lunedì 20 aprile 2009

APA vs MLA

APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) are two of the most commonly used guidelines for citing sources and formatting research papers. While reading some basic information about them my first impression was that APA style is much more constraining than MLA, but let's see what the main similarities and differences are:

Both style

  • require that whenever you use a source you provide in the text brief parenthetical references mentioning the author and page number(s);
  • recommend that at the end of your paper you provide an alphabeltical list of the works you used and consulted for your thesis listing the complete citation for each work referred to parenthetically in the text;
  • prefer a language clear, concise and plain (so, minimize the figurative language).

APA
  • gives very precise and detailed instructions of both the major paper sections and the specific formats to be used in the text (headings, stylistics, in-text citations, quotations, references etc.);
  • your essay should include 4 major sections: Title page, Abstract, Main Body and References;
  • suggests you make the References list by: capitalizing all major words in journal titles, italicizing titles of longer works (books and journals), not italicizing underlying or putting quotes around the titles of shorter works (journal articles or essays in edited collections).
MLA style
  • gives precise but more general rules;
  • recommends always underlining instead of using italics: it is more distinctive and recognizable for material that is to be graded or edited;
  • recommends using a more descriptive heading such as Works Cited, Works Consulted, or Annotated Works Cited;
  • when you have more than 2 authors, it suggests you provide all names, separated by commas with and before the last (not &, as APA suggests).

domenica 19 aprile 2009

A STEP BACKWARDS...

We all are working on searching, evaluating and filtering information. As we've learned so far, being critic is an important step to gather ideas in order to create the own one. So let's apply our critical approach on what I have written so far.
Are my blog posts well structured? logical, cohesive, clear and concise?
Going back to what I've made I can have an idea of my mistakes, my bad habits but also my improvements. While rereading my posts from the very first to the last one I noticed a difference in organizing information. The more recent posts seem to follow a more precise structure. However, my bad habit persists! I've always been long-winded, made loong sentences, complex periods.. I wonder if even the nuns of my nursery school told me to be MORE CONCISE!! It's really an effort to me to be clear. I always have to skim and scan my own ideas before writing clearly. It's a characteristic of mine: I'm complicated.. Anyway, I realized I've also made improvements: I try to be precise and accurate, to find the appropriate words following a logical structure.
We are here to learn in order to correct ourselves and to improve. So I will do my best.

WHAT ARE IP RIGHTS?

As Internet, blogging and other technologies spread, copyright concerns become really important. If on the one hand all this has made it easier to search for, share, give and have information, it is also easier to infringe rules and violate rights. It is thus important to have a clear understanding of the Copyright law and of what Intellectual Property Rights are. It is essential to know your IP rights in order to protect and benefit from your creativity!
So, what are we supposed to do in order to respect IPR and avoid plagiarism?
First of all: be honest and loyal! Do not appropriate other people's belongings! Then:

Do use material and work under public domain but don't copy it. If you report an idea you find interesting and appropriate to your written production remember to quote the source and to mention the "owner" of that idea. Citing can be an important way to support your own opinion. In a blog you can add a link to a more exhaustive text.

Do use images and pictures but make it sure that they provide copyrights (use for example: Flickr's CreativeCommons). It is always better to add a note of the source. If you're not sure you are allowed to use an image check at the bottom of the web page if there is something about copyright, otherwise, don't use it.

These are some of the things I've gathered on the topic up to now. I know that the matter is rather complex and intricated so if you have something to recommend me you're welcome. Suggestions are always precious!! =)

See you soon!!

