Page 193 - Keys to College Success

get practical

GENERATE AND EVALUATE A LIST OF HITS

Complete the following on paper or in digital format.
Use a topic being covered in one of your courses to practice generating hits for online research.
1. Name the topic and the course.

2. Identify two or three keywords related to this topic.
3. Identify two search engines that you plan to use.
4. Using the keywords, generate a list of hits with each of the two search engines.
5. Identify two particular hits: one hit that comes up with both engines, and one that is unique to a single engine.
6. Analyze each of these two hits according to the CARS criteria.
7. Finally, note whether you believe each hit would be useful for your coursework, and support your decision with
information from your CARS analysis.

WHAT DOES COLLEGE
writing demand of you?

There is much more to say about writing in college than can fit here, and nearly
every student will take a composition course that covers writing in detail. To lay the
foundation for your studies, here is an overview of the writing process (planning, draft-
ing, revising, and editing) followed by some important points about citations and
plagiarism.

Planning
The planning process involves five steps that help you think about the assignment:
1. Note logistics. Get clear on how long the paper should be, how much time you have,
what kind of research is needed, and what level of depth is expected.
2. Brainstorm topic ideas. Begin by writing down anything on the assigned subject
that comes to mind, in no particular order. To jump-start your thoughts, scan your
text and notes, check library or Internet references, or meet with your instructor to
discuss ideas.
3. Use prewriting strategies to narrow your topic. Prewriting strategies help you de-
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velop a topic that is broad enough for investigation but narrow enough to handle.
■ Freewrite. Jot down whatever comes to mind without censoring ideas or wor-
rying about grammar, spelling, punctuation, or organization.
■ Ask journalists’ questions. Ask who, what, where, when, why, and how to explore
potential topics.
6 4. Conduct research and take notes. Create source notes and content notes to organize
CHAPTER 156 your work, keep track of your sources, and avoid plagiarism.