Getting Started: An Introduction to Good Habits for Evidence

 

What’s on This Webpage:

Issue 1: Two-thirds—67%—Is a Lot of Good Students Trying Hard to Do Something That Nobody Would Pay For

Issue 2: Why Does It Matter That Nobody Would Pay Someone for Those Habits of Work

Issue 3: How Does My Way of Grading Lets Me See Like an Expert –and Prove It

Issue 4: Why Does WCJC Making History a “Gateway” Have a Consequence on This Course

Issue 5: Getting Permission for an Experiment in Helping Students

Issue 6: How Will This Work?

Issue 7: Looking at 5 Student Examples from the Link “If You Missed One of the Questions”

If You Are Unsure of the Meaning of Some Words

The 5 Good Habits for Evidence (Also Used in Grading All Essays)

Reliable Sources Only

Factual Accuracy That You Verify with the Reliable Source Before You Write

Factual Accuracy That Is Verifiable for Every Statement You Make

No Plagiarism or “Half-Copy” Plagiarism

Quotation Changes Revealed Clearly

 

Issue 1: Two-thirds—67%—Is a Lot of Good Students Trying Hard to Do Something That Nobody Would Pay For

Click here for a brief oral explanation of this section.

The percentages of students not recognizing the need for factual accuracy is a key issue: over 63% through Fall 2013. Students who plagiarize (and read passively because they think copying words is what we want them to do) also frequently make factual errors.

 

What Students Identified That They Did Not Realize Prior to Feedback on Their Written Work

Percent

Spring 2011

Fall 2011

Spring 20121

Fall 2013

Need for reliable sources, including not relying on their memories

42%

50%

46.7%

63.7%

No plagiarism

52%

61%

51%

48.3%

No changes to another’s words without showing the changes

46%

42%

40.2

33.7%2

Need for factual accuracy

63%

65%

67.3%

67.2%

No assumptions about the author believing what you believe

53%

40%

48%

56.8%

Need to know where you found facts

57%

44%

53%

56.8%

1 Data for most terms from Spring 2012 to Fall 2013 is available, but has not been calculated.
2 Numbers are slightly lower perhaps because 2 classes included students who had previously taken the U.S. History I course.

 

Issue 2: Why Does It Matter That Nobody Would Pay Someone for Those Habits of Work

Click here for a brief oral explanation of this section.

 

1.     Habits of work of someone who is or is trying to be an expert

2.     The role of the expert:

·         A boss is an expert – one who might give you a job

·         A professor in a university – one who might give you a reference

 

Issue 3: How Does My Way of Grading Lets Me See Like an Expert –and Prove It

Click here for a brief oral explanation of this section.

 

Grade together all the papers that answered the same question

Place side-by-side the source (turned to the probable pages the student used) and the student’s paper

 

Turn to the page of the source that the student says he or she was  using

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

 

 

 

 

 

 

21

 

Fact 1, p.  21.

Fact 1, fact 2. p. 25

Fact, p. 56

 

Place all of the papers on a single question and grade them one by one.

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issue 4: Why Does WCJC Making History a “Gateway” Have a Consequence on This Course

Click here for a brief oral explanation of this section.

 

Some reasons:

·         25% writing is the minimum amount of the course

·         Required for some degree programs

·         History is real and it is a system like biology (something hard to learn)

Issue 5: Getting Permission for an Experiment in Helping Students

Click here for a brief oral explanation of this section.

 

The experiment:

·         25% writing is the minimum amount of the course permitted
40 for Unit 1 + 40 for Unit 2 + 100 for the Major Essay + 30 for the Unit Discussion work = 210

·         10 for          + 10 for           +  20   = 40

·         210 + 40 = 250 -- or 25% of our 1000 point course

 

How does it work?

The rubric determines the Good Habits for Evidence grade with each written assignment you do:

·         Unit 1 Essays (40 points for 2 essays at 20 points each) and a Good Habits for Evidence grade of 10

·         Unit 2 Essays (40 points for 2 essays at 20 points each) and a Good Habits for Evidence grade of 10

·         Major Essay at 100 points with a Good Habits for Evidence grade of 20

 

The whole reason for the points for the Good Habits for Evidence is—if you have habits like these—to help you walk away from bad habits and choose ones that will help you learn history—and anything else that is real that you have to learn (like things for a job). If you practice the Good Habits for Evidence, you earn points to help your grade while you are developing new and good habits.

 

This chart shows how the points for the Good Habits for Evidence are determined.

