FGCU QEP

FGCUScholars: Think ~ Discover ~ Write advances the skills of writing, critical thinking, and information literacy within majors and thus creates a culture of inquiry that begins in the first year with Composition and concludes in the senior year with the Capstone course.

FGCUScholars: Think ~ Discover ~ Write

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Quality Enhancement Plan, FGCUScholars: Think ~ Discover ~ Write, strengthens undergraduate student learning by assisting students in developing stronger writing, critical thinking, and information literacy skills within their majors, ultimately leading to stronger senior capstone projects. What we have discovered, through learning outcome assessments conducted over the last several years at FGCU and feedback from employers and post-baccalaureate programs, is that while students may be proficient in their disciplinary or content knowledge at the end of their studies, they continue to need improvement in the ability to express that knowledge in a scholarly way. To meet these ends, we will implement and then evaluate our Program Objectives:

Program Objective 1: Integration of the QEP vertically (across all four years) and horizontally (in multiple General Education courses and multiple courses in the majors) as it builds towards the capstone experience;
Program Objective 2: Identification, refinement, or creation of coursework within each major, such as gateway courses and research methods courses, that allow students to explicitly develop the skills of writing, critical thinking, and information literacy within their disciplines; and
Program Objective 3: Development of final scholarly projects in the capstone course that provide evidence of higher levels of writing, critical thinking, and information literacy.

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Read Quality Enhancement Plan To advance these skills, we have designated courses within the curriculum that explicitly teach writing, critical thinking, and information literacy. While most college courses reinforce the importance of writing, critical thinking and information literacy, courses that include this logo in the syllabus are committed explicitly to engaging these skills.

Scholar Courses

FGCUScholars Courses are designated in each degree program and the General Education Program. The two types of designated courses in the majors are Scholarly-Enriched Courses and Scholarly-Focused Courses.

Scholarly-Enriched Courses are designed to enhance student-learning of specific course content through the production of scholarly work that uses writing, critical thinking, and information literacy.
Scholarly-Focused Courses are designed to teach students the skills that are fundamental to the production of scholarly work in the discipline, with specific emphasis on writing, critical thinking, and information literacy.

You can also search for these courses using FGCU's Course Schedule search tool.

Business
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Education
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Engineering
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Health Professions and Social Work
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Humanities
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Natural Sciences
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Social Sciences
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Visual and Performing Arts
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Critical Thinking

At a time when society is bombarded with information from Internet sources like Wikipedia, from Twitter and Facebook, and from various blogs and media outlets, students must develop the ability to critically assess and differentiate mere opinion and belief from sound, evidence-based knowledge and reasoning. Critical thinking is a skill that not only allows students to develop well-informed opinions, make intelligent decisions, and identify the best course of action in various situations in life, but it also enables students to recognize faulty or manipulative reasoning in others. Moreover, it is a skill that is common to all academic disciplines—from mathematics, business, and philosophy, to physics, history, and literature—insofar as the core concern is to identify and question various uncritical assumptions and recognize how knowledge in that particular discipline is understood and interpreted as being legitimate (Maki, 2004; Brookfield, 2012).

Why Think?
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Elena Ruiz, Philosophy

Learning to think well is a vital component of leading successful careers and informed lives. Nowhere is the role of thinking more centrally placed than in higher education, for it endows students with the skills necessary to understand modalities of thought that distinguish between mere appearance, perception, and true knowledge. Being able to think critically, with awareness and understanding of the frameworks behind sound analytical judgments, allows students to make the leap between passive acceptance of information and integrative understanding of the most complex sets of information. Beyond this, it helps students make sense of their world in more robust terms, through aesthetic judgment of creative works and thoughtful appreciation of the arts. The ability to think well is also integral to formulating critical stances and moral arguments in our daily lives, helping create more cultivated and informed learning communities where civic dialogue is open and reflects values of inclusion in multicultural democracies. When employed effectively through an integrated curriculum critical thinking becomes entwined with core skills and aptitudes in writing and information literacy.
Critical Thinking in Composition
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Kristine Tullo, Composition

