Writing Simplified

The Man From Earth

2010-02-21T21:07:00.001-06:00

This past week has been full of homework (helping students with theirs and trying to get my own done), grading, and studying – on top of the other routine tasks needed to keep a household running smoothly. I’m not sure how I’ve made it through every other week, but what I can say helped me make it through this last week, at least, was watching and discussing The Man From Earth in my classes.

There are precious few movies that are worth spending class time to watch and The Man From Earth is one of them. It starts out simply enough – just a group of professors gathering to wish a colleague goodbye – but over the span of its 87 minutes, the movie touches upon topics as deep as identity, religion, learning, and death. What makes this movie so unique, besides its ability to inspire critical thinking, is what went into making it.

The screenplay was written by Jerome Bixby, famed writer of several episodes for Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, over a span of 30-some years and finally completed on his death bed in 1998. Incredibly low budget, the film was shot using only 2 camcorders! It’s a true testament that quality products don’t need fanfare and fancy CG effects to be good. The power of a dream and the will to make it real are enough to create something astounding.

Unfortunately, determination alone will not bring publicity. I’m forever indebted to a dear friend of mine for showing the movie to me when it first came out in 2007. Without him, I don’t think I would have ever come across the movie. The Man From Earth did gain quite a bit of internet notoriety when the producer publicly thanked file sharers for sharing pirated versions of the movie, making the film even more successful by an increase in popularity. But even with all the online buzz surrounding it, I doubt I would have stumbled across this gem.

I use the movie to discuss the different parts of an essay and how they’re mirrored successfully in the movie. I can see the film being used to study persuasion and teach rhetorical skills (see this blog post by Dosh Dosh for an example) . In spite of all its pedagogical uses (or perhaps because of), the movie is an entertaining way to spend a little over an hour. It’s the kind of movie that you’ll still be thinking about hours after seeing it.

Whatever the reason for watching the movie, DO go out and rent it. You won’t be disappointed. Don’t believe me? Read the 300+ reviews of it on IMDb.

Literacy Essay

2010-02-03T20:51:00.001-06:00

This week’s post will be a little bit different from my usual fare. Instead of writing about or using other authors’ works as examples of good writing, I’ll be using my own.

The following essay was an assignment I had to complete for my graduate Composition class. Despite it being an academic paper, it lacks a thesis statement because it is a narrative essay (one of the only academic essay types informal enough to allow for implicit theses statements). Unfortunately, narrative essays aren’t standard assignments in most college classrooms.

Rather than using the essay as an example of how to format an academic paper (e.g., clear introduction with thesis statement, topic sentences beginning each paragraph, etc.), use it as an example of clarity of purpose. If you can give your essay to someone and they can tell you what you were supposed to write about without ever having seen your original essay prompt, then you have succeeded in answering the prompt. (That doesn’t necessarily mean you FULLY answered the prompt, just that you stayed on topic.)

The essay is also an example of how the writing process is ever ongoing. I didn’t submit this assignment because I was done writing it; I submitted it because the deadline had come. There are still quite a few parts of the essay that I’m dissatisfied with, so many changes I’d make if I still had the time. All these years in college and I’m still learning that the goal is not to be perfect – it’s to do the best you possibly can within the time frame that was given to you.

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A Life Spent Reading: The Development of One Composition Instructor's Classroom Goals

Some of my earliest memories include my grandfather sitting me on his knee and teaching me how to read Spanish from Coquito^¹. I still have that book in my bookshelf. Its pages are yellowed and tattered now, the print difficult to read, but the words have lost none of their meaning. My grandfather's visits were few and far between, however. But fortunately for me, he was not the only one in my family who encouraged reading.

My father had me reading the classics as soon as I was able to hold a book in my hands. An intellectual who had served seventeen years in concentration camps during the Bolshevik invasion of Romania, he understood just how powerful and liberating the written word could be. He had me reading Dickens, Hardy, and Dostoyevsky all before I passed the age of 8. Much of what I read was too advanced for my understanding of the world at the time, but I would never call the exercise of reading the works wasteful. Because of my admiration for my father and his high estimation of learning, I wanted to read more, to be more cultured, so I could please him. After a while, I read to please myself.

I devoured literature. Growing up, I read all the time: before school, in between classes, during classes, and after school. I'd often stay up the entire night reading. I remember stuffing towels under my bedroom door to keep the light from giving me away; when the bits of towel poking out from under the door aroused my parents' suspicions, I switched to reading under my comforter with a flashlight. As much as I read, I'm surprised I found the time to do anything else besides homework. Somehow, though, I managed to find the time to write.

