Tips+for+Better+Writing

=Tips to Help You Write a Better Reflection=

Use Tags to Ensure Academic Integrity
The most important rule of thumb is to maintain the highest of academic integrity. You can do this easily by ensuring that every time you state an idea that you got from someplace else, you use a tag. I recommend that you do this even when discussing what might be perceived as "facts." If you didn't know the fact, you had to find it from somewhere. You are obligated to let your reader know where so that your reader can decide if you used a reliable source for that fact. In short, err on the side of caution and risk using too many tags rather than not enough.

But what's a tag?

It's a simple phrase used somewhere in your sentence that gives your reader a heads-up that you're drawing information from another source.

Examples:
 * According to [insert name of source],...
 * As [name of source] claims,...
 * [name of source] writes,...
 * [name of source] argues that...
 * [name of source] shows how...

Example in action:
 * With direct quote: According to Claudia Johnson, "bla bla bla" (57).
 * With paraphrase: Claudia Johnson claims that yaddi yaddi yadda (57).

Please note the citation. It's MLA Style. We'll work on this more, but for the time being, you can learn all about it [|here].

Be sure to think about how you come across if every "According to..." in your essay is "According to Wikipedia" or "According to SparkNotes." Also, it gets hard to cite those sources -- use the paragraph rather than the page number.

Use Transitional Terms -- A Lot
By placing transitional terms and phrases at the beginnings of many of your sentences, you will ensure that your writing flows naturally and logically.

Examples of transitional terms and phrases:
 * Additionally,
 * Likewise
 * Similarly,
 * In contrast
 * However,
 * Therefore,
 * Consequently,
 * On the one hand....On the other hand
 * In other words,
 * That is to say,
 * For example,

To my mind, you cannot have too many of these. And the most important ones are "In other words," and "For example." A good rule of thumb is that whenever you have a sentence that you must begin with one of the tags above, you should follow it with a sentence that begins with "In other words." For example, you would write:

"According to X, bla bla bla. In other words, yaddi yaddi yadda."

Another good rule of thumb is that whenever you make a strong claim, you should follow it with a "For example." This will ensure that you meet the grading rubric requirement of referencing the assigned text.

Other Tips:

 * A well-developed paragraph should run about 1/2 - 3/4 of a double-spaced page. Less than that is too little. More than that is too much.
 * Don't be afraid of being repetitive and avoid using Word's thesaurus. You should have a keyword or two that runs through your whole reflection. If you keep replacing that keyword with a different word, you appear to not have a consistent and clear focus. Risk using the same term a lot if it will ensure that you're being clear and focused.
 * Present your work professionally -- place your first and last name at the top left hand of the page. Include the date and the class there, too. If you want to use a title, make sure it's the same font and size as the rest of your text (which should be 12 pt Times New Roman) -- you don't want a big, fancy title on a short essay. That looks silly. If you're dying to make the title fancy, just bold and center it.
 * I know it's scary, but learn to use a comma. [|This] website will help. In fact, everything at [|Purdue's OWL] will help with your writing.