In the Terms and Concepts to Know section, you will find brief lessons on key vocabulary, concepts, and qualities that are frequently referenced in English Composition I as well as many other courses that require writing. In many classes, instructors assume that all students are already familiar with and able to incorporate these qualities or demonstrate these skills without specific instruction.
The resources for each of the terms/concepts listed in this section will provide you with a foundational understanding of the term/concept/skill and why it matters. Some of the concepts may already be familiar to you, and some may seem overly basic based on your previous experiences. Spend as much or as little time on each term as necessary for your personal skill, knowledge, and comfort level.
A paragraph is a group of related sentences that cover one main idea or make one point. All of the sentences in the paragraph are related to main idea or point. Paragraphs help readers group the ideas visually and cognitively. Visually, we indent the first line of each paragraph to break up the text for our readers—to “show” where one idea ends and another begins. Cognitively, we group like ideas together into a paragraph to ensure that the reader sees how our thoughts and examples are connected to each other, and to the bigger point that we are making.
A topic sentence is often the first sentence in a paragraph. The topic sentence introduces the main idea of the paragraph, so that the reader is prepared for the sentences to come. Some topic sentences introduce an idea more generally, while others make a specific claim with which a reader can either agree or disagree.
An essay is a piece of writing that focuses on a specific topic(s), idea(s), or concept(s). It may be informal or formal. Often, academic essays are more formal and typically follow paragraph(s) format; however, an essay can be versatile. Most traditionally, an academic essay follows a five paragraph format, including an introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. With that said, the number of paragraphs can depend on the scope and purpose of the essay. For example, an argumentative essay or an expository essay may require more in comparison to a narrative essay. A writer should establish the audience and understand purpose of the essay before drafting.
Support refers to the ideas that follow the topic sentence that provide detail and explanation to help the reader understand or agree with the topic sentence. Support is often in the form of examples, description, statistics, facts, reasons, expert opinion, analogies, or stories.
A thesis statement is a sentence that states the overall point/purpose of an entire essay. Formal essays should always contain a thesis in the introductory paragraph. Generally, the thesis statement will be the last sentence in the introduction.
Transitions are words and phrases that we use to connect ideas and show the relationship of ideas from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. Sometimes we talk about “transition words” (i.e. additionally, for example, however, on the other hand) and sometimes talk about “transition sentences.” Transition sentences are often used to connect ideas from one paragraph to the next. They may be placed at the end of one paragraph or the beginning of the next with the goal of bringing the ideas in one paragraph to a close while guiding the reader to the next new paragraph.
When we talk about writing, point of view refers to the “voice” we use in our work. Essentially, point of view refers to “who is talking” in our work. There are three voices we can choose from:
Many students think the term “outside sources” just means any source of information outside of yourself. Sometime this is true, and you may interview people you know or pull ideas from things you have heard in other classes, your job, church, etc. However, MOST of the time when instructor’s refer to outside sources, they mean finding information and support for your ideas from PUBLISHED sources. That means you will be reading websites, using databases to locate journal and news articles, watching videos, listening to podcasts, etc. with the intent of using that “outside information” to support your ideas or as the basis for your project.
Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty that occurs when a writer includes information from outside sources WITHOUT giving credit. For example, if a writer copies and pastes something they found online into their work, and they did not put it in quotation marks and correctly cite it, they would be guilty of plagiarism. When we read someone else’s writing, we assume that everything included is the author’s original work. It is perfectly fine (and very often required) that we include ideas from outside sources, but we MUST cite them to avoid plagiarism. Western has an academic dishonesty policy that outlines serious consequences for plagiarism. This can be found in every course syllabus, so be sure to make yourself familiar with this when you begin your classes.
Citing sources refers to giving credit to the outside ideas and information you include in your writing. Generally, there are two components to citing sources. Within your project, you will include very brief citations that reference the source you are including. Generally, this citation refers to the author of the source or the title of the source if there is no author. The second component occurs at the end of your project. On a separate page, you will list all of the bibliographic information for each source you refer to and use in your paper, so that the reader could go find the source themselves if they want to.
There are specific rules for citing outside sources. The two most common styles are MLA and APA. Each style provides a consistent set of rules for formatting papers and including outside sources. Both styles provide an extensive handbook as well as a website to provide writers with directions and examples. Your instructor will tell you whether you are to use MLA or APA style. Although the styles are similar, there are some significant differences in the way information is included, so you will want to check the handbook, website, or utilize one of our many resources when you need to use them.
Any time we use outside sources in our writing, we have to give credit and let the reader know where we got that information. MLA is one way to do that. MLA stands for Modern Language Association, and this style of citing outside sources is used in most English courses (such as English Composition I, Speech, Oral and Interpersonal Communication) as well as business courses and several general education courses. All citation styles are a bit tedious and confusing, but Western has many, MANY resources available to help you! The Writing Center is an excellent place to start!
Similar to MLA, APA is another way to cite outside information. APA stands for American Psychological Association, and this style is used in a wide variety of courses and programs including Human Services, Radiography, OTA, Nursing, Education, IT, just to name a few. Like MLA, APA can be confusing, but Western has many, MANY resources available to help you! The Writing Center is an excellent place to start!
Many of your courses will require you to participate in online discussion boards as a way to participate in an online conversation. Even if your class meets in person, most also require online discussion board participation. When you put something on this discussion board, it is labeled as a “thread” in Blackboard. A discussion thread is each student’s reply to the discussion question and visible by all. To post on a discussion board, you will click on the words "Create Thread" at the top of the discussion forum. Note, due to the background color, these words are not always easy to see, but they are generally in the upper left corner.
After you click "Create Thread" a new screen will pop up that directs you to title your discussion post and then contains a box where you can type your response.
When others reply to the thread, the replies are grouped under the original post as a way to organize the discussion.
► Student B replies to Student A
► Student C replies to Student A
A reply to another student is a way to create “discussion” in the class. To create a reply, you must click on/open one of the threads, then click the "reply" button under the student's post:
After you click "reply" a new screen will pop up that contains a box where you can type your reply.
Very often, your instructors will require you to “reply to” a certain number of classmates in order to earn all of the points for the discussion board assignment. So, any time you are assigned a discussion board as an assignment, remember that there are two components:
Many of your courses will require you to create a journal thread in response to a prompt. A journal may be used to create a self-reflection response, to create a summary or notes, to respond to a question, or to fulfill whatever need indicated by the instructor. Each journal will have a title and a description/instructions. A journal entry is private to the student and instructor and not seen by the rest of the participants, unless the instructor chooses to allow access to all or a specific group. To respond to a journal entry, you will select the specific journal assignment and click "create thread." 
Attribution:
English Composition I. Schoolcraft College.
A source is a text, document, or other informational piece of material that is used to support a claim, develop an idea, or analyze a topic. A source can also be called a reference. Sources can be primary, secondary, or tertiary.
Click here for more information on primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
Credit/recognition must be given to sources use in writing. The two most common types of citation styles are APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) format; however, there are more styles than the previously stated.
Attribution:
Research For College Students. Amber Karlins, Elizabeth Terranova, Jacklyn Pierce, James Cason, Nora Rackley.
Attribution:
Essay Format: How to Write an Academic Essay. Amanda Couch.
Test your knowledge of terms and concepts by matching the term/concept to its definition in the interactive slides via the link.
