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Purdue OWL News for November 17, 2004
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The Purdue OWL Staff
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Nov 17, 2004 10:31 PST
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The Purdue OWL News
November 17, 2004
Welcome to the Purdue OWL News!
The Purdue OWL News is an online newsletter about happenings in the
Purdue University Writing Lab and the Purdue University Online Writing
Lab (OWL). You can visit our website at
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu>. To subscribe to the newsletter, visit
<http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/>. To unsubscribe
from the newsletter, click on the link at the bottom of this email.
Writing Question of the Week
I want to write about teen pregancy. This is my first research paper and
I really do not know how to start? I am looking for a thesis statement.
I want discuss that not all teen are getting pregnant on purpose. Maybe
violence in the home or not feeling loved. Any suggestions?
Answer
We have a step-by-step guide to writing a research paper on the OWL that
might help you get started:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_ressteps.html
I think you should start with a question--perhaps "what are the causes
of teen pregnancy?" Then, you can do research to find some possible
answers to this question. When you find a compelling answer, that can
be your tentative thesis statement and you can continue doing research
to back that up.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
--OWL Tutor
The OWL Help Nest
Each week we'll publish a request for advice or information. If you wish
to contribute a response to the topic, please write to us at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. Please let us know if you want us to
include your name and/or your email address when we publish your
response. The following week, we'll publish the best information and
advice that we receive in the newsletter. If you have a question for our
readers, please send it to us at owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu.
This Week's Questions and Answers
Question #1: In practicum last week, the English department graduate
assistants who work as tutors in the Writing Center here at Eastern
Illinois University said that they would really appreciate hearing from
other tutors who have found tactful but effective ways to talk to
students about material in their papers that might have been lifted from
research sources without proper acknowledgement. What do you say in
that situation--and how?
Fern Kory, Assistant Director
EIU Writing Center
Answer:
I teach Academic Writing to international MBA candidates. Plagiarism
and research documentation are a very big part of our curriculum. I
have often seen that students who include "lifted material" in their
papers do so quite innocently. They can talk about the importance of
giving credit to the source and of constructing a research trail for
their readers, and they can identify effective and ineffective
paraphrasing, but they don't put 2 & 2 together when they actually
write. In some cases, there is a cultural factor involved in that
foreign student writers think that the exact words of the original
thinker will carry more authority than their paraphrase. They also
often think that sticking a citation note on a lifted section will cover
their borrowing. As for approaching them in a tactful way, I try to be
as honest as possible. If there are sections of their papers that they
obviously didn't write, I show them the inconsistency in the writing
styles. They usually recognize that and tell me that they borrowed the
section from a source. Then I use the example as an opportunity to
practice paraphrasing and documentation with them one-on-one. The rule
of thumb that I follow is to allow the students to talk to me about
their papers before I make any accusation.--Sharon Ronstadt
Question #2: In grade school english class, I was told that it is
improper to end a sentence with a preposition. Recently, I heard on a
radio program that this had been an incorrect rule that resulted in
awkward sentences such as, "By whom is this poem?" I immediately
released myself from this requirement. However, my co-worker doesn't
believe it and wants the opinion of language experts. Which is the
correct way to ask such questions? Whom did you give the money to? To
whom did you give the money? Both?
Answers:
Writing guidelines have softened the rule on ending with a preposition.
The reason for the rule is partially psychological. The beginning and
end positions of sentences are places of emphasis or stress. In other
words, psychological studies show that readers remember the beginning
and end of sentences, not the middle. Do you really want a preposition
in a position of emphasis in your sentence? As a writer, you need to
balance the location of words with readability. So, if your sentence
makes sense to have a preposition at the end, go for it!--Dorothy J.
McCawley, Ph.D.
I'm amazed that someone still cares about this grammar nicety. I've been
a college English teacher for nearly forty years and have watched the
old rule fade into oblivion. It did give rise to some fairly tortured
circumlocutions in the old days. Ultimately, of course, the terminal
preposition was a class-based indicator. People who used it were
inferior to those who avoided it. Today we simply recognize that some
situations expect more formal usage--and the terminal preposition is
considered informal.
