GS 108: INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION LITERACY

LECTURE 6:
Overview of academic writing process

LECTURER: Dr Everlyn M. Anduvare

Bishop McCauley Memorial Library
Email: eanduvare@cuea.edu

Putting Research Information at the Centre of Scholarship 1

 Expected Learning outcomes

By the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
I. Understand what entails a term paper.
II.Have the necessary skills to review a journal article.
III.Discuss key techniques of making notes from academic
sources.

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 WRITING A TERM PAPER
WHAT IS A TERM PAPER? DEFINITIONS:
i. It is a type of research paper written by students in
universities and colleges on a given topic and which relies on other
sources for clarification and verification of evidence of various
arguments.
ii. It is a concept paper that seeks to demonstrate understanding
in a particular body of knowledge of interest to the researcher
whereby the author is expected to critique a body of knowledge by
providing contrasting views and arguments.
iii. It is the end product of a research process which involves
gathering relevant information or data on a topic by using techniques
such as library research, questionnaire administration, interviews and
observation.
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 KEY PRINCIPLES

 They are submitted to subject instructors at least once for each course
and usually form a significant part of final grade in that course.

 In some universities the term paper goes under names such as,
documented paper, extended essay, library paper, semester paper,
seminar paper, or simply research paper.
 In writing term papers, you may use primary or secondary sources of
information. Primary sources include original works by authors, face-to-
face interview notes, questionnaires or firsthand reports of observation.
 Other examples of primary sources are letters, literary works (e.g. poems,
drama, and prose fiction), the bible, speeches, memoirs, manuscripts and
newspaper articles.
 Secondary sources are those that report on works of others such as journal
articles, commentaries, books, essays, reference works, and television
recordings.

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 After reviewing and evaluating the available body of
knowledge on a subject, you are expected to incorporate your
personal insights on the topic, and support that position with
findings and conclusions of others in the field.
The paper should end by mentioning areas that would be
important for further empirical and/or conceptual research.

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 REASONS FOR WRITING A TERM PAPER
So why do instructors assign term papers? The purpose of
term papers is three-fold:
(a) To deepen the students’ understanding of a topic:
Writing a term presents an opportunity for you to delve into a
topic beyond what is possible in the lecture your instructor
presents in the class.
The amount you learn about an area will expand significantly
as you do research and write the paper.

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 (b) To orientate the students into professional and scholarly
academic research and writing:
In most career options such as law practice, journalism,
management and teaching one is required to find information,
analyze it, draw conclusions and convey the same to others.
Term paper writing in class sharpens your analytic and
communication skills in preparation for the professional career
you may wish to pursue after graduating.

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 (c) To demonstrate students capacity to carry out independent
research:
Term papers are often a course requirement and contribute
towards the final course mark that seeks to assess the student’s
ability to carry out independent academic research work on a
selected topic.
You will be evaluated on your capacity to define a topic for
research, articulate a coherent scheme for examining this topic,
gather and evaluate the necessary information, and finally,
analyze and present it in a manner that effectively addresses the
topic.

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 OUTLINE OF THE PROCEDURE OF WRITING A TERM
PAPER

Whether in your institution the term paper is referred to as

documented paper, extended essay, library paper, semester
paper, or simply research paper, to accomplish an assignment
in this genre you are required to use the following procedure:
I. Determine, narrow and refine the topic on which you will
write a paper,
II. Familiarize yourself with the works of experts on that
particular topic in the form of printed books, journal articles,
and Internet articles or through personal contact in form of
interviews, questionnaires, and observation, Identify, read
and relevant notes of ideas and perspectives

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 III. Analyze and interpret the ideas of experts you have
collected by summarizing them and discussing their meaning
and application (Parish, 1981),
IV. Integrate your personal insights into your analysis and
interpretation of the ideas of others (Gibaldi, 2003)
V. Present the final product in form of a critical essay of
moderate length (10 – 20 typed pages) in unambiguous and
easily understood style.

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 QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE TERM PAPER

(a) Wide reading and varied ideas: You have to show evidence
that you have examined many sources of information.
(b) Critical thinking, analysis and interpretation: This implies
that in the process of doing research do not take the views of
others as the ‘gospel’ truth simply because they have been
published or are presented as expert opinion.
(c) Originality: Your purpose in writing is to create new
knowledge while recognizing other peoples’ ideas that you have
used in your paper.

