1. Advice for Better Academic Writing
1. Provide a good introduction: it sets the theme, entices the reader, and tells what lies ahead.

2. Be sure that the reader quickly understands your main question (the "research question"), how you will address the question, and your answer to the question.

3. When writing about a book or article, provide more than just a summary of issues. Instead, write a close reading analysis, interpretation, critique, or comparison. You may first need to summarize the text, but then step back and take an intelligent, critical look at the text and set it in the larger context of writings on cities and planning.

4. But be sure to not go to the other extreme by simply writing a freewheeling list of your opinions. Writing just from experience has its place, but that is not the focus of this course; the function here is to write critically from the readings. (This shift away from either simple summaries or experiential thought-pieces represents the shift from high school to college writing.)

5. Pay close attention to your writing "voice." Avoid both stiff, academic-sounding language and overly informal "colloquial" language. One effective approach is to use your first-person voice to introduce the topic and questions, then step back and have the various cited authors present their competing arguments, and then conclude by returning to the first person to summarize and critique.

6. Avoid unnecessary use of passive voice; it often muddles the issue of agency (i.e., who said or did what) and makes sentence structures unnecessarily complicated. An example of passive voice: "Automobile manufacturing jobs in Detroit have been greatly reduced since 1950." Better: "Automation and industrial decentralization have greatly reduced automobile manufacturing jobs in Detroit since 1950."
Also: do not go out of the way to avoid using first-person voice just to sound "objective." An example of passive voice: "it is argued that suburban residents participate less in civic organizations." Better: "I argue that suburban residents participate less in civic organizations." (or, if you want to avoid using "I", you might try: "This paper argues that suburban residents participate less in civic organizations.")

7. Keep your writing focused: don't give a lot of background and history at the beginning without it clearly supporting your main points. Show the reader why the march through a couple of pages of background/history is useful. Otherwise it reads like meandering.

8. Avoid over-generalizations without supporting documentation (e.g., "cities were horrible places to live until the 20th Century..." or "...suburbs are uniformly sterile, racist, boring places....").

9. Give your writing a clear, organized structure. Don't just write what is in your head: you can start that way (the exploratory stage of writing), but you then need to restructure and edit for clarity and continuity. Your ideas are only as logical, clear and strong as your writing. (The transition from undergraduate to graduate papers includes the shift from writing a single last-minute version that only the professor sees to writing a series of drafts that are read by many people).

10. Simplify your writing: you don't need complicated, awkward sentence structures to express complex ideas. Be straightforward, but without losing any subtlety.

11. Provide good transitions between ideas. Let the reader know when you are moving from one idea to another (with transitional sentences, and perhaps with section headings). Show the connection between ideas. Develop a systematic, cumulative argument.

12. If your academic writing seems rusty, take a look at Howard S. Becker, Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986). It is a fun, informal and often helpful guide.

13. Double-space your text, include page numbers, and use adequate margins.

14. Finally, show your sources. Citations aren't just a boring, pedantic academic ritual: they let the reader double-check your facts, and reveal your sources and intellectual influences. All source materials -- whether directly quoted or summarized -- must be properly documented (see below).
 

Resources:
UM Sweetland Writing Center and its Resources for Graduate Student Writing
UM English Language Institute
UM Library (Information and Reference Center): Citation and Style Guidelines

2. Specific Advice for Writing Papers that Analyze and Critique Urban Theory / Planning Theory Writings

1. If you are responding to a rather broad question, you might be able to write a more effective essay by narrowing the focus of your analysis. Be sure, however, to still address the central theme of the original question. Possible ways to narrow a question: explicitly identify several elements of a question and then state your intention of focusing on a subset of these elements; limit the answer geographically (e.g., just U.S.), temporally (e.g., late 20th century), or by discipline (e.g., a sociological interpretation as opposed to a design or economic interpretation; etc.). Give the reader a clear sense of the direction and structure of the paper on the first page, including any narrowing assumptions you make.

2. For a theory paper, keep your focus on ideas, concepts, and intellectual history. Use cases / examples where appropriate to illustrate your points, but remember that this is NOT primarily an empirical, case study-based exercise.

3. Find the right balance between providing a concise synopsis of the various authors' ideas and offering your own critique/interpretation. Your job is neither to simply summarize the readings (too descriptive) nor to simply write an untethered thought-piece on planning and cities (too idiosyncratic). Find the happy middle ground through a close reading and analysis of the texts.

