Topics in technology and society

Subject: Topics in technology and society

These points about writing your research are intended to give you some insights into what constitutes a scholarly  along with presenting some ideas as to why a scholarly  is constituted the way that it is. It is by no means to be construed as a comprehensive guide to -writing – you can access more information on Student Online Services (SOS) or Google for such guides if you wish – but is meant, rather, to present some key factors and express them in a manner that many published guides do not. Your formal scholarly research  needs to follow certain timeworn practices in order for it to fulfill its object of offering its reader insights that are truthful. Most of the academic articles included as required reading in HUMN 422 are examples of scholarly writing that you can take as an example of how to write your research .

An , however, not only serves to inform and convince the reader with knowledge and insights, it serves as a structure that allows you, as its author, to understand the topic that you are writing about better. ‘Better’ means more objectively, rationally, logically, and clearly. The ability to write good scholarly writing is, in many respects, the same ability that you use for good insightful, scholarly thought.

Convincing Information and Analysis

Formal scholarly s are constituted so that they are objectively true. Objectivity is in contrast to other forms of writing, such as a subjective  written from the author’s idiosyncratic individual biases, or an exercise in rhetoric. Rhetoric is writing meant primarily to persuade rather than to inform, and has a long tradition in Western classical scholarship. A formal scholarly , however, must appeal to the intellect rather than the passions. A well-written scholarly work is one where every statement, and every sentence is somehow proven to be true to the reader.

To offer this kind of objective ‘proof’ when you write your  you really have only a handful of possibilities. These are as follows:

1. Use logical argument: Logic is the science of the      formal principles of reasoning that demonstrates a sequence of thoughts      that lead to a valid thought. For example, the statement: “All hippies      have long hair”, and the statement that “John is a hippy”, forces, through      logic, to state that “John has long hair”. In your own use of logic, you may      have to present a somewhat muted version of this type of reasoning, but      the “Most hippies … John is … John most likely has” logic still has      validity.
2. Use examples: In your , particularly if it      involves abstract conceptualizations, ‘truth’ can often best be      established by offering examples of what insight you are offering the      reader. Examples can be weak or strong supporters of your insight,      depending upon how generalizable they are. If, for instance, I write      “rear-engined cars are considerably more dangerous than front-engined      cars” I can offer an analysis of the pendulum-like weight distribution of      rear-engined cars versus other configurations, but I can also write that:      “Rear-engined Porsche 911s are frequently known to be in single-vehicle accidents”      I have sort of offered ‘proof’. Whether or not that ‘proof’ is acceptable      to the reader or not, depends on a number of factors, including whether      the rear suspension of the Porsche 911 was to blame, the accident      statistics are believable, and so on. One thing that examples do      accomplish, however, is that they ‘concretize’ the abstract concept so      that a reader can envision and understand it. Using examples is often the      best way to explain a concept. Using examples is really just about using      the principles of deductive and inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning      takes an example and makes a generalization from it. Its credibility      relies on how representative the example is of other examples. Deductive      reasoning would apply a generalized idea, such as an abstract concept      (e.g. rear-engined cars) and apply it to a specific example (e.g. the      Porsche 911).
3. Cite an outside authority: Most interesting      scholarly s attempt to add to the existing body of knowledge, and do so by      constructing their knowledge on the foundation of previous knowledge. This      is how progress happens in many instances, just as technological      innovation tends to build on past technologies. If you are to make a case      for an insight, analysis, or point in your , you can establish its      credibility by citing other credible authors and their writings. This      requires, however, that the sources you cite are considered, and are seen      to be considered, truthful and reliable. What constitutes a valid source      is described in the links listed below: “Evaluation During Reading” and      “Annotated Bibliography”. It is sufficient to use a citation format – such      as APA required in this course (though other formats are as good, and      arguably better) to establish this type of substantiation in your .

The one thing you should ask yourself, after writing every single statement and sentence, is: “Did I offer convincing substantiation of this point to the reader?” You really need to do this for your entire  for it to fulfill the requirements of good scholarship. Keep in mind too, that most readers will tend, out of simple human nature, to disbelieve everything you say if they should stumble across one thing you say that they think is untrue.

Body Structure

Good structure of an  follows the same rules as good writing. Generally paragraphs should be used to isolate different ideas from one another, and each paragraph needs to follow upon the previous paragraph with some kind of connecting idea. Connecting ideas are often indicated by connecting words and phrases such as ‘however’, ‘as in the previous argument’, ‘in contrast’, ‘accepting this premise we conclude’, and so on. The connections, that can be stated either at the beginning or ends of paragraphs (or both) are numerous and amenable to creative writing styles.