College level writing requires a significant amount of problem solving, and problem solving demands several critical thinking and writing skills. The process begins with analyzing a professional writer or expert to demonstrate how or why students should question the arguments from authority. The questioning process is the most important step for students to master. By learning to question facts, students develop a sense of quality analysis, evaluation, and interpretation. Critical thinking goes beyond the questioning stage as the students learn to formulate arguments against what would normally be considered an expert point of view. These transferrable skills assist in determining practical and feasible ways to manage real life situations.
Business Critical Thinking
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Hulya Julie Yazici, Operations Management

Critical thinking manifests itself in the problem solving and business decision making. Business students are exposed to case studies where real life business problems are represented to them. They need to identify the problem (issue), provide evidence, show their approach to the problem (formulate), analyze the existing information and facts, and finally synthesize their findings along with their own perspective and recommendation. All these are steps of critical thinking. Similarly, in strategic simulation games, students act as business owners, gather market information, formulate a number of decision alternatives, and select a strategy that create the best outcome for their product or service company. Inquiry, analysis, synthesis, conclusion, presentation are major phases of these simulations, thus the very elements of critical thinking are fully implemented.
Engineering Critical Thinking
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Rita Rubin, Academic Advising Engineering

In-class and outside of class activities and written assignments in Engineering Courses include various skill sets that enhance scholarly writing and critical thinking skills. For example, in the syllabus of the first course in the sequence (EGS 1006L - Intro to Engineering), students are greeted with activities such as: summarize and apply, demonstrate and communicate, identify, formulate, and solve. Assignments driven by these practices result in students working in teams, demonstrating solid skills in locating, evaluating, and integrating relevant information to solve real-word engineering problems.

Students are engaged in critical thinking and scholarly writing during and after assignments, which allows them to: (1) demonstrate their understanding of engineering concepts and general information and (2) provide the STEM-based method to complete projects and present well-articulated results. Critical thinking, scholarly writing, and learning become the “broad-brush knowledge base” needed by students to grasp the full impact of engineering solutions in the global, economic, environmental, and societal context. These learning outcomes continue to be “center stage” in all ensuing engineering classes through the capstone courses with increasing curricular and instructional depth, breadth, complexity, and integrated rigorous academic standards that are specific to each degree.
Education Critical Thinking
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Tunde Szecsi, Early Childhood Education

Good teaching is driven and paved by critical thinking. Educators do not only provide instruction in a subject area but also address the children’s needs and interest in a holistic way. To accomplish this demanding task, educators are expected to be knowledgeable of the academic content, child development and pedagogy, as well as the different ecological systems in which children grow up (Bronfrenbrenner, 1979). However, this comprehensive knowledge base is functional only when educators approach and apply it with critical thinking skills.

Children come from diverse families and cultures. Therefore, educators must consider an issue emerged in a classroom or a child’s life from diverse perspectives, understand the purpose of each, and with clarity and depth formulate and to articulate the precise problem. The solution for this problem is crystallized as a result of an in-depth analysis of a child’s developmental characteristics in light of the critical analysis of child’s environment, e.g. family situation, and culture. When we work with children, no ready-made “recipes”, or the “50 best teaching strategies” will serve the children’s individual needs and growth. Only educators who are empowered with critical thinking skills will be able to determine and implement an approach that is appropriate in the specific educational situation.
Health Profession and Social Work Critical Thinking
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Renee Jeffreys, Rehabilitation Sciences

All disciplines within the College of Health Professions and Social Work subscribe to evidenced based practices. In practical terms, this means that in order to provide the best, cutting edge patient/client/athlete/sample care we must always be current on the latest literature/cutting edge information. For the professional, this is accomplished through reading of peer-reviewed journals, attending regional and national conferences, and participating in attending AND conducting continuing education opportunities. For the student, it surrounds how to develop the skills to understand the current literature outside of the classroom. It is, therefore, necessary for the students in our discipline to be able to find the relevant information, synthesize it with the knowledge that they already possess, and critically analyze how the new information is relevant to their practice.
Humanities Critical Thinking
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Mary-Crone Romanovski, Eighteenth-Century British Literature and Culture

Critical Thinking in the Humanities requires the ability to engage with deep and complex ideas or aspects of a text within a specific and rich context. Humanities scholars develop critical thinking skills through formal training in logic, problem solving, and textual analysis. Students in the Humanities practice critical thinking skills by analyzing texts in their appropriate contexts.
Science Critical Thinking
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Michael Savarese, Marine and Ecological Sciences