4. Should one cite class lectures? Normally for academic writing one should refer to the literature (rather than class lectures). The logic here is that the class readings (and any outside readings) constitute the substantive "evidence" for your paper's analysis; the class lectures are primarily to enliven this material, highlight the main themes, and place the readings in context. As a result, you should emphasize class readings. Of course, if there were substantive ideas or interpretations presented in class that were not directly from the readings, then do cite the lecture rather than the literature.

5. Finally, what makes a strong paper? (I am sure different instructors will give a variety of answers.) Here are some selected characteristics of strong versus not-so-strong papers. They are in no particular order, and may be somewhat redundant:

STRONG POINTS:
Rigorous, analytical, smart writing; systematic development of arguments; clearly written; thoughtful and wise; clearly organized; probing; ambitious and successful; insightful; nicely combines synopsis of authors' ideas with his/her own critique; good use of literature (both assigned and outside readings); good use of examples; good use of transitions between ideas (and sections of the paper); conveys well both the important points and the nuances in the various authors' ideas; strong, crisp conclusion that nicely ties the paper together. Analytical (said twice, but it's important!); a pleasure to read; good, solid introduction. makes useful distinctions between ideas.

SHORTCOMINGS:
simplistic and descriptive without analysis; somewhat misses the broader scope of the question; unsubstantiated overgeneralizations/assertions; overly colloquial writing; unstructured; polemical; meanders; off topic; conflates different topics/ideas; uses quotes without citations; Muddled logic; cover a few basics, but didn't really dig into the question; doesn't define ambiguous terms; ideas somewhat disjointed; sets up a nice paper structure in the introduction but doesn't deliver; needs to do a closer reading of the source texts; choppy writing; too vague; Forces false dichotomies; relies too much on one text/author when the question requires a broader range of ideas and sources; didn't copy edit paper.

3. Proper Citations
The purpose of citations is:
1.  to give credit to other authors (for text, ideas, conceptual frameworks, data, graphs, illustrations, maps, etc.);
2.  to help the reader judge the context, legitimacy and possible bias of the information based on the source;
3.  to allow the reader to find the source (should the reader like to either check your information or read further).

Notes:
1. If you will be using lots of citations and/or developing large bibliographies, I strongly recommend using bibliographic management software, such as EndNote or ProCite.
2. see the UM Documents Center Citation Guide.
3. For a definitive resource on citations and other writing issues, see:
Chicago Editorial Staff. 1993. The Chicago Manual of Style. 14th edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
 

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Examples of Bibliographic Entries for Different Reference Types:

Book:
Cronon, William. 1991. Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. New York: W. W. Norton.

Edited Book:
Fainstein, Susan S., and Scott Campbell, eds. 1996. Readings in Urban Theory. Cambridge, MA and Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Chapter in an Edited Book:
Fishman, Robert. 1996. Bourgeois Utopias: Visions of Utopia. In Readings in Urban Theory, edited by S. S. Fainstein and S. Campbell. Cambridge, MA and Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Journal Article:
Harvey, David. 1992. Social Justice, Postmodernism and the City. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 16 (4): 588-601.

Electronic Sources:
to cite electronic sources (from the Internet), be sure to include the standard citation information (author, date, title, organization, etc.) AND the complete web address (url) AND the date you accessed the web page. (It is NOT enough to simply cite the url alone.)

For details, please see:
UM Documents Center Citation Guide.
UM Library (Information and Reference Center): Citation and Style Guidelines
Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger. Online! A reference guide to using online resources. (2001 update).
IFLANET: Citation Guides for Electronic Documents
APAStyle.org (American Psychological Association)

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When citing or quoting other literature, please use proper citation format and bibliographic style. There are many legitimate formats. Here are a few options:

