Annotated Bibliography: In addition to bibliographic information, some writers include a short annotation that details the content, and sometimes a critique, of the source used.
APA: The documentation style for the American Psychological Association, APA uses a parenthetical citation style incorporating both author and date.
Appendix: Located at the end of a research paper, writers include an appendix when providing information relative to the topic (such as illustrations or charts) that may not fit into the organizational structure of the text. Writers often indicate in the text that further information or materials can be found in the appendix if the reader chooses to look further.
Bibliography: The term used by Chicago/Turabian to refer to the bibliographic information listed at the end of an essay. It includes an entry for every source used in the paper.
Block Quote: When using a direct quote that is particularly long (over four lines for MLA, eight for Chicago/Turabian, forty words for APA) the writer must present quoted information in the form of a block quote to set it off from the rest of the text. Block quotes are typically indented five spaces from the left margin—other formatting guidelines (such as spacing) will be determined by the documentation style used.
Chicago/Turabian: Both Chicago and Turabian documentation styles are essentially the same and are used in academic writing and by those who wish to publish their work outside the academy. The Chicago Manual of Style is typically used by historians and artists; the Turabian manual focuses more on the needs of students writing a thesis, term paper, or dissertation.
Citation: A citation can take the form of a footnote, endnote or in-text parenthetical reference, depending on the documentation style used. Citations alert the reader that the passage or sentence cited is from another source and provides a portion of the bibliographic information for that source.
Direct Quote: A direct, word-for-word reproduction of another’s exact words. All direct quotes require a citation.
Endnote: A citation found at the end of a research paper. Endnotes include bibliographic information for the source cited (name, title, publication information, and page number). A raised, Arabic numeral indicates in the text which part of the paper the endnote references.
Figures: When including images of artwork, writers must also include bibliographic information for the source of the image (when writers include their own work, they typically include the name of the work and any other relevant information such as dimensions, medium, etc.). Figures are located at the end of an essay, before the bibliography or works cited are never to be included in the text. Some professors require a list of figures separate from the Figures page, much like an endnotes page, where each image is listed sequentially as it appears in the paper. Always check with your professor regarding specific requirements on including images.
Footnote: A footnote is a citation similar to an endnote in content, but a footnote citation appears at the bottom of the page of the actual reference. It is also indicated by a raised, Arabic numeral.
Lead in/Lead out: When incorporating material from secondary sources, writers should introduce direct quotes and paraphrases so that the quoted material flows smoothly with the organization and style of their own writing. Simply plopping a quote unceremoniously in the text without providing some context, whether the author or source or reason for introducing it, will confuse readers and prevent them from understanding how the information fits within the larger context of the work.
MLA: The parenthetical documentation style of the Modern Language Association and used in the humanities, especially in composition and literature courses.
Paraphrase: A restatement of another’s ideas or words. While not direct quotes, paraphrases also require a citation.
Plagiarism: The intentional, and sometimes unintentional, use of another’s work presented as your own. Plagiarism can be of an entire work or a single sentence. Any work that is not your own needs proper documentation to avoid any accusations of plagiarism.
References: The term used by the American Psychological Association to refer to the bibliographic information listed at the end of an essay. It includes an entry for every source used in the paper.
Summary: Similar to a paraphrase, a summary takes another work (it could be a paragraph or an entire section) and identifies the main ideas condensing them into a brief statement.
Working Bibliography: Writers often compile a bibliography of the sources they have found during research even though they may not use them in the paper itself. A working bibliography helps writers to keep track of their research while they continue throughout the writing process.
Works Cited Page: This is the term used by the Modern Language Association to refer to the bibliographic information listed at the end of an essay. It includes an entry for every source used in the paper.
Works Consulted: When using MLA documentation, writers will sometimes include citations for sources that were never used in the paper, but were nevertheless part of the research process and are given credit for shaping or influencing ideas.
Comma Splice: A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined with only a comma and no coordinating conjunction.
Fragment: A fragment is an incomplete sentence; it lacks either a subject or verb to make it a complete thought.
Homonym: One of two or more words that are spelled and pronounced alike but with different meanings, depending on context—example: fair “That is a fair decision.” / fair “Let’s go see the animals at the fair.”
Homophone: One of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning and spelling—examples: sun/son, their/there, its/it’s, you’re/your.
Parallelism: A deliberately repeated pattern within a sentence or paragraph. When compound elements are joined by a coordinating conjunction, the individual elements must be grammatically similar.