Most people equate science with a catechism of facts or an encyclopedic summary of the natural world. No doubt this association arises from a person’s typical experience with science in school: the rote presentation of facts about the natural world by a teacher from the pages of a textbook. Facts about the natural world do not define science, but are rather products of science. Science is a process, a method through which facts are acquired. And at the heart of the scientific method sits critical thinking. All aspects of science draw on critical thinking: the asking of questions, the posing of hypotheses, the making of observations, the collection of data, the testing of hypotheses, the amassing of evidence, and the analysis and interpretation of results. Each step relies upon a scientist’s abilities to think critically, to reflectively evaluate his or her work, to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.

Critical thinking does not end once a scientist has completed the work. The results are subjected to the peer review process, a trial by the world’s authorities of a given discipline that work mercilessly at times to find flaws, problems, and erroneous assumptions. If the science does not survive this critical review, it is sent back for revision, further work, or, in the severest of cases, is flat out rejected. It is through this careful credentialing that facts are established and theories emerge. The ultimate results of such critical evaluation are things like medical advances, new technologies, solutions to environmental problems, and the fundamental understanding of our universe.

Opposing the scientific method is pseudoscience – claims of truth but for which there is no scientific evidence or evaluation of credibility. Such claims as dowsing as a method for locating ground water, abduction of humans by aliens, and the power of crystals have no basis in science, are not subjects of critical review, and are nothing more than unsubstantiated beliefs.

Through critical thinking our understanding of the natural world grows, new technologies develop, earth’s problems are solved, and the quality of life improves. There can be now stronger testament for its importance and relevance in higher education.
Social Science Critical Thinking
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Shawn Keller, Criminal Justice

According to Diane Halpern (2014), there are four primary ways to improve critical thinking:
1. Developing Attitudes
2. Skills Training
3. New Contexts
4. Metacognition
When we write to develop attitudes, we are developing an understanding of the topic at hand and explaining our stance on that topic. This is done through inquiry - learning as much as we can about the topic – and challenging assumptions about the topic. These can be presented in social science courses as Argument Papers or Opinion Papers. These assignments ask you to compare and contrast opposing sides of an argument, or may ask you to take a side on a topic and be prepared to defend it in class. The purpose of these papers is to increase one’s knowledge on the subject and further develop your attitude by providing evidence to support your opinion.

Skills training is most closely related to scientific research. We use skills training writing to determine causality from data, analyze data, create inferences from data, and/or synthesize the information from the data. In this type of writing we may employ qualitative methods, quantitative methods, or a mixture of these two methods to test a hypothesis. Qualitative research examines communication data – written, verbal, or non-verbal communication – and attempts to synthesize the information and create inferences from the information gathered. Quantitative research examines numerical data using mathematical statistics to analyze that data and determine causality. In the social sciences, the purpose of this type of writing is to inform the public of our findings which should expand our knowledge about a particular topic in scientific manner.

Another goal in the social sciences is to examine multiple solutions and the ethics of those solutions on a topic. Here the student is asked to review a particular scenario or case study and apply ethical standards to the case. The purpose of the writing in this context is to ensure that one can think through a particular problem, come up with several solutions, and apply the ethical standard to find the best solution possible. This often requires a person to utilize the attitudes developed during your other courses. This is what it means to provide new contexts. One examines the attitudes previously developed through new contexts by providing multiple solutions, examining “grey areas,” and ethics to previously

Lastly, metacognition involves self-reflection and understanding what we know. This involves examining our judgments, biases, and beliefs that affect our opinions, emotions, etc. when examining a topic. The purpose of this paper is to look introspectively into a topic. These can be presented in social science courses as a reflection paper or it may be expected when completing an opinion paper. The ultimate purpose of the paper to gain knowledge about one’s self and how this might influence the attitudes and contexts.

References: Halpern, Diane F. (2014). Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: A Brief Edition of Thought & Knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com
Visual and Performing Arts Critical Thinking
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Trent Brown, Music
The act of creating in the arts is critical thinking. Students that engage in participatory arts activities in visual and performing arts demonstrate the process of critical thinking.

