Mar. 7, 2008 - The Egghead Report- March 3

Click here to read The Egghead Report- Vol 1, Issue 1. March 3, 2008

The Egghead Report is a newspaper written entirely by my writing students, ages 12-14.   Enjoy!

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Nov. 13, 2007 - Heartland of America Christian Writer's Conference

Heartland of America Christian Writer's Conference

Just back from the HACWN Annual Writer's Conference in Kansas City, I'm bursting with ideas and enthusiasm.

In a cram-packed two and a half day format, I went to a wide variety of workshops on topics ranging from "How to Write a Book Proposal" to "Marketing Your Book" to "Edit like an Editor" and many more.  I absolutely must say that this conference was exactly what I needed at this stage of the process. 

Some of you know that I decided to sell my CPA practice last year to focus my efforts on homeschooling the children full-time.  But I also decided to pursue my long-time romance with writing at that time.    Words and ideas have been spilling out of me.   My brother once said of me, "You never do anything half way."   Well, that is true. 

So, with this blog post, I am officially launching my writing career.   It's not a get-rich quick business, and it will probably  be a get-rich never business, but I'll be writing about what I'm passionate about, and that's what really matters.

In the meantime, I'll keep you posted on my writing endeavors and I'll also commit to updating my blog at least weekly. 

Bookmark my site while you're here and check back often.   I'll try to make sure that each and every post has substance. 

 

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Sep. 13, 2007 - Fix-It Grammar Curriculum

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Sep. 6, 2007 - Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) Jeopardy

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Sep. 6, 2007 - Highlights of Last Year's Writing Co-op

Highlights of Last Year's Writing Co-op

I am an Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) homeschool co-op teacher starting my second year using IEW.  Last year I taught Level C and High School Essay Intensive to High Schoolers as well as Level A to nine children ranging in age from 9 to 13.  This year I am continuing the younger co-op by starting out with Level B (as a review and refresher) before continuing on to the Level B Continuation Course.  We had tremendous success, even with the varied ages.  However, this year, my two youngest students are joining a Level A continuation group so that I can really challenge the older students.

For the Level A first year class last year, high points of the year were playing "IEW Jeopardy," crafting their own versions of "The Princess & the Pea, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and The Lion and the Mouse and making their own books to treasure them in.  The children also enjoyed writing their animal reports using the mini-books.  We ended the year with thoroughly researched and well presented state reports (including a sampling of each state's indigenous foods) and a highly anticipated IEW Jeopardy rematch. 

For the High School class, high points of the year were sharing their creative stories, a library field trip for research reports, a hilariously competitive IEW Jeopardy game, writing a 5-paragraph essay on forks (no kidding), and a wonderful culmination to the year with a 7-week research paper project where the the students presented their Christian worldview on topics including abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, global warming and the authentic version of the Bible.  Wow. 

IEW rocks!

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Apr. 5, 2007 - How to Write a Research Paper

I compiled this from a variety of sources, (cited below) for my high school writing co-op class.

How to Write a Research Paper

 

 

1. What is a Research Paper?
   1. Using research to discover information and using that information to make an argument in an academic paper.
   2. A research paper is NOT a book report. Research papers involve reading many books and require you to synthesize the information you find into a thesis.
   3. A research paper is NOT an essay. An essay does analyze a topic, but doesn’t necessarily include any research.
   4. A research paper is NOT journalism. Journalists attempt to report the facts without bias or a point of view. In a research paper, you need to take a position- maybe even a controversial one- and back it up through your research.

2. What types of research papers are there?
   1. Historical Events- Research a historical event as broad as the Civil War or as narrow as one battle and come up with an original thesis that analyzes some aspect of the event.
   2. Current Events- Investigate some aspect of a political situation or social issue, take a stand, and back it up with research.
   3. Text-based- Read key texts in a particular academic topic, research what other scholars have written about those texts and then come up with your own informed thesis.
   4. Personal Interest- Choose a topic that’s of personal interest to you, research it, and generate a thesis on what you discover.

3. What are the parts of a research paper?
   1. Introduction- An interesting beginning to capture the reader’s attention and let the reader know what the paper will be about.
   2. Thesis- A well-defined idea that takes an arguable stance. A thesis can’t be an obvious point with which nearly everyone would agree. The thesis appears in the introduction, usually as the last sentence.
   3. Arguments- Concise, well developed examples or points that link together to build a case for your thesis. These should come from a variety of sources.
   4. Counterarguments- Possible objections to your thesis. Anticipate and answer all possible objections. This makes your paper a “research paper” instead of an opinion piece.
   5. Conclusion- An ending that does more than summarize and restate your argument. A conclusion should resolve some question, broaden the issue, and deepen the reader’s understanding of your thesis.

4. What are the four basic criteria for grading a research paper?
   1. Does the paper have a persuasive, convincing argument?
   2. Is the argument supported by relevant, careful research?
   3. Does the paper showcase analytical thought?
   4. Is the paper written well?

