Research and Writing for

Undergraduates

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR SURVIVAL

AND SUCCESS
 Student Difficulties with Writing in English

Fear of writing in English, especially academic writin

g
Lack of confidence, vocabulary and ideas
Confusion in finding material and organizing it
Grammar and syntax problems
Uncertainty about punctuation
 Nevertheless … Have Hope!

Writing is the last and most difficult skill you acquire

in your native language, let alone a foreign one
Many native English speakers also have trouble with
writing
Continued practice with correction is the only way to
make progress
Your English instructors can guide you
Ultimate goal: self-sufficiency!
 Therefore …

We will explore the process of academic research and

writing step by step
We will look at rhetorical patterns you should know
We will look at basic sentence construction
We will pay special attention to combining sources w
ith your own writing
 What is Rhetoric?

Rhetoric began in classical Greece around 600 BC

It was used for verbal persuasion in law courts and p
ublic assemblies
Thus, it was concerned from the beginning with getti
ng at the truth and with democratic institutions
 The Sophists

The Sophists were ancient Greek teachers who coach

ed students in how to persuade audiences
They claimed that excellence could be achieved in all
fields of endeavor, including rhetoric, through practi
ce
They also claimed that the study of rhetoric led to hu
man improvement
Can you become a better person through writing?
 Major Rhetoricians

Rhetoric was a basic field of study for all educated m

en in classical antiquity (600 BC-500 AD)
The Greek philosopher Plato tried to distinguish bet
ween good and bad rhetoric, since persuasion can be
dishonest
His student Aristotle composed a great treatise on rh
etoric that was influential until the 19c
 Roman Rhetoric

The Romans adapted the Greek rhetorical tradition t

o their own courts and assemblies
Cicero and Quintilian were the major Roman rhetori
cians in the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD
They had a great influence on subsequent theory and
practice
 The Middle Ages and Renaissance

Classical rhetoric continued to be studied in the MA,

but mainly for letter writing and sermons
In the 1400s, rhetoric became influential once again
as a branch of humanism
Throughout the MA and Renaissance, rhetoric was a
major component of education
In this department, it still is!
 Modern Rhetoric

Since the 16c, there have been many thinkers in the f

ield of rhetoric
Men as diverse as John Milton, Kenneth Burke, Mars
hall McLuhan and IA Richards have all theorized abo
ut it
There are numerous definitions of rhetoric, but they
all have to do with persuading others of the truth
 Definitions of Rhetoric

Plato: “The art of winning the soul by discourse”

Aristotle: “The faculty of discovering in any particula
r case all of the available means of persuasion”
Cicero: “Speech designed to persuade”
Francis Bacon: “Apply[ing] reason to imagination for
the better moving of the will”
 Modern Definitions

Kenneth Burke: “Wherever there is persuasion, there

is rhetoric, and wherever there is rhetoric, there is m
eaning”
Andrea Lunsford: “Rhetoric is the art, practice and st
udy of human communication”
What do all these definitions have in common?
Can you apply them to your own writing?
 For Your Own Purposes

You can define rhetoric in your own research and wri

ting as discovering the truth about your topic and per
suading your audience of this truth
You can look on your research and writing as a quest
to know the truth and present it to others
Remember that doing your research and writing as w
ell as possible can help you develop your full persona
l potential
 Starting and Finishing

The skills you need to begin an academic writing assi

gnment are the opposite of the ones you need to finis
h it
Prewriting: thinking of material/ideas
Organizing: putting material into a plan
Drafting: the first version of your assignment
Revising: rewriting with corrections and improveme
nts
 Choosing a Topic

Choose something that is relevant to the course you

are taking, but also something you personally care ab
out
Do not choose too broad a topic; instead, narrow the
topic down to something you can cover in a few page
s
Korean society>social problems>alcohol abuse>dru
nk driving>ways to stop drunk driving in Korea
Now begin your research
 Reading and Taking Notes

Remember that good writers are good readers; select

well-written material on your topic
Pay attention to how articles on your topic are comp
osed
Buy note cards and take notes on what you read; use
direct quotes “”, paraphrases and summaries of infor
mation and ideas that you find on your topic
Write down ideas that occur to you as you read, or at
any time; carry a small notebook with you!
 Taking Notes

When someone writes something important, you can

write the same thing in your own words on a note car
d; this is called paraphrasing
When someone writes an expression, phrase or sente
nce that is perfect the way it is, then quote it verbati
m with “direct quotes”; however, only 10% or less of
your paper should be direct quotations
When someone writes a paragraph or article that is v
aluable but which is too long, you can summarize it i
n a sentence or more
 Freewriting

