English 10 Review for Unit 4 Test

English 10

Review

Unit 4 Test

By Cynthia Phillips

​Research Question

The most important part of a productive research process is asking a good research question. Research questions guide your research and keep you on track — they remind you of what you're trying to learn.​

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Your own research question, like Schlosser's, won't have a straightforward, obvious answer, and it will push you to ask more questions, make connections between bits of evidence, and ultimately come to understand your topic.​

4.1.3 page 2​

What makes a good research question?

Great research questions will ...

+ be about a SPECIFIC topic

+ be OPEN-ENDED

+ be interesting to YOU!

​The Claim

When you make a statement about something you know or believe, you're making a claim.​

Both informative writing — as in how most zoos support global efforts to preserve endangered species — and argumentative writing — as in the best method for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich — involve making claims.​

4.1.3 pages 6-8​

​Comments from Mrs. P

​Be aware that the CLAIM drives the argumentative (Persuasion) essay.

​ The reader can clearly see that the claim is argumentative or taking

a side.

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In other types of writing, the THESIS drives the writing. The reader can

clearly see that the thesis is informative rather than argumentative.​

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​Support = Evidence from research

4.1.3 page 10​

​The process so far...... 4.1.3 page 11

​Sources... must be credible/reliable

4.1.7 page 3​

​Finding good sources

Date is important.... more recent the better​

• Check a website's domain, or the last few letters of its web address. Generally, .edu (education) and .gov (government) websites are more reliable and transparent (and less biased) than their cousins .com and .org.

• Check for sponsors and publishers. Articles and websites sponsored or published by a fast-food company will probably be biased, whereas articles and websites sponsored by an independent organization tend to be more neutral.

• Check the facts. Do some reading to make sure the source uses accurate information. Find another source about the same topic to see if the facts agree.

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4.1.7 pages 8-9​

​Comments from Mrs. P

​Be aware that some of those unacceptable sources could still be useful to you. Sometimes they show some of the sources they used at the end of the document. You can check out some of those sources to find that they may be very credible and helpful. So even though you might not use the information that Wikipedia offers.... maybe you can find a good source from the Wikipedia article.

​You are the boss! Not the sources! 4.2.1 pgs. 2, 3

Your task is not just to report what your sources say but to synthesize them. This means using information from several sources to support something you want to say. In other words, don't let your research drown out your own voice!

Always remember: It's your claim and ideas that readers want to read, not a mishmash of unconnected sources.

A ​quote collage is not good writing.

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​Paraphrasing

Makes your essay more original.

When paraphrasing, remember that you're putting what's important from a source in your own words. You are summing up the gist of what the source says — not trying to rewrite a passage line by line.

If you try to faithfully translate the text of every sentence, you're not thinking about the big picture and the overall meaning of the content. You're also not making connections or synthesizing your research.

Remember, switching a couple of words around or changing several words in each sentence is not paraphrasing; it's plagiarism.

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4​.2.6 page 5

​Sometimes it's better to quote. . . pg. 7 - 11

​Comments from your teacher

​Synthesis is a good term for you to remember. Read all the information you find as you research a topic. Put all of the information together to create a new base of knowledge for you. Then you write what you have learned in your essay. You have to cite facts and new knowledge that you are presenting even though there may not be a direct quote. This helps prevent having too many quotes in your essay. Paraphrase is good. Total paraphrase.... not line for line... (remember.. line for line paraphrase is often considered plagiarism.

​In-text citations .. 4.2.6 pages 14 & 15

​Comments from Mrs. P

​Review basic MLA documentation guidelines in module 4.1.9

Works Cited page info is on pages 5 - 9.

In-Text Citations info​ is in 4.2.6 pages 14 and 15.

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Feel free to look up MLA online for more help.... Purdue Owl has some helpful resources too!​

You are expected to remember the basics. Remember I've seen

the test!​ Just sayin'!

​Writing a review- 2 major elements

​Summary--objective ---- no opinions, no bias. Everyone starts with

same b​asic information.

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Evaluation--subjective ---- based on the writer's opinions and perceptions. The opinions in the evaluation aren't random, though. Reviewers form opinions based on how much an experience lives up to their expectations.​

4.3.2​ page 2

​Review criteria for your essay

​so you can make effective revisions!!!

• Organization and coherence: How clearly a writer's prose flows from one idea to the next and how well the ideas hang together or follow each other naturally

• Use of support: How a writer uses evidence from research to illustrate or explain a claim

• Transparency: How clearly a writer's sources are cited, how honestly sources are used, and how clear the writer is about his or her intentions and biases

• Writing quality: How well a writer follows accepted conventions of style, tone, word choice, and the rules of writing

4.3.​6 page 2

​Comments from your teacher

​Review Transitions...... 4.3.6 pages 5 and 6 Again.... just sayin'!

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Remember the written test has three questions... one dealing with skills you worked on in each section of the unit.​

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Some points I would think about as I prepared for this part of the test:

Credibility Support Evidence Paraphrase Summary Synthesis

Evaluate​

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