W2 - t-chart Directions:

Read the Writer's Reference pages for this week, and then visit this Collaboartions Page and
contribute 3 ideas from the readings and how they're useful for Reading, Writing, Thinking, and
Research. Be sure to put your name in parentheses next to your contribution. Be sure not to
REPEAT ideas others have shared.
When you're done, click the SHARE button and copy the URL, and then submit it to the Week
2.1 Hacker Discussion Board with your reflections about reading the Diana Hacker Handbook.
ASSIGNED PAGES: HACKER: (A Writers Reference by Diana Hacker)
C-Tab concepts: Focus on writing paragraphs this week -- making sure we DEVELOP our
ideas. Review C4 Writing Paragraphs pgs. 33-45. Pay special attention to strategies for
Improving Coherence and Developing the Point.
A-Tab concepts: We still need work on our critical reading! Lets review the A-Tab Writing
About Texts -- including Reading Actively through the outlining and summarizing processes to
include Guidelines for Analyzing a Text.
MLA-Tab concepts: Review Supporting a Thesis in MLA-1
R-Tab: Begin with 388 or R1-C To locate articles, search a database and continue through to
pg. 397


PAGES/CONCEPT What you learned How youll use it
EX: Reading Actively The Guidelines for Active
Reading chart is AWESOME.
There are a lot of things to
think about while reading.
Im going to photocopy this
and take a photo of it with my
iPhone. Then Ill have it with
me and use it when I read,
especially questions under
surprise, puzzle, intrigue
(Suzy Student)
Writing Paragraphs In the writing paragraphs
section of the Writers
Reference book I learned
how to make paragraphs
more coherent. Making
paragraphs coherent is
important for writers because
it makes the paragraph have
a better flow without any
random gaps.( Justin Chung)
Im going to reread my
paragraphs after finishing
them to make sure I repeat
key words in my paragraphs to
make sure the readers know
what I am emphasizing and at
the same time keeping the
paragraph coherent, maintain
a consistency in point of view
and verb tense. (Justin Chung)
Form a Working Thesis I have learned that a working
thesis does not only address
the research question, but
also deliver an argument.
This thesis is usually placed
at the end of introduction (Tin
Wai Lau).
I will always make sure and
double check that my thesis is
located at the end of the
introductory paragraph and
effectively answers the
research question (Tin Wai
Lau).
Using Sources Using sources in our essays
and research papers is the
most important task, because
these sources can support
our thesis that contains our
argument and claims. And, it
is important to quote the
sources in MLA format with
proper citations and quotation
marks (Tin Wai Lau).
I will double check that I quote
my sources properly and
correectly in MLA format when
I revise my paper.
Organizing Ideas with a
Rough Outline
Constructing an outline is
very important, because
oftentimes our ideas
scattered around. In order to
write more efficiently,
constructing an outline is
helpful for organizing our
complex ideas. (Tin Wai Lau)
Before writing an essay, I will
write an outline to help me
organize my ideas and
evidences. This outline can
become a guidance when I
develop my thoughts. (Tin Wai
Lau)
Evaluating Web Sources There are four elements that
we should evaluate the
websites. These are
authorship, sponsorship,
purpose and audience, and
currency. (Yiyuan Xu)
When I am doing my own
research, I will pay attention to
the information. Then, based
on this given information, I will
decide if the website can be
used as an effective source.
(Yiyuan Xu)
Managing Information;
Avoiding Plagiarism
Keeping our sources in
record systematically allows
writers to keep track all the
sources and take good notes
on them. (Yiyuan Xu)
When I am doing my own
research, I will make
something similar to annotated
bibliography that we have
practiced for week 1. I believe
that this is very helpful for
organizing our sources
(Yiyuan Xu)