Written Communication

Writing is crucial to learning, not just in the writing classroom, but in all classrooms. Ideally, writing must be sustained throughout the curriculum for students to sufficiently develop their skills. According to Tim N. Taylor and Greg Peterson, “Writing stimulates thought and challenges students to communicate their ideas, so writing represents a valuable learning tool for any classroom. Writing is simply one of the best ways to provoke, evaluate, and assess student learning. Incorporating writing . . . promote[s] deeper discussion and understanding of course concepts” (p. 6). Thus, writing is a catalyst for synthesis and understanding of course content.

Why Write?
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Kristine Tullo, Composition

The significance of developing college-level writing skills goes beyond the university experience. Obtaining the skills of effective written communication is an essential job skill. Learning how to properly write a college-level research assignment allows for the development of crucial skills in effective written communication and critical thinking. While cultivating a comprehension of the college-level writing process, students must learn how to gather, evaluate, synthesize, and report in a scholarly manner. These competencies transfer into real life situations. Creating a well-written research project prepares students to navigate every career. Transferring these skills, from college to career, means knowing the difference between effectual data and ineffectual data, being able to compose clear and effective written communication, and knowing the most effective modes of argumentation and persuasion, all of which contribute to an individual’s success in their field. Ultimately, college-level writing proficiency is the fundamental method of assessing and evaluating an individual’s labor inside any organization or institution.
Writing in Composition
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Kristine Tullo, Composition

Writing in College Composition furnishes students with strategies for college-level research and writing. Students learn more complex challenges involving argumentation and research. College Composition places greater emphasis on analysis, with frequent writing assignments that require students to develop and present an informed argument. Engineered as a discussion seminar and writing workshop, College Composition trains students to become savvy consumers of argument through discussion and analysis of diverse prose models. Students should leave College Composition as stronger writers and more informed, engaged participants of a learning community.
Business Writing
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Drs. Pendergast, Rottig, Pinello, and Yazici

Computer Information Systems, International Business, Accounting, and Operations Management

Besides being critical thinkers, business students are expected to articulate effectively their ideas, facts, arguments and recommendations. Business writing has some characteristics common to all disciplines: clear, concise, efficient, and easy to read. It appeals to the reader, flows from one sentence to another with no awkward wording, and is free of spelling, grammatical errors, and homonym misuse. It effectively communicates thoughts and ideas to the reader. What is specific to business writing is more content and format related: business students often face report writing. Typical expectations from a business report are as follows:
- Thoroughness: Analysis hits on all major, relevant topics
- Relevance: Analysis does not merely provide data and facts, but explicitly draws implications for competitive advantage
- Focus: The key issues are identified and illuminated (quality is important, not quantity!)
- Sound arguments: The report is logical, internally consistent and supported by tables, graphs, charts, and exhibits
- Writing: Clear, precise, succinct, well organized with logical flow of ideas, headings and subheadings provide “road map” for reader, proper grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, word choice etc., well consolidated and integrated into a cohesive whole
- Style: Attractive, readable format, use of color, graphics and exhibits serve to enhance reader acceptance and “friendliness”, but do not obscure or overshadow the content
Business students also write discipline specific papers. A coherent well-structured paper is expected with a title, introduction, body, conclusion and citations in APA style. The introduction should clearly define the problem/topic of the paper and go over the methodology/approach the paper is taking. The conclusion should briefly summarize the important points and the recommended solution. Each paragraph should elaborate on one idea/point. Each sentence should contain a complete thought.

Whether a strategy simulation report, an IS paper, a branding project report, or a sustainability assessment report, business writing follows problem identification, alternative generation, alternative analysis, and solution selection method with style.
Engineering Writing
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Rita Rubin, Academic Advising Engineering

In-class and outside of class activities and written assignments in Engineering Courses include various skill sets that enhance scholarly writing and critical thinking skills. For example, in the syllabus of the first course in the sequence (EGS 1006L - Intro to Engineering), students are greeted with activities such as: summarize and apply, demonstrate and communicate, identify, formulate, and solve. Assignments driven by these practices result in students working in teams, demonstrating solid skills in locating, evaluating, and integrating relevant information to solve real-word engineering problems.

