Guides: ENGL 3110: Academic Writing in the Humanities: Writing Resources

How to Write a Research Question

From the Writing Center at George Mason University

How to Write an Outline

Outlining
Outlining is a tool we use in the writing process to help organize our ideas, visualize our paper’s potential structure, and to further flesh out and develop points. It allows the writer to understand how he or she will connect information to support the thesis statement and the claims of the paper. An outline provides the writer with a space to consider ideas easily without needing to write complete paragraphs or sentences.

Research Paper

Genre and the Research Paper by Purdue OWL

How to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources.

Revising

Revising
Why Revise? To make the draft more accessible to the reader. To sharpen and clarify the focus and argument. To improve and further develop ideas

Synthesizing Sources

Synthesizing Sources from Purdue OWL
When you look for areas where your sources agree or disagree and try to draw broader conclusions about your topic based on what your sources say, you are engaging in synthesis. Writing a research paper usually requires synthesizing the available sources in order to provide new insight or a different perspective into your particular topic (as opposed to simply restating what each individual source says about your research topic).

Close Reading and Critical Reading

CRITICAL READING: WHAT IS CRITICAL READING, AND WHY DO I NEED TO DO IT?
Critical reading means that a reader applies certain processes, models, questions, and theories that result in enhanced clarity and comprehension.
Critical Reading
You'll find many ways to read and understand a text, but keeping a journal as you read is one of the best ways of exploring a piece of writing. By integrating reading and writing, you can interact with the work more fully.
Close Reading a Text and Avoiding Pitfalls
Close reading a text. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid.
Close Reading
From Harvard College Writing Center
Poetry: Close Reading
By learning how to close read a poem you can significantly increase both your understanding and enjoyment of the poem. You may also increase your ability to write convincingly about the poem.
Reading a Play
These sections also discuss different approaches (literary theory/criticism) students may use to write about literature. These resources build on the Writing About Literature materials.
Audience Analysis Overview
In order to compose persuasive, user-centered communication, you should gather as much information as possible about the people reading your document. Your audience may consist of people who may have differing needs and expectations.

Developing a Thesis from a Story or Novel

Once you've read the story or novel closely, look back over your notes for patterns of questions or ideas that interest you.

Understanding Rhetoric

Understanding Rhetoric
Understanding and being able to analyze rhetorical situations can help contribute to strong, audience-focused, and organized writing. The PowerPoint presentation in the Media box above is suitable for any classroom and any writing task. The resource below explains in more detail how to analyze rhetorical situations.

Rhetorical Analysis

Organizing Your Analysis
General tips for plotting out the overall form of your essay.
Types of Outlines and Samples
Types of Outlines from Purdue OWL
Rhetorical Situations
Understanding and being able to analyze rhetorical situations can help contribute to strong, audience-focused, and organized writing.
Elements of Analysis
How to write a rhetorical analysis essay of primarily visual texts with a focus on demonstrating the author’s understanding of the rhetorical situation and design principles.
Analysis
Analysis is a type of primary research that involves finding and interpreting patterns in data, classifying those patterns, and generalizing the results. It is useful when looking at actions, events, or occurrences in different texts, media, or publications.

Writing a Literature Review

Writing a Literature Review
A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research (scholarship) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Installing MS Office 365 ProPlus

Free Microsoft© Office 365 ProPlus is available to currently enrolled students.

https://it.unt.edu/installoffice365

ePortfolio LibGuide
UNT’s new ePortfolio system provides you with an opportunity to connect your experiences on campus and in
your community with demonstrable skills for your future career. Learn how to begin building and archiving a
personal repertoire of marketable experiences in your ePortfolio.

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quotiong from Purdue OWL

Sample Essay for Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting from Purdue OWL
This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills.

Summarizing

Paraphrasing

Quoting

Must reference the original source
The text is much shorter than the original text. (For example, one may write a single page to summarize a four-page article.)
Must use your own words, usually with a very limited use of quotations.

Must reference the original source
The text produced may be shorter or longer than the original text

Must use your own words

Must reference the original source
The text produced is the exact length of the original text quoted (unless ellipses are used)

Use the original author’s exact words
Put quotation marks around the original author’s exact words
Include the page number of the original source from which you borrowed the author’s original language.

Citation Styles - English predominately uses MLA

MLA Guide from Purdue OWL
These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the Works Cited page, as well as MLA sample papers, slide presentations, and the MLA classroom poster.
MLA Sample Paper
Sample Paper
APA Style Guide from Purdue OWL
APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed., 2nd printing).
APA Sample Paper
Sample Paper
Chicago Manual of Style from Purdue OWL
This section contains information on The Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow the seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, which was issued in 2017.
Chicago Manual of Style, Author Date Sample Paper
Author Date Sample Paper

more...
Chicago Manual of Style, Notes and Bibliography (NB) Sample Paper
Notes and Bibliography (NB) Sample Paper

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliographies from Purdue OWL

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources.

Common Writing Assignments from Purdue Writing Lab

Common Writing Assignments

These OWL resources will help you understand and complete specific types of writing assignments, such as annotated bibliographies, book reports, and research papers. This section also includes resources on writing academic proposals for conference presentations, journal articles, and books.

