PORTFOLIO REQUIRED AT SEMESTER'S END.
This semester we will write four papers
PAPER PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONSPortfolio Tracking: You are responsible for maintaining a comprehensive file of these assignments. Do not come to me later in the semester and tell me you have lost your floppy disks, or had a hard disk crash.
Backup Procedures: I expect you will learn appropriate back up procedures and protect your work. In the Electronic Office, as it exists now and will exist in the future, you will be expected to be a mature and sophisticated computer user. Losing important files due to your own carelessness or negligence is hardly characteristic of a mature and sophisticated computer user. Consequently, we must learn how to back up important files securely .
Copy Editing: Please make sure all papers are copy edited carefully prior to submission. Grammar and Style mistakes are taken very seriously in Technical writing. Remember you are writing Edited American English in all these projects.
Date Due: On the date the paper is due, 1 bring to class your single hard copy of the paper and be prepared to make any notations for revision, if we discuss it in class. Late papers will be assessed a one letter grade deduction.
Grading: All papers will be graded in one on one sessions. Usually we will complete three or four letters prior to meeting face2face.
Definition: Revision. A revision is not merely a copy fixed according to the errors found in the One-On-One. Re-vision means a rethinking of major portions of the essay as well as improved copy editing.
Definition: Red-Lining. A Redlined paper has all additions and omissions indicated by underscoring with red ink. In this way I won't have to guess what has changed. If you have totally changed an entire paragraph, just place a vertical red li ne to the left of the changed paragraph rather in underlining the entire paragraph line by line. Otherwise just follow the instructions above so that your printer will do the work. Remember to save your work to a new file prior to making any changes to it.
Redline All Revisions: Revised papers are Revisions are to be handed in as a redlined hard copy.
Definition: Red-Lining. A Redlined paper has all additions and omissions indicated by underscoring with red ink. In this way I won't have to guess what has changed. If you have totally changed an entire paragraph, just place a vertical red line to the left of the changed paragraph rather in underlining the entire paragraph line by line. Microsoft Word will do redlining for you if you follow these directions.
Step 1. Before you begin to revise your letter or project, copy the letter to a new file in your computer.
Step 2. Edit only in this second file, reserving the original file unchanged.
Step 3. When you have finished revising this project, go to the Tools menus of Microsoft Word95.
Step 4. Select Track Changes, then in the submenu select compare documents.
Step 5. You will then be shown the menu for selecting a file to compare this document to. Change the drive specifications to A, if the original file is on a floppy disk in Disk Drive A and highlight the name of the original document. Follow prompts.
Copyediting:Definition: Copyediting is not Proofreading: Proofreading is an old term originating in the days when typed manuscripts were set in type by a typesetter. Proofreading occurs when the original manuscript is compared to a proof copy of the typesetting. Corrections then are made to bring the typeset copy into compliance with the form and content of the original author's/editor's requirements. Copyediting occurs when a manuscript is checked for correctness in spelling, punctuation, grammar and clarity. The best way to demonstrate you have not copyedited your text is to describe the process as "I looked over my paper." Copyediting is a process of checking not reading. If you have read over your paper only, it is not copyedited.
Copyediting Checklist. As a result of your copyediting efforts you will discover a consistent pattern of special grammatical or stylistic challenges in your writing. These are errors or problems you consistently inquirer as you compose. In order to facilitate your copyediting phase of the Writing Process I ask that you create an editing checklist. This is a detailed list of these editing challenges which you must repair prior to submitting the paper f or examination by the professor. This checklist will permit you to avoid the repetition of these errors on subsequent papers. Once we have identified a copyediting challenge it is your responsibility to see that it does not recur. In order to accomplish this, each time we have a one2one meeting, you are to bring your Copyediting Checklist with you as testimony that you have checked your work against this list. Failure to bring this list to the one2one meetings will result in a single letter grade reduction on the paper or papers considered during that meeting.
Definition: Exploding the Text: One of the best techniques for preparing your paper for editing is to explode the text by adding ten blank lines between each sentence. This process is accomplished in Microsoft Word, by the following process:
Step One: Call up the finished draft of the paper and save it again as "Edited Copy"
Step Two: Go to the Editing Menu and call up the Find and Replace Dialogue Box.
Step Three: In the Find What box type a single period.
Step Four: move your cursor to the "MORE" box and click on it with your mouse's right button. Note that when you do this your cursor will move back to the "Find What" entry box. Move the cursor now to the "Replace With" entry box. Click the mouse button to make it stationary there.
Step Five: Go to the button marked "Special" Click it once to summon a list of special features available. Move your cursor to "Manual Line Break" and click to place the code ^l in the replace with entry box. Repeat this process nine more times so that finally the line looks like this ".^l ^l ^l ^l ^l ^l ^l ^l ^l ^l".
Step Six: Move your cursor to the "Replace All" Button and click.
This process will add ten lines of whit space between each sentence allowing you to see your text as you have never seen it before. Used correctly and frequently, this techique will provide an enormously useful ability to revise and reconsider your sentences before you turn the paper in for a grade. Use this exploded text now to check sequentially for those things you have catalogued and listed in your editing check list.
Definition: Sequential Editing. Sequential Editing is searching through the whole text looking for one kind of editing challenge at a time. Sequential editing is recursive, that it is cycles through the paper over and over each time hunting or a new problem. You may even use your Find and Replace utility to help you do this kind of editing.
Definition Global Editing. Global Editing is when you try to bring to bear all your gramatical knowledge on each sentence making only a single pass through the paper. This should be reserved for skilled and experienced editors. You may ultimately get good enough to do Global Edting, but few undergraduates are good enough to do this kind of editing well.
The Writing Center. The Christian Brothers University Writing Center has trained student tutors who will work with you to help you improve your writing. During the summer this Center will be located in the offices of Dr A. M. Wranovix Barry Hall 210 and Dr. Stephen Grice, Barry Hall 208..
