Glossary
A
abstract—a summary students write for their assignments, especially for longer papers, designed to provide an accurate description of the original sourceacademic research—the complex, investigative research students produce in college
academic writing—writing that students and others perform; the emphasis is on the writing and research process as well as the written product; usually written to demonstrate learning
analysis—breaking an idea or concept into its parts to understand it better
annotated bibliography—a special bibliography whose entries include added information about the sources
APA—shorthand name for the style guide used by the American Psychological Association; most commonly used in documenting research in social sciences and the humanities
application—the experiential operation of knowledge
argumentative techniques—formal rhetorical and logical methods used to argue a point of view
audience analysis—a detailed examination of the significant characteristics of an audience so that you can tailor your writing to meet its needs
audience profile—a tool writers use that describes the significant characteristics of the audience for whom they are writing
B
barcode—the 14-digit number on the back of your UMUC student identification cardbibliography—a list of works a writer presents for background or further reading
brainstorming—a prewriting technique used to generate ideas
C
causes and effects (causal analysis)—establishing a relationship between two things, or among more than two things, where there is a motive and a consequence; a thinking and organization pattern used in writingCD-ROM (Compact Disk, Read‑Only Memory)—a disk that contains information that is “read” using a CD‑ROM drive and a microcomputer
chaining—a structured, visual, free association of ideas to help you start writing
citation—a reference note that includes the title, author, publisher, year, and page number of a source; both MLA and APA use this term to refer to “in-text” citations; a note used after quotations and paraphrases that provides the author, year, and page number of the source
cognitive objectives—the desired learning outcomes of specific thinking tasks
collaborative writing—writing a paper as a team where the learning and writing processes are emphasized, as well as the final product
college writing—the writing students do while attending college; see academic writing
comparing and contrasting—a way of organizing a paper to compare two or more things; explains likenesses and differences
conscious writing techniques—systematic and structured strategies to generate ideas and get your writing started
content—the substance of writing; the subject matter of a paper
controlling idea—the primary idea of your topic sentence or thesis; expresses your attitude and approach to your topic
copyright laws—laws written to protect writers and their written products
D
database—a collection of logically stored information that can be accessed by computerdeductive reasoning—logical reasoning pattern in which the conclusion follows from the premises
diction—choice of words and the informality or formality of a style based on the kinds of words chosen
discourse community—sometimes called a knowledge community; the community of scholars and other voices who carry on discussions of a particular subject
documentation—acknowledgment through proper citation of your indebtedness to certain sources for particular ideas and quotations used in your writing
E
editing—the process of revising a written paper to improve clarity, correctness, and consistencyelectronic resources—research resources that are stored using electronic devices
endnotes—the references or list of works cited located at the end of a chapter or article
enthymeme—a syllogism in which one of the premises or the conclusion is not stated explicitly because it is considered obvious (as in “I am human” [minor premise]; “therefore, I am mortal” [conclusion]; the major premise, “all humans are mortal,” is not stated because it is assumed)
evaluation—determining the criteria you will use to measure the value and relevance of information you find during research and then applying those criteria
evidence—facts, examples, statistics, and expert testimony that are used to support claims
expert testimony—opinion from someone whose education, training, and experience establish his or her expertise in the objective analysis of data
expository—relating to explanatory, informative, or scientific speech or writing
F
feedback—objective comments given to writers that they can use in revising their writingfinal draft—the final written product submitted for a grade or other evaluation
first draft—the first prose conception of the written paper; used to discover the writer’s ideas and direction
flush and hanging—see hanging indent
footnote—the bibliographical or content note that appears at the bottom of the page in traditional note-citation styles like Turabian and Chicago
format—how a written product looks; includes headings, subheadings, type fonts, text, graphics style, page layout, and white space
free association—a prewriting technique used to generate ideas; the writer starts with an idea and connects other ideas by brainstorming
freewriting—nonstop, free-associational, informal writing; writing to think that taps into your individual perspective, knowledge, memory, and intuition
H
hanging indent—bibliography style in which the second and subsequent lines of a bibliographic entry are indented; also called flush and hanginghold/recall—a feature of the VICTOR online catalog that permits a user to request the delivery of print materials from one USM library to another
human resources—the sources used for research that originate with people, such as interviews, surveys, and solicitations of expert opinions; examples of human resources are your instructors and librarians
I
inductive reasoning—a logical reasoning pattern in which facts and observations are evaluated to determine whether a generalization can be madeinformation plan—a planning tool for a longer writing assignment that includes a statement of purpose, audience, scope, and objectives; a tentative outline of the content; and a schedule for completing the tasks
intellectual property—the product of a person’s thinking; may be protected by intellectual property laws
interlibrary loan (ILL)—a library service in which, upon request, one library lends an item to another library that does not have it
Internet—the globally interconnected “network of networks” that provides access to a wide variety of information sources
in-text style—a documentation style in which references to sources are placed in parentheses within the text itself rather than in footnotes and endnotes; also called parenthetical style
introduction—the structured beginning of a research paper; presents the problem, purpose, and focus of the paper and summarizes the writer’s position
J
journal—a writing technique used to generate ideas and to practice thinking in writing; may be structured or unstructuredjournalist’s questions—questions to ask and answer to generate ideas to get your writing started, such as who, what, where, when, why, and how