Summarizing Reading Summarizing is a great way
to ensure that we have
understood our reading. Our
summary should start with
identifying the authors
After reading an article, I will
try to summarize it in my own
word. In this way, I can
understand if I can grasp the
essence of the reading.
central thesis. Second, we
can expand on this thesis and
outline the authors important
claims or ideas. (Yiyuan Xu)
(yiyuan Xu)
Researching Conducting a research paper
is a whole process in which
we start to ask question in a
particular topic and find the
answers and supports from
reliable sources before
writing our papers. It is
essential to have an
appropriate question which is
narrow enough but can be
expanded and well grounded.
When searching for
information, it is a great idea
to consult a librarian to have
a right direction on keyword
or search engine or available
database as well as useful
strategies to avoid wasting
time browsing. After
gathering all the needed
information, we can start
making outline and write the
first draft. Now it is purely the
writing process we have
learned.
I will definitely start early,
anticipate appropriate
questions and seek for
instruction from librarian on
searching process. Also, i will
keep annotated bibliography
for all the reading, make
outline and go through
numerous revision afterwards
(Truc Do)
Distinguishing between
reasonable and fallacious
arguments
There are different types of
fallacies and tactics, such as
generalizing, drawing
analogies, and etc. By
understanding these, I have
learned that we can use
different approaches to
evaluate the arguments
(Kewei Hu).
I will apply these tactics when I
am reading the articles.
Distinguishing between
legitimate and unfair
emotional appeals
It is important to appeal to the
readers emotions, but we
have to make sure that our
emotional appeals are
effective. (Kewei Hu)
I will be more careful and
skillfully use the emotional
appeals in my essay.
Writing in the Disciplines Different discipline requires
different knowledge, writing
styles, and language
I will be more careful when I
am writing the papers for
different disciplines.
conventions. Also, different
discipline may require
different citation styles.
(Kewei Hu)
Choose a suitable pattern of
organization
There are several patterns
that we can use when we
write our paragraphs. We can
choose the pattern according
to our subject and purpose.
(Zhiqing Yang)
I will use some of those
patterns when I write my
paraphs.(Zhiqing Yang)
MLA In-text Citations There are many ways to
properly cite your references
when using MLA format.
These depend on the
structure of the sentence. For
instance, if the author is
named in the phrase, you
simply add the page number
you in parenthesis (inside the
period). If he is not named,
you add his name and page
number in parenthesis at the
end of the sentence.
I will be more careful to make
sure I am using the proper
form of in-text citation and I will
make sure to add the list of
works cited at the end of the
paper. (Katie Rosinsky)
C1-b Listing Begin by brainstorming or
listing the ideas you want to
include in the order they
occur to you and then
rearrange them in a pattern
that makes more sense
I will try this strategy with my
next paper. I tend to just start
writing and fit things together
as I go but this was a problem
with the timed essay. (Katie
Rosinsky)
C1-d Sketch a tentative Plan When preparing to write a
paper it is important to have
at least an informal outline.
Again, when we did the timed
essay I began in my usual way
of simply beginning to write
and in the end I could have
used a bit more time. I think
setting aside at least a few
minute in the beginning to
organize my ideas more
cohesively. (Katie Rosinsky)
Organize ideas with a rough
outline
I learned that writing a rough
outline of the main points of
your argument will better
shape how I organize my
essay.
(Nathan Chao)
I will make a rough outline of
my main ideas to have a better
idea of what I should write for
my essay before actually
