.
3. Persuasive or Argumentative Essay: You have to convince the reader of the validity of a stated
position or argument. For example: Peer pressure is the main cause of binge drinking among
teenagers.
4. Critical Essay: You have to provide more than a review of the content of a text or book. You
must provide facts and arguments in support of your position. For example: Do you agree with
the author‘s statement that ―Evolution is just another theory‖?
5. Short Essays or Reports: These are short papers – typically in the 750 to 1000 word range. They
can be book reports, critical analysis of a text, a short essay exam, etc... Since these are short
papers, your writing has to be focused and well structured. You have to make sure that you are
to the point and keep in mind the purpose of the paper.
2. Identify the Type of Data You Will Use
Another distinction in writing an essay is whether you will have to collect original data, like in the
Research Methods course or work with information found in books and journals, like in the Integrative
Project course. The first type of essay is referred to as an essay based on ―primary data‖ while the
second is based on ―secondary data‖. Most of your essays in Social Science and Humanities will be
essays based on ―secondary data‖. This guide is a general resource on writing essays in Social Sciences
and Humanities. Thus, there are steps that are needed for ―primary data‖ research that we do not cover
here, but which will be addressed in your Research Methods course.
Primary Data: This is information that you have gathered using a questionnaire, doing interviews,
carrying out an experiment, doing content analysis, using the historical method or making observations.
These are examples of some of the most widely used techniques to collect original information in the
Social Sciences.
Secondary Data: Also referred to as library research, this information is gathered from books, academic
journals, specialized web pages or governmental documents or statistics. In other words, your research
is based on information produced by other people, usually academics or professional researchers.
49 ▪ Chapter Six -Researching and Writing an Essay
IMPORTANT: Always make sure you follow the instructions and guidelines of your professors
when you are asked to write an essay. You will find at the end of this chapter, a series of concepts
used in essay questions. Read and understand them.
3. Three Main Stages of Essay Writing
A. Define Your Essay Topic
1. Develop your topic.
2. Preliminary readings.
3. Write your thesis statement or research question.
4. Write a preliminary title and outline.
B. Research and Documentation
5. Define a search strategy.
6. Research your topic.
7. Evaluate the relevance of your documents.
8. Read your documents and take notes.
9. Organize your notes.
10. Produce a detailed outline.
C. The Writing Process
11. Write your first draft.
12. Take a break, seriously!
13. Edit, baby, edit!
14. Write, format and submit the final paper.
A. DEFINE YOUR ESSAY TOPIC
1. DEVELOP YOUR TOPIC.
If a topic is not assigned by your teacher, identify a subject that interests you. If a topic is
assigned by your teacher, think of a way to link it to your interests.
o Refer to your text book, a lecture, a hobby you have that relates to the subject,
something that you are curious about. This point can never be stated often enough.
The best papers are about subjects that grab their author‘s interest.
Set your topic.
o Write your thesis, hypothesis, research question, or objective in a sentence or two at
most.
Note key ideas or words you think will be important.
o Use only short phrases or single words at this point.
o Construct a map using these words and phrases (see chapter 5 of this guide on how to
construct and use concept mapping).
Identify what you want to do with the concepts!
o Refer to our list of terms for essays at the end of this chapter.
o Pick a likely verb (or two) and write out the definition and keep it handy.
o What type of essay are you writing?
o What has the teacher assigned?
o Underline key words in the assignment instructions.
List the sources you will need to find information for your essay:
o Use your textbook or course pack.
o Is there a reference librarian who can help you find sources, both for an overview and
for detailed research?
o Is a search engine enough?
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o Are there specialized dictionary and encyclopaedias?
o Are there specialized databases?
Analyze your topic so far:
o Is it too vague or broad, or too narrow?
o Is it interesting enough?
o Is there a controversy to explore or do you think you can help others understand a
problem? Will you provide information from two points of view, or only one while
anticipating questions and arguments?
Summarize your topic and present it to your teacher for feedback.
o Bring these first few steps with you in case the teacher will want to help you refine or
restate your topic.
Keep an open or critical mind as you research:
o You may only see your side and not be objective.Your position could be prejudicial to,
or otherwise affect, your investigation.
Develop your time line.
o Plan what part you will have done for which date. Allow for editing, revision and
unexpected developments.
Inspiration phase.
o This is continuous to prevent losing ideas and inspirations. Use a notepad as your
research journal to write ideas, things to do, references. Keep a folder or notebook to
preserve phrases, vocabulary, events, etc. for later use.
2. PRELIMINARY READINGS
In order to write a useful, well thought out research question or thesis statement, one that is not too
broad or too narrow, you need to have enough knowledge about your topic. Preliminary readings,
usually textbooks, other books in the same field, encyclopaedias and specialized dictionaries will
provide you with enough information to produce a sound thesis statement or research question. If you
cannot come up with one, it is most likely because you do not know enough about the subject. You
need to read some more.
3. WRITE YOUR THESIS STATEMENT OR RESEARCH QUESTION.
Take deep breaths! Relax and answer the following questions before you attempt to write a thesis
statement or research question.
You are writing this essay for a reason (Okay, because your teacher told you to write it, but that
is beside the point!) You want to explain something, describe something, show the relationship
between two or more things, or argue in favour or against something. So write down what is
your main objective in writing this essay.
What is your essay about? For which class are you writing this essay? What is the general topic
of your essay? Write down the answer to these three questions.
Is a thesis statement or a research question more appropriate for the type of essay you want to
write? A thesis statement is exactly what it says, it is a statement. For example: ―The present
economic crisis is caused by unregulated mortgage loans‖. It is a statement that you will have
to prove, because you state that A caused B. You will have to show the relationship between the
two, but also show how A caused B. In a research question, you are asking a question for which
you will need to find the answer, keeping an open mind that the data you will find might lead
you to answer yes or no. For example, a research question could be: ―Are the U.S. Federal
Banking regulations strict enough to prevent another economic crisis‖? It is formulated as a
51 ▪ Chapter Six -Researching and Writing an Essay
question, and the research you carry out will allow you to answer yes or no, or even that we do
not know.
Go over the notes from your preliminary readings and look for ideas or inspiration and look at
what you answered for the above questions. By looking back and forth you will slowly start
putting together a statement or a question.
Keep working on your statement or question until you are convinced it is not too vague, not
too broad and not too specific. Also ask yourself if you have access to enough information to
write on that topic. Is it doable in the amount of time you have and is it a topic that has been
researched to death? What is it that you are adding to the research with your essay?
4. WRITE A PRELIMINARY TITLE AND OUTLINE.
Writing a preliminary title to your essay forces you to think hard about your topic. It also forces you to
make choices, to change things, to find what it is exactly that you want to talk about. Do not take this
step lightly; it will save you time and grief down the road. As for your outline, the aim is similar. Think of
the outline as a road map. Let‘s say you want to go from Montreal to Winnipeg (God knows why you
would want to go to Winnipeg, but this is also beside the point).You could just get on the road and
drive. Chances are very strong that you will miss exits, take the wrong road, lose a lot of time and find
the whole thing a frustrating experience. Writing without an outline will lead to the same frustrations
and loss of time. Think of your outline as a map that you draw before starting to drive that will lay out
all of the roads and exits, road stops, etc... It tells you how to get from point A to point B to point C. The
outline tells you how you plan to answer your research question or thesis statement. What are the
different points you will talk about, in what order? Which ones are more important than others? What
examples you will use? It will make your writing job much easier and will produce a much better essay.
As well, keep in mind that your outline is a tool to help you, and that it can, and often will, change once
you start writing your essay: It is perfectly normal.
Creating an outline is important because it:
- aids in the process of writing;
- helps you organize your ideas;
- presents your material in a logical form;
- shows the relationships among ideas in your writing;
- constructs an ordered overview of your writing;
- defines boundaries and groups.
CREATING AN OUTLINE
Brainstorm - List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper. (See chapter 5 of this guide)
Organize - Group related ideas together.
Order - Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to concrete.
Label - Create main and sub headings.
Remember - Creating an outline before writing your paper will make organizing your thoughts a lot
easier. Whether you follow the suggested guidelines is up to you, but making any kind of outline (even
just jotting down some main ideas) will be beneficial to your writing process.
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Outlining is one way to organize ideas for a paper. Outlines distinguish between main points and details
for the paper and they determine how the information will be arranged in the paper.
Basically, information related to each main topic is arranged from most general to most specific.
Different ideas are placed on different lines of the outline. Supporting ideas are usually indented to the
right of the main point they describe. Symbols like Roman numerals, letters, and numbers may be used
to distinguish items in the outline. Sample outlines and guidelines for developing outlines are given
below.
Example of a Content-specific Outline on the Origins of Cities
INTRODUCTION
CHARACTERISTICS OF CITIES
1.1 High Population Density
1.2 Occupational Specialization
1.3 Social Differentiation
2. EARLY CITIES
2.1 Cities in Southern Iraq
2.2 Cities in Mesoamerica
2.3 Cities in China
3. THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF CITIES
3.1 Irrigation
3.2 Population Growth
3.3 Long-distance Trade
4. ADVANTAGES OF LIVING IN CITIES
4.1 Safety Walls of Jericho
4.2 Moats of Medieval Cities
4.3 Access to Goods and Services
4.4 Availability of Nonrelated Mates
5. CONCLUSION
B. GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING OUTLINES
Identify main points
o Carefully examine the reference notes and identify the main ideas or main topics.
o The main ideas will form the skeleton of the outline.
o Each main idea will be the subject of one paragraph (or more) in the rough draft.