Run-on: Sometimes called fused sentences, run-ons are two complete sentences, or independent clauses, that are joined together in one sentence but with no punctuation to separate them.
Adjective: A word that describes a noun or a pronoun.
Adverb: A word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Articles: The words a, an, and the.
Conjunction: A word used to connect words or parts of sentences—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Interjection: Any word that shows emotion.
Noun: A person, place, thing, or idea.
Preposition: A word used to describe the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in a sentence—examples: in, on, at, above, below, under, over, among, between, from, into, with, until, during, since, in front of, behind, through, past, near, for, of.
Pronoun: A word that takes the place of a noun — you, she, he, it, her, him, us, them, mine, yours, hers, ours, this, that, these, those, who, whom, which, what, myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Verb: A word that expresses action or a state of being.
Body Paragraphs: These contain the evidence the writer will use to explore the argument set forth in the introduction. There is no set limit on how many paragraphs are to be used—the number reflects the length of the assignment or the evidence to be presented. Writers should base their decisions on what they feel is necessary to adequately address the argument presented in the introduction.
Conclusion: The conclusion is located at the end of an essay and is used to tie up any loose ends, providing a sense of closure for the reader. Conclusions should not introduce new information that rightly belongs in the text of the essay.
Introduction: Located at the beginning of an essay, the introduction establishes the main idea, or focus, of the work and provides the reader with a specific thesis statement outlining the structure of the evidence (supporting paragraphs) to follow. Introductions can follow a variety of patterns — for more information on these, please consult The Blair Handbook, 5th edition.
Supporting Detail: Detail can take many forms depending upon the purpose of the work. With the formal analysis of an artwork, for example, supporting detail would comprise a discussion of the formal elements alongside an interpretation of these details. Other forms of supporting detail may be quotes from primary and secondary sources, visual details, illustrations, and examples.
Thesis Statement: Most writing requires a thesis statement, a general statement or position regarding a particular subject. A good thesis statement should be more than a statement of fact—it should state the essay’s purpose and can even include the major points that the writer will explore in proving the major premise.
Topic Sentence: Each body paragraph should include a topic sentence that provides the context for the information to follow. All supporting detail included in a body paragraph should directly relate to the topic sentence.
Transitions: Transitions are used to lead the reader from one topic or idea to another. Whether between paragraphs or sentences, transitions help keep the reader at a pace with the argument.
Apostrophe: Used to form the possessive of a noun or indefinite pronoun; to show where a letter has been dropped from a contraction; and as a single quotation mark to indicate a quote within a quote.
Brackets: Used to indicate any changes or additions to direct quotes; to enclose comments about quotations or material that is already inside parentheses; to change capitalization in the original quotation to make it correct in the new sentence; and to indicate a spelling or punctuation error in quoted material that was present in the original.
Colon: Used to introduce an example, explanation, list, or quotation.
Comma: Used before a coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses; between items in a series; between coordinate adjectives; with numbers, dates, names, and addresses; to set off introductory elements; to set off a nonrestrictive element; to set off an interjection, tag sentence, and direct address to prevent misreading.
Dash: A dash serves the same purpose as parentheses—they set off explanations, examples, asides, and supplementary information that would otherwise interrupt the grammatical structure and meaning of a sentence. Dashes tend to emphasize the material they set off rather than subordinate it, as parentheses do.
Double Quotation Mark: Used to identify quotations from borrowed material and to identify titles.
Ellipsis: Any deliberate omission of words from a direct quotation. Three periods — each preceded and followed by a space—are used to mark an ellipsis.
Exclamation Point: Used to convey emphasis or strong emotion in exclamations, forceful commands, interjections, and statements or questions that require special intensity. Do not, however, use exclamation points to convey amazement, sarcasm, or humor.
Hyphen: Used to indicate pronunciation; to link parts of a word that might otherwise be seen as separate; to divide compounds between words; to divide prefixes and suffixes.
Parentheses: Used to enclose parenthetical expressions, elements that would otherwise interrupt a sentence: explanations, examples, asides, and supplementary information. They are also used to set off cross-references, citations, and numbers in a list.
Question Mark: Used at the end of a direct question.
Semicolon: Used to separate two independent clauses; used in a list of phrases to separate items containing commas.
Cliché: An overused expression or figure of speech.
Critique: Students often must critique each other’s writing as part of the learning process. Critiquing another’s work often includes examining the way in which the material was presented, determining whether it is clear or sufficient to support its claim, and gauging whether any further discussion is needed. A critique will also look at sentence-level concerns, including word choice, grammar, and documentation.