writing my essay. This will also
help me form a more focused
thesis to be the backbone of
my essays in the future.
(Nathan Chao)
Conducting Research I learned about the various
general databases, such as
JSTOR and Academic
Search Premier, that I can
use to gather information
about any research topics.
(Nathan Chao)
Using the general databases
that PCC has access to, I can
provide better sources of
information for essays
requiring research. This will be
invaluable in helping me
develop a research essay
backed up with stronger
evidence. (Nathan Chao)
Guidelines for analyzing a
text
I have learned about the
questions I could ask myself
about texts. I could ask and
then answer several
questions relating to the text:
what is the authors thesis,
how does the author structure
the text, and what evidence
does the author use to
support the thesis?
(Nathan Chao)
By asking myself these
questions about the text, I can
gain a greater understanding
of what the text is about, and
more importantly, form more
well-thought-out ideas for an
essay that deals with
analysing and interpreting
texts.
(Nathan Chao)
Planning Before writing something , we
must consider our subject ,
the purpose of writing it , the
length , design and the
deadline. All these things can
be jotted down in a sheet of
paper before we begin to
write something. This will be
useful in writing concisely and
clearly. (Can Li )
For my next writing
assignment , I am going to list
down all these aspects in a
sheet of paper and answer
these questions myself so that
the writing comes out clearly
without any disturbance in the
flow of the essay.It is better
that we ask ourselves the
purpose of writing an essay
before we start it. ( Can Li )
Listing ideas The author calls this concept
as listing where we list down
all the ideas that are related
to the topic that we are going
to write and use that as an
outline to form our essay
instead of thinking at the
moment while we are writing .
This is also known as
brainstorming. (Can Li )
I have never done
brainstorming before I plan to
write down something. For my
next assignment , I am going
to brainstorm the ideas initially
and list that our in a point
format . After this process is
over , I am going to begin
writing.
(Can Li )
Clustering This might look similar to
listing , but its kind of different
After the initial brainstorming is
over the best thing that I can
because clustering has a
relationship between one
idea and another . (Can Li )
do is to ensure that the ideas
are clustered . I will do this as
the next step in my upcoming
writing tasks posted by my
professor. (Can Li )
Revising and editing The strategies are listed by
Hacker is to make sure that
we ask the correct questions
about our essay such as
does my essay answer the
appropriate questions in the
given topic ? Does the writing
flow in an orderly manner ?
Can others understand what
is being told ? [ Yidan Hu ]
I am going to read out my
paper to my friend the next
time and I will ask her the
necessary questions posted by
the author. I feel that this can
ensure proper writing than
doing something blindly.
[ Yidan Hu ]
Paragraphs The simple rule is that one
must state the main point of a
paragraph in the beginning of
the sentence . This will
enable the readers to
understand what the
paragraph is about. [ Yidan
Hu }
After reading this concept , I
went back and took a look at
my previous writing tasks . I
realised that my paragraph did
not have any particular topic
and it was very confusing for
me to read it again . Therefore
, I am going to practice it and
make my friends read it so that
I will get to know whether it is
readable or not. [ Yidan Hu ]
Asking Questions We will have to post several
questions on the topic that we
are going to write just like
how reporters will ask
themselves many questions .
I am going to open a notepad
and write down all the
questions before I start writing.
I did this already during my
free time and I found out that
the final writing output is
clearer than what it used to be.