Identify supporting details
o Determine which facts, statistics, opinions, quotes, and explanations support each main
idea.
o Arrange them under the corresponding main ideas in the outline.
o Gather supporting details for a topic from more than one reference. Doing so usually
impresses instructors because it shows depth of research.
o Keep in mind that each supporting detail will be a sentence (or several sentences) in the
rough draft.
Keep it brief. Write outline information in short phrases and incomplete sentences.
o Focus on key words and key ideas.
53 ▪ Chapter Six -Researching and Writing an Essay
o Spend more time on getting the information organized logically than on writing
complete sentences.
Logically order the ideas
o Organize the information logically, using one of the following approaches:
chronological, sequential, topical, problem-solution, or cause-effect.
Creating an outline is a back and forth process
Modify your outline as your research progresses, you will gather more information and issues will
become clearer. Some points you will drop, others will be added and some will be joined together or
divided. Keep in mind that creating an outline is a continual process and not a one time deal.
Writing and proofing. (n.d.) Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Muskingum College, Center for Advancement and Learning, Learning
Strategies Database: http://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/general/writing.html#Outline
C. RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION
5.DEFINE A SEARCH STRATEGY.
Develop research strategies and a list of resources.
o How will you find information that will provide you with the data you need to
document your essay and where will you start? Use the resources available to you on
the Vanier Library web site.
Narrow your topic and its description; pull out key words and categories.
o Develop a list of key words--15 or so--that form the foundation of both your research
and writing. Build the list from general sources and overviews. Use a thesaurus to find
synonyms for your key words.
Bring your topic and keyword list to the research librarian or teacher.
o They can help you focus and give you ideas on how to develop useful keywords.
6. RESEARCH YOUR TOPIC.
Know where to find information for your essay.
o The college library is your first step. Use the library catalogue
(OPAC) to find books on your topic.
o Online databases of academic journals (Proquest, J-Store) are
some of the electronic databases available on the Vanier College
web site. Government, university and research centre web sites
are also good places to find information.
When you are looking for books on the library shelves, look at the books beside the one you
are specifically looking for.
o Since the books are all organized by topic, the ones near the book you are looking for
will also deal with the same topic. When you find a book that is relevant for your topic,
look at the bibliography, you will find more books on that same topic. The same thing
applies for articles you find in the electronic databases. Look at their bibliography; it is a
gold mine of references.
Review the number of options returned, that is the number of ―hits‖ you get in an electronic
search.
o If there are too many, add more relevant keywords.
SSCS Success Guide▪54
o If there are too few, narrow/delete some keywords, or substitute other more specific
key words
Review the first pages returned.
o If these are not helpful, review your key words for a better description
Use advanced search options in search engines.
Research using several search engines.
7. EVALUATE THE RELEVANCE OF YOUR DOCUMENTS.
Do the books and articles, web sites, etc... that you have found contain enough relevant
information to allow you to write your essay?
o You need to look at your outline and the content of your documents to see if there are
sections for which you have no information, or not enough information. Go back to the
library and find information on the section that needs more.
What type of documents do you have?
o Teachers have specific guidelines on the type of information you are allowed to use to
write your essay. Where does the information come from: Academic or popular books,
academic journals or a magazine? Who is responsible for the content of the web site?
There is a section on the library web site called ―Evaluating Web Sources‖. Read it!
8. READ YOUR DOCUMENTS AND TAKE NOTES.
Once you are satisfied that you have good quality material in sufficient quantity, it is time to
read them carefully and take notes.
o Chapter 3 of this guide gives you ideas on how to take notes in a way that will make
the writing of your essay much easier and allow you to produce a better essay. Make
sure you read it and follow the instructions.
9. ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES.
Organize your notes according to topics and sub-topics of your essay.
o Organizing your notes according to the structure of your preliminary outline is a good
place to start. That way, all the information dealing with a similar subject will be
together.
When it comes to organizing information for a term paper or even a short two or three page paper, the
―Note Card System‖ can be very useful. By using this system, you create note cards from blank 3x5 or
5x7 index cards that you fill with information pertinent to the subject that you are researching. This
organization of the information can readily be adapted to use with word processing.
In the upper left corner of the card, give a keyword or two that tells you what the information
on the card is about, and where in the outline it may fall.
In the upper right corner, place the author‘s name and/or title and page number.
In the body of the card, enter one single fact or thought you‘d like to include in your paper
Make sure the information is expressed in your own words, unless it is a quotation.
Use good sentence structure: this will save you time when you start to write the paper
Organize the cards to match with the outline of your paper.
Write the term paper following this sequence.
Use topical, concluding, and transitional sentences to link the information on the cards.
55 ▪ Chapter Six -Researching and Writing an Essay
Keep a separate set of cards with the complete information of books, magazines, films, etc... These will
be used for entering in-text citations, and when compiling the bibliography.
Example of a note card
Cause of WWII Smith 1999:15
Section 1.1 (of your outline)
―The main causes of WWII are to be found in the political
and economic conditions internal to Germany‖.
10. PRODUCE A DETAILED OUTLINE.
Now you have all the information you need to write a detailed outline.
o The more detailed your outline, the easier the writing stage will be. Use your
preliminary outline to start with and expand it. When organizing your outline keep in
mind what you want to say, in what order you want to say it, and go from the general
to the specific.
Use the ideas on Brainstorming (Chapter 5) and organizing your ideas (Chapter 3) of this guide to
help you out.
D. THE WRITING PROCESS
11. WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT.
Starting with the note cards that you have organized, begin writing, starting with the first
section of your outline.
o Remember this is a draft. The important step is to get your ideas on paper. There will
be time later to revise. If you have writer‘s block and do not know what to write or
where to start, just write. Do not stare at the screen for 15 minutes without writing.
Ideas come by writing. You can always take things out later on or move them around.
SSCS Success Guide▪56
12. TAKE A BREAK, SERIOUSLY!
Once you have written a complete first draft, let it rest for a couple of days.
o Right after you have finished your first draft, you are too into it to be able to have
enough distance to see what is wrong and what needs to be re-organized. Those two
days will make all the difference. Trust us, we have done this many times before, so we
kind of know what we are talking about!
13.EDIT, BABY, EDIT!
You will need to read your paper at least four times, each time working on one aspect of the
paper.
o The first time you re-read your paper focus on organizing the material so that it flows,
taking out repetitions, adding material in weak sections. You are working on the ideas.
The second time you read it, edit the grammar. Sentences should well written and not
too long. You want the reader to enjoy reading your paper. The third time you read it is
to take care of all the spelling and punctuation. Spell check is good, but it is only a
limited tool. The fourth time you go over your paper check that all the references are
complete, in the text and in the bibliography. Make sure you did not forget dates or
page numbers or leave out a reference in the bibliography. It is also a really good idea
to get one or more people to read your essay and give you feedback.
14. WRITE, FORMAT AND SUBMIT THE FINAL PAPER.
Format your paper, read it one last time and submit it.
o Unless your teacher gives you specific instructions, here is how you should format your
essay, using the APA format:
a. A title page. Your essay must always have a title page which must contain the following
information, in this order:
The title of your essay;
your name and student number;
the number, name and section of your course;
your teacher‘s name;
the date;
A running head. Some teachers, but not all, will require this running head, which
appears at the top of each page and contains a shorter version of your essay‘s title (no
more than 50 characters). You can create one by using the header/footer function in
your word processor.
b. An abstract on a separate page, if your teacher requires one
c. A table of contents on a separate page, if your teacher requires one
d. The body of your essay, which starts on a separate page. Your text should be formatted
according to these guidelines:
Printed on white 81/2 X 11‖. paper. Make sure the print is dark enough throughout the
entire paper
One (1) in. margins on all sides
Double spaced
A 12 point standard font – no script or fancy fonts which make the paper hard to read.
Justify your text, which means that the edges of your text are all equal, like in a book. It
makes the text look more professional and easier to read.
Page numbers at the bottom of each page.
57 ▪ Chapter Six -Researching and Writing an Essay
A reference page (bibliography) which starts on a new page and has ―Reference‖
written at the top of the page. Chapter 7 of this guide gives you instructions on how to
format your bibliography.
Appendices, if you have any. These should be numbered and each on a separate page.
Enjoy yourself and congratulations on a job well done. See, it is not rocket science after all!
Landsberger, J. (n.d.). Study Guides and Strategies. Retrieved March 26, 2009, from http://www.studygs.net/
Transitional Words & Phrases to Use in an Essay
Transitions indicate relations or connections, whether within a sentence a paragraph, or a paper. This list
illustrates relationships between ideas, followed by words and phrases that can connect them.
