ABSTRACT
Writing is a natural, inseparable part of learning, providing clarity to thinking and solidity to knowing. Writing involves the collection and organization of ideas and thoughts, the analysis of statements and evidence, and the comparing and contrasting of conflicting claims. The Great Conversation takes place among those who share their ideas with others, who work with the contributions of each other to add steps to the advancement of the understanding of the world. The competition for people’s eyeballs is enormous. There are millions of books and more millions of journal articles published each year. Many corporations are developing knowledge-sharing cultures, where employees can use each other’s ideas either by direct collaboration or through the use of knowledge management databases. One of the myths surrounding research-based writing seems to be that citing sources is a necessary evil, an unfortunate concession required by the rules of composition for giving away credit for ideas.