1. If citing text from an outside source, place source text inside quotation marks.
1a. (Author year, page) or (Author, year: page), with bibliography at end of document As Michael Teitz observes, "Land-use planning has proved more durable than its critics and, more importantly, has shown a new burst of creative energy in the past decade" (Teitz 1996, 652). ----- Bibliography [placed at the end of the document] Teitz, Michael B. 1996. American Planning in the 1990s: Evolution, Debate and Challenge. Urban Studies 33 (4/5): 649-71.	1b. Complete citation in footnote (no need for bibliography here) 1b. As Michael Teitz observes, "Land-use planning has proved more durable than its critics and, more importantly, has shown a new burst of creative energy in the past decade."1 ----- Footnote at bottom of page: 1. Teitz, Michael B. 1996. American Planning in the 1990s: Evolution, Debate and Challenge. Urban Studies 33 (4/5): 652.
2. If referring to specific idea from an outside source (without directly quoting text), summarize in your own distinctive words and cite the source. (Note: do not use this format if you are directly quoting the text. You must use format 1a or 1b from above.)
2a. (Author year, page) or (Author, year: page), with bibliography at end of document Klosterman identifies four distinct justifications for planning (Klosterman 1996: 151). Note that the period comes after the citation. Also: for chapters in edited books, please cite the actual author of the piece (Klosterman), NOT the editor(s) of the collection (Campbell and Fainstein), who are simply listed in the complete reference below. ----- Bibliography [placed at the end of the document] Klosterman, Richard. 1996. Arguments for and Against Planning. In Readings in Planning Theory, edited by S. Campbell and S. S. Fainstein. Cambridge, MA and Oxford, UK: Blackwell.	2b. Complete citation in footnote (no need for bibliography here) Klosterman identifies four distinct justifications for planning.1   ----- Footnote at bottom of page: 1. Klosterman, Richard. 1996. Arguments for and Against Planning. In Readings in Planning Theory, edited by S. Campbell and S. S. Fainstein. Cambridge, MA and Oxford, UK: Blackwell: 151.

NOTES:
1. These are just two possible formats. Different academic disciplines often use different styles.
2. When citing a specific quote (or an idea on a specific page), include the relevant page number(s). When citing the broader ideas of the entire writing, you do not need to include a page number.

AND A NOTE ON CITING (OR NOT CITING) WIKIPEDIA:

Wikipedia falls into a "gray zone" of sources. It is a remarkable and innovative web-based project, and is notable for its breadth of information, timeliness, easy access, and largely voluntary authorship. That said, it does not (yet) fit into the category of acceptable scholarly source materials (e.g., refereed/peer-reviewed journals, books from academic presses, etc.). This is NOT to say that wikipedia articles are necessarily less "true" or "reliable" than traditional sources. Wikipedia pages are generally better than random web pages, and Wikipedia does have a rather interesting and fairly good editorial policy. But for academic papers, I would not recommend citing Wikipedia (just as I would not recommend citing an encyclopedia).

Wikipedia seems best when covering relatively non-controversial topics where its volunteer authors are deeply knowledgeable about the subject (e.g., the history of html) -- these articles are reviewed/edited by many authors. Wikipedia is more problematic in at least two areas: (a) obscure topics (where a single author uploads material with little collaboration/feedback), and (b) controversial topics where ideological battles trump rigor and balance (e.g., Armenian Genocide). (These latter sites are often locked to outside editing, since such sites are often vandalized:

My advice to students: I encourage you to use Wikipedia as a quick, first stop to get up-to-speed on a topic, but NOT as a definitive or best source. Wikipedia has a stated requirement that authors "verify" their entries with sources. Use Wikipedia as an intermediary to find these primary sources, rather than using Wikipedia as an end in itself. (When a student cites Wikipedia in a paper, I ask them to instead find this pre-existing source.) In the end, I would recommend NOT using Wikipedia as a source in a student paper.

see also:
Noam Cohen. 2007. "A History Department Bans Citing Wikipedia as a Research Source " The New York Times online. Published: February 21.

4. The Problem of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is "intellectual theft"² and is a serious matter. It is the responsibility of each student to understand the problem of plagiarism, and there is no excuse or tolerance for plagiarism among university student work. Plagiarism can be cause for failing an assignment, failing a class and/or expulsion.

When should one cite sources?
You must acknowledge all sources and enclose all direct quotes in quotation marks. This not only applies to text, but also to data, data tables and charts, maps, and any other source material. Use proper citation formatting, including page numbers (see above). Even if you just summarize ideas from another author, be sure to cite. (It is NOT sufficient to simply have the source material listed in the bibliography; you must use citations within the text itself.)

Paraphrasing/Summarizing:
If you directly quote text, then put in quotation marks and cite. If you instead would like to paraphrase an outside source, it is NOT sufficient to simply rearrange or substitute a few words from the quote and present as your own writing. Summarizing other people's work requires a comprehensive rethinking and reinterpretation in your own language and wording. There should be no confusion or ambiguity as to what text, ideas, data and illustrations are those of the student versus those of an outside (and clearly identified) source.

