1. Writing for the University
Jessica Montgomerie
jessica.montgomerie@du.edu

2. Effective academic writing has…
• Obvious purpose
• Appropriate for audience
• Professional tone
• Appropriate vocabulary
• Coherent, logical statements
• Adequate evidence to support thesis

3. Choose sources carefully…

5. I am here to help you avoid
cheater’s prison.

6. What do I do?
Cite: give credit to the person who gave you the idea
or the data you are using
• In-text citations: in the sentence where you
use the idea or the quotation, point out where it
came from.
• References: at the end of the essay, list the
compete publication information for the all
sources you used.

7. When do I cite?
Every time you use information from a source,
whether you quote or paraphrase it, you must cite.
Two things you don’t have to cite:
• “Common knowledge” (China’s currency is
the yuan)
• Your own opinion.

8. Quiz time!
• Do we have to cite direct quotations?

9. Quiz time!
• Do we have to cite direct quotations?
Yes!
Example:
I agree with Diana Hacker that when we
finish our first draft, our “ideas will
probably have gone in directions [we]
couldn’t have predicted ahead of time” (27).

10. Quiz time!
• Do we have to cite paraphrased ideas or facts?

11. Quiz time!
• Do we have to cite paraphrased ideas or facts?
Yes!
Example:
I agree with Diana Hacker that students can be
surprised by how much their ideas change during
the process of writing the essay (27).

12. Reference
1. http://gamezblog.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/02/Plagiarism.gif
2. http://www.sociology.camden.rutgers.edu