What the Marked Rubric Shows

Unit 1 or 2 Essays

Major Essay

If plagiarism from the Internet

0

0

If 2 or more problems in D and/or F column

2

4

If 1 relatively minor problem in D or F columns

4

8

If nothing is marked in the D or F column, the full 10 (or 20) points.

10

20

 

If you want to see a larger rubric, click here for an Excel version of a Rubric for a Unit 1 Essay worth 20 Points Each

To stress this: If nothing is marked in the D or F column, the full 10 (or 20) points. Some

 

Issue 6: How Will This Work?

Click here for a brief oral explanation of this section.

 

1.     If you do not want to do any writing, that is your choice.

2.     To do any of the written work, you have to click on the Acknowledgement Quiz for this Introduction to Good Habits for Evidence to be able to see either of the Unit 1 and Unit 2 Essays or the Major Essay. It is worth 20 points,

3.     You can choose to go through the resources in the Good Habits for Evidence folder and earn 20 points extra credit. I’ll be glad to talk with you as well.

4.     If you do not practice the Good Habits for Evidence on one of the writing assignments, the syllabus explains how your grade will be a temporary grade of 1.11 until you deal with the issue. (I also can be wrong and with evidence we can figure that out.)

 

Issue 7: Looking at 5 Student Examples from the Link “If You Missed One of the Questions”

Click here for a brief oral explanation of this section.

 

This webpage covers the 5 things used in grading your evidence about history. For each of the 5 Good Habits for Evidence, you have these resources:

·         Immediately under the name of the Good Habit for Evidence, a link to the question a student answered. I have color-coded highlights to show what the student did incorrectly with the source

·         A table that repeats the words in the answer you saw in the quiz, that covers “What’s Required for This Course,” and—if you want more tips or supporting information—a link for that.

 

Try looking at least the 1st student example—the one on the requirement to use Reliable Sources.

 

On the other hand, if you just want to look at the absolute minimum to start to build better habits, read carefully the part of the table with the label “What’s Required for This Course” for each of the 5 Good Habits for Evidence.

 

 

A supportive caution: If even the minimum seems too much for you, talk to me and let me help you. I will be glad to. Why is it essential for you to get these Good Habits for Evidence straight? There is no company that would want to pay you for what those student examples showed as their way of working. If you had to make a personal decision that could determine your money, your health, or the safety of those you care about, you need to make that decision using the Good Habits for Evidence. It is not just about learning history (although that matters), but also about your future.

If You Are Unsure of the Meaning of Some Words

A link in the Good Habits folder provides definitions of the words fact, evidence, assume, opinion, cherry pick, and embellish. These words are used on this webpage and also in the rubric for grading any essay.

The 5 Good Habits for Evidence (Also Used in Grading All Essays)

Reliable Sources Only

If you missed this question, click for a brief oral explanation and to see highlighted words in both the student’s essay and the source so you can understand why this student’s essay reveals a Good Habit for Evidence that Student 5 did not follow.

Good Habit for Evidence in the World

For your source of facts, use only sources your boss (or professor) accepts as reliable. — For example, unless your boss tells you “Google this for me and copy anything you like from the Internet,” don’t.

 

What’s Required for This Course

 

In this course, the only sources are:

1.     The textbook chosen by the History Department

2.     The sources provided within our Course Website.

 

Do not use:

·          Other Internet websites

·          Another textbook

·          Any other source—including other people or your own memory.

 

If You Want More Tips

If you want more tips on this Good Habit for Evidence, click here

Factual Accuracy That You Verify with the Reliable Source Before You Write

If you missed this question, click for a brief oral explanation and to see highlighted words in both the student’s essay and the source so you can understand why this student’s essay reveals a Good Habit for Evidence that Student 1 did not follow.

Good Habit for Evidence in the World

You must use reliable sources to verify everything that you write or say. To verify a fact means to confirm that the reliable source specifically states that fact (whether you wrote the words or the author did). — With bosses (or professors), you will be in trouble if you are incorrect so never guess and instead verify before you write or speak.

 

What’s Required for This Course

 

In this course, if you cannot verify the fact, do not write it and do not assume that the source agrees with you. If you are certain something is true and you cannot find it clearly in our sources, ask me for help.


In this course, you also must select facts that you write to reveal accurately the facts that the author presented. You cannot misuse the source. Examples:

§   If a question that you have to answer is about something specific (such as a time, type of person, or region), verify that the source is about that specific thing.