Addition – also, again, as well as, besides, coupled with, furthermore, in addition, likewise, moreover,
similarly
Consequence – accordingly, as a result, consequently, for this reason, for this purpose, hence,
otherwise, so then, subsequently, therefore, thus, thereupon, wherefore
Contrast and Comparison – in contrast, by the same token, conversely, instead, likewise, on the one
hand, on the other hand, on the contrary, rather, similarly, yet, but, however, still, nevertheless, in
contrast
Direction – here, there, over there, beyond, nearly, opposite, under, above, to the left, to the right, in
the distance
Diversion – by the way, incidentally
Emphasis – above all, chiefly, with attention to, especially, particularly, singularly
Exception – aside from, barring, besides, except, excepting, excluding, exclusive of, other than, outside
of, save
Exemplifying – chiefly, especially, for instance, in particular, markedly, namely, particularly, including,
specifically, such as
Generalizing – as a rule, as usual, for the most part, generally, generally speaking, ordinarily, usually
Illustration – for example, for instance, for one thing, as an illustration, illustrated with, as an example,
in this case
Restatement – in essence, in other words, namely, that is, that is to say, in short, in brief, to put it
differently
Sequence – at first, first of all, to begin with, in the first place, at the same time, for now, for the time
being, the next step, in time, in turn, later on, meanwhile, next, then, soon, in the meantime, later, while,
earlier, simultaneously, afterward, in conclusion, with this in mind
Similarity – comparatively, coupled with, correspondingly, identically, likewise, similarly, moreover,
together with
Summarizing – after all, all in all, all things considered, briefly, by and large, in any case, in any event, in
brief, in conclusion, on the whole, in short, in summary, in the final analysis, in the long run, on balance,
to sum up, to summarize, finally
SSCS Success Guide▪58
E. ORAL PRESENTATION
15. PREPARING FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION
Think about your audience:
o Who are they and what are they expecting from you?
o Do they know anything about your topic? How much do you think they know?
o What do they expect to know after?
o What is your goal, to persuade? Inform? Critique?
o How long should your presentation be?
Research:
o The occasion for your presentation? Is it formal or informal?
o The location (Consider the size of the room. Will you be on
stage? Will you have to use a microphone?)
o You should use visual materials to enhance your
presentation, for example, PowerPoint, books,
photographs, maps, transparencies or audio-visuals.
Check with the teacher in advance for any necessary
equipment.
16. GENERAL OUTLINE FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION
Introduction:
Attention-getter (i.e., story related to the topic; a surprising statistic, a false but common belief, etc.)
Topic (Thesis Statement - your angle on the topic)
Overview of your presentation: Prepare your audience for what is to come by telling them what
your main sub-topics are.
Personal comment on the topic
Tell the audience if they may ask questions during your presentation OR if you would prefer that
they keep their questions until the end.
Discussion (presentation of the topic):
Arrange in a logical order. Divide your presentation into clear sections.
Pay attention to transitions from one idea to another. It‘s a good idea to pause between main
sections of your presentation.
Each section should contain relevant detail and facts.
Use visual support to illustrate your commentary.
Use vivid language to help the audience identify with and experience your topic.
Humour may be a disaster or a success. It will depend on your delivery. Don't use humour unless
you are confident that you will be able to carry it off.
Conclusion:
Cue your audience: "In conclusion . . . ."
Summarize your main points.
Save a good point or story for a dramatic finish.
Don't overextend your welcome.
59 ▪ Chapter Six -Researching and Writing an Essay
17. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SPEAKER
A good speaker is:
1. Prepared
Practice your presentation for voice, language, and timing. This will help you work through any
language problems. (Some phrases look great on paper but are tongue twisters in actual
speech.) You will also be able to identify any bad habits, such clearing your throat or adding
―ahs‖ and ―ums‖. As well, you will be able to work out any gestures so they will look natural.
Do not read your presentation. You could use file cards as prompt cards. Reduce your written
copy to key phrases and points.
If a question & answer period is part of the presentation, try to anticipate possible questions
and have answers ready.
Visualize your performance. This will help build your confidence and cut down on the
nervousness.
2. Confident
Do not begin with an apology for your lack of knowledge or your English. If you lack confidence
in yourself, the audience will perceive this and lose confidence in you too.
Be thoroughly prepared and familiar with your material; preparation creates confidence.
Pause occasionally. Never be afraid to stop speaking for a moment.
Speak at a normally slow rate. Do not rush.
3. Responsive
Start your presentation with a smile. This will put your audience at ease.
Make eye contact with members of the audience. Don‘t talk to the back wall or keep your head
down reading your notes. Find a few friendly, encouraging faces in the different parts of the
audience and talk to them.
Check to see whether the audience is following you.
Make sure you talk with, not at, your audience. Talking at an
audience comes across as talking down to those involved.
4. Organised
The introduction should contain your thesis - what you want to say
about your topic.
The points of the body should be logically arranged with adequate
detail or examples to back up your main points.
The conclusion should summarize the main points.
Transitions should be used to help the listener as you move from point to point.
5. Clear
Make sure that the organization of your talk is clear to the audience.
Make short, simple, and specific statements.
You could use the blackboard, an overhead or PowerPoint to present the outline of your talk or
to clarify difficult points.
SSCS Success Guide▪60
6. Enthusiastic
When something is important, say it slowly and loudly.
Communicate your own interest in, and enthusiasm for, your subject; enthusiasm is contagious!
Source: The Vanier College Learning Centre
Your notes here:
61 ▪ Chapter Seven -Using the APA Style
CHAPTER SEVEN -USING THE APA STYLE The APA (American Psychology Association) is simply a reference and citation style. It is one of many,
including the MLA - Modern Language Association (which you will be using in your English classes) and
CMS (which you would use if you were a university level history student). All these styles are similar in
many ways but they differ in their specific rules. The one thing that they all share in common is that they
are essential tools in the writing of academic essays. Essays (and by extension academic articles, books
and so on) need a reference and citation style in order to make understandable to the reader where the
author has acquired the information she has used. You must competently use a reference style when
writing an essay.
The APA is the accepted style in disciplines such as Psychology, Economics and Sociology. For the
purposes of your academic career at Vanier College, it is also the accepted style used in the Social
Science Program. The important thing you need to do as a student is master the rules and specifics of
whichever style you happen to be using. Do not assume that the APA and MLA are the same; they are
not. That means that you have to pay careful attention to specifics such as punctuation, spacing,
abbreviations and the use of page numbers. Mastering these styles can be very tedious and frustrating
but once you have mastered one, you will find it much easier to work with others.
However, the old adage that practice makes perfect is applicable in achieving mastery over the APA
style. The most important tools you will need to use are attention to detail and meticulousness.
This chapter is divided into two sections - Citations and the Reference List. The information that the
APA style requires you to cite, when referencing a source, is found in the very source that you will be
using to write college level essays. As discussed in chapter six, these sources might be books, articles,
etc... (See chapter ten which discusses where in the sources one can find this information). The examples
in this chapter are laid out by number; if you make a mistake your teachers can simply tell you to see
example #21 in chapter seven of the Student Success Guide. You can then make your corrections based
on the example provided. However, if you are attempting to create an entry for your reference list but
cannot find an appropriate example, you should ask your teacher.
Although this chapter is designed as a useful tool for using the APA reference style, your teachers
remain the final authority; if you have questions of any sort, please consult them. They are there
to help you!
1. The APA Citation Style: General Rules
If you are in doubt about whether you should include a citation, include it or ask your
teacher!
You may use quotations in your paper but your paper CANNOT be made up of an
endless series of quotations.
When paraphrasing, make sure you use your own words. Simply rearranging the order
of the words or altering a few words here and there is NOT paraphrasing.
The sixth edition of the APA style guide has the following in regards to paraphrasing:
“when paraphrasing or referring to an idea contained in another work, you are
encouraged to provide a page or paragraph number” (Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 171). The teachers in the Vanier
College Social Science Program have decided that page or paragraph numbers
must ALWAYS be included in citations, whether they are direct quotes or
paraphrased information.
SSCS Success Guide▪62
Failure to cite a quote or a specific idea is PLAGIARISM and will result in a zero on
your assignment/paper. See chapter eleven of the Student Success Guide for an in-depth
discussion of plagiarism.
Cited quotations must be incorporated into a larger sentence which includes YOUR
words. Do not write sentences that are entirely made up of quotes.
Multiple citations of the same source within the same paragraph. The Publication
manual includes the following:
Within a paragraph, when the name of the author is part of the narrative, you
need not include the year in subsequent non-parenthetical references to a study as
long as the study cannot be confused with other studies cited in the article. Do
include the year in all parenthetical citations. (2008, p. 174)
See page 3 for an explanation of non-parenthetical and parenthetical references.
The Publication manual does not explicitly explain what to do about a paragraph that
includes information from only one source, however, using the same logic from the
previous bullet point, if it is absolutely clear to the reader that all of the information in
the paragraph is indeed from the same source, it is not necessary to include re-citations
after each sentence. However, if you include your own ideas or ideas from a different
author within that paragraph, you must clarify to the reader where the information is
coming from and in that case further citations are necessary. A good rule of thumb to
follow is that if the information in the paragraph comes from the same source, include a
citation in the first and last sentences of the paragraph.
Font type and size. The sixth edition of the APA style guide states that “the preferred
typeface for APA publications is Times New Roman, with 12-point font size
(Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 228).
Pay particular attention to PUNCTUATION.
Always DOUBLE SPACE in your essays.
The required information is AUTHOR, YEAR OF PUBLICATION AND PAGE
NUMBER(S). Citation you must include these three pieces of information or an
alternative (see exception above), for example see example #6 for a source with an
anonymous author.
TWO WAYS TO WRITE IN-TEXT CITATIONS
A. Non-parenthetical: Including the author’s last name in the text with the year and page
number(s) in parentheses.
Examples:
DeNora (2008, p. 328) is convinced Kennedy was killed by Bozo the Clown.
DeNora (2008) is convinced Kennedy was killed by Bozo the Clown (p. 328).
B. Parenthetical: Placing the author’s last name, the year and the page number(s) in
parentheses.