Set aside a period of time from 5 minutes to an hour

Sit and write about your topic as ideas come into you
r mind
Do not bother at this stage with syntax or coherence
Feel free to write your reactions to your reading on t
he topic
You might keep a reading journal, a kind of diary of
what you read
 Clustering

Write your topic in the center of a piece of paper

Write words and phrases you associate with the topic
around it
Do this for a set period of time
Later, try to organize what you have written into an o
utline
 The First Draft

Starting to write a term paper can be hard; do not pr

ocrastinate, though
You do not need to write your paper from beginning
to end; you can start drafting the part that comes eas
iest to you
Many people write the bodies of their essays first, the
n the conclusion and finally the introduction—they d
on’t know what they have written until they have writ
ten it!
You can make a working outline
 Finding What You Will Write

You will find out what you are going to write by writi
ng it (you learn by doing)
Leaving aside your notes and drafts for a time, relaxi
ng, and then rereading them can spark insights into
what you really think about your topic
Successive drafts can be a self-discovery
 The Paragraph

A group of related sentences with “unity” and “coher

ence”: all on the same topic, all fit together in a logica
l order
All writing has a beginning, a middle and an end
In a paragraph, beginning=topic sentence (ts)
middle=body
end=concluding sentence (concl)
 Elements of a Paragraph

The topic sentence states what the paragraph is abo

ut, or the general idea or information in it
The body consists of support sentences with details il
lustrating the ts; it is the longest part of the paragrap
h
The concluding sentence summarizes the paragraph,
and may restate the ts; it can also indicate the signifi
cance or implications of the paragraph
 The Basics of an Essay

Beginning=introductory paragraph with thesis state

ment
Middle=body paragraphs with details supporting the
sis statement (ths)
End=concluding paragraph
Bibliography (with a research paper)
All these elements should have unity and coherence,
proceeding in a logical line from beginning to end
 Introductory Paragraphs

A strong beginning is important to capture reader’s a

ttention
First sentence can be a general statement about the t
opic, a relevant quote, a statistic, a surprising statem
ent or fact, an anecdote or a rhetorical question
The body sentences should logically lead to the ths
The ths is the last sentence of the introductory parag
raph
 The Thesis Statement

The ths is the most important element of your essay, so plan it

carefully
You can think of a “working thesis” at first, and then change it
as you revise
Do not write: “This essay will examine ways that Korea can re
duce drunk driving.”
Better: “Korea can reduce drunk driving by public education, t
ougher laws and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws.”
Each body paragraph can discuss one aspect of the ths, giving
coherence to the whole essay
 Body Paragraphs

Each body paragraph should support a specific part

of the ths; for example, body 1 on public education, b
ody 2 on tougher laws and body 3 on enforcement
Each body paragraph should start with a ts
The body sentences of the body paragraphs should s
upport the ts, usually with information from your res
earch or some other details
Each should end with a concluding sentence
Make the ts of each body paragraph refer to the body
paragraphs before it; “paragraph transitions”
 Combining Research with Your Writing

Smoothly combine others’ words, information and id

eas with your own words
According to one expert, “There were over 10,000 arre
sts for drunk driving in Korea in 2011, and 23% invol
ved accidents” (Kim 134).
Kim has claimed that there were more than 10,000 dru
nk driving arrests in Korea last year, and nearly a qu
arter of these drunk drivers caused accidents (139).
Be sure to use proper documentation
 The Concluding Paragraph

This should summarize the essay’s main points, but that’s n

ot all
You should restate the ths in new words, e.g., “All the resea
rch shows that by educating the public, passing tough new l
egislation and more aggressively enforcing laws already on
the books, we can limit the damage caused by drunk drivin
g in this country.”
You may indicate the significance of what you have written
You may indicate the implications of what you have written
Your concluding paragraph should thus be at least three se
ntences long
 Revision=Seeing Again

When you revise your draft, you should do more tha

n just correct typos and grammar mistakes: you shou
ld try to improve your essay’s overall quality
Therefore, go from general to specific: start with the
ths and overall structure, i.e. the body paragraphs’ ts,
then the body paragraphs’ internal structure, then th
e intro. and concl.
Finally, look at sentence level and correct grammar a
nd diction (word choice)
 A Messy Process

Revision can be confusing, so pay attention to your w

orking outline
Print your draft and handwrite corrections on the pa
per, then apply them on computer
Keep past drafts you have printed
Do not be afraid to modify your ths
 Syntax: Where You Need the Most Help

Syntax=the grammatical arrangement of phrases an

d clauses into sentences
Clause=a meaningful group of words having a subjec
t and a predicate
An “independent clause” can stand on its own as a si
mple sentence
A “dependent clause” cannot stand on its own; it is a
sentence fragment, or “frag”
 Basic Sentence Construction

A “simple sentence” consists of one independent clau

se
A “compound sentence” consists of two or more inde
pendent clauses
A “complex sentence” consists of one independent cl
ause and one or more dependent clauses
A “compound-complex sentence” consists of two ind
ependent clauses and one or more dependent clauses
(can you write one?)
 Simple Sentences

It is raining.
We are postponing the picnic.
A good student must be intelligent.
A good student must also be diligent and honest.
There are many incidents of drunk driving in Korea e
very year.
People must be prevented from driving under the inf
luence of alcohol.
 Compound Sentences

It is raining, so we are postponing the picnic.