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 (d) Objectivity: You are expected to present your paper
from an objective point of view
(e) Organization and coherence: You are expected to
present your ideas in a logical structure, appropriate to the
paper’s subject, purpose, audience, thesis and disciplinary field.
(f) Use of appropriate style: You need to use correct grammar,
punctuations, and spelling. Choose words that have precise
meaning and are specific to what you intend to say. Your
sentence style should be varied, clearly structured, and focused
and at the same time fit the audience (Langan, 2003).

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 GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE TERM
PAPER
(a) General form of the term paper
General style
i. Print or type using a 12 point standard font, such as
Times New Roman, Geneva, Bookman, Helvetica, etc.
ii. Text should be 1.5 spaced on standard A4 paper with
2.5cm margins, single sided
iii. Number pages consecutively – about 10 pages

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 Mistakes to avoid
i. Placing a heading at the bottom of a page with the
following text on the next page (insert a page break!)
ii. Dividing a table or figure across pages – confine each
figure/table to a single page
iii. Submitting a paper with pages out of order

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 i. Stay focused on the research topic

ii. Use paragraphs to separate each important point (except for the
abstract). Do not use bullets, numbers, bold or underlining within the
text. Use the bold typeface only for headings.

iii. Present your points in logical order

iv. Avoid first and second person references – i.e., avoid “I conducted
the research, or we…”

v. Use third person references – i.e. “the research was conducted…”

vi. Avoid addressing the reader directly, i.e., do not say “if you talk to
the insurance companies you will find …”

vii. Avoid jargon or slang terms

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 viii. Do not abbreviate words – i.e., say “the study did not
find….” and not “the study didn’t find …”

ix. If you use any figures and/or tables, refer to each figure and
table as "Figure 1…," "Table 2…," etc, and not “the figure
above…”. ;

x. Place figures and tables, properly numbered, within your

paper. Do not group your figures and tables at the end of your paper.

xi. Each figure must be numbered consecutively and complete

with caption at the bottom of the figure.

xii. Each table must be numbered consecutively and complete

with heading at the top of table.

xiii. Each figure and table must be sufficiently complete that it

could stand on its own, separate from text.

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 SECTIONS OF YOUR TERM PAPER
1. Title page
Select an informative title that clearly tells the reader what
the paper is about. It should be concise. Include a sub-heading
if necessary. Include your institution, faculty, Department, Your
name and Student Number name of the course, the Title of the
assignment, and date submitted.

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 2. Abstract
An abstract is a concise single paragraph summary of completed
work.
This is a summary of the paper: the purpose and objectives,
methodology where applicable, arguments or findings, conclusions
and recommendations
The abstract should be one paragraph of two hundred words or
less.
From the abstract, the reader can learn the rationale behind the
study, general approach to the problem, pertinent results, and
important conclusions or new questions.

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 Writing an abstract
Write your abstract after the rest of the paper is completed.
After all, how can you summarize something that is not yet
written?
Economy of words is important in an abstract.
However, use complete sentences and do not sacrifice
readability for brevity.
You can keep it concise by wording sentences so that they
serve more than one purpose.

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 Single paragraph and concise
An abstract should stand on its own, and not refer to any
other part of the paper such as a figure or table, or cite
references.
Focus on summarizing results – limit background
information to a sentence or two, if absolutely necessary.
What you write in an abstract must be consistent with what
you have written in the paper.
Correct spelling, clarity of sentences and phrases, and proper
use of language are just as important in an abstract as they
are anywhere else.

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 3. Introduction
Your introduction should be approximately three pages (1.5
spacing).
General intent
The purpose of an introduction is to acquaint the reader with
the rationale behind the work, with the intention of defending it.
It places your work in a theoretical context, and enables the
reader to understand and appreciate your objectives.

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 Writing an introduction
Here is the minimum information that should be included in
a successful introduction.
i. Describe the importance (significance) of the study – why
was this worth doing in the first place? Provide a broad context.
ii. Defend the model you are using – What are its advantages?
You might comment on its suitability from a theoretical point of
view as well as indicate practical reasons for using it.
iii. Provide a rationale. State your specific objective(s), and
describe the reasoning that led you to select them.