Example:
63 ▪ Chapter Seven -Using the APA Style
There is a theory that states that Kennedy was killed by Bozo the Clown
(DeNora, 2008, p. 328).
2. The APA Style Reference List: General Rules
Use the title References for the page with your list of sources. This is the term used in the APA
instead of Bibliography.
The entries must be listed in alphabetical order according to the author‘s LAST NAME or the
TITLE if there is no author. For sources with multiple authors, use the first author‘s last name for
alphabetical ordering.
Do not divide the reference list into sections i.e. BOOKS/PERIODICALS.
Do not use numbers and/or bullets of any kind to order your entries in the Reference list.
Double space the entries.
Every reference used in the text of the paper must appear in your alphabetical list of references.
All sources in the Reference list must be cited at least once in your paper.
Use the hanging indent – the first line of each entry must be flush to the left margin and every
succeeding line for each entry must be indented 5 spaces.
If you have two or more entries by the same author, list the entries chronologically i.e. 2003 first
followed by 2005.
The References page must begin on a separate page from the rest of your text and must appear
at the end of your essay.
Required Information:
o Author
o Year of publication (use the year the work was produced, usually the earliest year listed)
o Title
o Publishing data
These are the general APA Style rules. Ask your teacher to recommend a resource for use when
working on specific citations and references.
SSCS Success Guide▪64
CHAPTER EIGHT -STUDYING FOR TESTS AND EXAMS
Tests and exams do not have to be stressful experiences! We spend all of our lives – in school and
outside of school – taking tests and exams. Once you understand how to study, how to prepare and
write the various types of exams, how to develop a system for studying, and understand how to control
exam anxiety, you will learn to master the dreaded exams and see a positive difference in your grades!
All you need is a little effort, time and organization.
1. Preparing For Exams
The best preparation for exams is regular, day-by-day study, including revising and reviewing class
notes after every lecture or two, highlighting main ideas, mastering textbook assignments, etc... There
should also be a special review a week or a few days before the exam.
A. PLAN A REALISTIC SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT.
Distribute study time over at least two sessions for minor tests and at least four sessions for
major exams. Review periods should be relatively brief because recalling and organizing ideas is
so fatiguing that efficiency decreases rapidly after about an hour of review. Make sure that you
take short breaks so that your concentration span is continually refreshed.
Decide how much material must be covered and approximately how long one unit of material
will take to be learned. Divide units into time available and note this in a memo book with a
study schedule.
Don‘t CRAM! This ―method‖ will only make you more nervous. Specific, planned preparation will
prevent last minute cramming and will make you more relaxed and confident as you practice
for and take your exam. As well, if you should study a few days before the exam, your long-term
memory will store the information much better and more accurately than will your short-term
memory.
If a problem in another area of your life is distracting you, keep a paper handy for noting
flashes of ideas or feelings that recur about the problem; during a break, think through the
ideas and possible solutions.
B. STUDY ACTIVELY.
Treat class notes like a textbook chapter. Highlight the main ideas (if you didn‘t do this when
you first reviewed), recite each portion, add new revelations, criticisms, bracket the most
important points of all, mark with an arrow the parts least familiar to study, especially on your
last review.
Build visual aids to clarify and aid memory:
o time line
o outline map, marking dates and events in appropriate places
o summary of dates and events
o model of theories
o chart of different schools of thought
o flow charts, concept maps
Build a list of important terms, mark the hardest terms, and write out the key words
anddefinitions.
Reread portions of the text only if you can‘t remember the main ideas when you reread the
headings.
65 ▪ Chapter Eight -Studying for Tests and Exams
Try using mnemonic devices. These are tricks to remember
information. You can use the first letter in each word to create a
sentence that is easier to remember than a list. For example, if in
history you have to remember the names of the Royal families of
England in chronological order, you could create the following
sentence: ―Neighbours actually persuaded lovely Yvonne to shut her
window.‖ This sentence gives you the first letter of the names and the
order of the Royal families of England, which are: Norman, Angevin,
Plantegenet, Lancaster, York, Tudor, Stuart, Hanover, Windsor.
Make up exam questions and think through or roughly outline possible
answers.
o Find out whether the exam will have objective or essay type questions.
o Give yourself practice in thinking about the subject and accustom yourself to an
exam situation.
o As you go over exam notes, pull out material or note pages with points appropriate for
answers.
Prepare and study from a master outline formed from reading your lectures, text and
supplementary reading, or add notes from your readings to your lecture notes.
Note, on memo pages or in the margin, questions that come to mind about the material.
Pretend to teach - or, if you are doing well in this course, actually arrange to tutor - the subject.
Create a study group and study with others.
Use your imagination to change the point of view from which you think about the subject to
heighten your interest and understanding.
C. STUDY EACH SUBJECT AS A UNIT; COMBINE ALL NOTES FROM ALL SOURCES ON THE SAME
SUBJECT.
D. PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE HARDEST PORTIONS.
Testing yourself will help you find weak spots. Make a list and work on these the most.
Review the weak spots; master outlines for probable answers before sleeping the night before
the exam.
E. GO TO BED ON TIME SO THAT YOUR MIND WILL BE AS FRESH AS POSSIBLE FOR THINKING.
(Any other occupation involving the mind - reading other material, movies, etc... - tends to
interfere with previous learning.) Get some extra sleep two nights before the exam to safeguard
against problems in sleeping the night before the exam. Try to keep half an hour before your
exam free. Use this time to relax and to do a light review, if necessary.
2. Ten Test-Taking Tips
1. Don’t cram at the last minute.
Remember that the best preparation for exams is day-by-day review of the material. Try to anticipate
when your next tests will be and start studying for them early! You‘ll be guaranteed less stress and
better results.
2. Read through the exam first before you begin
It will give you an overview of what‘s expected and will allow you to think ahead and allot more time to
questions worth more marks.
3. Jot down any formulae, terms or important concepts that you might need as soon as you get
the exam.
SSCS Success Guide▪66
It‘s nice to have all your formulae, concepts and terms together so that you can refer to them easily. It is
also less likely for you to get confused later during the exam when you have to recall them from
memory.
4. Do the questions that you know first.
You‘ll get these questions for sure, and, at the same time, boost your confidence.
5. If you get stuck, don’t panic and move on.
Don‘t dwell too long on a question you can‘t get. Try not to panic! After you‘ve finished the rest of the
test, come back to the problematic questions
6. Hint for Multiple Choice Exams:
Read all the choices. Don‘t make any hasty decisions. (See the section on multiple choice exams for
more hints)
7. Hint for Objective Exams:
Read the questions carefully and underline important words. This might help you understand what kind
of answer is expected.
8. Hint for Essay Exams:
Make a rough plan of the essay so that you don‘t jump into it blindly. Also, reword the essay question
somewhere in your first paragraph.
9. Keep track of your time.
Divide your time according to the value of the question.
10. Check over your work.
Do this, only if you have the time. Good luck!
3. Exam Anxiety
Situations which involve performing and being evaluated, such as exams, cause stress for almost
everyone. You shouldn‘t be worried if the thought of approaching exams makes you somewhat nervous,
as stress can be a positive motivating force. In fact, a certain amount of stress is necessary for good
performance - what we call being ―up‖ for an exam. Beyond a point, however, stress interferes with your
performance; you may be unable to recall things which you know very well, or fail to read a question
carefully because you‘re too anxious to pay proper attention. More severe forms of anxiety may prevent
a person from recalling or writing anything.
If this is a problem for you, you can probably do something about it if you prepare in advance.
a. What is going on when you feel over-anxious?
You may be aware of obvious physical signs of stress, but are you aware of what messages you are
telling yourself about the situation? You may be making self-defeating statements to yourself during
and before the exam. For instance imagine that,
67 ▪ Chapter Eight -Studying for Tests and Exams
just before the exam you try to recall a particular fact and you can‘t remember it. Immediately
you tell yourself that you don‘t know the material needed for the test.
on catching sight of a question on a paper that you don‘t understand, you tell yourself that
you‘ll never be able to complete the exam and that you studied the wrong things.
on seeing the person next to you writing furiously away, you tell yourself that you‘ll fail because
everyone is writing much more than you.
Once you‘re started on this track, all kinds of other ideas may come to mind to increase your
nervousness, ―I‘m just not smart enough to be in college. . . I was never good at exams. . . I won‘t be
able to face my parents if I fail this exam . . . I won‘t make my year. . . ― and so on.
b. What to do?
You need to increase your self-awareness, to be a witness of your thoughts. Are they justified by what
you have just experienced? Are they reasonable conclusions to draw? You will probably find that in
most cases they are not. So you will want to develop more helpful and reasonable ways to ―talk to
yourself‖
prior to and during the exams to be able to make more realistic evaluations of yourself and of the exam.
Let‘s look at this process more closely.
1.Take some deep breaths.
Watch your breath come in; watch your breath go out. Don‘t worry if your mind strays. Just goback to
breathing in then breathing out. Do this for 2 or 3 minutes. It will help you do the next steps
2.Identify self-statements.
Try to imagine yourself in one of the situations which causes you anxiety about an exam: the night
before an exam, waiting outside the exam room, getting your first look at the exam paper, coming
across a question that you cannot answer, etc... What are you doing? What areyou thinking? You may
find that you automatically tell yourself some of the same things whenpreparing for a test.
