Author: Shelley-Ann

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a subset of property rights and protects literary and artistic works that are original creations. Whether you are a painter, photographer, writer, artist, or composer, this right allows for the original author of a creative work to be given the exclusive right to use the work. Protection attaches to the author when the work is made in any permanent form.

Copyright covers;

  • Audiovisual works (TV, movies and online videos)
  • Sound recordings and musical recordings
  • Written works (books, novels, poetry)
  • Visual works (paintings, posters, ads)
  • Dramatic works (plays, musicals)
  • Works of Mas (costumes, style of dance, style of oratory specific to carnival)

Why do I need Copyright?

The main idea of copyright is to prevent others from copying the works, in whatever form that may take. Economic rights are given to creators who require mass distribution.

What questions do you have about copyright? Ask your questions in the comments below.

Sources

https://nationaltoday.com/copyright-law-day/]
http://ipo.gov.tt/types-of-ip/copyright/
https://www.legalzoom.com/…/how-to-copyright-a-book-or…
https://www.authorsalliance.org/…/whats-not-protected…/
https://www.cga.ct.gov/PS98/rpt%5Colr%5Chtm/98-R-1126.htm

How to Write an Abstract

The thought of writing an abstract is terrifying to some people. It doesn’t have to be. An abstract is a summary of your research. One of the best ways to understand how to do one is to read a few. They seem complicated, but they really just represent the study they’re summarizing.

Below are some tips on how to write a good abstract.

1. The abstract should be written last.

It’s a summary and you can’t summarize what you’ve not done yet. So, go ahead and write your paper, do all the necessities, then when everything is finished, take some time to write your abstract.

2. Don’t write more than 300 words.

That seems like a lot on the surface, but when you consider all you have to put in an abstract, you realize it’s doable. It’s one paragraph, so don’t separate ideas.

3. Begin with a sentence that expresses your research findings.

What’s your conclusion? What did your research uncover? What’s the main idea? That first sentence functions like a topic sentence that makes the major point of your research.

4. The statement of the problem is next.

you want to state the purpose of the research, identify the problem, outline the scope and methodology, and finally the results. So, tell readers what you investigated, what you hoped to discover, and what the parameters of the study were. This also means you need to explain how data was collected and analysed, and what the data revealed. Write these in direct, straight forward sentences.

5. It’s important to note that when writing an abstract, you’re writing in past tense.

“The purpose of the study was to…”, “300 primary school teachers were surveyed…”, “The data was then analyzed using…”, and “The study found that…” The only sentences that aren’t written in past tense are the first sentence and possibly the second sentence (which contain the main idea and any definitions you deem absolutely necessary to include).

Remember, an abstract is for readers to find your work, get acquainted with the details, and decide if it’s something they want to read further. So give all the necessary information to help them make an informed choice.

How to Find Good Academic Sources

Gathering information is the foundation of all your academic writing. Even if you’re writing an opinion paper or response to an article, you’ll need to provide evidence for your stance. And if you don’t already know, let me tell you that not all sources are created equal.

You want your information to be credible and reliable. How do you know if it is? You’ll need to answer ‘yes’ to all the questions below.

1. Does the source contain evidence to support the claims made?

Look for charts, references, citations, and research to support the ideas presented. Also consider the date of the evidence presented, and ask yourself “Is it still relevant today?”  Anything beyond 10 years should be supplemental and not your main sources because many things have changed, both in terms of methodology and general society.

2. Are the authors well-known and respected? –

You want to reference people who are in the field, conducting research, have been published, and are recognized for knowing what they’re talking about. Newspaper and blog articles are not considered scholarly, evidence based resources. Anyone can post anything online, so you’re better off avoiding general websites. Look for academic journals and use databases like EBSCO to locate the best articles.

3. Is the source reputable?

Think about where the information is published. Look at the website it’s coming from, and assess the publishers of books and other print materials. Open source and self-published materials should be questioned.  Be wary of Wikipedia. It’s a good place to start if you need ideas, and want to be pointed in the right direction. However, because it’s publicly sourced and not peer-reviewed, Wikipedia is not accepted as a good reference at the tertiary level. Wikipedia is the friend you don’t want to introduce to your parents. It’s a great source of ideas, but you can’t quote it or academics will think differently of you.