The structure of your  sometimes is usefully divided not just by well-defined paragraphs, but also by sections delineated by headings.

Conclusion

Every scholarly  requires an introduction and a conclusion, even if these sections are not overtly labelled as such. The conclusion really is a summation of what was said, proven, and/or discovered, in the body of the  relative to the thesis question. The conclusion needs to restate the thesis question in some manner (that is, it need not and perhaps should not be verbatim), and say, in concentrated form just what the  said about it. One common mistake is to introduce new ideas in the conclusion. You should avoid this. As a general rule, you as the writer should only include in the conclusion what is found in the  itself. The only exception to this is that it is sometimes appropriate to indicate further areas of inquiry and study in the conclusion. The common saw about the structure of a good speech is that it “tells the audience what you are going to tell them; tells them; tells the audience what you told them.” The principles of a good  are quite similar.

Presentation

Your goal in writing your  is to express ideas, often quite complex ideas, in a manner that is easily understood by an educated reader. Your form of substantiation, your  structure, and the presentation of your  should enhance and not impede your readers’ understanding. And again, good writing is a skill that enables good thinking. Your  may be a most brilliant piece of insightful writing, but unless you present your  well, its ideas may be overshadowed or ignored. There are a few basics about  presentation that you should follow:

• Title Page: Your  requires a title page that includes your ’s      title, your name, the name of the course, and the date. These should be      centred and neat.
• Abstract: This summarizes your ‘s key      findings in a succinct form.
• Number Pages: You will be formatting your  as a document (usually a Word Document)      and so it will have pages. In the digital world, some documents don’t have      pages. The title page and the first page should not have page numbers      written on them, subsequent pages should (starting, therefore, at “3”.
• Fonts: General practice is to use serif      fonts for text, and san-serif fonts for titles. One common preference is      for 12-point Palatino linotype for text, and 12, 14, and 16-point bolded      Arial for titles. Non-capitalized serif fonts are easiest to read because      the reader’s eye quickly sees the overall shape of the word. ALL-CAPITALS      and sans-serif fonts, do not have that easy shape. Fonts should be in a      very dark colour (black, dark teal, etc.) and the background should always      be white.
• Bibliography: You require a bibliography      (not your annotated bibliography) for your . It should include primary      sources and scholarly sources. You should include as many bibliographic      references as you need; however, it is hard to imagine that you would have      fewer than 15 or so for a 5,000-word .
• What and How to Cite: Cite all ideas that      are not common knowledge and are not yours. These need not be direct      quotations. Cite all direct quotations. Quotations less than four lines      should be included within “quotation marks”. Quotations greater than four      lines should be indented on both the left and right-hand sides, and      single-space.
• Citation Format: Your  is to be formatted, as a standard imposed      by RCC, in APA citation style. There are good reasons not to use APA      style, but it has, for better or worse, become the standard used by most      academic presses.
• Photos and Illustrations: Our digitized      universe, and the fact that you will be submitting your  as an electronic document, means that      photos and illustrations are technically easy to include. While scholarly s      traditionally do not include photos and illustrations, you should feel      free to include any that you deem appropriate in terms of furthering the      scholarly expression of your . They should, however, be formatted in terms      of size, location, and citation.
• Word Count: The word counts for assignments      in HUMN 421 are specified within very stringent limits. As an andragogic      principle, the discipline of ‘drawing inside the lines’ is a useful one to      learn. A trick that often works well for writing with a really clear,      concise, punchy style is to over-write your number of words, and then trim      sentence-by-sentence.
• Spelling and Grammar: There is no excuse,      given computer programs, to misspell. Grammar programs tend to pick up      many faults as well. Just do not make mistakes!
• Proof Reading: Almost nobody can write      perfectly. Most people cannot see their own writing mistakes. Asking      someone to proofread your  assignment before submitting it does not      constitute cheating, but rather, is something you should expect to do.
• Contractions: Contractions should not be      used in formal writing.
• Words: Use the most specific words possible and      avoid the weak generalized expressions.                                                                    

Note: 

1. Topic is Is a child’s development helped or harmed by digitized technologies? Explain.

2. References should be 8 At least, 

3. List of headings should be 5 at least excluding introduction and conclusion

4. The introduction section for a 5,000-word  would probably be only two or three paragraphs long.

5. Please review all the  

6. Total  should  be for 5000 words.