3.Testing the reasonableness of these statements
There‘s also no need to be overly-optimistic: you won‘t be fooled by statements like, ―I don‘tcare if I fail
this exam,‖ or ―This exam is going to be a breeze.‖ Concentrate on being reason-able - on assessing the
evidence for your negative self-statements.
4.Building a strategy
Work out a routine for ―talking to yourself‖ when anxiety strikes. You may find it helpful first of all to
stop what you‘re doing briefly and relax as completely as you can. Do the breathing exercise described
above.
Next, recall your typical negative self-statements and your ―reasonable‖ refutations of them. There is no
universal formula for this - you must build your own. Do this several times periodically until it becomes
a routine which you go into as soon as you start to get nervous. Practising this will enable you to
overcome anxiety in the actual exam situation. Remember that in situations of tension it is those people
who have prepared themselves by practice and in anticipation who are best able to cope.
SSCS Success Guide▪68
4. Multiple Choice Exams
Follow these procedures when taking a multiple-choice exam:
1. Ensure that you are well-rested for the exam.
2. Survey the exam. How many questions are there? Be wise about your time. Divide it up.
Forexample,if you have 120 questions and two hours for the test, aim for an average of one
(1)question per minute.
3. Begin the exam, being careful not to rush.
4. Underline important words in the stem of the question.
5. Read ALL the choices before selecting the correct one. Also, make sure you read each
choiceentirely. Don‘t take the ending of any choice for granted.
6. Your first hunch is usually a good one. Pay attention to your intuition which may indicate
whichanswer ―feels‖ best.
7. Select not only a technically correct answer, but the most completely correct answer. Since ―allof the
above‖ and ―none of the above‖ are very inclusive statements, these options, when used,often tend
to be correct.
8. Be careful of
a. words that are TOO positive - all, every, always, best, invariably. These generally make
ananswer false.
b. words that are TOO negative - never, worst, none. These also often make an answer false.
c. note ―hedge‖ words like many, most, few, as a rule, probably, often, usually,
sometimes,seldom, frequently. These often cause the response to be true since they do not
over orunderstate the issue.
9. Use your knowledge of common prefixes, suffixes, and word roots to make intelligent guessesabout
certain terminologies. A knowledge of the prefix ―post,‖ for instance, would give you a cluethat
post-war industrialisation means after the war and not before.
10. Read the question carefully to see if a negative verb is used. If the question asks,―Which of
thefollowing are not applicable?‖ be sure to gear your thinking accordingly. Underline the ―not‖
inthe question. Also, watch out for double negatives. For example, ―it is not unlikely that‖ meansthat
―it is likely that.‖
11. If two choices mean the same thing, you can usually eliminate both of them. If two choices
areopposites, the correct choice is probably one or the other.
12. Look for the answer that may be different from the others. For example, if all choices but onerefer
to events that took place in the years 1800 and the last one reads 1978, that choice may bea
distracter. In that case, you can narrow your selection to the other choices.
13. All else being equal, select the response you best understand. Long-winded statements are likelyto
be included as distracters and may be a lot of words signifying little or nothing.
14. When you do not know the specific facts called for in the question, use your skills of
reasoning.When an answer involves amounts or time (mainly numbers), and you do not know the
answerand cannot find any basis for reasoning (all else being equal) avoid the extreme responses
(thehighest or lowest numerical values.)
15. If you meet a difficult question:
a. Eliminate the choices you know are wrong.
b. If you still can‘t decide on the correct choice, mark the question clearly in the margin, to
returnto later, then go on.
69 ▪ Chapter Eight -Studying for Tests and Exams
c. Don‘t panic; very few students get 100%. You can get a lot of questions wrong before
failing.
16. The best way to ensure selection of the correct option is to know the right answer.
17. When you have gone over the test for the first time, go back to the questions you have
missed.Perhaps other questions later on in the paper will suggest the answer. If you still don‘t know
theright answer, guess, as long as there is no penalty for wrong answers.
18. Check that you have answered all the questions. If you are using an opscan sheet, make surethat
the answers have been transcribed from your question paper to the correct section on youropscan
sheet.
19. Don‘t hastily change any answer. Your instinctive first choice is probably correct.
20. Use common sense throughout the exam. There are usually a number of questions on anymultiple-
choice exam that can be answered correctly if common sense is applied.
21. Learn from your mistakes on an exam so that you will improve on the next. Once your exam
ismarked, study your mistakes and classify your errors as:
a. lack of knowledge,
b. carelessness,
c. misreading of the question.
5. Taking the Essay Exam
The essay exam is one of the challenges that you as a student must meet. There is no easy solution to
the taking of these exams, but there are some simple hints that may help you to succeed when facing
the dreaded ―enemy.‖ Try the following points and your next encounter is sure to be easier.
a. Preparing for the exam
Pay careful attention to those points that the teacher stresses or repeats in class. Make precise
notes. Chances are that you will be tested on these points.
Try to make a list of the possible questions that may be asked on the exam. If you follow the
previous point, then this should be fairly straightforward.
Write out your answers to the questions on your list, and check your answers by referring to
your notes. If you don‘t have time to do this, at least make an outline for your answers.
If your exam is open-book, highlight important passages of the text and use post-its so that
you don‘t have to search for them during the exam.
DON‘T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAY TO PREPARE FOR AN ESSAY EXAM or any exam
b. During the exam
Read over the entire exam before you begin.
Note the marking scheme, and divide your time according to the value of each question.
Start with the questions you find easier in order to gain extra confidence.
Read each question carefully and underline key words to help you focus on the main points
that need to be answered.
SSCS Success Guide▪70
Make a brief outline of your essay in order to ensure that you will cover all pertinent points.
Very often your outline will include a number of points you will later elaborate on. Don‘t forget
to transform your points into complete sentences in your essay.
Make sure you elaborate upon your points by giving examples and writing complete
paragraphs. However, DON‘T add meaningless words to increase the length of your answer.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE TIME! Don‘t waste time on a question you don‘t understand. Return to
it after you‘ve answered the other questions.
Keep referring to the question in order to ensure that you are answering it correctly.
If you have problems beginning your essay, use the same wording as the question, i.e., Discuss
how DuddyKravitz pursues his dream. ANSWER: There are several ways in which DuddyKravitz
pursues his dream....
Your conclusion should be a restatement of your thesis showing that you have answered the
question.
Always double-space your essays. This will make them easier to proof-read. It will also make it
easier for your teacher to correct them.
Proof-read all your answers to correct spelling, grammar or punctuation errors.
These simple hints will not write your exam for you, but they will help make your task easier. For any
extra help, ask the staff at The Vanier College Learning Centre.
Your notes here:
71 ▪ Chapter Eight -Studying for Tests and Exams
6. Checklist: The Taking of Exams
Score yourself for each of the following.
Rarely/Never = 0 points; Sometimes = 3 points; Often/Always = 5 points
0 3 5
A. Preparation throughout the Term
1. I plan my studying according to a study schedule. □ □ □
2. I keep satisfactory notes. □ □ □
3. When I read, I look for main ideas and underline them or write them down. □ □ □
4. I periodically review my notes and what I have underlined in my texts □ □ □
throughout the term.
5. I ask the teacher or a peer for help when I am not clear on a subject □ □ □
B. Review Techniques before the Exam
6. I start studying at least a week before the exam. □ □ □
7. I make a plan for my studying every day. □ □ □
8. I study all notes dealing with one topic at the same time. □ □ □
9.I try not to just study passively; I try to get involved in what I study. □ □ □
10. I do at least ONE of the following when I study:
a) try to figure out which questions the teacher will ask; □ □ □
b) keep a list of difficult definitions; □ □ □
c) keep track of questions that are puzzling and see the teacher about them. □ □ □
C. Just Before the Exam
11. I get sufficient sleep for at least two nights before the exam. □ □ □
12. I prepare all of the materials I‘ll need for the exam. □ □ □
13. I arrive at the exam ahead of time. □ □ □
14. I don‘t let myself be distracted by friends. □ □ □
D. Taking the Exam
15. I read through the exam to begin with, noting the marking scheme. □ □ □
16. I start with the easiest questions first. □ □ □
17. I try to stay calm by having realistic expectations of how well I can do. □ □ □
18. If I‘m writing an essay question, I make a brief plan first. □ □ □
19. If I‘m taking an objective exam, I try not to rush as it‘s hard to detect □ □ □
incorrect answers afterwards.
20. If I‘m taking an objective exam, I do not hastily change any responses, □ □ □
as my instinctive first choice was probably correct.
Total Score: _______ /100
SSCS Success Guide▪72
Scoring
0 - 50: Based on your results, your grades could be at risk. Go to The Learning Centre for tips on how
you can improve.
51 - 70: Preparing for exams is a skill, just like any other, and your skills need just a little fine-tuning.
Make a list of your weaknesses and drop by The Learning Centre for help.
71 - 100: Your exam-taking skills are good! Keep it up! If you feel that you‘re falling behind, go to The
Learning Centre for advice.
All information taken from Vanier College Learning Centre handout.
7. Meaning of Terms Used in Essay Questions
―Directives‖ ask you to answer, or present information, in a particular way. Review these, and most of all
note that there are different ways of answering a question or writing a paper!
Compare
Examine qualities, or characteristics, to discover resemblances. ―Compare‖ is usually stated as ―compare
with‖: you are to emphasize similarities, although differences may be mentioned.
Contrast
Stress dissimilarities, differences, or unlikeness of things, qualities, events, or problems.
Criticize
Express your judgment or correctness or merit. Discuss the limitations and good points or contributions
of the plan or work in question.
