Monday, May 3, 2010
Based on what you've seen . . .
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The Technical Report
Monday, April 12, 2010
Intellectual Property
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQlSG_wOnzcnKwwCZl0Q68WNfNqgD9F0KIV03
What is your response to this? I have mentioned before in class that not all cultures share American standards for citation, "plagiarism," and academic honesty. Some of you might think that the domain of "plagiarism" is unclear. I don't want to give you a lot of prompting here; I am just interested in reading your responses to this news story.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Citation Style
Friday, March 26, 2010
IRB approval/Secondary Research
Monday, March 1, 2010
James, Ryan, Paul, and Eddie
Definition: Passive voice occurs when you make an object of an action into the subject of a sentence. The basic formula is:
form of “to be” + past participle = passive voice
(http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/passivevoice.html)
Example 1: Light penetration is reduced by sediment, and bottom dwelling organisms may be smothered by layers of sediment.
Solution 1: Sediment reduces light penetration and smothers bottom-dwelling organisms.
Example 2: Bottled water is purchased by many people.
Solution 2: Many people purchase bottled water.
Passive voice occurs when you make an object of an action into the subject of a sentence. It creates ambiguity in the meaning of a sentence, and makes statements lack confidence. It is typically in the form a conjugated form of “to be” followed by a past participle such as “Why was the road crossed by the chicken?” By making road the subject of the sentence, it emphasizes the role of the road instead of the chicken in the question. In some cases, such as informal documents, passive voice may be appropriate or even preferable.
Estela, Lee, and Josh
Many factors determine water quality.
2. Suspended and dissolved substances are contained in all natural waters.
Natural waters contain suspended and dissolved substances.
Passive Voice Examples
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/539/
Passive Voice Summary
In a passive voice sentence, the action is preformed on the sentence. In an active voice sentence, the sentence subject performs the action.
Stacey, Courtney, and Nick
1. Water quality is determined by many factors.
a. Many factors determine water quality.
2. Suspended and dissolved substances are contained in all natural waters.
a. All natural waters contain suspended and dissolved substances.
3. The amounts of those substances are controlled by the environment.
a. The environment controls the amount of those substances.
4. But some dissolved substances are produced by pesticides.
a. Pesticides produce some dissolved substances.
5. Another element of quality is sediment that is deposited in water from fields, livestock feedlots, and other sources.
a. Sediments deposited from fields, livestock feedlots, and other sources also affect water quality.
6. The bottom life of streams and lakes is affected by suspended sediment.
a. Suspended sediment affects the bottom life of streams and lakes.
7. Light penetration is reduced by sediment, and bottom-dwelling organisms may be smothered by layers of sediment.
a. Sediments reduce light penetration and, when present in many layers, smother bottom-dwelling organisms
8. The quality of water in city systems is measured frequently at laboratories.
a. Laboratories frequently measure the water quality in city systems.
9. If legal levels are exceeded by pollutants, the citizens must be notified by city officials.
a. City officials must notify the citizens if pollutants exceed legal levels.
Bottled water is purchased by many people.
a. Many people purchase bottled water.
Bottled water is thought to be safer, but in truth a different taste is all that is purchased.
a. People purchase bottled water for a different taste, thinking it is safer.
Definition of passive voice:
The website about passive voice starts not with the definition of passive voice but instead with some myths about passive voice. The first myth is that using passive voice constitutes a grammatical error. The article states that passive voice is a style issue that pertains to clarity rather than a grammatical error. The next myth states that ANY time the phrase “to be” is used this constitutes a grammatical error. This is not always true. Summed up, the 3 myths go over how first person can still be in the form of passive voice, why it is sometimes ok to use passive voice, and explains why you should not always rely on the grammar checker to catch the passive voice in writing.
After clearing up some of these myths, the article defines passive voice in an easy to understand manner. It defines passive voice as a passive construction that occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence. That is, whoever or whatever is performing the action is not built as the grammatical subject of the sentence. The article uses a great example of passive voice.
Why was the road crossed by the chicken?
Or in active voice…
Why did the chicken cross the road?
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/passivevoice.html
Exercises:
This website contains links to a bunch of documents that illustrate passive voice in a variety of situations.
James, Aaron, and Hugh's Group
Sediment reduces light penetration, and layers of sediment may smother bottom-dwelling organisms.
Definition:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/03/
Exercises:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/active_passive/passive_sentences1.htm
Passive voice means the subject is acted upon or receives the action of the verb. The easiest way to recognize passive voice is to notice the presence of a be-verb, such as am, is, was, were, are, or been. Also, if a sentence includes a “by the…” phrase it is generally passive voice. However, you cannot just assume that simply because there is a “to be” in the sentence that it is passive. Using passive can make the meaning of your sentences confusing and it can force your sentences to become too wordy and very complicated.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Document Aesthetics
Monday, February 8, 2010
Corporate Ethics Policies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_ethics#Corporate_ethics_policies
Of the information included in the Wikipedia entry, what corresponds to your book's information and what does not? Given what the Wikipedia entry says, think about the Google policy again. What are your comments on it? In your post, reply to both of my questions here.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Implied Warranty
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Hello students! Welcome to ENGL 341!
Also, I want you to already begin thinking about our final project in this class: a technical report of fifteen or more pages. The main thing you need to start thinking about now is the "primary research"part of this project; this is research in which you are engaged, as an investigator, an observer, a data-compiler or -calculator, an interviewer, or an experimenter. The "primary" part is what you need to think about now. With what kinds of research projects in your major field of study are you involved?
If you are involved in a research project, tell me and your classmates a little bit about it in your comment here. Remember, we're not all experts in the same areas, so be sure you are presenting your research project in terms comprehensible to the largest number of us -- your audience. If you are not involved in a research project, start thinking about what kinds of "primary research" you might be able to begin in the next nine weeks.