Streamlining: structural organization - Covering all bases: three-level revising - Earning applause: APA writing for the academic audience

APA style and citations for dummies - Joe Giampalmi 2021

Streamlining: structural organization
Covering all bases: three-level revising
Earning applause: APA writing for the academic audience

Revising begins at the structural level, just as building a car begins with the frame, building an education begins with books, and building a healthy body begins with diet and exercise.

Begin big-picture revising by ensuring that you’ve fulfilled rubric requirements for topic, length, readings, objectives, audience, and purpose. Review Chapter 5 for additional details.

Evaluate the following organizational questions and revise as necessary:

· Structurally, did the paper deliver the argument articulated in the introduction?

· Is the argument focused, logical, and clearly stated in the introduction?

· Does the structure address audience objections to the argument?

· Do paragraphs flow through a beginning, middle, and closing?

· Does every paragraph develop the argument and clearly connect to that argument?

· Does the flow of ideas contain specifics such as reasons, statistical data, facts, and researched evidence?

· Does the overall structure contain author reflection on the factual content?

· Does the argument lack dominance of author opinion?

· Is the structure consistent with models provided and anticipated professor expectations?

· Do the argument and research offer value to the audience?

Comprehensive revising includes addressing professor comments on recent papers and past patterns of revision issues such as focus, development, wordiness, source engagement, and connecting support to the argument.

With your writing structure in place, like a foundation and roof, you can begin revising the interior elements of your paper: the opening, middle, and closing.

Opening: working title, first sentence, and introduction

Shakespeare said, “All’s well that ends well.” He also could have easily said, “All’s well that begins well.” Writers know the importance of a good opening: the title, first sentence, and introduction. If writers fail to engage the reader with the opening, the middle and closing lack relevance.

Most writers begin papers with a working title, a title that maintains focus but will be revised when the project is completed and they know what they are titling. I discuss title strategies in Chapter 14.

Follow the title with a first sentence that engages the reader. The purpose of your first sentence is to engage the reader, your professor, and encourage them to begin thinking, “This paper interests me, and I am reading to justify evidence that it earns an excellent grade.” The remainder of the introduction includes a few sentences explaining the importance of the topic and additional background. (See an example of topic background in the Revised College Research Paper: Title and Introduction.) Transition the introduction into a claim statement or focus statement that identifies the argument of the paper.

This section includes some strategies you can use when drafting your first sentences and openings, as well as an example research paper to illustrate an effective opening.

Drafting an effective opening: The how-to

First-sentence and opening strategies for research papers include

· Expert quotations: “An expert knows all the answers — if you ask the right questions,” said Levi Strauss, American businessman (1829—1920).

· Unusual information: The Nation’s Report Card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), reveals a startling fact about students who score high in all subject areas: They write more in school than students who score poorly.

· Series of questions: What’s the cause of high-performing students underperforming on high-stakes standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, and GRE? What’s the cause of a professional athlete underperforming on a game-winning play or a pressure putt? Do underperforming students and athletes share common characteristics for a “choke”?

Sian Beilock’s Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To (Free Press) analyzes athletes’ and students’ approach to performance under pressure and offers strategies for success.

· Emotional appeal: Next to loving and caring about their child, parents’ most important responsibility is to provide their child with the best education available. Fulfilling your child’s educational needs requires active participation on your part. Making homework sessions a regular part of your routine at home together is an excellent way to do this.

· Summary: Is all work and no play synonymous with college success? Not according to a ten-year study by a team of Harvard researchers who analyzed academic habits of a successful college experience.

· Anecdotes: When I began drawing as a hobby in the late ’80s, I asked experienced artists one piece of advice they would offer me as a novice artist. Each artist consistently gave me the same piece of advice: Draw, draw, and draw. When I started freelance writing in the late ’80s, I frequently asked editors to recommend the best book for future writers. The book unanimously suggested, and the book that remains the foundation of my teaching and writing, is Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style.

Don’t begin a research paper (or any other college paper) with a standard dictionary definition.

If you’re opening a graduate-level research paper, focus less on reader engagement with the first sentence and introduction, and more on the rationale and importance of the thesis or hypothesis. Also, include a review of the literature in the opening section. Keep in mind, though, that many undergraduate professors don’t require formal sections titled Statement of the Problem, or Review of the Literature, Methods, and Discussion.

The opening ends with clarification of the argument (a claim statement or thesis), a promise to the reader that foreshadows the development of the argument.

A real-life example: Revised opening

Here I include the example research paper and show how opening after revision strategies were applied.

Here is an overview of what was done during the revision:

· Revised the title with a focus that references the argument (But Not a Boring Four-Hour Experience). The author also deleted underlining from the title (underlining or italicizing signifies a book title).

· Added an engaging first-sentence quotation (“We continue…”) that summarizes the major focus of the argument.

· Revised the argument statement to identify a stronger and more inclusive focus (“MLB needs to improve…”). The next-to-last sentence also identifies the argument, and the last sentence (“But baseball…”) suggests signs of a self-recovery of popularity. This broader statement extends the argument beyond length-of-game issues and allows the introduction of solutions such as more attractive, special game experiences and expanded social media experiences, in addition to addressing game-shortening strategies.

· Added a brief history of baseball to the first paragraph. The author also added statistical support of the problem to the second paragraph.

· Changed all spacing after end punctuation from two spaces to APA required one space.

Figure 8-2 shows the revisions applied to the first draft of the opening of the paper. Citations in this model have been fictionalized to avoid plagiarism. Chapter 10 details citations.

Published with permission from Grant Giampalmi

FIGURE 8-2: Revised first draft of sample research paper.

Middle

The middle section of a research paper contains much more than ingredients sandwiched between the beginning and closing. It’s the “show me the money” part of the paper, the support of the argument and refutation of the counter-argument. The middle develops background information introduced in the opening, and transitions to present the research evidence and citations. Chapters 10 and 11 explain how you support the argument, and Part 3 details support and citations. Solid supporting evidence fast-tracks you toward a B grade or higher, assuming accuracy of language skills and conventions such as those I describe in Chapter 7.

The following example (see Figure 8-3) shows the revisions made to the middle:

· Included additional background information, transitioning from the introduction

· Added paragraphs on marketing to children and past personalities of baseball

Closing

The closing, the final message to the reader, includes a summary and author reflection on that summary, which may include suggestions for further related research. The ending is your final opportunity to impress your professor with your critical analysis. Your last sentence contains the last words you write before your professor begins to grade your paper. A short three- or four-sentence ending paragraph tells your professor that you are in a hurry to end your paper, and don’t expect an A grade. A successful paper not only includes a good first impression, but also a good last impression.

The following example (see Figure 8-4) of an effective closing shows the revisions made to the closing:

· Added paragraphs on successful baseball promotions

· Added paragraphs showing baseball’s successful financial data and comparisons with other major sports

· Added paragraphs justifying baseball’s overall attendance, which exceeds a hundred million spectators annually

· Ended with a sentence that references the opening sentence

Published with permission from Grant Giampalmi

FIGURE 8-3: The revised middle of the research paper.

Published with permission from Grant Giampalmi

FIGURE 8-4: The revised closing of the research paper.