- Impact of a lecture about "essays" (Grade 11 English course)
Teacher: I do not want to see plagiarism. Plagiarism is copying word for word, not citing a source , stealing work, using someone else’s idea. Even if you mix the ideas of many sources, you need to write down your sources. And I do not want your ideas about the subject. You cannot use I, ME, YOU because you are not a credible source, you didn’t do many years of research.
The teacher writes on the black board:
Double-space, Black or blue pen, 12 points font times roman, no title page
5 to 7 sentences/each paragraph is considered Junior
7 to 9 sentences/each paragraph is considered Senior
Up to 5 pages
Don’t put more than 2 quotations
First page: Student name; Teacher; Code of course; Date
Title in the center (no underline, no bold) Paragraph 1- Introduction
Thesis – last sentence of introduction
Thesis: Thesis is one statement that tells what you will prove. For example: smoking by law in Sudbury should be mandatory because it is a dirty habit and it is bad to smoker’s health
Paragraph 2- dirty habit
Paragraph 3- smoker’s habit
Each paragraph has:
S- state
T – illustrate – example, quotation
E – elaborate – explain how it proves your point
Paragraph 5 – Conclusion – restatement of thesis. “Therefore, it is obvious..
For some students, the lecture might build distance: the teacher is saying the student 's experience is not valid since he doesn’t have many years of experience and research
Some students didn't like the smoking example because they smoke
The purpose of writing the essay is selling the writer's idea. The first paragraph sets up what the writer wants people to believe and the word “obvious” in the conclusion closes any debate. In this narrow view, the more assertive you are, the better grade you will have. There is not much space for welcoming diversity.