5. What is the process of writing a research paper?
   1. Planning-

2. Researching-

3. Writing-

4. Polishing-

6. Choosing your topic-
   1. You must choose a topic that interests you. If you choose a topic that is easy to research but not really interesting to you, your paper will be boring.
   2. Brainstorm for ideas, considering your own passions and interests. List everything that you’d enjoy researching and writing about.
   3. Get ideas by doing web searches, and/or talking with parents and friends.
   4. Focus your topic- If your topic is too broad, you’ll feel overwhelmed and panicked as you sort through your research material. If your topic is too narrow, you’ll feel annoyed and frustrated that you can’t find enough material to use. To narrow your topic, look for subtopics within your topic.
   5. Your ideal topic will provoke debate.
   6. Links for Hot Topic ideas:

7. Do preliminary research-
   1. Are there plenty of resources available- books, articles, reputable websites, journals, etc…
   2. Will I be able to understand the resources available?

8. Form a hypothesis-
   1. Form a tentative assumption, a general theory you’d like to investigate. Be open to revising, changing, or even reversing your original hypothesis, depending on where your research takes you.

9. Gathering Source Materials-
   1. Reference materials- Encyclopedia, world atlas, etc…
   2. Primary Sources- Original works. Documents, artwork, autobiographies, first-person accounts, letters, interviews, novels, films, plays, poems, short stories, speeches, and TV shows. 
   3. Secondary Sources- Works about primary sources and their authors, including journal articles, biographies, editorials, essays, and reviews.
   4. Utilize the library, online searches, academic journal databases, you may also use less traditional sources, such as films, documentaries, interviews, maps, photographs or questionnaires.
   5. Write down the source information for your bibliography, especially if you make copies or printout internet sources that you might not be able to find later.

10. Get an Overview-
    1. Skim your sources to determine what will be useful to your topic. Ideas for skimming- read the first and last paragraph of each chapter, read the topic sentence of each paragraph, put sticky notes on things you want to read more carefully.
    2. You don’t have to read each source from cover to cover, but do read the most relevant portions completely.
    3. Set aside the sources that aren’t very useful.

11. Read and take notes-
    1. Possible note formats- Note cards, notebook paper, or computer notes. 
    2. Do not write notes in full sentences, focus on essential info.
    3. Do not rely too heavily on one source. Do not accept one author’s statements as fact without comparing them against others’ opinions.

12. Types of notes-
    1. Basic Facts
    2. Summary- sum up paragraphs, chapters, articles, books, etc.
    3. Paraphrase- Useful when you want to keep writing in your own voice, but you cannot use the author’s exact phrasing (unless you want to put it in quotation marks.) Write down the page number where your paraphrased passage occurs. It’s plagiarism to paraphrase an author without citation, even if you’re not using direct quotations. 
    4. Evidence- When you come across information that bolsters your hypothesis, make a note of it.
    5. Counterargument- It’s important to note evidence against your topic, so you can address it in your paper.
    6. New Idea- Ideally, your sources will ignite many sparks as you read, take the time to write them down.
    7. Quotation- If the line is colorful, unusual, precise, and exactly relevant to your hypothesis; write it down for possible use in your paper. If you omit a phrase, use … (an ellipses) in its place. If you omit a whole sentence or more, use four periods …. In its place.

13. Revise your hypothesis and create your thesis-
    1. Feel free to revise your hypothesis at this point. If your original idea is supported, great, but stay flexible if it’s not.
    2. Requirements for a successful thesis-

3. Read through all of your notes, then go back to your hypothesis and think about how your research has changed or confirmed that hypothesis.
4. Think, think, think… until the best thesis clicks in your head and you can imagine the supporting paragraphs following the thesis
5. Finally, write down the thesis. Then refine the language, getting the statement as concise and accurate as possible.
6. Avoid these common thesis pitfalls-

14. Making an Outline-
    1. Format:

15. Write your first draft-
    1. Have faith in your outline
    2. Sort your notes by argument and from most useful to least useful within each argument.
    3. Expand your sketched-out arguments and evidence into full-fledged sentences and paragraphs
    4. Add material to clarify your thoughts
    5. Connect each point with transitions
    6. Focus on ideas, not style. Don’t lose momentum by trying to get each sentence perfect. Focus on clarity and connection, not elegance.
    7. Mark spots that you need to come back to or facts you need to check.
    8. Introduction- Begin broad and narrow to your thesis. In deciding where to begin your introduction, it will help to think back to the first stages of your research, before you had narrowed your focus. What about your topic originally piqued your interest? What fascinated you will likely fascinate your readers. Mention your research, but don’t feel obligated to list all of your sources. After stating your thesis, write a few sentences to lay out the arguments you will make to support your thesis. Try to keep your introduction down to one healthy paragraph.
    9. Body- Flesh out your arguments, making sure each argument connects logically to the next. Each paragraph should address just one key point. Use the TRIAC paragraph model:

10. Conclusion- Start with a tight focus on your paper and then broaden to encompass a wider prospective. You shouldn’t tackle an entirely new topic, but it should show that you’ve considered how your topic fits into a wider context. Don’t restate everything you’ve written in your paper which will bore your reader.

16. Take a day off after completing your first draft- you want to be fresh when you tackle the re-writing.

 

17. Revising your work-
    1. Revise the body first, improving topic sentences and strengthening paragraph content.
    2. Revise the introduction
    3. Revise the conclusion
    4. Big stuff- At this stage you’ll do lots of deleting, rewriting, cutting and pasting. Don’t worry about word choice or punctuation at this stage.

5. Small stuff- small, but important

 

18. Proofreading your work-
    1. Use computerized grammar, spelling and punctuation checking.
    2. Don’t rely on the automatic checks completely. Print it out and read it out loud.
    3. Format your paper carefully, according to the appropriate documentation style given by your instructor.

 

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