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Studying in the US: Writing College Papers

November 20th, 2009 at 04:50pm Under Education report

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Academic writing in America means getting to the point quickly, stating ideas clearly and supporting them with evidence. Transcript of radio broadcast:
29 April 2009

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Today in our Foreign Student Series we discuss writing college papers. Writing a term paper, research paper or essay for a college class is a kind of academic writing. Academic writing among professionals is a way to create new knowledge.

A professor assigns students to write a paper. The students examine an issue, review what is already known, think about what they have learned and come to some conclusion.

A student-writer must present information and also take a position

This means that each student-writer must present information and also take a position. The student might support an idea, question it or even disprove it. Or the writer could show how the subject may be understood better or in a different way than it has been. And the student must support the position with evidence.

Cultural differences may interfere when international students try to write this way. Writing teachers say students in many countries have learned to write beautiful descriptions about something without ever stating the main idea. American college students are expected to state their main idea at the beginning of the paper.

In other cultures, paragraphs may be organized to build toward the main idea, which is revealed at the end. But in the United States, the main idea of each paragraph should be in the first sentence. Another difference is about writing style. Other cultures may use lots of descriptive words. But American English values short, strong sentences.

Teachers at the writing center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana work with students to improve their writing. Graduate tutor Lars Soderlund says non-native English speakers generally have some trouble with English grammar.

He says their sentences may be too long. Or they incorrectly use articles such as “a”, “an” and “the.” He also says non-native speakers generally use too much emotional language and give too many details before getting to the main idea.

The associate director of the writing center, Tammi Conard-Salvo, says international students should look online for materials that explain the kind of writing they will be required to do. They should ask their professors for help. Most colleges have a writing center where they can get free individual help with their work.

Links to writing center materials can be found on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I’m Jim Tedder.

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Studying in the US: Beware of Essay Mills

November 18th, 2009 at 04:35pm Under Education report

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We continue our discussion of plagiarism. Transcript of radio broadcast:
22 April 2009

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

We continue our discussion of plagiarism. Last week, we said colleges and universities in the United States define plagiarism as representing another person’s work as your own. It is considered a kind of cheating.

Professors at American colleges have tried many ways to stop student plagiarism.

Plagiarism can take many forms Some use online detection services. They also may discuss plagiarism with their students at the start of every term. Some require their students to turn in early versions of term papers, research papers and essays they are writing. This makes it more difficult for students to buy papers from companies that some call “plagiarism mills” or “essay mills.”

A recent report in The Chronicle of Higher Education described such businesses. Many can be found on the Internet. They sell newly written papers on many subjects. The cost depends on the difficulty of the subject and how soon the paper is needed. The cost could be from twenty to forty dollars a page.

Such companies say their writers have advanced degrees, and will target the papers to any educational level. Investigators say the writers may be working in countries like India, Nigeria or Indonesia and are poorly paid. Most of these companies say their work should only be used as models and should not be turned in as a finished work. But students do it anyway.

“My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture” Some students claim that they order such papers as a way to organize their research. But many also say they do not have enough time to do the work themselves and are under great pressure to do well in school.

University of Notre Dame anthropology professor Susan Blum wrote about this in a new book, “My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture.” She writes that academic cheating is a result of communication failure between students and professors. And she says international students must be sure they know the rules of the college they are attending.

Plagiarism may also be a problem in other countries. A recent e-mail to us from Iran described an incident in an English class. Students were supposed to research tourist places in Iran. But one student copied information from a book. The student changed “China” to “Iran” but forgot to change the names of the places. When the teacher asked about his research, he said: “One of the most beautiful tourist places in Iran is Shanghai.”

And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I’m Barbara Klein.

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