Writing Workshop for ECS 15

David Masiel

WAC Coordinator

University Writing Program

drmasiel@ucdavis.edu

Writing Process

• Draft and Revision not “Perfect drafting”– Discovery draft = exploratory– Re-vison = global holistic evaluation &

change– Editing = local corrections

N.B. Edit each stage before submitting it but not while drafting

Separate Creator and Critic

• Be able to take risks

• Focus on developing ideas

• Don’t interrupt thinking to edit

• Use writing as tool for inquiry

Analyze the Assignment

• Highlight the assignment

• Notes stages & requirements

• The better you do each stage, the more useful feedback you will get

Plan your time

• Introduction & prospectus due Jan. 22

• (1-2 pages)

• Progress Report due Feb. 2 (2 pages)

• Brainstorming/ Rough Draft due Feb. 19

• Revised Paper due Mar. 5 (9 pages)

Requirements

• Select a topic on the use of computers in any field that interests you– Many options listed or– Make up your own topic

• Focus for 2500 word term paper– Do-able: limited research– Sense of author-ity– Can be covered credibly

Computers in education

• Focus by discipline

• Focus by students, e.g. K-12 or college

• Focus by potential teaching techniques

• Focus on specific effects

Computer crime

• Focus by specific crimes, e.g. identity theft, theft of software, damage to software (viruses, worms, hacking)

• Focus by perpetrator of the crime

• Focus by motivations for crime

• Focus on specific techniques

Computers and business

• Focus by type of business, e.g., banks, retail, large corporations, e-commerce

• Focus by functions

Focusing exercise

• Pair up with someone in class. Since they are your assumed audience, use that relationship to clarify your needs.

• Explain the topic that interests you and why (2 minutes)

• Write 3-5 questions that interest you – Try to state as how or why questions– Pick one and write 3 sub-questions– (5 minutes)

• In pairs, explain the focused topic– (2 minutes)

Problems as Focus

• Consider the role of two things in any enterprise:

• Solving problems

• Exploiting opportunities

• Ask and answer questions that relate to these two areas of activity

Integrating info from sources

• When to quote?

• Rarely if ever

• Only when exact words are necessary to your argument

• If you quote, make it as brief as possible

Requirements

• Intro: explains the problem or question

• Describe the topic: present research results in detail

• Discussion or Analysis

• Answer the analytic question you posed

• Conclusion: summarize main points & maybe go beyond: explain significance

References

• Cite sources in text in APA format

• Bibliography or Works Cited at the end

• TIPS: – keep track of sources as you research and

write– Distinguish quotes from paraphrases in

your notes and drafts

Research Process

• Look for recent academic articles (more recent research than books)

• Look for a review of the literature: synthesis of findings on a topic

• Assess the validity of sources

• Base all opinions on valid research as evidence

Paraphrase

• Restate in your own words & syntax

• Select what is relevant

• Avoid plagiophrase:– Paraphrase that is too close to original in

wording and syntax (sentence structure)

Original textCelera of Rockville, Maryland, is a private company that last year (2000) completed a map of all human genes. Formed just three years ago,

the company instigated a contentious race with the federally funded Human Genome Project when company officials announced they would create a map in only three years, while the government project had been working on it for about a

decade. (http://www.wirednews.cmo/news/tecnology/0,1282,41306,00.html)

Plagiophrase

• Six years ago (2000), Celera of Rockville, Maryland, a private company, completed a map of all human genes. Formed just three years before, the company sparked a contentious race with the federally funded Human

Genome Project when company officials announced they would

create a map in only three years, while the government project

had been working on it for about a decade.

Paraphrase

In 2000 a private company, Celera of Rockville,

Maryland, beat the federally funded Human

Genome Project to the goal of mapping all human genes.(http://www.wirednews.cmo/news/tecnology/

0,1282,41306,00.html)