Who you going with?
With whom are you traveling?
Who's it by?
By whom was the book written?
What are you crying for?
Why are you crying?*
*Notice in the last example that an argument could be made for richer
content in the informal usage.
The questioner's example: "Whom did you give the money to?" vs. "To whom
did you give the money?" The first involves two old rules, both of which
are fading away. Normally we would hear "Who'd you give the money to?"
("Whom"
is gone and so is the prohibition against the terminal preposition.) In
formal writing (or in the case of a trial lawyer questioning a witness),
we would probably hear "To whom did you give the money?"
In all effective writing (and speech, for that matter), let your purpose
and your audience determine the degree of formality that will get the
response you hope for (for which you hope).
Funny story: Little girl calls from top of stairs, "Daddy, come read me
'Little Red Riding Hood.'" Daddy heads upstairs with copy of
"Goldilocks."
Little girl calls out: "Daddy, what are you bringing the book that I
don't want to be read to out of up for?" Cute. Meaning is perfectly
clear despite five terminal prepositions.
Real story: High School student writes dialogue: "What did you do that
for?"
Miss Pringle responds in red: "Avoid terminal prepositions." Student
rewrites dialogue: "What did you do that for, huh?"--Robert L. Rosser
Next Week's Questions
Question #1
Now that the election season has wrapped up, I'm trying to reevaluate
how I teach political subjects in my introductory composition class,
without becoming confrontational or being accused of being biased. Does
anyone have any methods for teaching political discourse in composition
in a way that challenges but doesn't anger students? Is such a thing
possible?
Question #2
I'm curious to know whether readers of this newsletter use the grammar
checker on Microsoft Word. Does anyone find this useful? My grammar is
sort of shakey, I know. But sometimes I feel like I write correct
sentences and word thinks they're incorrect.
What's Happening on OWL
OWL Eye on...Possible New Formats for OWL News?
As part of the ongoing (and so far, completely invisible!) redesign of
the Purdue OWL, we're looking to change the way the OWL News is
presented, its content, and how its loyal readers like you participate
in its construction. We welcome your ideas for changing up OWL
News--send them to owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. Thanks!
What's Happening in the Writing Lab
OWL Eye on...Grammar Hotline
One of the many services the Purdue Writing Lab offers the world
community is a grammar hotline, which has even fielded questions from
researchers for game shows, including Who Wants to be a Millionaire!
Feel free to call us with your burning questions at (765)-494-3723. The
grammar hotline is open during normal Lab hours while classes are in
session: 9AM-6PM EST Monday through Thursday, and 9AM-1PM on Fridays.
OWL Eye on...In-Lab Workshops for November
Tuesday Nov 16 from 12:30-1:30 "Sentence clarity and combining"
Wednesday Nov 17 from 3:30-4:30 "PowerPoint"
Tuesday Nov 23 from 12:30-1:30 "Proofreading strategies"
Tuesday Nov 30 from 12:30-1:30 "Using APA"
Wednesday Dec 4 from 3:30-4:30 "Using MLA"
The MLA workshop will be the final workshop of the semester.
OWL Eye on...ESL Conversation Groups
Please join us for English conversation in the Lab!
Fall 2004 M 1:30-2:30, Tu/Th: 4:30-5:30, W: 11:00-noon, F: 11:30-12:30
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading our newsletter. You can email us at any time at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. You can also email the OWL coordinator,
Chris Berry, at coordi-@owl.english.purdue.edu and the webmaster,
Karl Stolley, at webma-@owl.english.purdue.edu. (Chris and Karl take
turns writing the newsletter.)
If you received this newsletter as a forward and would like to get your
own subscription, visit
http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/ to subscribe.
This newsletter is copyright (C) 2004 the Purdue University Writing Lab
and Purdue University. Purdue's OWL is located at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu.
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