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 Style
Organize your ideas, making one major point with each
paragraph.
Present background information only as needed in order to
support a position. The reader does not want to read everything
you know about a subject.
State the objectives precisely.
As always, pay attention to spelling, clarity and
appropriateness of sentences and phrases.

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 4. Body of the paper (you may have several sub-sections
here depending on what is appropriate for your topic)
The body of the paper represents the literature reviewed to
present both the contemporary concepts in the area of study and
previous studies that have used those concepts, how they have
used them and what conclusions they have arrived at.
This helps to link your research to what has been done before
and if possible, develop your conceptual framework.

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 In developing the body of your paper consider the following:
i. Compare and contrast different authors’ views on an
issue
ii. Group authors who draw similar conclusions,
iii. Note areas in which authors are in disagreement,
iv. Show how your arguments relate to previous studies,
v. Outline any gaps in previous research,

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 5. Conclusion
Conclude by summarising what the literature says, and
highlight knowledge gaps that could benefit from further
empirical and/or conceptual research.
Remember the objective(s) you had when you started writing
the paper. Your conclusion should tie in the key arguments to
support or address the objectives.

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 6. Literature cited and referenced

Within the text, cite all references used using author’s

surname and year of publication.
Please refer to the Referencing Guide for details on
appropriate citation and referencing.
The use of footnotes and endnotes for referencing is not
acceptable.
In your list of references include ALL and ONLY that
literature which you have cited within your text.
Referencing of cited works should consistently follow a
recognised format e.g. APA, MLA, Turabian method, etc

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 IMPORTANT – Proofread!
Avoid incomplete sentences, redundant phrases, obvious
misspellings, and other symptoms of a hurriedly written
paper.
Spelling and grammatical errors can be embarrassing.
For example, the words “the” and “them” are both correct
in spelling, so your spell-checker will not pick them out,
but could be grammatically wrong in the context used.
When you print off your paper, please make sure that
tables are not split over more than one page that headings
are not "orphaned", or pages submitted out of sequence,
etc. Remember, someone has to read this paper.
Please make it pleasant for them to do so!

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 ASSIGNMENT OF MARKS FOR A TERM PAPER
In both assignments Marks will be awarded as in the table below
Date: __/___/____

SECTION MAX. MARKS

MARKS AWARDED
AUTHORSHIP
Author Information and Identification of assignment 1

CONTENT
 Provision of definitions/terminologies 1
 Quality of Abstract/Introduction 1
 Width of reading and variety of ideas 1
 Organization & Coherence of Content 2
 Originality (creates new knowledge while 1
recognizing other peoples’ ideas)
 Relevance of Information to the topic 1

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 SECTION MAX. MARKS
MARKS AWARDED
 Level of analysis an interpretation 1
 Conclusions/summary/recommendations 1

 Objectivity 1
PRESENTATION
Accuracy of APA Referencing 1
Quality of References 1
Accuracy of Grammar 1
Styles and Fonts/Formatting 1
Total
Remarks/15

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 WRITING A JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW
Introduction
Definition: Journal Article Review
This is a critical review of a journal article that evaluates the
strengths and weaknesses of an article's ideas and content. It
provides description, analysis and interpretation that allow
readers to assess the article's value.
An assignment to review a journal article is written not only
to describe its content of the article being reviewed, but also to
express your critical assessment of the ideas and argument that
are being presented by the author.

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 What do you cover in article review?
Use the following questions to engage with the journal article
and help you form your critical analysis:
Objectives: what does the article set out to do?
Theory: is there an explicit theoretical framework? If not, are
there important theoretical assumptions?
Concepts: what are the central concepts? Are they clearly
defined?
Method: what methods are employed to come up with the
data presented or to make the arguments made in the paper?

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 Argument: what is the central argument? Are there specific
hypotheses?
Evidence: is evidence provided? How adequate is it?
Values: are value positions clear or are they implicit?
Literature: how does the work fit into the wider literature?
Contribution: how well does the work advance our
knowledge of the subject?
Style: how clear is the author's language/style/expression?
Conclusion: a brief overall assessment.

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 Procedure of doing an article review
1. Get to know the article you are reviewing.
i. Look at the title, the table of contents, the abstract and the
introduction.
ii. These should give you some idea of the central focus and
the coverage of the article and the author's reasons for writing
the article.
iii. Skim quickly through the whole article, running your eye
over opening sentences of paragraphs and glancing at any
tables, illustrations or other graphic materials.