Source Format and Citations:
You must also cite all sources regardless of the source format. This includes not just books and articles (both those assigned on the syllabus and other materials you find), but also anything found on the Internet (regardless of whether the Internet source is an electronic journal, a report from a research institute, a personal home page, a newspaper, the web site of a nonprofit organization, etc.). Cutting-and-pasting text from the web is technically easier than typing in a quote from a published, bound book; nevertheless, the former has the same citation requirements as the latter. (Do not therefore confuse "public access" with "public knowledge".) Cutting-and-pasting text from the web (without proper and complete citation) is NO substitute for proper academic writing, and can easily lead to failing a class, or worse. (See information above about citing electronic sources.)

To summarize:
When in doubt, cite the source(s). If you borrow actual text (be it a phrase, a sentence, or more), you MUST not only provide a complete source, but also put the text in quotes. This applies to both printed and electronic sources, including any and all materials found on the Internet. Using text from the web without proper recognition of the source is not acceptable and constitutes plagiarism.

2. Joseph Gibaldi. 1999. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th edition. New York: The Modern Language Association: 29-34. quote reprinted in "Plagiarism" (Shapiro Undergraduate Library Handout, 5/2000, University of Michigan) http://www.lib.umich.edu/ugl/classes/plagiarism.html, accessed Jan. 7, 2003.

If you are unclear about plagiarism, please see these resources:
UM Libraries: Plagiarism handout (pdf)
UM Shapiro Library on plagiarism
UM Library: Academic Integrity in the Classroom (links to many great resources)
Rackham Graduate School Policies

see also:
Center for Intellectual Property and Copyright in the Digital Environment (University of Maryland) and their Virtual Academic Integrity Laboratory
Rebecca Moore Howard, 2001. "Plagiarism: What Should a Teacher Do?" presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Denver, Colorado, 17 March 2001. (Howard teaches at Syracuse University and writes extensively on plagiarism.)

on the broader issue of academic integrity:
Ginny McCormick (with additional reporting by Summer Moore, illustrations by Greg Spalenka). 2003.Whose Idea Was That? Stanford Magazine. September/October. (accessed online version on Dec. 19, 2003).
Thomas Bartlett and Scott Smallwood. 2004. Four Academic Plagiarists You've Never Heard Of: How Many More Are Out There? The Chronicle of Higher Education, Section: Special Report, Volume 51, Issue 17, Page A8 (Dec. 17).

5. Taking an "Incomplete" Grade in a Course

The expectation is that students will complete all the requirements for courses on time (following the deadlines stated in the syllabus). In exceptional situations, I will consider a student's request for a temporary "incomplete" grade ("I") on the grade sheet. When the student has subsequently submitted all course materials, I will evaluate the materials and fill out a "change of grade" form and give to the College registrar. Please note: Requests for incompletes are NOT automatic; you must request and receive permission to take an incomplete before the end of the term. Please also read these URP and Rackham requirements for incompletes below.

• the Urban Planning Program's policy on incompletes.

• the Rackham policy on incompletes (Rackham Graduate School Academic Policies (1. General Academic Requirements and Regulations) (accessed April 29, 2008):

"A student may receive a grade of Incomplete ("I") only if the work remaining to be done for the course by the end of the semester is small and the instructor approves an extension for completing the unfinished work. The instructor must agree to this arrangement and determine a deadline for finishing the assigned work before a grade is assigned. The notation of "I" remains a permanent part of the academic record. When coursework is completed to the satisfaction of the instructor, the grade will appear on the transcript as, for example, "I B+." The grade point average is based only on hours of coursework completed."

6. Master's Theses/Professional Projects

The process of developing a thesis or professional project ideally starts before the end of your first academic year. Use the summer to develop your research proposal, configure a committee, and write several drafts of your proposal with feedback from your thesis/professional report chair. You should have a polished research proposal ready to be reviewed and approved by the URP Curriculum Committee in early September.

The actual writing process typically involves several iterations of drafts and revisions over a number of months. If you are planning to graduate on time, be sure to submit early drafts to your committee SEVERAL months before your final completion date, and submit a complete, penultimate version no later than 4 weeks before the end of classes, which will allow for enough time for comments and final revisions to be completed by the last day of class. Develop a specific time table for the submission of drafts and final versions, allowing sufficient time for comments and revisions (typically at least 4 weeks between versions). If you are planning to complete the thesis/project AFTER the end of the semester (e.g., during the summer), please talk with the committee chair about obtaining permission for an "incomplete" for your thesis/project credits (UP733/734).

A sample scenario / timetable:

For more details, see the thesis guidelines.