{"id":26,"date":"2019-08-09T02:57:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T02:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pressbooks.oer.hawaii.edu\/englishcomposition\/chapter\/intellectual-standards-for-quality\/"},"modified":"2019-08-26T16:49:40","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T16:49:40","slug":"intellectual-standards-for-quality","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.oer.hawaii.edu\/englishcomposition\/chapter\/intellectual-standards-for-quality\/","title":{"raw":"1.3 Intellectual Standards for Quality","rendered":"1.3 Intellectual Standards for Quality"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n\r\nThe word \u201cstandard\u201d is used to describe the level of quality that a given item possesses. So an \u201cintellectual standard\u201d is one that measures the overall value of a scholarly effort. Such standards apply to essays, reports, assignments, group discussions, and even notetaking. For overall success, students need to know their professors\u2019 standards and need to develop their own standards, with the concept of\u00a0 \u201cintellectual standards\u201d at the forefront.\r\n\r\nThere are nine primary intellectual standards to keep in mind: clarity, precision, accuracy, depth, breadth, logic, significance, relevance, and fairness. Keeping a list of these standards (or even using an actual checklist) and applying them to academic thinking, writing, and other scholarly interaction is an excellent way to ensure one\u2019s continued intellectual growth and college and career success.\r\n\r\nThese standards can help scholars, both students and instructors, form connected and quality ideas (e.g., \u201ccritical thinking\u201d or \u201canalysis\u201d) and craft written work (e.g., essays, reports, articles, reflections, and other writing sometimes known as \u201cpapers\u201d or \u201chomework\u201d).\r\n

Clarity: Do You Get It?<\/h2>\r\nMany of the editorial comments and corrections (e.g., those from peers, mentors, tutors, and professors) shared with students regarding their written work is related to clarity. When an essay is clear, it\u2019s understandable and communicates information to readers with ease. None of the statements are confusing or ambiguous. There aren\u2019t areas within the essay where the meaning is lost due to exaggerated narrative or forced and unnatural word choice. When an essay is clear, readers can follow the path that the writer is communicating. They can read smoothly without stopping to ponder what a word or even an entire sentence means.\r\n

Sentence Clarity<\/h3>\r\n

Misplaced Modifiers<\/h4>\r\nOne way sentences become unclear is when they include misplaced (or dangling) modifiers or vague pronoun references. Here are some examples:\r\n

Original: The sun, as he was surfing, sparkled on the water.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n