Define
Definitions call for concise, clear, authoritative meanings. Details are not required but limitations of the
definition should be briefly cited. You must keep in mind the category to which a thing belongs and
whatever differentiates the particular object from all others in the category.
Describe
In a descriptive answer you should recount, characterize, sketch or relate in narrative form.
Diagram
For a question which specifies a diagram you should present a drawing, chart, plan, or graphic
representation in your answer. Generally you are expected to label the diagram and in some cases add a
brief explanation or description.
Discuss
The term discuss, which appears often in essay questions, directs you to examine, analyze carefully, and
present considerations pro and con regarding the problems or items involved. This type of question
calls for a complete and detailed answer.
Enumerate
The word enumerate specifies a list or outline form of reply. In such questions you should recount, one
by one, in concise form, the points required.
Evaluate
In an evaluation question you are expected to present a careful appraisal of the problem stressing both
advantages and limitations. Evaluation implies authoritative and, to a lesser degree, personal appraisal
of both contributions and limitations.
73 ▪ Chapter Eight -Studying for Tests and Exams
Explain
In explanatory answers it is imperative that you clarify and interpret the material you present. In such an
answer it is best to state the ―how or why,‖ reconcile any differences in opinion or experimental results,
and, where possible, state causes. The aim is to make plain the conditions which give rise to whatever
you are examining.
Illustrate
A question which asks you to illustrate usually requires you to explain or clarify your answer to the
problem by presenting a figure, picture, diagram, or concrete example.
Interpret
An interpretation question is similar to one requiring explanation. You are expected to translate,
exemplify, solve, or comment upon the subject and usually to give your judgment or reaction to the
problem.
Justify
When you are instructed to justify your answer you must prove or show grounds for your statements. In
such an answer, evidence should be presented in convincing form.
List
Listing is similar to enumeration. You are expected in such questions to present an itemized series or
tabulation. Such answers should always be given in concise form.
Outline
An outline answer is organized description. You should give main points and essential supplementary
materials, omitting minor details, and present the information in a systematic arrangement or
classification.
Prove
A question which requires proof is one which demands confirmation or verification. In such discussions
you should establish something with certainty by evaluating and citing empirical evidence or by logical
reasoning.
Relate
In a question which asks you to show the relationship, or to relate, your answer should emphasize
connections and associations in descriptive form.
Review
A review specifies a critical examination. You should analyze and comment briefly in organized
sequence upon the major points of the problem.
State
In questions which direct you to specify, give, state, or present, you are called upon to express the high
points in brief, clear narrative form. Details, and usually illustrations or examples, may be omitted.
Summarize
When you are asked to summarize or present a summarization, you should give in condensed form the
main points or facts. All details, illustrations and elaboration are to be omitted.
Trace
When a question asks you to trace a course of events, you are to give a description of progress,
historical sequence, or development from the point of origin. Such narratives may call for probing or for
deduction.
Tipsheets; Exams. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2009, from Vanier College,
Learning Centre Web site:http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/tlc/tipsheets.html
SSCS Success Guide▪74
CHAPTER NINE -ENHANCING ONE’S COMMUNICATION SKILLS
1. Building Your Vocabulary
Homer Simpson: where‘s that... metal deely... you use to...
dig... food...
Marge: You mean a spoon?
Homer: Yeah, yeah!
THE GOAL OF THIS SECTION IS SIMPLE: TO BEGIN DEVELOPING A BETTER VOCABULARY THAN HOMER
J. SIMPSON.
Having an extensive and varied vocabulary is an essential talent that you will need for writing college
level papers. It is imperative that you be able to properly convey your ideas, and a good vocabulary is
the best way to accomplish this goal. Conveying ideas at college is not limited to writing; it is also
critical when doing oral presentations or participating in classroom discussions. This chapter will help
you build your vocabulary, but in order for you to continue building this arsenal you must practice and
learn new words as much as possible.
An extensive vocabulary is an asset not only at college, but also at work and in personal relationships.
Getting your point across in a way that is understandable and does justice to your ideas will help you in
whatever endeavour you choose to undertake. Employers, colleagues, clients and people in general
judge others in a positive or negative light using various criteria including the extent of their vocabulary.
Leaving aside what others may think, a well-developed vocabulary is important to you, first and
foremost. Let‘s get started!
BUILDING A STRONGER VOCABULARY
The need for a good vocabulary is not limited to the classroom. Most students‘ reactions to this is ―I can
communicate well enough with the words I know.‖ However, consider how many times you have said: ―I
know what I mean, but I just can‘t express it.‖ This is a clear indication of a weak vocabulary. Strong
vocabulary skills are an asset in every academic area as well as in the work force. Without an adequate
vocabulary, reading, learning and even thinking become difficult tasks. A direct effort must be made in
order for your vocabulary to grow - it won‘t grow on its own. Be genuinely interested in words. The
words you use are usually an indication of your personality. Here are some suggestions to help you
improve your vocabulary:
USE YOUR DICTIONARY
Don‘t be intimidated by the dictionary. Carrying a pocket dictionary around with you can be very useful.
When you are studying, reading, or writing an essay, keep a good desk dictionary by your side. Use it to
improve your understanding of the subject matter while you learn new and useful words.
75 ▪ Chapter Nine -Enhancing One‘s Communication Skills
USE YOUR THESAURUS
A thesaurus is a valuable tool for expanding your vocabulary. It is a book of synonyms (words that have
the same meaning) and is veryuseful when you find yourself using the same word over and over again.
For example, instead of repeating the phrase, ―he said‖, in your essay, the thesaurus will provide you
with alternatives such as, ―he remarked‖, ―uttered‖, ―conveyed‖, ―declared‖, ―stated‖, ―announced‖,‖
expressed‖, ―maintained‖, ―articulated‖. Most word processing programs have a thesaurus which makes
looking for that perfect word easy and fun!
MAKE VOCABULARY SHEETS
To make a vocabulary sheet, first divide a piece of notebook paper into 4 columns.
In the first column. Find the word you need to learn and write it here. Choose key words or specialized
vocabulary that are used over and over in your courses or that are the subject of an entire section in
your textbook. Choose those general vocabulary words that are somewhat familiar to you or that have
always bothered you because you did not know them. Remember that even writing them down in the
column will help you.
In the second column. Write the word in the context in which you first found it here. Be sure to write
only enough context to show the use of a word. Often only a phrase is needed.
In the third column. Look up the meaning of the word in the dictionary. Write out the definition in
your own words. Be sure the definition you choose fits the context in question, as words often have
more than one meaning.
In the fourth column. Associate the word or term with any other familiar English or foreign word,
object, diagram, example, or experience and write it here. It doesn‘t matter how far-fetched the
association is so long as it helps you to remember the new word.
Example:
I. II. III. IV.
TIRADE We had to listen to his
tirade after we came in
late.
long, angry speech Feel ―tired‖ after a
―tirade‖
FIND YOUR ROOTS
Look up the origins of words. You will be surprised at the fascinating information you can gather from
very simple words. It is useful to know the meanings of Latin and Greek prefixes, suffixes and roots. You
can often get a pretty good idea of what a word means if you know the meaning of its Latin or Greek
components and you study the context in which you find the word. Learn the precise definition of a
root word and then surround it with as many prefixes and suffixes as possible. Try to understand what
these additions make to the changing definition of the word.
SSCS Success Guide▪76
Example:
Phobic is a suffix of Greek origin. The Greek word phobos means fear and in English is used in forming
adjectives to indicate fear of a specific thing. For instance, agoraphobia is the fear of open spaces
(agora is the Greek word for market place).
2. Vocabulary in Context: Deducing the Meaning of Words
Deciding on the meaning of an unfamiliar word, through its use in a sentence, enables you to make
sense of your reading when you do not have access to a dictionary.
a. DEFINITION
Sometimes a sufficient explanation of the word is given within the sentence.
His succinct style made for difficult reading; that is, he compressed so much information into a few
words that is was difficult to get the full meaning.
Succinct means:_________________
b. ANALYSIS
The parts used to construct the word (roots, suffixes, prefixes) can sometimes be a direct clue to its
meaning.
The material the teacher wanted to cover was circumscribed by the course competencies.
Hint: ―Circum‖ means around and ―scribe‖ means write
Circumscribe means: ___________________
c. EXPERIENCE
Either by drawing upon an experience of your own or one that you can imagine, the meaning of the
word may become clear.
We walked warily across the ice-covered sidewalk.
Warily means: _____________________
d. CONTRAST
Look for words, phrases or ideas that stand in contrast to the word you are trying to understand.
The troops fought to the end rather than capitulating.
Capitulate means: ______________________
e. INFERENCE
At times sufficient clues may be given so that you can make an educated guess as to a word‘s meaning.
The medicine seemed to ameliorate her condition and soon she was feeling better.
77 ▪ Chapter Nine -Enhancing One‘s Communication Skills
Ameliorate means: ___________________
f. BORROWING FROM ANOTHER LANGUAGE
If you know another language, some loan words (words borrowed from a foreign language) may be
easier to understand.
The instructor augmented his regular salary by tutoring privately.
(Do you know the meaning of the French word ―augmenter‖ or the Italian word ―augmentare‖?)
Augmented means: ___________________
g. LOOK FOR REPETITION
Sometimes you may see almost exact restatements of familiar words that seem to be unfamiliar.
I shall take a postgraduate course the fall after I graduate.