K
knowledge community—the community of scholars in a particular discipline or field of studyL
literature review—a survey of the scholarly work in a particular subject areaM
mechanics—elements of writing such as grammar, spelling, and punctuationMLA—the style guide of the Modern Language Association, commonly used in documenting sources for literature and languages
N
note citations—a traditional documentation style that uses footnotes or endnotes and superscripts; sometimes used in the humanitiesO
organization—the way in which ideas are tied together to flow logicallyoutline (or outlining)—a type of format for showing the relationships of major and minor ideas; an informal or formal way to organize your ideas in the planning stages of writing
P
paragraph—a unit of self-contained writing that has a topic sentence and explains one major idea in support of the thesisparaphrase—saying what someone else has said in your own words; contrast with summary and quote
parenthetical style—see in-text style
peer reviewers—your classmates and others who may review your writing
persuasion—the art and skill of convincing someone of the credibility of your argument
plagiarism—presenting other people’s ideas, words, and products as your own; not properly citing your sources when you use other people’s words or ideas
planning outline—an informal outline or list of points produced in the planning stage of writing that shows your thinking process and organization of your ideas
prewriting—the discovery and composing tasks writers perform before they actually start writing
primary audience—the audience for whom something is written
primary sources—the original sources of materials, such as interviews, eyewitness accounts, and original works of art
print sources—sources that appear in a printed format
proofreading—reviewing the final copy of your paper for accuracy; checking the latest version of your paper against the last version with editorial changes marked to ensure that you have made all of the corrections
purpose—the reason for writing; what the author hopes to accomplish in the writing (contrast with writing strategy)
Q
qualitative information—descriptive or explanatory information based on and expressed using value judgments, opinions, and argumentsquantitative information—statistical and numerical data
quote—using the exact wording of an author or interviewee; when a writer wishes to invoke authority or preserve an author’s or speaker’s language, he or she may quote the author or speaker
R
record—information contained in a library catalog that includes the title, author, subject, location, and call number of a printed or electronic resourcerecursive—a term used to describe the writing process; it refers to the repeated application of the steps of the writing process
reference—notation of the source of a quotation, figure, or paraphrase using conventional bibliographic information that includes the author, title, publisher, city of publication, and year or other data for books, journal articles, and online sources
reference list—a list of references you create while researching and writing your paper
research—the process of finding, evaluating, and using information on a given subject; the body of information about a given subject; writers may quote from, summarize, or paraphrase information they have found through their own research in primary and secondary sources
research question—the question a researcher asks that guides his or her inquiry into a topic
review of the literature—see literature review
revision strategy—a systematic approach to revising your writing
revising—a systematic approach to improving writing that may include changes to subject matter, organization, phrasing, or all of these
rewriting—see revising
rhetoric [as in rhetorical style]—the techniques for using language effectively in writing
S
SAILOR—a website librarians designed for the state of Maryland; SAILOR gives Maryland citizens and students access to the Internet at no charge and allows them to examine the holdings of the public and academic libraries in Marylandsecondary audience—the audience who might read a piece of writing but for whom the piece is not primarily intended
secondary sources—writings and discussions about the primary sources, such as works of history or criticism found in books and journals
source—the origin of material used in writing and research, such as a book, an interview, or an article
style—the impressions, such as gracefulness, fluency, and seriousness, of a piece of writing; style can also refer to the sound of a piece of writing, whether formal (with long sentences, many balanced constructions, or erudite vocabulary) or informal (conversational or colloquial)
style guide—a set of rules for formatting and presenting information in written work; the style guides most commonly used in college are those of the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA)
summary—information condensed into a brief format using the major ideas of the original source
supporting idea—an idea that lends credibility to a writer’s thesis
syllogism—a deductive scheme of a formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion (as in “all humans are mortal” [major premise]; “I am human” [minor premise]; “therefore, I am mortal” [conclusion])
synthesis—bringing two or more ideas together to show their relationships
T
templates—predesigned formats used in professional workplace writingthesis—a summary statement of the writer’s main point; sometimes called a thesis statement
tone—the overall expression in writing of a writer’s attitude
U
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)—the address of a websiteV
VICTOR—the online catalog of the University System of Maryland (USM) libraries; VICTOR contains the book and journal holdings of the 12 degree-granting USM institutionsvocabulary—the specific words of a subject; related to diction
voice—the individual way in which writers or narrators express tone
W
webbing—an unstructured, visual, idea-generating technique that uses association to explore relationships to get your writing startedWorldCat—the largest database of library holdings in the world; contains the holdings of libraries around the globe
working thesis—the drafted thesis a writer uses to research and begin writing an assignment; this thesis changes as the writer revises the draft to make it final
workplace writing—the professional kinds of writing used on the job, such as progress reports, proposals, memos, and task descriptions
World Wide Web (WWW, or web)—a global hypermedia-based system that provides the graphic, audio, and video interface to the Internet; referred to as the WWW or, more commonly, the web
writer’s block—the elusive mental distraction some writers experience that makes it difficult for them to write
writing strategy—the organizing and thinking strategy you use to write a paper, such as analysis, definition, synthesis, cause and effect, and comparison and contrast
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