I started writing recreationally in 6^th grade. My English teacher at the time, Mrs. Graves, would assign a set of vocabulary words that each had to be used in a sentence. Being the overachiever I was, I would spend the class period writing a story that used the vocabulary words instead of discrete sentences. I still remember how proud I was of all the praise I received from Mrs. Graves when I turned in the assignment. I enjoyed the attention so much, I wanted more of it and so every vocabulary assignment thereafter was a new story filled with drama, intrigue, and lexical variety.

I continued to write until I started college. Its demands on my time were such that free time for writing was a luxury I did not have. My life up to that point prepared me so that when I entered college, I entered it secure in the knowledge that I was a literate person, able to take on the reading and writing tasks that would be asked of me. That is not the reality that many people face when entering college, unfortunately. They must take the classes I placed out of to bring their literacy up to the college level. Since I plan on teaching those classes, it behooves me to take a closer look at what literacy is and how it is developed.

Literacy as it relates to the written word involves engaging with the written word on multiple levels. A person must be able to read a string of letters and understand the meaning that particular string creates. This comprehension of meaning is essential to the meaning of literacy; without it, you are left with someone who has learned to do nothing more than parrot the sound associated with each letter. The person has learned only the phonetic meaning of each letter, not its semantic meaning. When I read Japanese, I am an example of such half-accomplished literacy. I can sound out each grapheme^², but I have absolutely no idea what the final product means. I know that ごうじ is pronounced go-u-ji, but as to what it means (if anything), I haven't a clue.

Literacy involves more than just being able to read a string of letters and understand its meaning, however. A literate person must also be able to recreate those letters from memory and string them along in such a way that meaning is conveyed accurately and efficiently. This ability to write is just as essential to the definition of literacy as the ability to read is. Without it, a person's freedom is impinged upon; a person is left exposed to realities created by others without having the ability to refute them, much less the ability to create a new one. A person without the ability to write is nothing more than an answering machine – a receiver of messages without the power to create his own recorded message.

As disparate as the skills are, they are both necessary for the full definition of “literacy” to be realized. Society expects a person who is able to read proficiently to also be able to write proficiently. It is this latter skill that my students believe they need to improve. While they are correct in that regard, almost all my students lack the critical thinking skills required to read a piece of literature and see beyond the surface meaning of the words on the page. My title is “instructor of English composition,” but I really teach students how to write and read.

Just because students enroll in my classes so that I can teach them composition in no way entails that they want to learn the subject. Half of my students have convinced themselves that they are just no good at writing and shouldn't bother trying to be, resigning themselves to a semester of boring essays they'd rather not have to write. The other half is petrified of failing the class, certain they cannot possibly improve their writing skills enough to make a difference. Neither half usually likes reading.

If my childhood experiences with literature have taught me anything, it is that not only is reading a necessary component of writing well, it must also be of literature that is well written. In much the same way my father encouraged me to read the classics, students have to learn to be discerning of the quality of the literature they read in order to reap the greatest benefits from it. I don't yet know how to impart that sense of a work's literary merit to my students, but it is definitely something that I would like to include in my lessons.

Improvement takes longer than a semester to appear and, realistically, is a process that will last the entirety of a student's life. In order for that to happen, though, that student needs to continue to read even after concluding my class. The only realistic way for that to happen is if the student developed a love of literature. I want to pass on my love of reading to students, to help them discover that it can be an enjoyable activity.

In addition to passing on my love of literature, I want to pass on my enjoyment of writing to my students. I want my students to want to write, not to feel forced to do so just to fulfill a course requirement. Each negative experience students have with writing only serves to more deeply ingrain in them their dislike of the activity. I don't expect my students to become recreational writers in their spare time, but I do want them to leave my class having written at least one essay they looked forward to and enjoyed writing.

I am far from being an expert in the field, but what I lack in knowledge I make up for with enthusiasm for my job. Personal experience has taught me that reading and writing can become enjoyable activities to people who are encouraged at every step of the way. I want to be an instructor that my students respect enough to want to please, the way I wanted to please the people in my life who taught me the value of words. Seasoned with that desire and ladling out heaping servings of praise with my criticisms, I want to help my students achieve the full definition of literacy.

Notes

1Zapata-Santillana, Everardo. Coquito Clasico: Lectura Inicial. Ediciones Coquito USA.

