English Writing
Meet Martin Nobida
English Teacher
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Martin Nobida, Presidio Education® English Teacher, is a seasoned professional with teaching English, writing and editing. Martin graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with concentrations in International Relations and Asian Politics.
Upon graduating, Martin taught English for three years at Japanese high schools in Okinawa, Japan, as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. He then moved to Singapore, where he first served as a counselor, program coordinator and teacher for local students applying to American undergraduate schools. This was when Martin entered the field of journalism. As a copy editor for Dow Jones Newswires in Singapore, he moved back to the United States where he worked as a reporter for the Silicon Valley Newspaper Group and copy editor for publications such as Red Herring and InfoWorld. After sharpening his writing, editing and publishing skills even further, Martin transitioned to the complex field of technical writing. Along with leading publishing teams, creating style guides and developing new ways to build technical documents, Martin completed highly technical material for premier Silicon Valley companies, such as Marvell Semiconductor, Seagate and Google.
Martin is extremely adept at project managing dozens of writing projects simultaneously. He trains our other English teachers on how to synthesize and organize material into cohesive documents while refining their editing skills. He never turns down a challenge when new writing projects arise.
However, more than simply training our other English and Humanities teachers on how to edit complex writing assignments, Martin is truly a team player. Without question, what establishes Martin as a leader among peers is his loyalty to his teammates. He will often come back to the office late at night without even being asked just to help others close projects. Other times, Martin will show up at the office before the sun even rises to help others meet their deadlines. This is why Martin is so special. He truly leads by example.
Elite writing requires intelligent analysis, organization and drive. Our faculty holds students to exceptionally high standards for all writing assignments. We thoroughly review drafts, add intense feedback and then instruct students to rewrite them without excuses. Our teachers enforce as many revisions as necessary until drafts meet our high standards. We are confident that the critical thinking and writing skills we teach can be applied to a wealth of subjects.
Brainstorming
We train students to think and write coherently. Students must plan out ideas well and remain focused on writing objectives. The best starting point is taking effective notes on passages, ideas and opposing arguments. Clear and specific notes allow students to narrow potential arguments. Drafting outlines with potential introductions and theses, body paragraphs, and conclusions, allows students to accurately frame writing before investing enormous time writing off-topic paragraphs. Brainstorming leads to fruitful results.
Credible Sources
The best thesis is built on credible evidence. Our faculty teaches students to examine sources carefully and objectively in order to develop impenetrable writing. Students must learn to evaluate credible sources from non-credible sources. Since sources also often become outdated, students must research current sources to build relevant writing. Students must learn to cite and organize all sources in specific style guides. All in-text citations must be correctly added and the References section must be ordered.
Counterarguments
Sharp writing is not simply about pushing an argument. Students must anticipate potential counterarguments, then take steps to insulate their own arguments. This means learning to both develop and protect an argument. This is why we train students hard to locate potential contradictions, which are the biggest analytical mistakes. We teach students to try and gauge all perspectives. This helps students objectively evaluate writing. Students must be willing to show humility and transparency in order to locate mistakes in their writing.
Written Feedback
We pride ourselves in providing intense, critical written feedback for all writing assignments. Our intention is not to hurt feelings, but to really push students to write at exceptionally high levels. Students must maintain positive attitudes and be very open to feedback. Our faculty will analyze grammar and analysis to ensure that writing is clean, tight and professional. Students will be required to rewrite drafts as many times as needed until we approve. This process solidifies muscle memory, strong writing habits and critical thinking skills.
Style Guide for In-Text Citations and References
Written By: Brittney Powers, Content Editor (COLLEGE INTERN)
In-Text Citation Rules:
In-text citations must be added any time an outside source is incorporated in one's writing. American Psychological Association (APA) is typically enforced for education, psychology and science subjects. APA calls for three kinds of information to be included with in-text citations. The author’s last name and the work's date of publication should always appear. The third kind of information, the page number, appears only in a citation to a direct quotation.
Modern Language Association (MLA) is enforced for humanities and English subjects. MLA in-text citations include the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation is taken and must appear in the text in parentheses.
Chicago Manual of Style is generally enforced by business, history and fine arts subjects. Chicago is an author-date style, so the citation in the text consists of the author’s name and year of publication given wholly or partly in round parentheses. Only the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication should be added. Page, chapter, or section numbers, preceded by a comma, should be added for specification.
in-text citation examples:
Presidio Education-English Writing In-Text Citation Format_23-Jul-2020.pdf
Reference (works Cited) RULes:
When one completes a writing assignment, one must organize all sources at the end in the References section. A Reference page is the last page of one’s paper that cites all the sources in alphabetical order. Referencing must be required in order to provide evidence of each source. By citing one’s sources, one both strengthens one’s argument and acknowledges the contribution of other writers and researchers. There are three main formats, APA, MLA and Chicago, one can use to cite one’s paper. All three style guides are often widely accepted in academia. However, one must pay attention to the teacher's preferred style guide. For example, if one's teacher requires all assignments in MLA, then one must cite all sources in MLA. The best way to make sure one’s Reference page is organized and accurate is to confirm all sources within the written assignment one by one.
Reference (Works Cited) Examples:
Presidio Education-English Writing References (Works Cited) Format_23-Jul-2020.pdf