(Yidan Hu )
Sticking to the Point Sometimes it is hard to find
enough evidence to stay on
topic. It is not always easy to
delete sentences or move it
around.
I can create an outline with the
main points and evidence to
support. Then I am able to see
the evidence clearly and move
it around or continue to do
more research. (Eileen Tran)
Annotate the text There are great tips about the
different methods to
annotating the texts. It is
more clear and detailed after
I will keep in mind about
writing down my comments
and thoughts when reading the
texts, this will help me become
reading this section.

-- Reading actively entails
annotation. Annotate in pencil
anything that seems
significant or interesting.
Digital notes can be
annotated by taking notes or
editing text. (WIlliam Read)
more involved in the readings.
(Eileen Tran)
General Databases I had no idea there were
many other databases that a
student could use. This is a
great list to use when at the
library. It is probably a better
option than google or wiki
sources.
I can use the databases more
effectively at the libraries when
doing research. These
databases will allow for more
access and ideas when
researching. (Eileen Tran)
Focus on a main point

I knew that you should have a
main point. However I did not
know each sentence should
relate to the main point.
I will use this to keep my
writing focused and clear. It
will allow readers to
understand the main point and
follow the idea. (Jessica
Johnson)
Persuasive lines of
argument
I learned that when writing
your thesis you should outline
important lines for a
persuasive argument.
I will use this tip to make a
rough outline with different
lines for a persuasive
argument. (Jessica Johnson)
Viewing your audience as a
jury
I learned that you should not
assume your audience
already agrees with you. You
have to fit your argument to
make them believe it.
I will use this to create
stronger points to my
argument. Also to make sure
that it is convincing. (Jessica
Johnson)
Online Search Engine I learned that besides
consulting librarians on how
to find sources, we should
also utilize online tools such
as search engines to locate
sources we need to be
prepared for writing a
research paper, such as
Google or Yahoo!. When
doing the research, we
should also keep our topics
narrow.(Yao Han)
I will use different online
databases to do the research.
(Yao Han)
Understand writing
assignments in the disciplines
I learned to look for keywords
in assignment essay prompts,
I will use this skill to avoid
writing off-topics. It makes
such as distinguish what kind
of format I should use to
write, and what information I
should included, distinguish
whether I need to summarize,
analyze or both and so on.
(Yao Han)
sure I do the assignments
correctly. (Yao Han)
Purpose and audience I learned that when writing,
we should aware of who are
our target audience and what
are the purposes of writing
and then write accordingly.
For example, we should know
what tones, format, and
writing styles we should use.
We generally write more
casual if the writing is for
general public, but write more
professional when it is for
academic. (Yao Han)
Ill use it whenever I write
because it is very important for
us to know who our potential
audience are when writing, just
like how we speak differently
to different audience, the way
we speak to a child is different
from the way we speak to an
adult.(Yao Han)
C4-a Focus on a main point
Page 32
Your opening sentence
should be a quick one that
lets the reader know your
main focus (Danielle Medina)
I will use keywords that get
straight to the point so that I
can captivate the reader right
away (Danielle Medina)


MLA-1C Providing
background information or
context

Using facts and statistics to
support your argument
(Danielle Medina)
I plan to gather as much
knowledge on the topic that I
am writing about by finding a
trusted book or any graphs
that I can find so that I have
actual facts and prove my
argument whether it is for or
against my topic (Danielle
Medina)
A1-a Guidelines for active
reading Applying critical
thinking strategies to visual
texts
When actively reading along
the reader should also look
for colors or visual aids
(Danielle Medina)
When reading I will look for the
mention of certain colors I
maybe missing to that I can
visualize the story better
(Danielle Medina)
Developing the main point
C4-b pg.35


I learned how to develop a
main point by making a claim,
explaining and providing
some solid evidence. Main
points are two or more major
ideas or arguments found in
the body of speech. These
ideas are provided to the
audience in a preview found
in the introduction.

-- Several short paragraphs
may indicate an
underdeveloped essay.
Paragraphs should be long
enough to convey significant
evidence. (William Read)
I will always develop the main
point when I write any kind of
writing to deliver the main
message to the reader. It is
often in the introduction
paragraph that tells readers
what to expect as they read
on.
Take notes without
plagiarizing


I learned how to take notes
without plagiarizing by not to
borrow language from
sources. Summarizing,
paraphrasing, and quoting to
prevent unintentional
borrowing. A summary
compressed the information
to a short paragraph or a
single sentence. In our own
words, paraphrasing able to
written with significant
information in few words than
the source. When we need
the exact words from a
source, quotation is helpful to
quote all the material.


I can use these note taking
skills when I find a helpful
source. When I read a
passage in preparation, I will
jot down relevant information
from it by writing fragments
rather than phrases or
sentences to prevent
unintentional plagiarism.
(John Lo)
Make paragraphs coherent
C4-d pg. 44


When we are writing
paragraphs, we want to make
it flow in smooth without
bumps which are said to be
coherent. I learned several
skills to strengthen the ties
between sentences. By
repeating key words, we can
I can use the skills I learned on
starting each sentences. I will
try using connecting phrase
and not simple words. I will
also consider how I use the
vocabulary on the writing.
(John Lo)
gain coherence. By using
parallel structures within
sentences, it is able to
underscore the similarity of
ideas.