4. Is the source intended to add to the body of knowledge on the subject?

Think about whether or not the information presented is for news, trade, industry, or to reach the general public. You want sources that are meant to debate, explain, or provide empirical research on ideas.

5. Was the source written for an academic or professional audience?

If the source was written for public consumption, then it’s not likely to be filled with the kind of data that’s backed up by research. It’s also not likely to be an in-depth study of an issue. Look for resources that are for professionals in the field, researchers, or students.

Remember, academic writing requires you to be accountable for what you say. Make sure you can effectively do that.

Why We Need Conflict 3

This is part three of our three-part series on why conflict is needed in narrative writing. The first post discussed why some young writers struggle with conflict and how conflict adds excitement to stories. The second post showed a connection between conflict, theme, and plot.

In this post, I’d like to address a concern many people have that learning all of this can somehow be confusing and really is too much for students to accomplish at the SEA level.

Let me start by asking a question:

What is the purpose of narrative writing instruction?

When most of us think about developing critical thinking skills we think about math and science. When they think about developing creative thinking skills, we think about visual arts and maybe even music. What many people don’t realize is that narrative writing covers both critical and creative thinking in meaningful ways.

When students have to come up with reasonable challenges and obstacles for their characters, describe how characters solve the main problem, and explain the impact of the experience on the character – that’s a lot of critical and creative thinking right there!

Having conflict in a story is both for the story and for the writer.

Ultimately, narrative writing is about sharing a point of view. Being able to express ideas in writing is a crucial skill that continues to benefit individuals throughout their lives.

So, it’s not just a narrative. It’s not just a problem for a fictional character in a fictional situation. Conflict is needed in a story to help develop critical and creative thinking.

The next time you’re working with your young writer on their stories, find out what they think, how they feel, and discuss with them how problems arise and are solved and what happens next. They’ll be learning far more than you might realize.

#WERDCoachYouth #CreativeWritingforPrimary #NarrativeWriting #WritingTips #BetterWriters

Why We Need Conflict 2

This is the second post in our short series on conflict. In the first one, I looked at why young writers struggle with conflict and how conflict adds excitement to stories. In this one, I’m going to discuss the connection between conflict, characters, theme, and plot in more detail.

Conflict

Deciding on an appropriate conflict for narratives starts with the character and their goals. We want excitement and rising action, but the story is about a character and that excitement and rising action must involve them.

Conflict depends on what the character wants and what the situation is. By definition, a conflict is something which creates a problem for the character as they pursue their goal or something which interrupts the character’s life.

One way to look at it is to imagine the main character walking down a street. That street is their life. If all they do is walk down that street for no reason, then there’s no point to the story. The main questions are: Where are they going? And why? That’s how you define the main character’s goals.

After goals have been defined, the next step is to decide what would be an appropriate interruption to that within the context of the story. A good way to decide on that interruption is to think about how you want the conflict to affect the character.

Conflict in a narrative is there to stir emotion, cause characters to take action, and give reasons for the events in the story.

Theme

Nothing should be random or happen just because it’s fun. At least not in a narrative. We’ve discussed cause and effect before, so I won’t repeat that. Just know that there must always be a reason for actions and consequences too.

This is how theme makes a difference. Theme refers to the subject of the story. And when I say “subject” I mean the area of life being discussed, the moral or message that will help the character and reader become better people.

Is the story about friendship, love, courage, perseverance, good versus evil, honesty, the benefits of hard work, or another concept? Theme is what connects characters, conflict, and the plot.

You see, conflict in a story teaches the main characters lessons, and helps them learn more about life.

Climax

All the actions they take that create the rising action lead them to that lesson. The climax is how the lesson is reinforced, and that lesson is expressed in the resolution of the story. Characters are different because of the experiences they had.

So, for young writers who are struggling with conflict and need a different way of understanding how it works in a story, you can take the approach of working with theme as a basis for conflict.

1. What can characters learn?
2. How can they learn that lesson in this situation?
3. What challenges or obstacles will help them learn this?
4. What must they do to overcome that problem to learn this lesson?
5. How will learning this lesson change them?

This might seem like a lot to think about, but questions like these will guide young writers in making decisions that will improve the quality of their writing over time.

After practicing with these ideas, narratives will make a little more sense.

#NarrativeWriting