How to use RefWorks

RefWorks Introduction
Learn how to use RefWorks, the reference and research manager available to all UNT students, faculty, and staff.

UNT Writing Lab

UNT Writing Lab
At the UNT Writing Lab, we offer free writing tutoring to all currently enrolled UNT students in all disciplines and at all stages of their academic careers--from English composition students to graduate students writing theses and dissertations. We do more than merely proofread; we teach you strategies and techniques to improve your writing for the long term.
We accept both appointments and walk-ins at our Sage Hall, Room 152 location. However, to ensure time with a tutor, we recommend setting an appointment.

Student Publishing Opportunities

Student Publishing Opportunities
If you are interested in publishing your article take a look at these possibilities.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when you use other people’s writing or ideas without giving credit to the creator. Any sequence of more than three words is plagiarism

We always give credit to other people’s creative and intellectual property. We respect the rights and property of others.

Some students make errors in citing because they do not give themselves enough time to cite their material while they write. Learning how to Quote, Summarize, and Paraphrase with In-text citation is critical and learning to include in-text citations while writing your paper will avoid possible citation errors. Please use the link above and practice citing material.

Once I contacted the author of an online resource and asked if I could use some of her information in a guide I was working on. She gave me permission and I cited the author in my guide.

Types of Plagiarism:

Direct or Clone – taking someone else’s work directly. This plagiarism carries the most severe penalty because it demonstrates dishonesty and involves intent.
Self Plagiarism – reusing work from a previous courses without permission from your professor.
Mosaic, patch writing, or find and replace plagiarism. If you quote a source, or keep the basic format from the source and use synonyms to change a few words, without properly citing the information, then you are committing plagiarism.
Accidental – this can occur if the student does not use their own critical analysis found from synthesizing the information learned, and instead uses the critical argument of another author.

Video: Student Success Series, A Student’s Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism and Understanding Citations

Avoid Plagiarism by citing your material correctly

If you are not sure if you need to cite your material, it is always better to cite and not have a problem with plagiarism.

Student Academic Integrity

Policy number:

06.003

Policy description:

UNT promotes the integrity of learning processed and embraces the core values of trust and honesty. Academic integrity is based on educational principles and procedures that protect the rights of all participants in the educational process and validate the legitimacy of degrees awarded by the university. In the investigation and resolution of allegations of student academic dishonesty, the university’s actions are intended to be corrective, educationally sound, fundamentally fair, and based on reliable evidence.

Writing Center. (2018, January). Six Common Types of Plagiarism. Ashford University. https://writingcenter.ashford.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/Six%20Common%20Types%20of%20Plagiarism_0.pdf

Free Plagiarism Checker. (2021). Scan My Essay. Viper. https://www.scanmyessay.com/plagiarism/types-of-plagiarism.php

CopyLeaks. (2019, October 21). 4 Types of Olagiarism and How to Avoid Them. Copyleaks Technologies LTD. https://copyleaks.com/blog/types-of-plagiarism/

Office of Disabilities Access

Interpreting and CART Accommodations
he Office of Disability Access works to provide reasonable access and an inclusive environment to UNT students who identify as d/Deaf, Deaf-Blind, or Hard-of-Hearing. Reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to the following:

American Sign Language Interpreters
CART Services
Closed Captioning for information presented in an audio or video format
Advanced copies of PowerPoints or Handouts
Reserved seat in the front of the class
Assistive listening devices

What is Thorough Research?

"Thorough research"

Reviewing all sources and finding relevant information for your paper..
Use correct sources (popular or scholarly) based on your assignment requirements. Use recommended databases from your school which guarantees the quality of the material found. If you use Google, Google Scholar, Yahoo or another search engine you have to evaluate the source which takes a considerable amount of time.
Using more than one sources gives a broader perspective on a subject. All journals write to a specific audience and the more articles or items you reference the greater your understanding of the current discussions surrounding your topic.

Evidence Explained. (2014, July 29). QuickTips. https://www.evidenceexplained.com/quicktips/

Literature Review and synthesizing Sources

Writing a Literature Review
In a review of the literature, the writer provides an overview of the most important research and scholarship on a specific topic, problem, or question. (In this context, "literature" refers to the important scholarly sources on a topic including the current scholarly conversation.
Synthesizing Sources
Synthesizing Sources from Purdue OWL
When you look for areas where your sources agree or disagree and try to draw broader conclusions about your topic based on what your sources say, you are engaging in synthesis. Writing a research paper usually requires synthesizing the available sources in order to provide new insight or a different perspective into your particular topic (as opposed to simply restating what each individual source says about your research topic).

ENGL 3110: Academic Writing in the Humanities

How to Write a Research Question

How to Write a Research Question

How to Write an Outline

Research Paper

Revising

Synthesizing Sources

Close Reading and Critical Reading

Developing a Thesis from a Story or Novel

Understanding Rhetoric

Rhetorical Analysis

Writing a Literature Review

Installing MS Office 365 ProPlus

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quotiong from Purdue OWL

Citation Styles - English predominately uses MLA

Annotated Bibliography

Common Writing Assignments from Purdue Writing Lab

How to use RefWorks

UNT Writing Lab

Student Publishing Opportunities

Plagiarism

Office of Disabilities Access

What is Thorough Research?

Literature Review and synthesizing Sources

Additional Links