sabato 18 aprile 2009

"TRUE" LOVE OR NOT TO LOVE?MY ACADEMIC ARTICLE

A few days ago I found another article about Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde which may be more readable and easier to follow (the other one was reeeally long and I don't want you to get bored!=). Good writing should be:
  • well structured
  • logical
  • cohesive
  • clear, precise and concise
  • coherent.
I'm now going to analyse the academic article I've chosen answering some burning questions in order to see if it conforms to this structure.
  • Does it follow the hourglass structure? (introduction, body, arguments against/for and conclusion) The article has an hourglass shape: it has an introduction including the main themes developed by the body. It begins with a brief generalization on the poem and continues with a deepening of a specific topic: love. Through a quotation of Chaucer the essay immediately puts the reader in front of the two key questions of the essay. Each question is analysed clearly and carefully and every statement is supported by examples or quotations of other studies on the poem. The conclusion does not bring the arguments and concepts of the essay to a close, but intentionally leave unanswered its questions: it is the poem itself that leaves the question open.
  • Is there a logical flow of ideas? The text has a logical flow of ideas that makes the main points of the essay clearly outlined. Logic, clarity and cohesion are the main characteristics of this text in that every argument is linked to the previous one and introduces the next. In each paragraph it is possible to notice how the writer repeats the same terms or uses metalinguistic words that helps the reader keep the track of the discourse. For example, the use of demonstratives, subordinators and conjuncts which point back or forward depending on the context.
  • Is the text cohesive? Definitely. The use of metalinguistic words helps building the logical structure of the text and strengthening its cohesiveness. Each paragraph provides references forward and back to other ideas that facilitates the reader following the dissertation. The ideas are exposed in a very clear and concise way and avoid any generalization on the question by getting to the point early.
  • Is the writing clear or complex? The article is very clear in meaning. The text and its subject matter imply the reader's foreknowledge of the topic (text's assumed audience). In some points the text presents quotations in old English that may be difficult to read. However, they are very brief and not essential parts, so the text is relatively easy to understand.
Ups.. sorry. It's hard to me not to be "LONG WINDED"!!

mercoledì 8 aprile 2009

MY CRITICAL APPROACH ON...

Hi guys!
We were discussing how to evaluate online sources and how to be critic towards information in general. I'm now going to apply my critical approach on an essay I found on the Web following the criteria of my checklist. Since in this moment I am studying for the exam of English Medieval Literature I am particularly interesting in deepening my knowledge on the topic, that is Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer's work is really fascinating, but also very complicated (as every fascinating thing!;). I used Google scholar for my research and I found this article about the character of Criseyde. When reading the text I realised that the content was particularly relevant to the information I need. The TITLE is: CRISEYDE'S ROUTHE and the AUTHOR is Kate Bauer, a teacher who recently completed her M.A. in English literature at New York University, where she is continuing her studies toward a Ph.D. Through this main information on the author I could have a fair idea of who wrote the article and thus understand the reliability and authority of the document itself. The aim of this article is to discuss a dissertation on Criseyde's figure by comparing different positions and studies on the issue. The text clearly follows the structure of the argumentative text and the style is formal and academic. Furthermore, the source provides accurate and exhausted information. What I found particularly interesting and relevant to my research was the fact that most of the quotations were from the books I am to study. (Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, ed. Stephen A. Barney, and Boccaccio's Il Filostrato, to give some examples). The article is not really recent but it is rather difficult to find critical essays or studies on literature subjects. Unfortunately, there is no specific datum about the time of writing or publication.

lunedì 6 aprile 2009

EVALUATING ONLINE SOURCES

Hi guys!
How are you? Today I feel great.. finally the sun is shining!=)
What do you think about last week's lesson?I found it really interesting as we discussed and reflected on how to search for information on the Internet and how to adopt a critical approach to the information we find.
The Web is huge and full of information. However, is everything we find really useful, reliable and valid for our research and purposes?
I usually search the Internet if I need some explanations or material to work on for my studies but it's really easy to get lost or to waste time reading something I actually won't use. So, what to do? Following the suggestions given by Sarah, I prepared a checklist with the main criteria I follow when reading and evaluating online information. Basing on the 4Ws given by Tips from San Diego State University, here are the main steps:
- Who is the author
- What can be said about the content, context, style, structure, completeness and accuracy of the information provided by the source?
Is the content relevant to your information needs?
- When was the information published?
- Why was the information provided by the source published?
What are the perspectives, opinions, assumptions and biases of whoever is responsible for this information?
I think that these will be essential in order to skim and scan what we read for our research.
I'm also proud of my discovery of new technological tools to use. I didn't know Google was so diverse and accurate in providing systems of research. Now I know how to use:
- Google Blogs if you are looking for blogs about the topic you're interested in;
- Google Books if you're looking for some specific books;
- Google Scholar if you need some academic texts.
One never stops learning!! All these tools will be very useful for my future research.
Have a nice day!