Writing in Communication Studies

Writing in Communication Studies

What you've learned in General Education writing and critical thinking courses

What you need to learn about writing for Communication Studies courses

What you've learned in PDP150, ENG101, ENG102

Every paper needs a thesis, or a focus, or a point. Ask yourself, "What is my paper saying in a nutshell?"

Each academic discipline has customary ways of presenting information, arguments, and evidence. See "What you need to learn" below. Read critically. Understand an author's argument--don't just copy information from the source.

Ethically use information from sources (even your textbook) by (1) quoting (using quotation marks where needed), paraphrasing (using your own words to report another author's point), or summarizing (presenting another's ideas in a shortened form in your words) and (2) citing sources.

Document every idea that is not your own with in-text citation and a bibliography. Use APA for Communication Studies.

Give yourself time for all steps of the writing process (drafting, revising, and editing), and talk to a Writing Center tutor at any point in the process. See more on this below.

Dr. Laliker's Writing Principles:
Take a position on your topic.
Assume the reader knows nothing.
Use critical reading methods (remember PDP or Critical Thinking).
Cite everything that isn't from your own brain.
Use examples whenever possible; be specific.
Develop your paragraphs fully. (2 sentences are 2 sentences, not a paragraph.)
Use transitions between ideas.

Literature review:

1) Looking at primary sources.
2) Choose material relevant to your specific purpose and point.

* Remember that the purpose of writing is to communicate when you are not present.

* Your reader should be able to understand what you write easily. Good writing illuminates.

* Be specific. Explain ideas by citing how specific works of art illustrate them.

* Use the appropriate vocabulary specific to the subject being discussed.
APA in-text citation and bibliographic format
When you summarize or paraphrase information, cite your source by placing the author's last name and publication date in parentheses at the end of the cited information. When you quote a source, cite by placing author's last name, publication date, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quotation.

The bibliography is called References. This means the works listed are those you've actually referred to or cited in your paper.

The basic format for a bibliographic entry is:

Author's last name followed by a comma and first initial (plus middle initial if known);

Date of publication;

Title of the text, capitalizing only the first word of the title and the first word of the subtitle;

City of publication;

Publishing company.

See the Writing Center's Guide to APA Documentation for more information and examples.

The writing process:

When you draft, just get your ideas down as fully as possible. Plan to revise later.

When you revise, pay attention to:

How clear your thesis is;

How well the main points support your thesis and how they're organized;

Whether there's one main idea per paragraph;

Whether you've included sufficient evident to make each point and clearly related the evidence to the point you're making; and

Whether connections between ideas are clear.

When you proofread and edit, pay attention to:

Accuracy of quotation and citation;

Bibliographic format;

Sentence structure;

Grammar;

Punctuation;

Word choice;

Spelling; and

Formatting.

Remember that you can get Writing Center help at any point in this process.