Academic Vocabulary: Academic Words - Olsen Amy E. 2012

Chapter 2. Composition

The Midterm

Review Tips

Next week is the in-class essay midterm. To help you prepare for it, this sheet reviews some of the important concepts we have covered so far this semester. You will be writing about one of the four short stories we have read in the last two weeks. You will be explaining how the story is significant to today's world even though it was written more than one hundred years ago.

1. Make your thesis clear. The reader should know what your proposal is within the first or second paragraph of your essay. Your intention is to convince your reader that this short story is still important to read because it relates in one or more ways to society today.

2. You may need to refute other points of view. Think about ways an opponent might disagree with you and show how his or her view isn't as strong as yours.

3. Make your examples vivid. Pick scenes from the story that dramatically support your view. Pick examples from today's world that clearly show a connection to the events or ideas in the short story.

4. Remember the importance of coherence as you organize your essay. Pick a method of organization that allows the reader to clearly follow each of your points, and make sure each of your examples relates to your thesis.

5. Watch your diction. Your choice of words helps to set the tone of your essay. This is a formal essay, so you should avoid using slang words or other informal types of language.

6. You will need to cite passages from the story in your paper. As you annotate the story, look for lines and scenes that will help to make your point. Write comments in the margins, star important passages, and underline sections you may want to quote or paraphrase. You do not want to plagiarize any passages, so be sure to record the page number in parentheses after any quotations or paraphrases you use. Stealing other people's words or ideas is a serious offense that can get you expelled from college. Below are examples of quoting and paraphrasing to remind you of the correct formats.

Quotation: Use the writer's own words, and put the words in quotation marks.

The reader becomes skeptical of the narrator's sanity when he reveals his reason for committing murder: "Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever" (Poe 2).

Paraphrase: Put the writer's words into your own words, and do not use quotation marks.

The narrator says he isn't mad, but the reader begins to wonder how sane he can be when he reveals that he slowly decides to kill the old man because he is terrorized by the old man's eye (Poe 2).

If you take the time to prepare for the in-class essay by rereading the short stories, marking important passages in the stories, and thinking about how the stories relate to today's world, you should have no problem in writing your essay.

Predicting

For each set, write the definition on the line next to the word to which it belongs. If you are unsure, return to the reading on page 14, and underline any context clues you find. After you've made your predictions, check your answers against the Word List on page 19. Place a checkmark in the box next to each word whose definition you missed. These are the words you'll want to study closely.

Set One

to disprove

a plan

consistency

clear or dramatic

a proposal that is defended by argument

□ 1. thesis (line 8)

□ 2. intention (line 9)

□ 3. refute (line 11)

□ 4. vivid (line 13)

□ 5. coherence (line 15)

Set Two

to quote as an example or expert

the choice and use of words

to make notes or comments on

to use the words or ideas of someone else as one's own

to express in other words

□ 6. diction (line 18)

□ 7. cite (line 20)

□ 8. annotate (line 20)

□ 9. paraphrase (line 22)

□ 10. plagiarize (line 23)

Self-Tests

1 Circle the correct meaning of each vocabulary word.

2 Match a word to each example. Use each word once.

Vocabulary list

annotate

vivid

paraphrase

diction

plagiarize

cite

refute

thesis

intention

coherence

1. Shirley Jackson's story begins pleasantly: "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day" (3). ...

2. a neon green skirt worn with a dazzling pink blouse ...

3. According to Austen, it isn't how long it takes but how good it is that matters. ...

4. I really want a new car. I desire a new car. I need a new car. ...

5. To put it in my own words, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. ...

6. Good example of the boy’s home life; Clear relationship to incidents in par. 3 ...

7. Some people in the company believe the change in policy is causing problems, but they need to look ahead and see that, after some initial scheduling problems, all employees will have more time to spend on leisure pursuits. For example, when the rotation begins ....

8. More math classes need to be offered so that students can graduate on time. ...

9. The plan is to get up at 6:00 and be on the road by 6:30. ...

10. The architect did a great job of uniting the addition with the unique qualities of the 1930s- cottage. ...

3 Finish the sentences using the vocabulary words. Use each word once.

Vocabulary list

refuted

thesis

plagiarize

paraphrase

cite

vivid

diction

coherence

intention

annotate

1. My niece has a(n) ... imagination. She can turn a tree and a stick into a castle and a wand and spend hours in her fairy kingdom.

