OBJECTIVE: To write a carefully researched
response to a provocative question relating to each chapter.
General Information: You will
develop at least one of the Consider This discussions from each
chapter into a carefully researched response. The topics will be assigned
at least one week in advance and you will have an opportunity to discuss
the topic in your groups before the writing assignment is due. You will
want to research your topic using the popular literature (Science ,
Scientific
American, Discover Magazine, Popular Mechanics,
Physics
Today, Chemical and Engineering News) and the Web. You can use
Academic Search, a full-text
data base from The Pitt University Library. and the web resources starting
at the Chemistry in Context Site
as your resources. You might also find a few of the Electronic
Resources from the Chemistry library to be helpful as well.
Mechanics of the Paper: Some of the writing
assignments will be argumentative papers. Many will follow a more creative
format: letter to the editor, speech before congress, presentation to the
UN General Assembly, letter to your County Council. The voice (active or
passive) and person (first person or third person) will depend on the specific
assignment. When you do write in the first person, be very careful about
using colloquialisms!
-
Follow the format of a well-organized three to five paragraph essay.
Use good style and develop your arguments logically using either inductive
or deductive reasoning. You must also include:
-
A well-developed introduction and conclusion.
-
Well-organized paragraphs, grammatically correct sentences and correct
spelling.
-
Your assignment must be typed and no more than two pages long!
-
Proper citation for all of your references. The list of "Works
Cited" may appear on a third page.
Pitfalls to avoid: These are some of the
common mistakes students tend to make on writing assignments. They
are easy to make; it's even easier to train yourself to avoid them.
-
Colloquialisms or
Dialect
-
Omitting the imperative: "the paper needs to be typed"not
"the paper needs typed"
-
Spelling words the way they sound. For example in Southwestern Pennsylvania,
are and our sound very similar, but have very different meanings!
See below (*) for some others.
-
Plural vs Possessive
-
If something belongs to the car , it is the car's (use an
apostrophe followed by an s). However, if there is more than one
car there are many cars (no apostrophe).
-
We use many acronyms, like CD for a compact disc. If
there is more than one CD in a collection, there are many CDs.
-
Contractions vs Possessives
-
Frequently in conversation we like to contract words together using an
apostrophe to make them one word. For example instead of they
are we tend to say they're; or instead of will not we
say won't or instead of it is we will say it's.
Contractions are good for conversation, but not for formal writing.
Therefore be judicious in your use of contractions.
-
Also, be careful about how you use them. Some of these contractions
sound like other words. For example:
-
The contraction they're sounds exactly like their andthere
-
The contraction of it is (it's) sounds like the possessive
its.
-
The contraction for will not (won't) sounds similar to the
verb want.
-
... there are others
-
Other words that sound
the same, but have very different
meaning: Here is a list of some of the most commonly misused
homonyms (You might want to look up the word homonym in the dictionary.)
-
than vs then*
-
your vs you're
-
do vs due
-
too vs to vs two
-
are vs our*
-
cite (citation) vs site (location)
-
Know the correct meaning of the words
you use. When in doubt, check the dictionary! For example,
The pairs of words neither/nor and either/or are used when
you have a choice between two or more possibilities.
-
If the possibilities are positive, you would say "You may choose either
option A or option B."
-
If on the other hand there are not any good options, you might say, "Neither
component X nor component Y will work."
-
Common grammatical errors:
-
Make sure that the subject and verb agree. If the subject is plural,
use the plural form of the verb.
-
If you use a parenthetical phrase, be sure that the sentence has a logical
conclusion.
-
Avoid hanging participles!
-
Common errors of sentence
structure:
These are some examples of sentences structure errors that appear in
student papers. After you finish your first draft, read it over carefully
-- out loud! This is one way to avoid these common pitfalls:
-
Using prepositional phrases as modifiers. Sometimes this is necessary;
however, the order in which you list then makes a tremendous difference
in how well your sentence reads.
As of August
2, 2001 on the list in the book for our assignment New York....
This sentence suggests that the date (August 2, 2001) refers to the
list; actually the date has to do with information about New York.
A possible alternative wording might be:
Of the cities on the list in the book for our assignment, New York
... as of August 2, 2001.