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 iv. Read more closely the first section, which should tell
you the main issues to be discussed and indicate the
theoretical or conceptual framework within which the author
proposes to work.
v. Read closely the final section, which should cover the
author's conclusions and summarise the main reasons why
these conclusions have been reached.
vi. Now that you are familiar with the text, read the
whole text thoroughly to develop a basis on which to
critically review it.

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 2. Decide which aspects of the article you wish to discuss in
detail in your review:

i. The theoretical approach?

ii. The content or case studies?

iii. The selection and interpretation of evidence?

iv. The range of coverage?

v. The style of presentation?

vi. Usually you will discuss the main issues which the author has
specifically examined.

vii. Sometimes you may choose a particular issue because it has

importance for you and the course you are studying, even if it is not
the main issue for the author.

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 3. On the basis of your overall knowledge of the article and your
decision about which issues you will discuss, read in closer detail the
sections which are relevant to these issues.

i. Make notes of the main points in the article and key quotations.

ii. If necessary, read other articles or books which are relevant to your
topic, possibly to provide supporting evidence or alternative
theoretical models or interpretations of data.

iii. You may also want to glance at other reviews of the article in
recent academic journals in order to get a feel for the way the article
has been received within the discipline. However, only use these
reviews to support your own evaluation; don't merely copy or imitate
them.

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 4. Drafting and writing your review
The structure of your review should include:
i. An initial identification of the article (author, title of article, title
of journal, year of publication)
ii. Introduction: An indication of the major aspects of the article
you will be discussing.
iii. Summary of the purpose and objectives of the paper.
What did the author set out to do
What are the specific objectives of the paper
iv. Summarise the methodology used to generate the data or
information presented in the paper
Did the author use a survey, a case study, an experiment, a
literature review, etc.
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 v. A brief summary of the range, contents and argument of
the article.
Summarise section by section, but in a short review you
usually pick up the main themes only.
Discussion of 2-3 key issues raised in the article.
Identify the author's own arguments
This section is the core of your review.

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 vi. A final evaluation of the overall contribution that the
article
This is where you offer your opinion on the article.
How has made to your understanding of the topic (and
maybe its importance to the development of knowledge in this
particular area or discipline, setting it in the context of other
writings in the field).
Discuss any flaws with the article, how you think it could
have been better and what you think it all means.
Indicate gaps in the author's treatment of a topic; but it is
seldom useful to criticize a writer for not doing something they
never intended to do.

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 vii. Identify areas of further research
Write one paragraph discussing how the author
could or expand on the results,
What the information means in the big picture,
What future research should focus on or how future
research could move the topic forward.
Discuss how knowledge in the area could be
expanded.

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 Note taking techniques
 The quality of your term paper will depend a lot on the quality of
notes you take down. This means it is important you decide
carefully what to include, and how to record this information.
 The guiding principle in taking notes is to find evidence to support
your thesis. This evidence includes facts, data as well as
hypotheses, theories and conclusions of experts on the subject you
are investigating.
 In this exercise you should be guided by the outline you made
earlier so that you collect notes to support each heading in your
outline.
 It is important for you to be balanced in taking notes so that all the
sections of your paper are treated fairly although some will get
more emphasis than others.

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  Focusing on a few aspects will lead to an unbalanced paper.
 There is no specific order in which to read the sources appearing in
your bibliography.
 However, it is good to start by getting an overview including
definitions, historical background, and sub-categories of the topic.
 It is therefore advisable to start your notes with specific reference
books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, handbooks
and so on.
 These will give you the definitions, overview and general
background of your topic.
 After referring to these articles in reference books you may then
turn to materials such as books, journal articles, Internet as well as
audio-visual media such as microforms, sound recordings and so
on.
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 The process of taking notes involves the following steps:

(a) Skim the entire book, chapter, article or pamphlet by

examining the table of contents, index, preface, and chapter
summaries to locate sections that are relevant to your paper.
(b) After identifying relevant sections, read them, and record
notes in form of paraphrase, summary, personal reactions
and comments or, direct quotations.
(c) Read the notes you have made again to ensure that they
represent the ideas or conclusions of the author.

