Mid Term Make Up

Analyzing a Review on the Light of APA Requirements

      Academic writing is a complex process that requires the writer to follow certain conventions. As the world of academic writing is very broad, when consulting sources or mentioning other people’s ideas in one’s work, it is essential to cite properly so as to avoid plagiarism as required by APA style.  The aim of this paper is to analyze Nelson’s (2012) Review of Deconstructing Digital Natives, on the light of APA requirements in relation to the use of in-text citations.

     First of all, there are several instances of in-text citations included in Nelson’s (2012) piece of writing. When the author makes reference to the title of the source consulted, he uses capitalization and italics to cite. In addition to this, the author includes short quotations in his review; but even though he mentions the author’s name in a signal phrase, he also includes this information after the quotation including, the author’s name again, the date of the publication in parentheses and the page number, this writing style may not fulfill APA requirements for in-text citations.

      There is also an instance of long quotation included in which the author separates the quotation from the text omitting quotation marks, double spacing is not maintained and there is no parenthetical citation included after the final punctuation mark.

     Taking everything into account, it could be stated that Nelson (2012) does not seem to adjust his work to the requirements of APA style in his piece of writing; this makes the whole work inconsistent and difficult to follow.

 

  

 

 

References

Nelson,M.(2012).Review of Deconstructing Digital Natives: Language Learning & Technology.16, (3), 35-39 Retrieved October 2012 from http://IIt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/reviewI.pdf

Bridging the Gap between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

 

Nelson, M. (2012).Review of Deconstructing Digital Natives: Language Learning & Technology.16, (3), 35-39. Retrieved October 2012 from http://IIt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/reviewI.pdf

     In his Review of Thoma’s (2011) Deconstructing Digital Natives, Nelson (2012) analyses a book edited by Thomas (2011). To begin with, Nelson (2012) describes the book as a collection of critical scholarly points of view on the concept of “digital native” a concept opposed to the idea of “digital immigrant”. To describe both concepts, the author resorts to Prenky’s ( 2001) definitions ( as cited in Nelson, 2012).

      In relation concepts previously mentioned, Nelson (2012) goes on asserting that “Deconstructing Digital Natives presents what is arguably the most comprehensive, nuanced treatment to date of these complex, impassioned debates” (p. 35). In addition to this, Nelson (2012) explains how the book is organized, how the chapters are divided. He also mentions how the sections are named and who the authors of the work compiled are, providing a summary of the main issues dealt with in each part.

     Before concluding his review, Nelson (2012) criticizes the layout of the book and the index stating that images should have been included so as to facilitate the analysis and that a more organized index would have been profitable. Finally, he concludes stating that not only “scholars, university students, teachers and policy makers” (p. 38) may be interested in the book, but also “all those who regard the metaphorical digital chasm between digital natives and digital immigrants” (p. 38). 

 

 

References

Nelson, M. (2012). Review of Deconstructing Digital Natives: Language Learning & Technology.16, (3), 35-39 Retrieved October 2012 from http://IIt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/reviewI.pdf

Writing for Wikipedia as a Way of Developing Academic Writing Skills

     In the article “Writing for the World: Wikipedia as an introduction to Academic Writing” published in the English Teaching Forum, Tardy describes her approach to use a collaborative web space called Wikipedia, to help students develop academic writing skills. Students create academic pieces of writing and publish them on the website. To be able to do this, there are eight steps they should necessarily follow.

     The leading step is connected to the use of Wikipedia. Students are required to analyze how the website works, what the requirements for editing and contributing are and they also have to become familiar with the type of information that frequently appears in articles. The second step proposed by the author consists of gathering information. Students are expected to choose a topic and collect information about it, bearing in mind that in the pursuit of information and facts they should consult reliable sources. The third step is related to the organization of the information collected by students and paraphrasing is recommended as a strategy to avoid it plagiarism. The fourth step embroils the ability to produce a coherent piece of writing. The fifth step entails revising drafts, and peer correction and editing is praised as a way of receiving feedback. In the sixth step, after giving format to their text, students should include citation of sources consulted. In step seven, students should read their work carefully to identify possible spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. The final step leads to publishing. Students should register as Wikipedia users to be able to publish their work. Students should be aware of the fact that once they publish their articles, other Wikipedia users can revise, correct and edit their work.

  To conclude, Tardy (2010) portrays her own teaching experience using a website to develop students’academic writing skills. She makes the assumption that publishing an article in Wikipedia is not only a challenge which requires several steps, but also a meaningful activity as students write for a real audience.

    

 

     

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Tardy, C. (2010). Writing for the World: Wikipedia as an Introduction to Academic Writing. English Teaching Forum: http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/docs/10-48-1-c.pdf