-
Make sure that the subject/object of
the verb are both plural or both singular:
Found the levels
of carbon monoxide has decreased
The subject is levels which is plural, so verb to decrease
must also be in the plural form:
levels of carbon monoxide have (or had) decreased
-
If you have two clauses in a sentence, one must
be dependent on the other -- that is the ideas must be related. Consider:
Some health
and environmental effect, a small exposure to nitrogen dioxides may lead
to changes in lung function in individuals with a pre-existing respiratory
illness.
most likely a word or phrase was inadvertently deleted when another
phrase was edited. Reading the paper out loud to yourself can help
catch this little PittFalls
-
USE YOUR SPELL CHECKER!
... but check the options provided! Spell checkers are wonderful
inventions. But the spell checker in your word processor is only
as smart as the default dictionary.
-
Spell checkers do not know how to spell a lot of chemical terms, or even
some complicated words. Check to be sure that you have spelled the
word correctly and then add it to your spell checker.
-
Spell checkers are wonderful for checking typos (thank goodness!).
However, before you hit "replace" make sure the suggested replacement is
logical for the context of your sentence.
-
Spell checkers do not know which homonym you want to use (their, there
or they're). Again, before you hit "replace" make sure the suggested
replacement is logical for the context of your sentence.
Criteria Used for Grading Writing Assignments:
Each paper is worth 20 points and will be distributed in the following
manner:
-
One third for the content (science).
This varies from one assignment to another. Some examples of what
I look for:
-
In a letter to the editor about Waste
Resource Recovery Sites:
-
Does the letter explain the purpose of a Waste Resource Recovery Site?
-
Does the letter address issues such as sorting the waste, handling emissions,
disposal of the ash, inspections, etc.?
-
In an essay on Equity
and National Rights:
-
Does the author give examples of products and/or industries that
depend on CFCs?
-
Does the author demonstrate a good understanding of an "economically developed
country" and "economically underdeveloped country"?
-
Does the author demonstrate an understanding of the potential long-range
impact of indiscriminate use of CFCs?
-
For a newsletter
article discussing pros and cons of Paper vs Plastic:
-
Are the sources of the raw material for paper and plastic bags properly
identified?
-
Is the issue biodegradability (paper and plastic) addressed?
-
Are the differences in volume (how much space) of paper vs plastic presented?
-
One third for the quality and organization of
your argument (but not your opinion)
-
Is the thesis statement (main idea) presented in the opening paragraph?
-
Does the concluding paragraph touch back to the thesis statement?
-
Are the main ideas fully developed in the body of the paper?
-
Are the ideas presented in a logical and organized manner?
-
One third for the mechanics (style, documentation,
etc.)
-
Are all words spelled correctly?
-
Is the correct form of the word used for this context?
-
Are the sentences grammatically correct?
-
Does the subject agree with the verb (same tense, same
number, ...)?
-
Are there colloquialisms? ... not good
... make sure you avoid these!
-
Are there hanging participles? ... unfinished clauses?
... run-on sentences? ... Not good ... make sure you avoid these!
-
Is the first person used in an appropriate manner?
-
Does the author maintain consistence tense (all past or all future), person
(first person or third person, singular or plural?)
and voice (passive or active -- sometimes you can mix the voice successfully,
but be careful!).
-
Correct punctuation - proper use of comma, column, semi column, etc.
-
Is the apostrophe used correctly?
-
If your assignment is to write a
letter, be sure to include:
-
A header which includes your address and the date
-
The inside address (the person or entity to whom the letter is addressed).
-
A greeting (Dear
...)
-
The Body of the letter
-
A closing (Sincerely
yours, ...)
-
If your assignment is to prepare an
article for a newsletter:
-
Does the article have a heading/title, date and byline?
-
Are columns and other layout features (clip art, etc.) used effectively?
-
Are all of the references documented correctly?
So ... you want to use the Web:
The Web is a great place to locate resources for your papers. However,
exercise caution and judgment when using information gathered from sites
that are not supported by a well-known organization. Susan E. Beck,
Instruction Coordinator, for the New Mexico State University Library has
developed a site which contains some valuable resources. She calls
it, "The Good, the
Bad and the Ugly - or - Why it's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Resources".
A good place to start is the UPJ
Owen Library WWW Collection. Check both of these excellent
resources!
Back to the Top