2 I use “grapheme” instead of “letter” as Japanese does not have a one-to-one phoneme-to-written symbol correspondence with the written form of its language

Photo credit: Wyoming Jackrabbit

Mining Books for “Hidden” Treasures

2010-01-24T13:37:00.001-06:00

Most people approach a book the same way: they start at the beginning and read until they reach the end. While that method is certainly an efficient way to barrel through the material, it’s NOT the most productive way to approach a book. It doesn’t take advantage of everything a book potentially has to offer.

If you want to get the most out of a book that you possibly can, you need to start at the back.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not advocating reading the book backwards. If you did, you’d probably spoil several (if not all) major plot points – if you could understand anything that was happening at all. No, what I recommend you do the first time you pick up a book is to immediately search for the “extras.”

If a book has “extras,” they will usually come in the form of indices and appendices. An index, when referring to a book, is a system that makes finding information easier and it is almost always located at the back of a book. An appendix, when referring to a book, is a document providing supplementary information and is also usually located at the back of a book. These two sections are invaluable when it comes to understanding the material presented, especially if it’s unfamiliar or densely packed.

If you read fantasy or science-fiction, you know how weird character and place names can get, and how hard it can be to try to remember where the character has been and where he is going when the author is writing about a different world with different geographical locales. If you have a story with several storylines occurring concurrently, you might as well just give up. I know I used to give up when I read books like that; I’d read the whole story through not remembering how one character was related to another or where the adventure had taken the questing company. Sure, I got through story, but I missed out on many of the jokes (“Ohhh, that was funny because those characters are siblings so his mother is her mother”) and subtler plot points (“If I’d had a map I could’ve seen they’ve been traveling in a circle without realizing it”). It wouldn’t be until I’d get to the end of the book and see the appendices that I’d realize there HAD been a map for me to refer to all along.

If you bother to check the nooks and crannies of the books you read, you might discover some interesting (and useful) things. Pronunciation guides, maps, genealogical charts, and indices of names and places are just a few of the tidbits you could find in the back of a book. Don’t think these guides are limited to physical books, either!

If you read web fiction, poke around the author’s website or the forums (if a forum exists for the story) and see what you can find. For example, I was pleasantly surprised to find a wiki for the online serial Above Ground when I first read it last weekend. The wiki made keeping track of all the different races so much easier. You can even vote in the forum for what content is covered in bonus stories!

I’ve been referring mainly to novels in this blog post, but don’t neglect the value of leafing through the back of a textbook before getting to work on the chapters. A new school semester is starting and I just know there will be students who read only the pages they are assigned to read for homework. When you pay so much for a book, it just doesn’t make sense not to get as much value out of it as you can.

So, from now on, read your books Japanese-style and start from the back!

Photo credit: Ifijay

Free Online Literature: Magician’s Merger

2010-01-18T11:36:00.001-06:00

I have quite a collection of free online novels (both serialized and not) and short stories that I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve derived so much enjoyment from each work, it’s about time I started to spread the love and let others have a chance to read the little-known treasures I seem to be able to find so easily online.

Part of the reason I want to share my hoard of literature is to (hopefully) encourage people to read more. Most of my students tell me they don’t like reading because it’s boring and tedious. That tells me they haven’t been exposed to enough different types of writing to find the genre they like. This post (and subsequent posts like it) is an attempt to rectify that.

Another part of the reason I am highlighting these online works is because they deserve to be read. I’m a picky reader and shoddy writing grates on my nerves after a while. Add a bad plot to the mix and I refuse to keep reading. The story links I will be posting have all passed my personal taste test so you can rest assured your literary sensibilities won’t be offended when you read them.

Unfortunately, the publishing industry isn’t kind to those writers without insider connections, and so a great many worthy tales remain unread and uncelebrated in the slush pile. I don’t know if the Xenophon Hendrix, the author of Magician's Merger, ever tried to get the novel published, but it’s an enchanting story that would make a wonderful addition to the Young Adult section in any bookstore.

A note of caution: The first several chapters of this novel are rough, to say the least. Even the author says in a LiveJournal entry “The first few chapters were utterly horrid. I'm surprised that anyone made it through them to read the rest of the serial.” The farther along you get in the story, the better the writing gets. I actually kind of like that about the novel. The same way you can see a webcomic artist’s art improve over the passage of time, this novel demonstrates quite tangibly the power of practice.

Photo credit: Sean McGrath

Lolcat Building: An Exercise in Creativity

2010-01-15T16:19:00.001-06:00

The majority of documents that are written every day by students and non-students alike are rather dull. They have to be to fulfill their purpose. Lab reports, patient records, legal briefs, grant proposals are all essays that are generated using the analytical side of one’s brain. Creative expression is not welcome in this kind of literature because it can distort the message.

