Mary E. Brown, Ph.D., Professor
Information Science

Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515

Department of Information and Library Science
Fax: 1.203.392-5780 / Phone: 1.203.392-5781
Toll Free: 1-888-500-SCSU, then press 4

NOTE: Please print a copy of this page and keep it nearby for ready reference.

UNIT 7 READING ASSIGNMENT

LECTURE: Read the lecture notes below (then take a quiz on the material).

READINGS IN TEXT: Read chapter 7 (pp 159-176) in List-Handley (then take a quiz on the material)

UNIT 7 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

This week you are going to revise the draft you wrote in Week 5. Just as you followed a Writing Process (Big 6), you will now follow a Revision Process.

Before you begin to revise your paper, I would like you to print and read the following:

• Revising Drafts
• Reorganizing Drafts

The following schedule is offered to help you manage your time and the work:

Day 1

1. Check the focus of the paper: Is it appropriate to the assignment? Is the topic too big or too narrow? Do you stay on track through the entire paper? Do you still agree with the focus and message the paper delivers? Should it be modified in light of something you discovered as you wrote the paper? Does it make a sophisticated, provocative point, or does it just say what anyone could say if given the same topic? Should the focus or message be changed altogether? Confirm the paper's focus or define a new focus, rewriting it as a question.
2. List new information you will need to find.
3. List possible information sources.
4. Select the best sources.

Day 2

1. Check your information: Are all your facts accurate? Are any of your statements misleading? Have you provided enough detail to satisfy readers' curiosity? Have you cited all your information appropriately?
2. Locate the selected sources, including through finding appropriate subject headings.
3. Find information within each source.
4. Engage information in the source.
5. Extract inforamation from the multiple sources, using a graphic organizer.

Day 3

1. Check the organization: Does your paper follow a pattern that makes sense? Do the transitions move your readers smoothly from one point to the next? Do the topic sentences of each paragraph appropriately introduce what that paragraph is about? Would your paper work better if you moved some things around? (For more information on organization see: Reorganizing Drafts)
2. Organize the information from the various sources into a logical sequence, perhaps following an outline format.
3. Write a draft linking the various pieces of information into a coherent telling.
4. Revise the draft for a better telling/reading.

Day 4

1. Check the balance within your paper: Are some parts out of proportion with others? Do you spend too much time on one trivial point and neglect a more important point? Do you give lots of detail early on and then let your points get thinner by the end?
2. Check that you have kept your promises to your readers: Does your paper follow through on what the thesis promises? Do you support all the claims in your thesis? Are the tone and formality of the language appropriate for your audience?
3. Check your conclusion: Does the last paragraph tie the paper together smoothly and end on a stimulating note, or does the paper just die a slow, redundant, lame, or abrupt death?
4. Evaluate the paper. [How effective was your work?]
5. Evaluate the research process. [How efficient was your research activity?]

Day 5

1. Proofread your paper. Here are two resources that are very useful in proofreading (please print and read both):
   • Reverse Outlining: An Exercise for Taking Notes and Revising Your Work
   • Proofreading Your Writing .
2. Be sure you have included a Bibliography or List of References, giving the sources you used.
3. Paste your final draft into the threaded discussion area of this unit.

UNIT 7 RESOURCE GUIDE ASSIGNMENT

This week you are to identify and examine bibliographical dictionaries relevant to your area of study.

Give an overview of what kind of information is available in these resources and list specific sources and their call numbers (if in print) or URL (if on the Web); where appropriate, give notes on coverage of and how to use each resource.

UNIT 7 LECTURE

There is a constant demand for biographical information in libraries. There are three factors concerning notable persons that are sought: time, place, and occupation. While biographical dictionaries can provide you with much of this information, there are other sources that you could use. Biographical information can also be found in encyclopedias, yearbooks, obituaries.

Biographical dictionaries available online (be sure to explore each source):

• Biographical Dictionary (ancient times to the present day)
• Abridged Dictionary of Composers

UNIT 7 QUIZ

Test what you learned from this week's reading.

This is a short 5 question quiz covering the assigned reading for this unit. Take a maximum of 10 minutes. Some questions require you to apply what is learned from the readings. Other questions ask you to recall specific material. After you have taken the quiz, go back and check you answers in the text.