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 Styles of taking notes
 There is no laid down regulation pertaining to making notes.
 However, you should ensure that they are short, clear, accurate,
easy to refer to and convenient to use. There are several ways of
making notes:

(a)Summary or Précis:
 This is a brief overview of what you have read so as to capture an
idea quickly by recording only the facts or important points.
 It is important that you understand the material before you
summarize it so that you may record clear notes and avoid
plagiarism.
 Whenever you include a summary in a term paper you have to cite
the source.
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 (b) Paraphrase:
This is a restatement of the material in your words, syntax or
style while preserving the tone of the original.
In a paraphrase you use the author’s ideas which you present
in your own language therefore you need to acknowledge the
source.
In paraphrasing it is important that you use your own words
not those of the author.

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 (c) Direct quotation:
This is recording the words exactly from the
original source including the exact punctuation.
When quoting directly it is important that you copy
the author’s words verbatim, indicate who is being
quoted, and place quotations marks around the entire
quotation.
You must also record the exact page.

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 (d) Outline:
This is creating an outline of the major ideas of a
passage and which are relevant to your paper.
When making an outline you should indicate your
sources.

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 (e) Personal reactions and comments on readings:
This is the best way to write as you are able to put on paper
your original thoughts as they occur and therefore avoid the
difficult task of having to remember them later.
These will be very useful when compiling the paper.
However be carefully so as to separate your reactions from
the ideas of the author which you have to acknowledge.
Making notes by direct quotation can be a hindrance to
evaluation and assimilation of the material itself into your style
when you start writing the paper.

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 Therefore, it is advisable to take notes in the other forms and
use direct quotation only when the particular material is
especially well stated or for points that require the impact of
a respected authority’s exact words.
A point that cannot be overemphasized is the need to avoid
plagiarism, which simply means using the ideas or writings
of another person and presenting them as your own.
This is one of the worst crimes a student can commit and can
carry severe penalty such as expulsion.
The only way to avoid plagiarism is to properly acknowledge
your sources.

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 The following are some suggestions on how to avoid plagiarism:
(a) Use your own words even when you are writing about
the ideas of someone else.
(b) Ensure that the structure of your sentence is different
from the original work.
(c) When paraphrasing text, use your own words unless it is
technically necessary to use the author’s original words.
(d) Put quotation marks on phrases that are original and cite
the source and page.
(e) Acknowledge the ideas, not just words of other writers
by proper documentation or referencing.

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 How to store your notes
 There are several ways of storing your notes.
 However the following are the most common:
(a)Note cards:
 This involves taking notes directly on cards with each idea
appearing on a separate card.
 Standard cards are available in stationary stores.
 If one card is inadequate for one idea continue into a second one
and staple them together.

(b)Using a notebook, a foolscap etc.

 This is easy to handle, carry about and is economical but unhelpful
when you want to order your notes thematically.
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 (c) Using computerized note card programs:
Modern computers are equipped with a note card program which
allows you to enter information the way you would enter in physical
cards.

(d) Using laptop and desktop computers:

If you have a laptop or desktop computer, you can take notes
directly into the word processor which saves time.
However, as you do this it is important to label your notes
thematically for ease of use.
For all types of resources, if you make direct quotation write down
the page numbers you got the information from.

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  This will save you time and will ensure that you reference all your
sources properly. For books, reports, theses and other printed
sources, the following information will be useful:

i. Author and/editor or translator if there is one,

ii. Full title of the book or article in a book,

iii. Publisher’s name and place of publication,

iv. Year of publication,

v. Page number if you make a direct quotation,

vi. The call number found on the spine of the book so that you are
able to find that book later,

vii. The section where the material is located in the library.

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 For journal articles include the following
information in your notes:
i. Author of the article,
ii. Full title of the article,
iii. Full title of the journal, volume and number in
which the article is found
iv. Date of the journal
v. Journal page numbers within which the article
lies,
vi. The name of index in which the journal is listed.

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 For electronic sources you need to record the
following details so that you are able to follow them
up later:
i. Author of the article,
ii. Full title of the article,
iii. Full title of the journal and volume in which the
article is found (if this the case),
iv. The name of the database in which the article is
found (if this is the case)
v. Page numbers within which the article lies
vi. The type of electronic resource (email,
discussion forum, www page etc.),
vii.The URL link.
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