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Writing Essays

A guide to writing essays from beginning to end.

Research Steps for Beginners

Before you start searching, you need to pick the keywords you will use to search the library databases. 

Searching for sources in a library database or catalog is different than doing a Google search. Before you search, you need to look at your research question or statement and identify the keywords. 

Try doing this:

  • Write or type out your research question.

  • Identify the main concepts or keywords in your research question. 

  • Keep a list of the keywords that you use

Example:

Should writing assessments from college aptitude tests be used to determine admission into a university?

Keywords: writing assessment, admission, university, college, tests

What to do if you hit a dead end: 

  • Use a thesaurus to find synonyms for your keywords.
  • Ask a librarian to help! You can sign in to the virtual library, e-mail, call, or stop by the LRC. 

 

Use our Super Search to find books and articles. 

With the increasingly large amount of information available to you, it's important that you learn how to evaluate the sources that you use in both your class work and daily life. 

The CRAAP test is a series of questions that will help you determine the quality of a source or information that you find. CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Ask yourself the following questions as you evaluate your information resources. 

Currency: The timeliness of the information.

  • When was the information published or posted?
  • Has the information been revised or updated?
  • Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?
  • Are the links functional?

Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs.

  • Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question? 
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
  • Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
  • Would you be comfortable citing this source in your research paper?

Authority: The source of the information.

  • Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
  • What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
  • Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
  • Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
  • Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net

Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content.

  • Where does the information come from?
  • Is the information supported by evidence?
  • Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
  • Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
  • Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
  • Are there spelling, grammar or typographical errors?

Purpose: The reason the information exists.

  • What is the purpose of the information?
  • Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?
  • Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
  • Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda? • Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
  • Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?

The CRAAP test was developed by the Meriam Library at the California State University - Chico. 

Here are some citation sources available to use: 

APA Style and Grammar Guidelines 

MLA Style Center 

Chicago/Turabian Citation Quick Guide

The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) has guides for general writing and citation guides for APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. 

Citation Generators are tools that take the source information data and generate a citation using the style you need.

When using a citation generator be sure to:

  • use credible and accurate sources (generators do not evaluate sources)
  • enter the correct data
  • select the correct style
  • double check the result against a style guide reference

Citation Machine 

EasyBib

Cite This For Me 

Plagiarism is taking the words or ideas of someone else and passing them as your own.  

It is your responsibility as a student to be honest in your writing and give credit to the sources that you used to write your research paper. 

Here are some examples of different forms of plagiarism: 

  • copying someone's work (words, ideas, images, media, etc.)  without giving credit
  • buying an essay online and turning it in as your own
  • failing to cite quotes, paraphrasing, or summarizing from a source
  • reusing your own paper that you wrote for another class 

What does not need to be cited? 

  • your own thoughts or experiences
  • results from your own experiments
  • art or media created by you
  • common knowledge or generally accepted facts

 

Remember...when in doubt, cite it out! 

 

For more information and tips on plagiarism, visit Purdue Owl's resources:

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Plagiarism

Best Practices to Avoid Plagiarism 

 

Paul Lee, Ronald C. Meyer, & Centre Communications (Producers), & Meyer, R. C. (Director). (2019). A Student’s Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism and Understanding Citations. [Video/DVD] Alexander Street. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/a-student-s-guide-to-avoiding-plagiarism-and-understanding-citations

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