Writing Right:

Teaching Writing Conventions Specific to a Discipline

A presentation by the CCNY Writing Fellows -

Robert Domanski, Hank Williams, Micah Miller, Katie Hanson, Nada Moumtaz, and Joseph Heissan

Overview

Purposes of the Workshop

1. To demonstrate the importance of understanding conventions specific to particular disciplines. 

2. To present strategies to help students recognize that different disciplines employ different writing styles.

3. To discuss how teachers can teach these conventions as they pertain to both thought and writing.

Overview

What we will do today...

1. Analyze specific resources for different disciplines.  

2. Compare writing samples - one that stems from a problem solving approach (math) and one from research from sources (art history).

3. Review different citation styles among disciplines.

Discipline-Specific Resources

Noticable differences in the resources available between Computer Science and Art History...

CCNY Libraries

Online Resources

Types of Academic Literature

Off-campus/external resources

Discipline-Specific Resources

CCNY Libraries

Computer Science

CCNY Morris Raphael Cohen Library, NAC 2nd Floor, 212.650.7292

CCNY Science/Engineering Library, Marshak Building, Room J-29, 212.650.8246 (Circulation & Reserves) and 212.650.5712 (Science/Engineering Reference)

Art History

CCNY Morris Raphael Cohen Library, NAC 2nd Floor, 212.650.7292

CCNY Art Visual Resources Library, 303 Shepard Hall, 212.650.8754

CCNY Architecture Library, Spitzer School of Architecture Building, Room 101, 212.650.8767

CCNY Architecture Visual Resources Library, Spitzer School of Architecture Building, Room 102, 212.650.8767

Discipline-Specific Resources

Online Resources

Computer Science

Related Databases (articles etc.) Proceedings (Conference papers) Technical Standards Algorithms Patents and Trademark Copyright Journals Citation Resources And dozens of other categories...

Art History

Related Databases (articles etc.)

Journals Dictionaries Citation Resources Catalogs Image Resources

Discipline-Specific Resources

External Resources

Computer Science

CCNY Computer Labs

Internet Search Engines

Software libraries and depositories

Commercial APIs and SDKs

- API – Application Programming Interface (ex. - Google)

- SDK – Software Development Kit (ex. - Java)

Art History

Art Libraries in NYC

- NY Public Library - Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Museums in NYC

- American Craft Museum - American Folk Art Museum - Frick Collection

Comparing Writing Samples Between Two Disciplines

Read the two accompanying articles to identify the writing conventions used by each author. You are reading to see how the argument is articulated and defended, rather than to determine whether or not you agree with the author’s findings.

1) How are the articles organized?

2) What is the thesis for each article? How and where are they presented?

3) What is the voice/tone of the articles?

4) Compare the citations for the articles. What is cited? How are they cited?

Citation Styles

What do I need to cite?

Direct quotes, statistics, facts

Summaries or paraphrased info

Info/ideas not generally known

Someone else’s opinions or analysis that might look like it’s your own

Adapted from U Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center hand-out on APA format

Citation Styles

Why do I need to list/cite references?

Allows readers (or you) to find and double-check a source for accuracy.

Protects you from charges of plagiarism.

Shows that you are working with facts, not just your opinion and your conclusions are based on evidence.

Shows professors/ readers that you have “done the work” to put together a good paper (this is the equivalent of “showing your work” in a math class).

Citation Styles

A few common citation formats

MLA = Modern Language Association.

Common in Arts and Humanities.

APA = American Psychological Assn.

Common in Social Sciences. (Sociology, Psychology, etc.)

Chicago Style

Common in History, some academic journals.

Have a great weekend!