It is raining; therefore, we are postponing the picnic.
A good student must be intelligent, but s/he must also be di
ligent and honest.
A good student must be intelligent; however, s/he must also
be diligent and honest.
There are many incidents of drunk driving in Korea every ye
ar, so people must be prevented from driving under the infl
uence of alcohol.
There are many incidents of drunk driving in Korea every ye
ar; thus, people must be prevented from driving under the i
nfluence of alcohol.
 Complex Sentences

Since it is raining, we are postponing the picnic.

Although a good student must be intelligent, s/he m
ust also be diligent and honest.
Because there are many drunk driving incidents in K
orea every year, people must be prevented from drivi
ng under the influence of alcohol.
Because there are many drunk driving incidents in K
orea every year, people must be prevented from drivi
ng under the influence of alcohol, and research show
s that there are several ways to achieve this.
 Rhetorical Patterns

These are ways of structuring a paragraph or essay to

achieve a certain purpose
They can help you compose coherently
They make your meaning clearer to the reader
Major rhetorical patterns include illustration, narrati
on, cause and effect, process analysis, comparison an
d contrast and argumentation
 Narration

This is the simplest rhetorical pattern: it means tellin

g a story from beginning to end
It follows chronological order (time order)
Everyone likes to narrate and be narrated to
Narrative uses transitions such as first, second, next,
then, last and finally
 Cause and Effect

This shows the reason(s) why something happened o

r will happen
It can also present the effect(s) of a cause
It is used in scientific, economic and historical writin
g, e.g. the effects of radiation on animals, the causes/
effects of the present recession and the causes/effect
s of the American Civil War
It can use the same transitions as narration, since it i
s basically narrative
 Process Analysis

This explains how a particular action is performed; it

is more simply called “how-to”
It follows narrative sequence, and uses the same tran
sitions
It is used in instruction manuals, cookbooks, etc. Th
is lecture is process analysis!
Examples are recipes, car repairs, computer operatio
n or operation of any machinery, etc.
 Comparison and Contrast

This shows how any two things are similar and/or dif
ferent
“Block” c&c lists all the characteristics of A, then tho
se of B: A1, A2, A3; B1, B2, B3
“Point by point” c&c lists A’s and B’s characteristics a
lternately: A1-B1, A2-B2, A3-B3
You use c&c all the time: when picking a uni, a major
or courses to take each semester, you compare and c
ontrast the benefits of each according to criteria such
as time, necessity, interest, professor, etc.
 Argument

This is the king of rhetorical patterns

You use arguments to persuade people that somethin
g is right or wrong
An argumentative thesis states that some action sho
uld or should not be done
Argument is used in debate, as well as everyday life
Some believe that everything people say is really basi
cally argumentation
 Diction: Choosing the Right Word

Words have denotations and connotations, as well as

synonyms and antonyms
Denotation=the lexical (dictionary) meaning of a wo
rd
Connotation=the associated or implied meanings of
a word when used in a certain context
Synonym=word with more or less the same meaning
as another word
Antonym=word with the opposite meaning as anoth
er word
 “Educated”

Denotation: having gone to school and become learn

ed
Connotation: being more developed and cultured tha
n the uneducated, also more capable of thinking, pos
sibly feelings of superiority or snobbery, etc.
Synonyms: schooled, developed, cultivated, learned,
polished, civilized
Antonyms: uneducated, ignorant, uncultured …
Look in a “thesaurus” for synonyms and antonyms to
words
 Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism=using someone else’s idea or information

as though it is your own and not acknowledging its s
ource with documentation, e.g. (Kim 139)
It can be done accidentally as well as out of deliberat
e dishonesty, so be careful
Plagiarism is a serious ethical violation
You should use the documentation style required by
your professor; in English classes, Modern Language
Association (MLA) style
 Do Document …

Direct quotes: One economist predicts, “…” (Smith 7

6).
Statistics: 25% of criminals are repeat offenders (Jon
es 105).
Facts not widely known or accepted: One historian b
elieves the Nazis might have invented the atomic bo
mb first and won the war (Johnson 336-338).
Information for any charts or graphs
Any ideas not your own, e.g. opinions, interpretation
s, explanations, theories, etc.