9
Steps to Successful Reading FOR Evidence and Writing WITH Evidence –These basic steps apply to any question where you have to figure
things out accurately and quickly. |
If you are just collecting information for
a general paper, you can probably work as you did as a kid and be OK. If you need to figure something out
accurately and quickly, critical thinking is a lot like a math problem that
is too big to work in your head. You have to use paper and pencil to work
it—to try out different solutions and reject some things if necessary. Typing
is not a good idea because you believe what you type. Paper and pencil help: ·
With reading FOR evidence ·
With the 5Ws chart (or table) to help you
understand things so you can write WITH evidence – There are other charts
that can work but the 5Ws is a good one to begin with. |
Honorable reporters are expected to cover at least these things:
§ Who?
§ What?
§ When? (for this class, not a specific date but a period of time or an order of events)
§ Where?
§ Why?
§
and sometimes How?
Be sure you:
§
Line things up in each of the time periods so
you can see changes easily. When you are doing this for yourself, just write the
5 Ws Chart on a piece of notebook
paper with lines, but this shows you how you might make chart for a question
about how foreign policy (or any other issue) changed from one document to
another. If you have 3 documents, you need 3 columns. Notice how the columns
are in time order.
5Ws |
Foreign
Policy in the Earliest Document |
Foreign
Policy in the Middle Document |
Foreign
Policy in the Latest Document |
Who |
|
|
|
What |
|
|
|
When |
|
|
|
Where |
|
|
|
Why |
|
|
|
How |
|
|
|
§ Limit yourself to a word or two for each thing. Refer to things in the book or primary; don’t copy what is in the book, especially not a quotation.
§ Always make sure you understand the question. For example, if the question is about a region, a type of worker, or any category, always check that you have the right one. If you do not find that in the resources for the course, then ask.
§ Write down the specific page number where you can find a specific fact you place in the chart. (If facts in a section of the chart are from one page, you may place the page number after the last fact.)
§
Do not write down quotations at this stage.
Instead, if you think you might want to quote a phrase, write the word QUOTE?
and the page number in the 5 Ws Chart
as a reminder.
Tips:
· Don’t take notes from your textbook or your primary source in a separate notebook. If you have this habit, click here for why you want to replace this habit
·
For this writing assignment, use my exact pages.
For your future, remember these tips:
Your best buddy on the job or in a class is the index to the document you are
required to use. The index is at the back of the book. It is in alphabetical
order and often has subcategories that help you.
When you don’t know what pages in the textbook might help you answer a question
for a specific Unit, do this:
a.
Check to see the page number of the last page of
the last chapter covered in the Unit.
b.
Then go to the index at the back of the book.
c.
Look up words in the index that are in the question
and are also before the last page number covered in the Unit.
d.
Jot the page numbers down on a piece of paper and
look them up and read them.
e. When the
pages apply to the question, read carefully and record in the 5Ws chart using the method explained
above.
§ If you want to quote a phrase that you identified, open the book and quote it exactly. To avoid errors in quoting, use the brain trick in this link.
§ Keep
your book closed as you write. If you must check on something, open it briefly
but close it again before you write
a word.
Why? If you have your book open when you write or you took extensive notes (see the tip with step 1), in almost
all cases you will make both these
errors:
- Plagiarize or do a “half-copy” version of plagiarism (to use the term in The Bedford Handbook)
- Be factually inaccurate
§ Read your paper syllable by syllable—ideally in a funny accent that will force you to pay attention.
§ Check your paper against each of the instructions for the assignment. Did you do everything?
§ Run spellcheck and grammar check with your paper, but do not make corrections automatically.
§ Check your citations: some people benefit by using this tactile method to make sure their citations are correct.
Here are
additional tips on how to prevent different types of errors:
·
How to verify content before you write
·
How to check evidence in your written work
· How to proof quotations - Plus the Basics about Quotations)
· How to proofread for clarity
Taking notes in a separate
notebook or on paper can be useful if you are collecting information that you
do not have easy access to. The typical example of when it is OK to take notes
is when you are collecting information for a term paper when you can’t check
out the source.
If you take notes in
a notebook when you read a textbook or when you read anything you have to do something with, it is dangerous to
your success. The simplest way to put it is:
IF you are absolutely sure that taking notes from your textbook is
something you ought to do, then click
here for a PowerPoint
video on the danger of taking notes separately from your source. (It
is one I did years ago.)
Copyright C. J. Bibus,
Ed.D. 2003-2018 |
WCJC
Department: |
History
– Dr. Bibus |
Contact
Information: |
281.239.1577
or bibusc@wcjc.edu |
Last
Updated: |
2018 |
WCJC
Home: |