Earlier this week, I came across a discussion on Facebook that questioned assumptions about citing sources--especially in an academic way. Importantly, a lot of students who take our classes might not cite sources in an academic setting once they leave college, so why all the (sometimes intense) emphasis on academic formats like MLA or APA? This episode introduces a skill I call "The Penny Principle"--the idea for which I borrowed from Nickerson and Adams' 1979 study in the journal Cognitive Science titled "Long-term Memory for a Common Object." By asking participants in various ways to recall features of a penny, Nickerson and Adams found that the human brain only remembers characteristics of everyday objects that it needs to use the object successfully. Several years ago when I first read the study, I though it could apply to writing source citations. I also use The Penny Principle with students as they practice real-world genres of writing, which don't always use formal source citations.

This episode is divided into two parts: Part I provides background about my thinking and then share the lesson plan I usually use to introduce students to the "Penny Principle." Part II explores a collection of activities that I use throughout the year--some longer, some shorter--to provide students with opportunities for varied practice.

The Teaching Writing in College podcast is available on Google or Apple Podcasts:
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Teaching Writing in College is also available for viewing on on YouTube:
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