2. The ... of my research paper is that more Neighborhood Watch programs will make our city safer.

3. Because I was writing for children, I paid extra attention to my... . I didn't want to use words they wouldn't understand.

4. I was confused when reading Isabel's paper because it lacked... . First she told about a trip to a farm, and then she described her math test, and her topic was supposed to be about a favorite building.

5. It can be hard to ... because you want to get the writer's idea correct, but you can't use any of the writer's key words or the same sentence pattern.

6. When I ... a reading, I mark important scenes and note questions that I might want to bring up in a class discussions.

7. The ... of the orientation meeting was to help students, not to confuse them.

8. I thought my idea for the party was the best, but after Tony ... my points, I saw how expensive and impractical my plan was.

9. I didn't mean to ..., but I didn't take very good notes, and I used the author's words four separate times without putting quotation marks around those passages.

10. My sister says she is never late; however, I can ... five times she was late in the last two weeks.

Collocations

The magnitude of the problem unfolded as the day went on. One malfunction led to the creation of several other troubles. (Chapter 1)

This project is of the utmost importance, so I want you to devote all of your energy to it. (Chapter 1)

It is my intention to be the first in line at the Grand Opening Sale tomorrow. (Chapter 2)

You should be able to easily identify the thesis statement in each of the three essays we will be reading now that you know what to look for. (Chapter 2)

Connotations and Denotations

Martyrdom (Chapter 1): denotation—"the state of being a martyr (one who chooses death or makes a sacrifice rather than give up religious faith or other belief)." The connotation of martyrdom and martyr can take two forms. Many see martyrs as brave people who stand up for what they believe in. Others see a martyr as either a fool who won't make compromises to fit in or as a person who actually desires some kind of fame by choosing death. How do you view martyrdom? Is it a grand ideal or a crazy idea?

Interesting Etymologies

Plagiarize (Chapter 2) comes from the Latin plagium, "kidnapping," which comes from plaga meaning "net or snare." Obviously the meaning "to use the words or ideas of someone else as one's own" is an example of kidnapping. The word has been in use since the late 1500s.

Vivid (Chapter 2) comes from the Latin vividus, "spirited, lively," which comes from vivus, “alive." The word originated in the early 1600s. In reference to colors, its first use is recorded in 1665. The use of the word to mean "active or lively" when referring to the imagination or an interest in some­thing is first reported in 1853.

Interactive Exercise

Read the paragraph below, and use it to help you complete the sentence starters.

The sky was gray, and thunder sounded in the distance. It was almost nightfall, and Helena was far from a place to rest. She had hoped to make it to her aunt's house before dark, but the adventure by the river had slowed her down. She hadn't expected to meet a family of trolls underneath the bridge. She had always thought the stories about trolls were ridiculous, but today she discovered that they could be true. The trolls had actually been quite nice. They even offered her homemade cookies. Though she hadn't really believed in trolls, if she did, she wouldn't have imagined them baking cook­ies. A streak of lightening lit up the sky, and the next blast of thunder sounded closer. Then the rain began to pour. Helena ran to a nearby tree, whose branches protected her from the rain. She took the last chocolate chip cookie out of her pocket and nibbled on it as she contemplated what to do next.

1. If I was going to annotate this paragraph, I would comment on ...

2. If I was writing a review of this story, my thesis would be ...

3. In my review, I would cite the following sentence: ... because ...

4. The writer's intention is ...

5. I feel the writer's coherence is ...

6. The diction in the passage shows ...

7. The most vivid part of the paragraph is ...

8. I would paraphrase the sentence "She hadn't expected to meet a family of trolls underneath the bridge" this way: ...

9. It would be difficult for someone to refute my review because ...

10. It is wrong to plagiarize because ...

Study Often

Don't try to fit all of your studying into one session before a test. Look at your notes for a class of­ten. Review them the day you write them while the information is fresh in your mind in case you want to add further details. Also do a weekly review of your notes so that, as you learn new mat& rial, you can build on the old information. These same ideas apply to learning vocabulary. Look often at the flash cards and word maps you make. Even taking ten minutes a day to go over the words for that week will help you remember the meanings. While you are waiting for another class to start, for a friend who is late, or for the bus to come, take some of that time to review the words.

Words to Watch

Which words would you like to practice with a bit more? Pick 3-5 words to study, and list them below. Write the word and its definition, and compose your own sentence using the word correctly. This extra practice could be the final touch to learning a word.