Figurative Language: Figurative expressions, as opposed to literal, are used to achieve a desired effect in writing. It is a form of expression that often compares one thing with another, as with a simile or metaphor.
Flow: In writing, flow usually refers to the ease at which a reader can move through the work. If paragraphs are constructed clearly and organized purposefully, if charts and tables are placed in easy to follow formats, if margins are set and stylistic conventions properly used, the reader will have a better time following the writer’s train of thought.
Genre: A specific type or category of art, literature, or writing.
Mechanics: A general term that encompasses correct usage of punctuation, rules for capitalization, or spelling, for instance.
Point of View: This is the perspective from which the writer tells a story.
Purpose: When approaching an assignment, writers must consider their purpose before they can make choices about how they will address the topic and what resources they will use to complete the assignment. Knowing the purpose in the beginning helps writers to organize their thoughts and makes the writing process more efficient.
Readability: Regardless of the tone or style you use, your writing should be clear, concise, and well-organized so that readers will have no trouble following your line of thought.
Style: A writer’s style is mainly determined by syntax and word choice. There are as many styles of writing as there are writers. No style is ever any better than another, although there are many styles that are more common or preferred depending on the audience.
Syntax: The way words are put together to form a phrase, clause, or sentence.
Text: Text here refers to the body of your work — the evidence, details, and analysis that you present in order to support your thesis.
Tone: Different writing projects or assignments often call for a particular tone, whether formal or informal, academic or professional. You convey tone through the words you choose, such as colloquialisms, excessive formality, or jargon.
Voice: A writer's voice conveys a sense of the individual behind the words, including personal, political, philosophical, and social beliefs and biases.
Analytical: Analysis requires the writer to discuss a topic in terms of its individual parts in relation to the whole.
Argument: This essay assignment requires the writer to choose an issue, argue a position, and support that argument with evidence.
Compare/Contrast: These assignments require the writer to examine both the similarities and differences of a topic (whether an artist, book, idea, etc.) in order to form a judgment about the work.
Definition: These assignments require specific information/discussion about a term or topic, but do not require interpretation or analysis.
Descriptive: Usually a physical description or explanation of a process or event. Description requires sensory details and examples.
Expository: Sometimes referred to as explanatory writing, expository essays explain how something is made, how it works, and what it means to an audience who wants to know more about that topic.
Narrative: These essays tell a story. They do not require a thesis statement and often employ creative devices such as dialogue, point of view, setting, etc.
Persuasion: The goal of a persuasive essay is to convince the reader that a particular idea or argument is correct. Credible evidence and logical reasoning will ensure a persuasive argument.
Problem/Solution: These essays address a particular problem (societal, procedural, etc.), outline why it is a problem, and prescribe possible solutions.
Research Paper: There are many assignments that are strictly research based and that cannot work simply on analysis or personal experience. For these, scholarly resources are necessary as evidence to support an argument or make a claim. Research writing requires documentation of outside sources using MLA, Chicago/Turabian, or APA format.
Thesis: Graduate, and some undergraduate, programs require students to complete a thesis before completing the program. Thesis papers vary in terms of content, format, and audience depending on the department in which they are submitted. A thesis is much like an extended research paper that looks deeper into a particular issue and requires sophisticated critical thinking and analysis.
Brainstorming/Pre-writing: The first stage in the writing process, pre-writing allows a writer to explore different topics, approaches, formats, details, and examples to be explored in the final paper.
Drafting: At this stage, writers begin to write about their topic, usually following the format they’ve set out in their outline. When drafting, writers should be unconcerned with grammar and punctuation—the goal here is to get all ideas and evidence down on paper for revision later.
Editing: At this stage, the writer reviews the work checking for proper grammar, spelling, and mechanics. Writers should be careful not to edit a paper before it has been revised—it makes no sense to work diligently and fix the grammar and punctuation of a work until the content and structure are as they should be.
Outlining: Once a writer compiles research and takes notes, he or she must organize that information into a working outline that will effectively present the information to the reader. Some writers complete a rough draft first and then take the material and mold it into a working outline. Either way is effective to ensure a logical structure.
Proofreading: This should always be the final step in the writing process and should be used with all types of writing. A proofreader checks for grammar and punctuation mistakes, but also inconsistencies, left out words, typos, and other careless mistakes.
Revising: Once a rough draft is completed, the writer will work to revise that draft, making sure all necessary information is included, descriptions are clear, and examples effective. This is the stage, too, where writers may have to reorganize the paper in order to best fit what was written or add more information to help clarify a point.