Postgraduate means: ___________________
h. LOOK FOR OVERLAPPING WORDS
Sometimes adjectives that have similar meaning are used in pairs.
She was very gregarious and friendly at the same time.
Gregarious means: _____________________
3. Spelling Strategies: Improving Your Written Communication Skills
The first thing to realize is that nobody can give you all of the rules to overcome the difficulties of
English spelling. No experience and no rule can take the place of your dictionary. If you have a general
idea of a word‘s spelling, then you should have little problem looking it up in a dictionary.
The next step is to understand that you have to work at improving your spelling. Sometimes you‘ll have
to devise your own way of teaching yourself. Here are six suggestions:
1. Keep a running list of the words that you consistently spell incorrectly.
2. When a paper has been returned to you, look over the corrections for misspelled words.
Find out how to spell the words correctly and add them to you list.
3. Underline the difficult letters in a word. Make up devices to help you keep the letters
straight in your mind. Most good spellers use ―association clues‖ to help them spell
troublesome words that is, they associate the spelling of the word with something that they
can easily remember. Some examples are as follows:
attendance - think of ―attending a dance‖
battalion - think of a ―battle against a lion‖
definite - it comes from ―finite‖
occurrence - it has ―rre‖ as in ―current event
principal - the principal of a school is a ―pal‖ to you
principle - it means rule and ends ―le‖ as well
separate - it‘s hard to spell and there‘s a rat in it
stationery - it means paper and ends in ―er‖ too.
SSCS Success Guide▪78
4. Keep looking at your list. Refer to it whenever you have a spare moment or two.
5. Get annoyed if you keep getting the same words wrong. You have to be willing to make an
effort and soon the words will be yours – permanently!
6. Use a spell check program – a tool on most word processing programs which allows you to
check and correct your spelling mistakes. However, please remember not to rely exclusively
on spell check as it is a limited tool.
You should also familiarize yourself with five basic rules, which are regular enough to be helpful:
A. “I” before “E”
except after ―c‖ (or when sounded like ―a‖, as in neighbour and weigh.)
B. Add “ES” instead of “S”
when an extra syllable is pronounced; church - churches; fox -foxes
when a noun ends in ―o‖ and is preceded by a consonant; potato - potatoes, hero - heroes. (A
major exception here is for words that are derived from the Italian language; soprano -
sopranos, piano - pianos, solo - solos.)
C. “Y” to “I”
before adding a suffix when ―y‖ is preceded by a consonant; berry - berries, company -
companies
except with words which end in ―ing‖; fly - flying, try - trying.
D. Drop the final “E”
when a suffix begins with a vowel; dine - dining, note - noting.
except whenthe suffix begins with a consonant; live - lively, hope - hopeful (except for the
words truly and argument.)
E. Double the final consonant
when the suffix begins with a vowel; ―ing‖, ―er‖, ―ed‖, ―est‖
when the word is only one syllable or when the last syllable is stressed; re fer‘, o mit‘
when the word ends in one consonant preceded by one vowel; quit, split.
Examples:
sin - sinned - sinning
begin - beginner – beginning
79 ▪ Chapter Nine -Enhancing One‘s Communication Skills
4. List of Frequently Confused Words.
THEIR / THERE / THEY’RE
There - refers to place: ―There are three problems.‖ ―I used to live there.‖
There is the opposite of here (same spelling pattern).
Their -is a possessive pronoun: ―Their class is very interesting.‖ ―We found their books.‖
Their is the possessive for they (like adding r to you = your) but the y in they becomes an i
when you add an r.
They’re -is the contraction of they are: ―They‘re all taking the same course.‖
The apostrophe in they‘re indicates a missing a from they are.
ITS / IT’S
Its - is a possessive pronoun: ―Its wheels fell off.‖ ―The tree lost its leaves.‖
Its is a possessive pronoun (e.g., his, my…).
No possessive pronouns have apostrophes.
It’s - is a contraction :―It‘s time to go.‖ ―It‘s been nice to meet you.‖
It‘s is a contraction, short for ―it is‖ or ―it has.‖
A contraction always requires an apostrophe.
LOSE / LOOSE
lose - (verb) ―They mustn‘t lose the game.‖ ―I always lose my keys.‖
loose - (adjective) ―A loose shirt is comfortable.‖ ―My fan belt is loose.‖
To lose is the verb—with an irregular spelling (the single O), but the adjective loose follows the
expected spelling pattern.
AFFECT / EFFECT
affect - (verb) The changes don‘t affect me. Supply often affects price.
effect - (noun) That has no effect on me. The effects of war are tragic.
effect - (verb) The new government effected many changes.
The verb to effect is not seen very often.
Memory Aid: A cause leads to an effect; the final letter of the word cause is the first letter of
effect.
THEN / THAN
then - (reference to time or sequence of events)
I planned my essay and then I wrote it.
than - (used in making a comparison)
Vanier is larger than most colleges.
SSCS Success Guide▪80
5. Subject-Verb Agreement
One of the most common grammatical problems is failure to make the subject and verb agree with
each other in a sentence. Here are rules for subject-verb agreement:
Single subjects take singular verbs.Plural subjects take plural verbs.
Singular words concern one person or thing.
The clock ticks.
George works.
Plural words concern more than one person or thing.
The clocks tick.
George and his brother work.
6. Six Special Cases
a. Multiple subjects that are joined by “or,” “either - or,” “neither - nor,” “not - but”
The verb agrees in number with the nearest subject. That is, if the subject closest to the verb is singular,
the verb will be singular, if the subject closest to the verb is plural, the verb will be plural too.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the Cabinet Ministers are responsible.
Neither the Cabinet Ministers nor the Prime Minister is responsible.
b. Subjects that look multiple but really aren’t
Don‘t be fooled by phrases beginning with such words as ―with‖, ―like‖, ―as well as‖, ―together with‖, ‗in
addition to‘, ―including‖. These phrases are not part of the subject of the sentence. Cross them out
mentally; they do not affect the verb.
Singular: My typing teacher, as well as my counselor, has advised me to switch programs.
Plural: All of my courses, including sociology, are easier this term.
c. Words that end in “one,” “thing,” or “body”
When used as subjects, the following words are always singular, requiring the singular form of the verb:
everybody everything everyone
anybody anything anyone
somebody something someone
nobody nothing no one
Everyone involved in the graduation ceremony is at the meeting.
d. The words “each,” “either (of),” “neither (of)”
When used as subjects, these words take singular verbs.
Neither of the stores is open after six o‘clock.
81 ▪ Chapter Nine -Enhancing One‘s Communication Skills
e. Collective Nouns
A collective noun is a word naming a group acting as a unit. Some examples are company, class,
committee, team and group.
When you are referring to the group acting as a unit, use a singular verb.
When you are referring to the members of the group acting individually, use a plural verb.
The team is sure to win tomorrow‘s game. (Here “team” refers to the group acting as a whole.)
The teams are getting into their uniforms now. (The separate members of the team are acting
individually.)
f. Units of money, time, mass, length and distance
These require singular verbs.
Four dollars is too much to pay for a hamburger.
Three hours is a long time to wait.
Seventy kilograms is the mass of the average man.
7. Punctuation
Punctuation can often seem mysterious, even if one is very familiar with the language. Here are some
pointers that should help you unravel the mysteries:
a. Periods .
Use a period at the end of a sentence that contains a subject, a verb and expresses a complete thought.
We went to the movies last night.
Use a period after an abbreviation.
Mr. Ibs., Tues., Dr. Oz., Oct., etc.
b. Question Marks ?
Use a question mark after a direct question.
Were you invited to the party?
However, you should not use a question mark if the
question in the sentence is asked indirectly.
He asked whether the new job offered a higher
salary.
c. Exclamation Points!
Use an exclamation point after an expression or statement that shows strong feeling.
We did it!
SSCS Success Guide▪82
d. Quotation Marks “ ”
Use quotation marks to enclose the exact words of a speaker or writer.
She said, ―I‘m finally ready to go.‖
Periods and commas are always placed inside the quotation marks (unless the page reference follows)
Question marks and exclamation points are placed outside quotation marks except when the quotation
itself is a direct question or exclamation.
He said, ―I enjoy cooking.‖
―I enjoy cooking,‖ he said.
Did you say, ―We are going away together‖?
―Are you coming?‖ he asked.
Use quotation marks to enclose the title of a short story, essay, poem, or song, or any work that appears
within a larger published work.
―The Garden Party‖ was written by Katherine Mansfield.
e. Semi-Colons;
Use a semi-colon to separate two complete sentences.
The movie started late; we had enough time to buy popcorn.
Do not use a semi-colon when two independent clauses are joined by connecting words such as, and,
but, for, nor, or, so, yet.
However, if the clauses are joined by also, however, therefore, then, otherwise, nevertheless, moreover,
you should use a semicolon.
Tennis is fun; however, one must have a partner.
Use semi-colons to separate items in a series when the items have internal punctuation or are very long.
We visited Montreal, Quebec; Toronto, Ontario; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
f. Colons:
Use a colon to introduce a list following a noun that names the list. Note, however, that the colon is
only used after an independent clause.
I have three favourite colours: red, blue and green.
Use a colon to set off a list or statement that is introduced by the words ―the following‖ or ―as follows.‖
The crooks stole the following: a radio, a camera, and a clock.
g. Commas,
Use commas to separate three or more items in a series.
I like baseball, football, and hockey.
Use commas on both sides of a word or phrase that interrupts the flow of a sentence.
