5 Good Habits for Evidence Checklist – a Checklist for Critical Thinking

Tip: Use the box in the left column to check off (Ö) each thing as you do it.

What You Must Find Out Before You Work

Reminder: The 5 Good Habits for Evidence and Would Anyone Pay You If You Didn’t Have These Skills?

Ö

What You Must Find Out Before You Work

In This Course

 

What does the instructor expect from you?

What’s a Comparison in this course or an Alternative Writing  

-           

Are there examples you can see of what the instructor expects including how you are to reveal where your evidence came from?

What are the basics of how the Comparison looks

What are examples of a C, B, and A level Comparison

What are the basics of citation and examples of endnotes in the student example of an A Comparison

 

What standard do you follow for citing evidence?

History uses the Chicago Manual of Style, and this course uses a very simple version of Chicago to show the reader (cite) the exact page of the textbook that provides evidence for what you write.

When citing the textbook, the author’s last name and the specific page.

Example if you used page 35: I Ayers, p. 35. 

Student Example: The student example of an A Comparison covers citation and shows endnotes.

 

How do you cite the exact page of one of the primaries provided for some of the comparisons?

Comparisons requiring primaries tell you a simple way to cite primaries.

 

How does the rubric determine your grade for the separate Good Habits for Evidence grade and for Comparison?

Feedback page that is provided with your paper with your instructor’s comments.

 

What are things you should not do?

What are examples of things such as passive reading, assumptions, plagiarism, and “half-copy” plagiarism

 

What does the instructor want you to figure out and what are you to examine (specific pages)?

For each Comparison, there is a Content link. It gives all possible topics and lists all required pages for each topic.

 

How does the instructor expect your work to look?

For each Comparison, there is an Instructions link and pre-formatted file.

Figuring out the Content

Ö

What You Must Do

How to Do This

Good Habit

 

Read all of the required content? All pages and primaries listed?

Check the Contents link

# 1

 

Notice what applies to your question—and what doesn’t?

How to verify content

# 2

 

Read actively all of the sentences? Look up general words you don’t know and noticing words with a historical meaning?

Method to read and write

How to pay attention

# 2 and # 3

 

Use the 5 W’s chart to deconstruct facts so you can think about them (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and sometimes How)? Tip: Do not write words from the source in your 5 W’s chart. List a page number only.

Required for the Introductory Comparison
See an example.

-

 

Use the 5 W’s chart to decide what 2-3 issues you want to Compare?

(Choose issues that would help someone learn changes in history.)

Required for the Introductory Comparison See an example.

-

Preparing to Write and Writing – Consider these brain tricks.

Ö

What You Must Do

How to Do This

Good Habit

 

Looking at your 5 W’s chart, pretend to teach someone what your 2-3 issues. (Stammering shows you when to reread that content.)

Method to read and write

# 2 and # 3

 

Repeat the speech until it makes sense (usually 3 to 5 times). Say it again but type it as you speak to create your rough draft. If you have a quotation to use, type it exactly and then close the book before you write anything else.

Method to read and write

# 2 and # 3

Catching Your Own Errors Before You Submit

Ö

What You Must Do Before Submitting for a Grade

How to Do This

Good Habit

 

Check your work for accurate evidence (or proof)

How to check evidence

# 3

 

Proofread ( or proof) your work

-

-

 

·         For accuracy of quotation marks with all of the author’s words

How to proof quotations

Basics for # 4 and 5

 

·         For correct use of language in general and for the discipline of history

How to proofread for clarity

-

 

If you can wait 24 hours, proof it again before you submit

-

-

 

 

 

 

Copyright C. J. Bibus, Ed.D. 2003-2015

 

 

 

WCJC Department:

History – Dr. Bibus

Contact Information:

281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu

Last Updated:

2015

WCJC Home:

http://www.wcjc.edu/