-- Paragraphs should be
transitioned into by beginning
each new paragraph with a
logical connection to the first
sentence of the previous
paragraph. Larger blocks of
text may require transitional
sentences or even
paragraphs. (William Read)
Adjust paragraph length Readers will feel
uncomfortable if the
paragraph is too long or too
short. Sometimes it is
necessary to adjust the
paragraph length. In the
book, there are a list of the
reason for beginning a new
paaragraph, and a list of
reason for combining
paragraph. (Zhiqing Yang)
I will follow this instrution when
I write or edit an essay, to
make my paragraph in a
suitable lengh. (Zhiqing Yang)
Sketch a brief outline of the
text
Sketching a brief outline of
the text after reading and
annotating can helps to make
the text more clear and easy
to understand the writers
idea. It also hleps us in our
writing. If we sketch a brief
outline of the text everytime
we read, we can learn from
every writers of how they
develope there writing.
(Zhiqing Yang)
It has become another useful
strategy for me to read. I will
try to sketch a brief outline of
the text after
annotating.(Zhiqing Yang)
Topic Sentences Topic sentences are core of
the writing. Everything what I
write should relate to topic
sentences. (Rizal Tandrio)
I read first what topic I should
to write then I will write a few
topic sentences that I can
choose a better one. (Rizal
Tandrio)
Pattern of organization Pattern of organization will
show how my writing look
like, is that narration,
description or pro and cons?
(Rizal Tandrio)
I will decide what pattern I
want to use for my writing.
(Rizal Tandrio)
Repeating Key Words Repetition of key word is
another way to make my
writing more interest to
reader. (Rizal Tandrio)
I will try to find a new
vocabulary to make my writing
more creative (Rizal Tandrio)

MLA-1b Organizing your
ideas
Organizing ideas with a rough
draft outline is a very helpful
way to get your supporting
claims to help better back up
your thesis. Otherwise your
supporting claims could end
up saying something different
than your thesis. (Ashley
Garcia)
Usually when I write an
essay, Ill just dive straight
into it without any notes or
outlines, and this is typically
my downfall when my
supporting claims cant back
up my thesis well enough.
Next time, Im definitely going
to try to outline my ideas
before hand. (Ashley Garcia)

R4 Choosing a
documentation style
MLA, APA, and CMS are the
three commonly used
documentation styles. Citing
your sources is very critical
when dealing with research
because if they are cited
incorrectly you could be
committing plagiarism.
Im very familiar with MLA
formatting citations. I am not
however familiar with APA, or
CMS. Im definitely going to
familiarize myself with these
documentation styles for
future references on my
future essays. (Ashley
(Ashley Garcia) Garcia)

A2-e Support your claims
with specific evidence
A successful essay has a
strong thesis statement with
supporting claims that include
facts, statistics, visuals,
expert opinions, etc. (Ashley
Garcia)
I like the idea of using visuals
as evidence to support my
thesis. Although Ive never
really found a way to include
a diagram, or a chart, or
graph in an essay before, I
would gladly take on the
challenge if in the end result it
better supports my thesis.
(Ashley Garcia)

C4-C:Writing Paragraphs-
Examples and Illustrations
Providing examples is one of
the most common and even
useful methods in
development of paragraphs
(Xin Zhang)
By writing example, I can
make readers better
understand what I want to
say. When I write examples, I
will use very simple but
powerful ones that will allow
my readers to get clear
picture of main point Im
trying to show.
(Xin Zhang)
C4-D: Maintaining
consistency
It is very important to
maintain the main focus of
writing by keeping same
subject and verb tense.
(Xin Zhang)
I tend to change verb tense
and Im trying really hard to
work on them. Also, trying to
maintain main point and
focus can be difficult because
I want to jump from one point
to other sometimes.
(Xin Zhang)
A2-c: establish credibility in
introduction
In introduction is crucial to
establish credibility and state
position when constructing
argument.
(Xin Zhang)
Its important that thesis is
made clear and that
everything leading to thesis
show my knowledge of topic.
Sometimes I have hard time
in this part because I feel I
dont have much to say about
topic but I know I need to
either do research or try to
know more about the topic so
that I am more equip and
ready to write anything about
the topic.
(Xin Zhang)