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Resources As
students study this guide and its associated materials, and especially during
the process of writing their papers, they may form in their minds questions
concerning information they feel the guide does not provide. There are a number of resources
available that will likely answer most questions students have about college
writing. I expect students to take the initiative to locate and use
these resources. The syllabus answers many
questions. It contains the call
for written assignments, specifies deadlines (which I keep without
exception), and provides instructions on how to submit written work (for
example, which file format I accept). A
library staff does not exist solely to return books to their shelves. Librarians are a resource for researching
and writing papers. They are
trained to assist faculty and students in locating books and journals,
navigating databases and interlibrary loans, accessing archives, and so on. Written assignments require library
work; students should take advantage of the talent and experience while
there. UW-Green
Bay has established a Writing Center to aid students with organization,
grammar, spelling, etcetera. Learn more about the
center by visiting http://tinyurl.com/7jpv4hf. Bring a draft of the paper when visiting. Many students believe that their
writing is adequate and they therefore do not need to avail themselves of
this service. However, even if
one’s writing is strong, the center may still be useful. Smart writers know the value of
constructive criticism of their work. (Unfortunately, the Writing Center is
not available during the summer.) There are numerous essential resources students should
purchase for their home office or, if budgets are tight, find in the library:
a dictionary, a grammar book, and style manuals. I require the Chicago Manual of Style, which is in the
UW-Green Bay library, reference or stacks Z253.U69. To learn more about
the manual, visit the on-line resource http://tinyurl.com/y5bvny.
Students are required to use the author/date system detailed in this manual
(not the documentary note system). Often, students in a social science classes are not
aspiring social scientists (maybe they signed up for the purpose of meeting a
general education requirement) and thus find themselves at a
disadvantage. Just as the
physical sciences - biology, chemistry, physics -
can be intimidating due to the specialized vocabularies employed, the social
sciences - anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology
- have developed specialized terms.
There are numerous disciplinary dictionaries and encyclopedia that may
help with interpreting the materials encountered (students will find a good
sociology dictionary particularly helpful). However, standard
dictionaries and encyclopedia are often unhelpful; dictionary and
encyclopedia authors write for the layperson, not the serious student of
social science. Although I will not be able to read drafts of student
papers (class sizes preclude this), I encourage students to run ideas and
sources past me and submit topic ideas and research questions for
review. These interactions,
which students find helpful in providing directions and in reducing anxiety
about assignments, may be accomplished during my office hours or through
e-mail. Finally,
to clarify frequently asked question and record answers to questions I did
not anticipate, I sometimes attach a FAQ to the
course web page. When this
resource appears, I expect students to read it to see if I address their
question there is before asking me. |
Contents Writing in My Class
(Introduction) |
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