Students are engaged in critical thinking and scholarly writing during and after assignments, which allows them to: (1) demonstrate their understanding of engineering concepts and general information and (2) provide the STEM-based method to complete projects and present well-articulated results. Critical thinking, scholarly writing, and learning become the “broad-brush knowledge base” needed by students to grasp the full impact of engineering solutions in the global, economic, environmental, and societal context. These learning outcomes continue to be “center stage” in all ensuing engineering classes through the capstone courses with increasing curricular and instructional depth, breadth, complexity, and integrated rigorous academic standards that are specific to each degree.
Education Writing
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Dr. Tunde Szecsi, Early Childhood Education

Educators teach the future generation how to write. In order to become an effective instructor of writing, the teacher should possess good writing skills. The academic field of education accommodates many different types of writing. For example, those who conduct educational research and prepare a report on the findings must follow the basic rules of quality academic writing: a precise and logical presentation of the research problem and the findings in concise and objective language. However, the papers that intend to give a description of a teaching strategy that was successfully implemented or a presentation interpretation of an educational case study requires a different approach to writing. These papers provide a rich and extensive description of the educational settings, participants, and the procedure itself. Because of the nature of these papers, a more subjective and informative writing style is proper. These two types of writing in education reflect the importance of matching the purpose of the paper with the appropriate writing styles.
Health Profession and Social Work Writing
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Renee Jeffreys, Rehabilitation Sciences

All disciplines within the College of Health Professions and Social Work subscribe to evidenced based practices. In practical terms, this means that in order to provide the best, cutting edge patient/client/athlete/sample care we must always be current on the latest literature/cutting edge information. In our fields it is common for the lay population to have “read” or “Googled” information that they assume to be the answer/solution to everything from a happy life to a cure for disease. Students in our fields must be able to effectively communicate and write about misconceptions. For example, in fitness every new piece of fitness promises to be the key to ending the obesity epidemic. In nursing, every new/old herb or pill will solve whatever ails. Health Professionals must be able to clearly and concisely distill the available, scientific data, and present evidence-based information to the public in a way that is understandable.
Humanities Writing
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Mary Crone-Romanovski, Eighteenth-Century British Literature and Culture

Writing in the Humanities develops, organizes, and relates ideas and information with coherence, clarity, and unity. Humanities disciplines prize effective and ethical communication that demonstrates awareness of and engagement with socially and culturally diverse audiences and contexts. Students in the Humanities refine writing skills by reporting the results of research and analysis through an accepted methodology and manuscript format.
Science Writing
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Journal Articles: The Foundation of Scientific Writing

Michael Savarese, Marine and Ecological Sciences

The last thing a scientist would chose to read while relaxing in bed after a long and tiresome day is a “scientific paper”. There is no better sedative! Scientific writing – by definition a paper that describes a scientific investigation (i.e., a journal article), one of 20 or so pages in length, with figures and tables, and composed in the discipline’s jargon – is formulaic and not meant to be entertaining. Rather it is intended for a specific audience and purpose. These papers present new research findings and report new knowledge acquired about the natural world. The paper is organized and structured so the reader, an expert in their own right, can easily evaluate the findings. The organization allows the reader to objectively draw their own interpretations; they can intentionally ignore certain sections of the manuscript that report the author’s conclusions.

Journal articles begin with an Abstract, a concise summary that reviews the study’s purpose, methods, and findings. This allows the reader to quickly determine whether the work is relevant and worth reading further. It is also an economical convention: so much scientific research is published that it is difficult for any one person to consume it all; abstracts can be processed quickly and efficiently.

The body of a journal article begins with an Introduction. It is here that scientists can flex their creative style. The central question and its significance are introduced. The writer has the opportunity to engage the reader, excite them, and place the work in some greater context. The section ends with the presentation of the hypothesis that the study tests.

The Methods section follows. This is the cookbook section of a scientific paper with the research methods prescribed in recipe fashion. The purpose is to provide thorough enough information so that any reader can replicate the study. One of the credos of science is replication: for a scientific fact to become thoroughly entrenched, the same results should be gained by anyone employing the same methods.

