Part II: Writing the Report
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PLAGIARISM: copying without quotation
(‘blah blah blah’)
TOO MUCH QUOTING: using quotations for all
or most of your paragraph
 Quotations should be no more than 5% of your report
 Use them wisely
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SOLUTION: paraphrase!!
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Put a space after punctuation: xxx. Yyy, zzz, etc.
No space after/before parentheses: (Ellis 2007)
Font: Times New Roman 12 point only
Note: be careful of SimSum getting into your
paper
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Source has nothing to do with paragraph
Example: one reference in a paragraph about
noise pollution was to an article about horses
Source not relevant to paragraph
Example: references in a paragraph about
housing costs in China talked about housing
costs in Switzerland and England
Source doesn’t support statements in paragraph
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Alphabetical order by whatever is first
Some referenced an index of documents; make
sure you reference the document itself
Go to the original if you can
Spacing after punctuation: same as in paras
Many others, see your attachments
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An essay in which you:
 Research a topic
 present your findings
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Used in university and business
You will have to write many reports
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Formal:
 No contractions
 No slang
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Third person:
 Use: it, they, Mr. Smith, the company, etc.
 Do not use:
 First person: I, we
 Second person: you, your, etc.
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Paragraphs:
 Introduction
 Body: three or more
 Conclusion
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References
 Five or more
 Different sources
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One or two sentences of background
 Historical perspective
 Definition
 Importance of topic
 etc.
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Thesis statement
Microsoft defines a computer virus as “a small
software program that spreads from one computer to
another computer and that interferes with computer
operation.” Viruses have become a major problem
computer systems large and small all over the world.
How did this happen? This report will trace the
proliferation of computer viruses beginning with the
widespread adoption of the internet, various efforts to
eradicate them, and the current state of the ongoing
battle against these scourges of our time.
Definition
Microsoft defines a computer virus
as “a small software program that
spreads from one computer to
another computer and that
interferes with computer operation.”
Importance
Viruses have become a major
problem computer systems large
and small all over the world.
Transition
Thesis statement
How did this happen?
This report will trace the proliferation of
computer viruses beginning with the
widespread adoption of the internet,
various efforts to eradicate them, and
the current state of the ongoing battle
against these scourges of our time.
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What topics will the report cover?
1. ____________________________
2. ____________________________
3. ____________________________
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These are the topics for your paragraphs!
Topic Sentence,
first topic
Although viruses have been around since the
early days of mainframe computers in the 1970s,
they only became well-known to the general
public since the rapid expansion of the internet
in the late 1990s.
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More Sentences
More sentences
 Supporting topic sentence
 adding more detail
Topic Sentence,
second topic
Seeing a potentially huge market for detecting
and getting rid of viruses, several companies
such as …
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More Sentences
More sentences
 Supporting topic sentence
 adding more detail
Topic Sentence,
third topic
Currently, the battle between viruses and
the companies dedicated to eliminating
them has evolved into ...”
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More Sentences
More sentences
 Supporting topic sentence
 adding more detail
At least two of the following:
 Restatement of intro/thesis statement.
Example: It is clear that viruses pose a major challenge to …
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Summary of body paragraphs
Example: This report has shown that the rise of computer
viruses over the last decade and a half …
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Give your opinion about what should be done, if
appropriate.
Example: Given the facts in this report, it would seem that
the cure for computer viruses …
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Look to the future, if appropriate.
Example: It is clear that if the governments of the world do
not act decisively, and soon, that …”
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Read the sample report I will hand out
Label the following parts:
 Introduction
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Background sentences
Background sentences types
Thesis statement
Topics to be discussed (topic 1, topic 2, etc.)
 Body:
 Topic sentences: match with topics in thesis statement
 Conclusion:
 Label types of sentences (restatement, summary, etc.)
Review:
Primary:
1.
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original material such as letters, lab notes, diaries, etc.
Secondary:
2.
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magazines articles, books, etc., that get their info largely
from primary sources.
Tertiary:
3.
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wikis, encyclopedias, textbooks, etc., that collect and
distill information from primary and secondary sources.
- adapted from “Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources”
http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/primary-sources.html
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Newspapers
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 China Daily
 New York Times
 Financial Times
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TV websites:
 CCTV
 BBC
 NPR
Magazines
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 Time
 Beijing Review
 Business Week
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Government websites
Reputable company
websites
Academic journals
All sources must be in English!
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Wikis:
 Wikipedia
 Wikihealth
 etc.
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Blogs
Forums
Email lists
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Tertiary sources
 Encyclopedias
 Textbooks
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Search engines
 Google
 Baidu
 etc.
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Can’t use them in report
But, you can use wikis, textbooks, encyclopedias,
etc., to
 Find primary and secondary sources
 Give an overview of the topic
 Help organize your paper
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Be careful of secondary sources such as books
and magazines
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Ask yourself:
 Is the source reliable?
 Who is writing and why?
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“Whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or
otherwise refer to the work of another, you are
required to cite its source …”
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http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/
Whenever you present something as fact:
 “… 81.25% of the people in China …”
 “… economic growth in China is projected to slow to about
6.5 percent this year.”
 The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912.
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At least five (5) in-text citations
Reference list: at least five references
Must have a reference for every citation
Must have at least one citation for every
reference
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I have many topics in bag
Without looking, pull out a topic
If you don’t like your topic:
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You can pull out another one but,
If you do, you must take the second one
or you can choose your own topic …
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You can choose your own topic, but I must
approve it before you can write
Your Contemporary Topics books have a lot of
good topics for further research
 Of course, they are textbooks, so you can’t use them
for sources, but…
 They can give you an overview and some ideas
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Or do you have other ideas?
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I will give you a form to fill out
Write down your topic and list the 5 or more
sources you intend to use
1. Article names
2. Websites
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I have to approve your topics and sources before
you start your report
Due next class period
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Topic: __187. Spam_________________
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Sources:
1. ‘Information Technology Industry: Spamalot’ New
Orleans CityBusiness
2. ‘How to fight junk E-Mail’, Primus Canada
3. ‘Fight Spam on the Internet!’ spam.abuse.net
4. ‘A New Way To Fight Junk Email & Viruses’, Processor
5. ‘How to Report Spam’ SpamLaws.com
Deadly Sins (-10 pts. each)
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Spelling, capitalization, etc.
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TUST standards errors
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Late: -10 for each day
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500+ words (deduct for short)
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Plagiarism: -10 each instance
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Content (50 pts.):
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Intro: Intro. topic, Thesis Statement
3+ paragraphs with topic sentences,
development and in-text citations
Conclusion
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Organization (20 pts.):
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Statements logical and relevant
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Mechanics (30 pts.):
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Grammar, usage, punctuation:
5+ references, proper format
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Due second lesson next week:
a. Class 43: May 18 Wednesday
b. Class 42: May 19 Thursday
c. Class 41: May 19 Thursday
d. Class 44: May 20 Friday
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The report counts the same as two regular essays
for your final grade
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I will check your report before you turn it in
If I see errors I will not accept it.
 You must fix them and submit the next day along with
the version(s) that were rejected.
 It will be counted late
 (Better 1-2 days late than lose many points for errors)
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If I don’t see any errors, I will accept your report.
Then, and only then, should you email it to me.
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Email accepted report as a Microsoft Word
document attached to an email.
The subject line of your email must be:
Report [Class] [English Name]
 Example: Report 42 Joe
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Email to:
bob.tust@gmail.com