Cake, for example, is delicious with coffee.
Use commas to set off non-essential material.
83 ▪ Chapter Nine -Enhancing One‘s Communication Skills
Mrs. Lee, our new director of nursing, was in the office early.
Use a comma before and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet when they join two complete sentences.
He wanted to study engineering at McGill, but he didn‘t get in.
Use a comma after an introductory word or phrase.
Unfortunately, she can‘t come to our place tonight.
When they returned from their vacation, they realized that they had been robbed
(2009). Tipsheets; Spelling & Vocabulary. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Vanier College,
Learning Centre Web site: http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/tlc/tipsheets.html
Your notes here:
SSCS Success Guide▪84
CHAPTER TEN -WHAT IS PLAGIARISM AND HOW TO AVOID IT
Vanier College, like all other academic institution has a policy on cheating and plagiarism referred to as
Academic Honesty. Cheating and plagiarism are extremely serious offences that can get you suspended
or expelled from college or university. Committing one of these offences can put your future at risk.
There are not many universities or employers interested in admitting or hiring a cheater!
The first and most important rule to avoid plagiarism is when in doubt, ask your teacher!
There are some actions that can almost unquestionably be labelled 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 a student of plagiarism will consider the student‘s 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 the suspicion of plagiarism.
Adapted (From the OWL at Perdue)
1. What is Plagiarism?
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another‘s work, or borrowing someone else‘s original ideas.
But terms like ―copying‖ and ―borrowing‖ can disguise the seriousness of the offense:
According to the Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary, to ―plagiarize‖ means,
1) to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one‘s own;
2) to use (another‘s production) without crediting the source;
3) to commit literary theft;
4) to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source (for example
submitting the same paper in two different courses).
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else‘s work and lying
about it afterward.
A. PREVENTING PLAGIARISM: STUDENT RESOURCES
In a research paper, you have to come up with your own original ideas while at the same time using
work that has already been done by others. But how can you tell where their ideas end and your own
begin? What‘s the proper way to include sources in your paper?If you change some of what an author
said, do you still have to cite that person?
Confusion about the answers to these questions often leads to plagiarism. If you have similar questions,
or are concerned about preventing plagiarism, we recommend using the checklist below.
85 ▪ Chapter TEN -What is Plagiarism and How to Avoid it
1. Consult with your Instructor
Have questions about plagiarism? If you can‘t find the answers in this guide, or are unsure about
something, you should ask your instructor. He or she will most likely be very happy to answer your
questions. You can also check out the guidelines for citing sources properly. If you follow them and the
rest of the advice in this chapter, you should have no problems with plagiarism.
2. Plan your Paper
Planning your paper well is the first and most important step you can take toward preventing
plagiarism. If you know you are going to use various sources of information, you need to plan how you
are going to include them in your paper. This means working out a balance between the ideas you have
taken from other sources and your own, original ideas. Writing an outline, or coming up with a thesis
statement in which you clearly formulate an argument about the information you find, will help
establish the boundaries between your ideas and those of your sources.
3. Take Effective Notes
One of the best ways to prepare for a research paper is by taking thorough notes from all of your
sources, so that you have much of the information organized before you begin writing. On the other
hand, poor note-taking can lead to many problems – including improper citations and misquotations,
both of which are forms of plagiarism! To avoid confusion about your sources, try using different
coloured fonts, pens or pencils for each one, and make sure you clearly distinguish your own ideas from
those you found elsewhere. Also, get in the habit of marking page numbers, and make sure that you
record bibliographic information or web addresses for every source right away – finding them again
later when you are trying to finish your paper can be a nightmare!
4. When in Doubt, Cite Sources
Of course you want to get credit for your own ideas. And you don‘t want your instructor to think that
you got all of your information from somewhere else. But if it is unclear whether an idea in your paper
really came from you, or whether you got it from somewhere else and just changed it a little, you
should always cite your source. Instead of weakening your paper and making it seem like you have
fewer original ideas, this will actually strengthen your paper by, 1) showing that you are not just copying
other ideas but are processing and adding to them, 2) lending outside support to the ideas that are
completely yours, and 3) highlighting the originality of your ideas by making clear distinctions between
them and ideas you have gotten elsewhere. 4) showing that you can synthesize (combine in a new and
original way) the ideas from your sources.
5. Make it Clear Who Said What
Even if you cite sources, ambiguity in your phrasing can often disguise the real source of any given idea,
causing inadvertent plagiarism. Make sure when you mix your own ideas with those of your sources
that you always clearly distinguish them. If you are discussing the ideas of more than one person, watch
out for confusing pronouns. For example, imagine you are talking about Harold Bloom‘s discussion of
James Joyce‘s opinion of Shakespeare, and you write: ―He brilliantly portrayed the situation of a writer in
society at that time.‖ Who is the ―He‖ in this sentence? Bloom, Joyce, or Shakespeare? Who is the
―writer‖ - Joyce, Shakespeare, or one of their characters? Always make sure to distinguish who said
what, and give credit to the right person.
SSCS Success Guide▪86
6. Know How to Paraphrase
A paraphrase is a restatement in your own words of someone else‘s ideas. Changing a few words of the
original sentences does NOT make your writing a legitimate paraphrase. You must change both the
words and the sentence structure of the original, without changing the content. Also, you should keep
in mind that paraphrased passages still require citation because the ideas came from another source,
even though you are putting them in your own words.
The purpose of paraphrasing is not to make it seem like you are drawing less directly from other
sources or to reduce the number of quotations in your paper. It is a common misconception among
students that you need to hide the fact that you rely on other sources. Actually it is advantageous to
highlight the fact that other sources support your own ideas. Using quality sources to support your
ideas makes them seem stronger and more valid. Good paraphrasing makes the ideas of the original
source fit smoothly into your paper, emphasizing the most relevant points and leaving out unrelated
information.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE UNACCEPTABLE AND ACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASES
Here is the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s
by Williams et al.:
―The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the
three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger,
steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they
transformed farm hands into industrial labourers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of
immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River,
Massachusetts, where the Borden‘s lived) which became the centres of production as
well as of commerce and trade.‖
HERE’S AN UNACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE THAT IS PLAGIARISM:
The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large
factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern
part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave
of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Borden‘s lived
which turned into centres of commerce and trade as well as production.
WHAT MAKES THIS PASSAGE PLAGIARISM?
The preceding passage is considered plagiarism for two reasons:
the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or changed the order of the
original‘s sentences.
the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts.
If you do either or both of these things, you are plagiarizing.
NOTE: This paragraph is also problematic because it changes the sense of several sentences (for
example, ―steam-driven companies‖ in sentence two misses the original‘s emphasis on factories).
HERE’S AN ACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE:
Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of north-eastern industrial cities of the nineteenth
century. Steam-powered production had shifted labour from agriculture to manufacturing, and as
87 ▪ Chapter TEN -What is Plagiarism and How to Avoid it
immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew, and
large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing and commercial centres (Williams,
1988, p.1).
WHY IS THIS PASSAGE ACCEPTABLE?
This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
accurately relays the information in the original
uses her own words.
lets her reader know the source of her information.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF QUOTATION AND PARAPHRASE USED TOGETHER, WHICH IS ALSO
ACCEPTABLE:
Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of north-eastern industrial cities of the nineteenth
century. As steam-powered production shifted labour from agriculture to manufacturing, the demand
for workers ―transformed farm hands into industrial labourers,‖ and created jobs for immigrants. In turn,
growing populations increased the size of urban areas. Fall River was one of these hubs ―which became
the centres of production as well as of commerce and trade‖ (Williams, 1988, p.1).
WHY IS THIS PASSAGE ACCEPTABLE?
This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
records the information in the original passage accurately.
gives credit for the ideas in this passage.
indicated which part is taken directly from her source by putting the passage in quotation
marks and citing the page number.
Note that if the writer had used these phrases or sentences in her own paper without putting quotation
marks around them, she would be PLAGIARIZING. Using another person‘s phrases or sentences without
putting quotation marks around them is considered plagiarism EVEN IF THE WRITER CITES IN HER OWN
TEXT THE SOURCE OF THE PHRASES OR SENTENCES SHE HAS QUOTED.
7. Evaluate Your Sources
Not all sources on the web are worth citing – in fact, many of them are just plain wrong. So how do you
tell the good ones apart? For starters, make sure you know the author(s) of the page, where they got
their information, and when they wrote it (getting this information is also an important step in avoiding
plagiarism!). Then you should determine how credible you feel the source is: how well they support
their ideas, the quality of the writing, the accuracy of the information provided, etc. We recommend
using the Library‘s ―evaluating web sources‖ document found on their web page.
Above section From: (From http://www.plagiarism.org/learning_centre/printable_docs.html)
B. TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW (OR WHAT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE?)
Common knowledge: facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of
people.
Example: John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960.
This is generally known information. You do not need to document this fact.
SSCS Success Guide▪88
However, you must document facts that are not generally known and ideas that interpret facts.
Example: According to the American Family Leave Coalition‘s new book, Family Issues and
Congress, President Bush‘s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation
(1999, p.6).
The idea that ―Bush‘s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation‖ is not a fact but
an interpretation; consequently, you need to cite your source.
Quotation: using someone‘s words. When you quote, place the passage you are using in quotation
marks, and document the source according to a standard documentation style.
Your notes here:
89 ▪ References
REFERENCES
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SSCS Success Guide▪90
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