§   If the source covers facts, do not cherry pick or embellish them.

§   If the source covers facts about two or more sides, positions, individuals, or groups, do not include only one as though the other did not occur.

 

If You Want More Tips

If you want more tips on this Good Habit for Evidence, click here

 

Factual Accuracy That Is Verifiable for Every Statement You Make

If you missed this question, click for a brief oral explanation and to see highlighted words in both the student’s essay and the source so you can understand why this student’s essay reveals a Good Habit for Evidence that Student 2 did not follow.

Good Habit for Evidence in the World

If a boss (or professor) asks you for the proof of something that you said or wrote, you must be able to state the name of the reliable source and exactly where (a specific page) in that source that each fact came from (whether you wrote the words or the author did). — With bosses (or professors), you cannot just claim that a specific page provides evidence. If a reasonable person using a reliable dictionary and reading the entire passage on that page would not agree that you provided evidence, then neither will your boss (or professor).

 

What’s Required for This Course

In this course with Exam Essays, you do not need to provide citations (the specific page number from our textbook where a fact is located) unless I cannot recognize where the fact came from. If I cannot recognize the fact, I will ask for citations.
Caution: If I ask you for citations, it is because I could not find the fact as you said it on any of the textbook pages that specifically cover the question. To use the statement above,
if a reasonable person using a reliable dictionary and reading the entire passage on that page would not agree that you provided evidence, then neither will I. To double-check your work to be sure each fact is there, I recommend this tip that I call Fact to Finger.

 
In this course with the Major Essay, you must write according to the instructions and that includes citations that show exactly where (a specific page) for each fact. The style for citation may vary:

·          If you have had a college course so you are trained fully in a specific standard (such as MLA, APA, or the Chicago Manual of Style), you may use that.

·          If you have not yet had a course, you may use a very simple method provided as an additional instruction.

 

If You Want More Tips

If you want more tips on this Good Habit for Evidence, click here

 

No Plagiarism or “Half-Copy” Plagiarism

If you missed this question, click for a brief oral explanation and to see highlighted words in both the student’s essay and the source so you can understand why this student’s essay reveals a Good Habit for Evidence that Student 4 did not follow.

Good Habit for Evidence in the World

If you use words (even phrases) created by another person, then follow standards for using quotation marks (“”) to reveal clearly to your reader what words you created and what words the author created. — This is a requirement in courses, and in some jobs failure to do this is a firing offense.

What’s Required for This Course

In this course, you may:

§   Either write facts in your own words

§   Or you may use exact sentences or phrases from the textbook placed within quotation marks according to the specific rules for quotation marks (“”) to reveal ownership that are covered in The Bedford Handbook

 

In this course, you may not copy an author’s phrases without quotation marks. You also may not replace a few words in an author’s sentence. Both are what The Bedford Handbook calls “half-copy” plagiarism (page 692).

 

Why I make a big deal about “half-copy” plagiarism? Click here because the reason is in your interests and may surprise you.

If You Want More Tips

If you want more tips on this Good Habit for Evidence, click here. This link takes you to the same tips for Quotation Changes Reveal Clearly because they have the same background information

 

Quotation Changes Revealed Clearly

If you missed this question, click for a brief oral explanation and to see highlighted words in both the student’s essay and the source so you can understand why this student’s essay reveals a Good Habit for Evidence that Student 3 did not follow.

Good Habit for Evidence in the World

If you use quotation marks (“”) to reveal words created by another person but you change those words, then carefully reveal those changes by following standards for using quotation marks (“”), ellipses (…), and/or square brackets ([ ]). This may not be just a punctuation error. — Instead, by your changes, you may be misleading your reader about the evidence, and never mislead a boss (or professor) about the evidence.

 

What’s Required for This Course

In this course, if you use another’s words, you must be sure either not to change them or—if you change them—to follow the specific rules in The Bedford Handbook to reveal those changes to the reader.

If You Want More Tips

If you want more tips on this Good Habit for Evidence, click here. This link takes you to the same tips for No Plagiarism or “Half-Copy” Plagiarism because they have the same background information

 

The password for the acknowledgement quiz is

Evidence

 

After you take the quiz using the password, please email me so I can add the remaining 18 points to your Total.

 

 

 

Copyright C. J. Bibus, Ed.D. 2003-2014

 

 

WCJC Department:

History – Dr. Bibus

Contact Information:

281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu

Last Updated:

2014

WCJC Home:

http://www.wcjc.edu/