Day: September 5, 2023

As you work on your second Check, Please! assignment, refer to the sample lesson one assignment posted in Blackboard and on my blog. (See the entry published on August 28.) Also review the notes below.

• When you first mention the course’s author, Mike Caulfield, include his credential. The fact that he is the author of the course is not a credential. His job title is. Anyone can create a course, but that doesn’t mean that the course has any worth. Including Caulfield’s job title, research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, tells readers that he is an expert in his field. Note that his title has changed since I wrote the sample assignment for lesson one. The credential that you should use is the one included above. In addition to listing Caulfield’s credential, you should mention that he is the author of the course.
• On first reference refer to the author by first and last name. In subsequent references, refer to him by last name only.
• If you present a list, do not follow a verb with a colon before the list. For example: The four steps in the SIFT approach are (1) “Stop,” (2) “Investigate,” (3) “Find better coverage,” and (4) “Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context.”
• If you introduce a list with a statement that ends with a noun, follow the noun with a colon. For example: Mike Caulfield, author of the course and Director of Blended and Networked Learning at Washington State University, introduces the four-step SIFT approach to determining the reliability of a source: (1) “Stop,” (2) “Investigate,” (3) “Find better coverage,” and (4) “Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context.”
• Note that in the lists above the comma precedes the closing quotation mark.
• Also note that the Oxford, or serial, comma–the comma before and–should be used when you are following MLA style guidelines.
• The first paragraph of your assignment is a summary, which is an objective, first-person overview written in present tense. Neither first- nor second-person singular or plural (I, me, we, us, you) should appear anywhere in a summary.
• The paragraphs that follow your summary are commentary. That is where you should use first person because you presenting your comments on the lesson.
• Do not use an ampersand (&) in place of the word and in formal writing.
• Use the word if in reference to a condition. For example: If a source appears unreliable, investigate it.
• Use whether in reference to a choice or alternative. For example: Using the SIFT method will enable you to determine whether a source is accurate and reliable.
• Use like for comparison. For example: Wikipedia is like Britannica.
• Use such as for inclusion. For example: Whenever possible, use publications of record, such The New York Times and The Guardian.
• Include a complete MLA-style work cited entry. The heading should be the singular work, not works, because you are citing one source. Do not underline the heading, and be sure to handwrite or type the entry with a hanging indent. Remember that MLA-style works cited entries take the opposite form of paragraphs. The first line of a paragraph is indented five spaces or one-half inch and the lines that follow are flush left. In a works cited entry, the first line is flush left, and the lines that follow are indented five spaces or one-half inch.

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Next Up

On Wednesday you will continue to work on your own literacy narratives. At the beginning of class, after I collect your second Check, Please! worksheets, I will return your handwritten drafts. You will have the class period to revise on your laptops and an additional week to continue revising before you post your revision to Blackboard and to your WordPress blog. The due date is Wednesday, September 13; the hard deadline is the morning of Friday, September 15.