Beyond the Methods comes the Results section. It is here that the data – and just the data – are presented. This section is rich in figures, graphs, and tables. No interpretations or conceptual analysis is allowed in this section – statistical analyses are presented in the result section. This provides the reader with an unbiased summary of the study’s findings, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. If the reader reaches the same conclusions as the author, which are revealed in the next section, then the study’s credibility is strengthened.

The body of a journal article ends with the Discussion. The result of the hypothesis test is presented here, either supported or refuted by the data. The author develops their argument, amassing the supportive or refutive evidence. Here the power of persuasive expression is important, another opportunity for creativity. All scientists also have an ethical obligation to present the contradictory findings and the shortcomings of the study.

Finally, in the Discussion, the scientist has the opportunity to relate their work to other research, to express the significance of the findings, and to suggest next steps for other investigators.

Throughout the paper, former work, pre-established facts, and methods developed by others are cited. The history of scientific knowledge upon which the new study is founded is credited. All these sources are presented in the References Cited section at the manuscript’s end.

This prescriptive structure does not make for fine literature. It does, however, serve a number of necessary functions: all scientists are accustomed to the organization, the science can be navigated easily, and work can be evaluated readily. Collectively, articles published in science journals amass the collective knowledge acquired about natural history. This knowledge is then ready for application by society, employed to solve problems and to fuel new technological advances.
Social Science Writing
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Shawn Keller, Criminal Justice

Social Sciences covers a large array of studies, including Anthropology, Criminology, History, Sociology, Political Science, and many specific forms of these studies as well. Due to variety of studies falling under the broad term “Social Science,” it can be difficult to determine what good effective writing is in the social sciences. In order to be effective in our writing, we need to determine the purpose of that writing. Sometimes the purpose is to conduct scientific research by creating and testing an idea. Other times, one should be writing to argue an opinion in a logical manner, or you might be writing to inform the public about some unique information you found.

Once you have identified the purpose of the writing, you can then prepare to write the paper by finding out what is known about the topic. This involves finding appropriate resources for the topic of the paper and synthesizing that information for the designated audience. If you are completing a scientific research project, you would use this information to guide your hypotheses and later to place the context of your findings to what is currently known about the topic. If you are writing an opinion piece or argument paper, you will use this information to support your opinion or demonstrate an opposing view. While if you are writing to inform the audience of your unique information found, you will use this information to demonstrate how and why this new information you found is unique from what was previously known.

Lastly, to write effectively in the social sciences one needs to be certain that you have attained your goal for writing. Often in writing we get lost in the process and forget to address the goal and purpose of the paper. Be sure that final comments in a paper address the goal and how it was completed by the paper.
Visual and Performing Arts Writing
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Trent Brown, Music

The arts provide means for humans to express emotions in ways words alone cannot capture. When students write about the arts they are challenged to analyze, understand, contextualize and explain complex relationships between measured elements and abstract ideas. Writing that identifies color in painting, volume in music and motions in theater only describes surface-level observations. The arts require students to make connections in writing that explores the depths of the human experience.

Information Literacy

Welcome to the Information Age, where everyone is under a constant barrage of information from a plethora of sources. This explosion of information makes it nearly impossible for a person to learn everything needed for a lifetime of success during their years of formal schooling. To overcome this challenge, students must learn to become information seekers and managers if they expect to navigate the ever-changing world. The ability to find, analyze, and use information is essential in a democratic society and global culture since information literacy skills equip one for a lifetime of independent learning and personal empowerment. For more on the importance of information literacy and its role in undergraduate studies, see Todd Wiebe's article, "The Information Literacy Imperative in Higher Education." (PDF available through FGCU Library).

Why Discover?
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Anna Carlin, Instructional Technology Librarian

What does it mean to discover? It is used most often in modern parlance to mean, “to obtain sight or knowledge of or become aware of (a thing or person previously unknown or overlooked) for the first time; to find out, to come know of; to find in the course of a search or investigation” (“discover,” Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2015). During the college years, we become aware of many things we didn’t know about before through our coursework, readings, and lectures. As we learn and grow intellectually, we move toward being scholars where we use the discoveries of those before us to guide us toward new discoveries and the creation of new knowledge.

