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VCSEwiki:Writing manual: Difference between revisions
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==Ethical principles== | ==Ethical principles== | ||
Texts in this Wiki (including your own writing assignments) are published under same conditions as Wikipedia articles. | Texts in this Wiki (including your own writing assignments) are published under the same conditions as Wikipedia articles. | ||
When using the ideas, materials or information of other people you have to follow the basic ethical principles of academic writing: respect the '''copyright''' of the work you borrow information from. Please consider some additional resources to gain an understanding of the diversity of copyright and your rights and obligations in relation to other authors - see our '''[[Ethical code of conduct]]''' | When using the ideas, materials or information of other people you have to follow the basic ethical principles of academic writing: respect the '''copyright''' of the work you borrow information from. Please consider some additional resources to gain an understanding of the diversity of copyright and your rights and obligations in relation to other authors - see our '''[[Ethical code of conduct]]''' | ||
== Academic writing - rules == | == Academic writing - rules == | ||
Study the following sources: | Study the following sources, but before doing so, remember these have been written for native English speakers. It is important to note that while we do not expect you as non-native English speakers to write perfect English for this course, you should at least stick to some basic rules. For example, you can choose to write in either British English or American English, but please DON'T use a mixture of both (e.g. autumn vs fall, specialise vs specialize, neighbour vs neighbor, etc). English speakers also use commas between numbers and decimal points to denote numbers less than one, e.g. ($43,000.90) | ||
*There is a difference between writing at school and joining a community of scholars at university, and | Finally, also note that academic writing needs to be analytical, dispassionate and neutral when advancing an argument using all the facts at your disposal, and therefore you should avoid using the first person, e.g. I feel that..., I am of the opinion that..., etc. Of course you can argue as vehemently as you want in what you believe in, but it has to be based on hard demonstrable facts without reference to "feelings" :) | ||
Now here are some resources for you to review: | |||
*There is a difference between writing at school and joining a community of scholars at university, and particularly how to choose an appropriate topic. Online: <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/what.shtml> | |||
*Developing a thesis statement or question. Online: <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/develop.shtml> | *Developing a thesis statement or question. Online: <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/develop.shtml> | ||
*Pages connected to an online resource: <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/what.shtml> - about constructing an argument, developing your position, organising a structure, tone and style. | *Pages connected to an online resource: <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/what.shtml> - about constructing an argument, developing your position, organising a structure, tone and style. | ||
*You can look at the case study of an English writing course: ''Scaffolding the academic writing process: A focus on developing ideas.'' Online: <http://jalt.org/pansig/2005/HTML/Hayashi.htm> | *You can look at the case study of an English writing course: ''Scaffolding the academic writing process: A focus on developing ideas.'' Online: <http://jalt.org/pansig/2005/HTML/Hayashi.htm> | ||
*It's very common in the Anglo-Saxon world for universities to have dedicated learning development centres that help students develop their academic skills. Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand, has an excellent student learning development office and it provides some great online tutorials on how to improve your reading, writing, study and note-taking skills. Online: <http://hedc.otago.ac.nz/hedc/sld.html> | |||
== Citation rules == | == Citation rules == | ||
*In this Wiki space, we use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style APA style] - look how to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style#Citation cite in the text] and what is the norm for a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style#Reference_list reference list] | *In this Wiki space, we use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style APA style] - look at how to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style#Citation cite in the text] and what is the norm for a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style#Reference_list reference list] | ||
*You can learn how to cite correctly in other formats by entering the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation Wikipedia Citation rules] or simply Citation on the bottom of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents/Links this page]! | *You can learn how to cite correctly in other formats by entering the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation Wikipedia Citation rules] or simply Citation on the bottom of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents/Links this page]! | ||
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*You can start with a '''[[text analysis]]'''! | *You can start with a '''[[text analysis]]'''! | ||
*Offer your article for a '''[[peer review]]''' process - it is the basis for evaluation. | *Offer your article for a '''[[peer review]]''' process - it is the basis for evaluation. | ||
*You can find external links | *You can find external links and web pages where additional information on the topic is kept. | ||
*One of the course tutors will be a native English speaker and he or she will revise your articles for correct English usage at the end of the course if it is decided they are good enough for publication :) | |||