Writing
at CPCS: A Guide for Students
by Prof. Kelly Matthews, Fall 2004
(updated Fall 2005 by Jim O'Brien)
Introduction
Graduating
students at CPCS often remark on the amount of writing they've
been asked to do during their time here. In our competency-based
college, writing has become the primary way that students can
demonstrate their understanding of the material they've studied.
But writing does so much more. The reason your professors ask
you to write so much is that we want to challenge you to think
harder and more deeply – to find new connections between your
studies, your own life, and the greater community outside the
classroom. We want you to spell out your thoughts as clearly and
accurately as you can, and to prove your argument by showing you've
done your research. Most of all, we want you to put your writing
to work, first by clarifying your own ideas, and then by influencing
others to take action. We hope that the writing skills you learn
here will serve you throughout your professional career.
In
this book, you'll find a general description of the CPCS approach
to writing, as well as specifics to help you tackle your writing
assignments. Sections I and II discuss the writing process and
offer guidelines for structuring and formatting your papers. In
Section III, you'll find an overview of the CPCS Writing
Portfolio evaluation process – including
tips on avoiding plagiarism – and in Section IV, a brief description
of each of the genres, or types of writing, that can be submitted
for the Portfolio. These descriptions contain bolded keywords
that can help you identify the important features of each type
of writing. In Section V, you'll find descriptions of papers that
are generally not acceptable for the Portfolio, and the
reasons why.
The
CPCS faculty hope that you'll find this book a valuable reference
as you work through the competencies in the CPCS curriculum. If
you have comments or suggestions for improving the book, please
don't hesitate to forward them to Emily
Rubin, Coordinator of the Writing Portfolio Evaluation Team.
Download
"Writing at CPCS: A Guide for Students" (Adobe Acrobat
.pdf)
Related
Resources:
Download
"Crediting Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism" (Adobe
Acrobat .pdf)
Download
"Notes on Identifying Sources" (MLA and APA Style Guide)
(Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