In order to find and use the discoveries of scholars, current and past, we have to be able to find, evaluate, and use information effectively. This is also known as information literacy. Being information literate is more important now than ever before because of the massive amount of information that can be discovered in our networked world. Though professors and librarians often talk about information literacy within the realm of academic research and writing, information literacy is not just an academic issue; it is essential for success in many, if not all careers.

We can say information literacy is important, but how do we know? We use credible and relevant and appropriate information as evidence to back this up. A 2015 survey of 400 employers conducted on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) found that 68% of employers felt it was very important for the college graduates they hire to display proficiency in the ability to locate, organize, and evaluate information from multiple sources. Information literacy ranked as a higher priority to these employers than the ability to be creative or work with numbers and statistics. Why enhance our information literacy skills here at FGCU? In the same survey referenced above, 64% of college graduates thought they were strongly information literate, even though only 29% of employers thought that recent college graduates had adequate skills in this area (Hart Research Associates, https://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-results, 2015).
Finding Information
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Anna Carlin, Instructional Technology Librarian

Finding information in the digital age is simultaneously easier than ever before and harder than ever before. You can find lots of “stuff” on the internet very quickly, but it can be difficult to find the right “stuff” when you need it. A search engine like Google does a great job of searching the “open web” and returning the results it thinks you want using a complex relevance ranking. But what happens when you need to find things like books or articles or videos that are not free, other content that is not available out on the “open web?”

At FGCU, the Library offers access to thousands upon thousands of journal articles, books, and videos through the library website. Using the library catalog and databases, one can get access to valuable academic information that can be used by students and faculty to inform and support research and scholarship at all levels.

Search the Library Catalog to discover books, ebooks, journal titles, and videos held by the library, physically and electronically. Learn the basics of finding books using the catalog with a short video.

The FGCU Library subscribes to over 400 databases and searchable online collections of journal articles, streaming videos, ebooks, and primary source documents. Use the Databases search page to browse databases by subject area or type or search for database. Select a database that contains the types or articles or content you need to start searching within the database. Learn more about how to select databases and find articles in a short video.
Understanding Information
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Anna Carlin, Instructional Technology Librarian

You "may" be able to find anything on the internet, but how do you know about what you’ve found? In school, our careers, and in our everyday lives, we have the need to know that some information we’ve found is true, appropriate, and/or the best information to use for the situation we are in. We also need to be able to recognize information that is false, misleading, and inappropriate. Finding information online, whether you use a search engine like Google or a library databases, often brings up results that all look similar, regardless of whether they came a scholarly journal, personal blog, or satirical news source.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to examine any piece of information that will help you determine if it you should use it, depending on how you need to use it. A commonly used set of criteria for evaluating online information is affectionately referred to as the “CRAAP test.”

CRAAP stands for:
- Currency: the timeliness of the information
- Relevancy: the importance of the information for your needs
- Authority: the source of the information
- Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content
- Purpose: The reason for the information exists
To put an information source up to the test, use one of these great worksheets developed by libraries around the country:

The original CRAAP criteria: https://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf

Rubric-style evaluation worksheet: http://library.lsco.edu/help/web-page-rubric.pdf

Scoresheet: http://legacy.juniata.edu/services/library/instruction/handouts/craap_worksheet.pdf

The FGCU Library also has more information on evaluating sources on their website:
Using Information
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Anna Carlin, Instructional Technology Librarian

Once you’ve figured out where to look for the information you need, gotten great search results and evaluated them for accuracy, relevancy, and appropriateness, you get to figure out how you are going to use them. For our scholars and student scholars here at FGCU, this often means incorporating information sources in to papers, posters, presentations, and research designs. The first steps in using information effectively involves seeking multiple sources of information on a topic in order to gain a complete picture of the topic, drawing conclusions from reading and analyzing the information, and synthesizing ideas from those various sources. From this initial examination, you might be able to come up with new questions for research. And finally, responsible and ethical use of information requires that you give credit to those whose ideas you’ve used by citing the work of others when you put existing information to use in your own writing or presentation.

For more information on how to cite information using an established writing style, use the FGCU Library’s guide with links to various citation style help websites.

The Writing Center can also help you with citations and references, as well as help you utilize paraphrasing and quotations within your written work.