Useful Notes

Statement may refer to:

• A kind of Expression (language) in language (linguistics)
• Statement (logic), declarative sentence that is either true or false
• Statement (computer science), the smallest standalone element of an imperative programming language
• "Statement" (song), 2008 song by the Japanese band Boris
• Statements (album), 1962 album by jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson
• Financial statements, formal records of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity
• Mathematical statement, a statement in logic and mathematics
• Political statement, any act or nonverbal form of communication that is intended to influence a decision to be made for or by a group
• Press statement, written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media
• Statement of Special Educational Needs, outlining specific provision needed for a child in England
• a paper size also known as organizer L or half letter

Thesis 

1. A proposition that is maintained by argument.

2. A dissertation advancing an original point of view as a result of research, especially as a requirement for an academic degree.

3. A hypothetical proposition, especially one put forth without proof.

4. The first stage of the Hegelian dialectic process.

5.

a. The long or accented part of a metrical foot, especially in quantitative verse.

b. The unaccented or short part of a metrical foot, especially in accentual verse.

6. Music The accented section of a measure.

Academic Writing

You probably realize that not all writing has a thesis statement, or has paragraphs with topic sentences. It is important to remember that academic writing is just one type of writing. It is different from personal writing, business writing, or creative writing.  Here are some main properties of academic writing:

·      Academic writing is different from personal writing because it deals with the ideas and theories that are used in argument and research. In addition, it has a formal tone and observes rules of punctuation, spelling, and so forth rather strictly.

·      Academic writing is organized with a formal structure that is used to present ideas. 

·       One important difference between academic writing and other types of  writing is that academic essays rely on others' ideas as well as the writer's. Those ideas come from experts, such as professors and published authors. (We will not cover citation in this part of the course. College Writing 2.2x will cover doing research writing.)

·      In academic writing, you need to think about who you are writing for.  You should assume an audience that is educated, but may not know about your topic specifically.  

·      It is important to use correct grammar and punctuation in all styles of writing, but academic writing tends to be more strict about it.

Finding information for your Essay

Good academic writing uses information from multiple sources to support its main ideas. For example, unless you personally are an expert on water conservation efforts in China, you are going to need to research information about it if it's your topic for writing. Of course, in academic writing, research means different things, but primarily:

• visiting the library
• using the Internet
• talking to experts

Libraries

Libraries are important sources of information--nothing compares to browsing shelves of books or journals. If you are lucky enough to have access to a good library, be sure you visit it and make use of it. Talk to the librarians, and really learn how the library can help your research. 

The Internet

In the modern era, the Internet is quickly becoming the most popular forum for our research.  Whether using a search engine, reading online documents, or asking questions in forums, we can find almost anything we are looking for.

The main problem with the Internet, of course, is that we don't always know the validity of the information we find there. If you do Internet research, answer these questions about any source you find on the Internet:

1. Who wrote it? (If you can't find an author, find out what organization sponsors it.) If you cannot find an author or organization, you should doubt the information's reliability. If you've never heard of the author or organization, look them up to learn more about them.
2. Does the author support his or her ideas? If the author states facts or statistics, does he or she say where this information came from? Does the author use reliable sources, or just rely on his or her own opinion? 
3. Is the information up to date? If it is important that your information is current, does the author include a date of publication so you know how current the information is?  When was it written?

For more detailed information on how to evaluate a web page, see UC Berkeley Library's page: https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html.

Talking to experts

One source of information that is often overlooked is talking to experts. "Experts" aren't just people who are famous professionals; if you are writing an essay about child-rearing practices, speaking to young mothers might help your research. Think about your topic--is there anyone you could talk to?

If you speak to an expert, be sure you get permission to use her or his words in your research. Also, give your experts proper credit in your paper. If they wish to remain anonymous, be sure you honor that wish as well.

How to create a bibliography