As a result, a great number of people are walking around on this planet with the mistaken notion that all writing is dry, dull, and tedious to both read and write.

Innovative thinking, the imagination to approach situations from different angles, creativity are all highly coveted in this century. But how exactly does an uncreative person become creative?

Captioning photos is an exercise that develops creativity.

It does so because it requires that you engage your imagination as you evaluate the picture. You have to ask yourself questions like “What is going on in the photo? What is the context of the situation pictured in the photo? What is included in the picture and what, if anything, is excluded? Out of everything I have evaluated, what is most important? What phrase or sentence can I use to succinctly and accurately capture the one meaning I wish to focus on in the picture?”

If you’ve ever tried to caption a photo well (I say “well” because slapping “a tree in a field” under a picture of a tree in a field is not a good faith effort when it comes to creating a meaningful caption that evokes some emotion in a reader looking at the photo), you’ll know that it’s not easy to do. Unless you caption pictures in your spare time for fun, this activity should be difficult because it’s so unlike the things we are asked to do on a daily basis. It forces you to stretch your mind (in a good way).

How to Create Captions for Photos

For a caption to be a good one, it must adhere to a few simple rules:

It must be relevant
It must be brief
It must evoke emotion

Relevance and brevity are fairly straightforward to understand. But what does “evoke emotion” mean? It means , basically, that the words of the caption call to the reader’s mind (if not heart) some feeling. For example, if you wanted to focus on the isolation depicted in a photo of a single tree in a field, you could caption the photo: ‘The ones looked up to by all are often times the most alone,’ or ‘One is truly the loneliest number.’ It really doesn’t matter what emotion you choose – any is a viable focus for a moving caption.

I Can Has Cheezburger, home of the famous Lolcats, is a site that focuses almost exclusively on humorous captions. I love this site because of how much the captions crack me up most of the time. I like this site so much I usually have it open on the overhead projector as students come in to class because it sets up an enjoyable, fun tone for the rest of the class period. On the other end of the emotional spectrum, Demotivators are sarcastic, angst-filled captions that point out many of life’s ironies.

Don’t think that you have to actually go through with physically captioning whatever picture you’ve chosen for this exercise. Unless you’re a Photoshop guru, it’s too much trouble to do and unnecessary for reaping the benefits of the exercise. Just do what I do in class with my students: I choose an uncaptioned photo (usually from the Lol Builder) and ask for suggestions on what to write IF I were going to caption the photo to be funny, sad, etc.

Every time you come across a picture in a magazine or a blog, just take a moment to stop and ask yourself what you’d write as a caption – then move on without actually captioning it. The more you engage your brain in this kind of thinking, the easier it will be to approach problems and situations from several different view points.

As to why this exercise is worth doing… Isn’t innovative, multi-angled thinking the kind of thinking that’s valued in today’s marketplace?

Plagiarism: Who Cares? (Part Two)

2009-12-30T11:44:00.001-06:00

If you’re just now joining the discussion, you should go back and read my previous post about the personal repercussions of plagiarism. That said, let’s return to how plagiarism can ruin your current (or future) career.

Professional Repercussions

When companies hire someone, they’re hiring more than just a resume; they’re hiring a human being, complete with all the beliefs, quirks, and personality traits that compose that individual. That’s why the hiring process almost always includes an interview phase.

Looking great on paper is only the first step. The rest of the work of getting and keeping a job you enjoy is convincing the person(s) who is hiring that you are a hard-working, honest person who would be an asset to the company. Having a recorded instance of plagiarism on your record automatically labels you as lazy and dishonest.

What’s that, you say? “Plagiarism is only applicable to jobs like being a reporter or an author; in the field I want to work in, my boss isn’t going to be hiring me to write essays all the time.” That would be a valid argument if plagiarism’s stigma limited itself to the realm of writing. As it is, being caught for plagiarism makes you appear lazy and dishonest in everything you do.

Nurses are entrusted to administer dangerous and addictive medications on a daily basis. As an employer, I’d think twice about giving you the key to the medicine cabinet if you’ve proven yourself to be someone who has no problem with lying. Even cashiers have access to cash drawers! Yes, there are ways for employers to figure out if an employee is skimming a little off the top of each transaction, but it would save a lot of time and trouble for the employer to pass on hiring the person who poses trust issues.

Is this starting to sound a bit like the discussion about personal repercussions from part one? It should. Too much emphasis today is placed on academic achievement and not enough on the value of actually learning and on simply being a good human being. That’s a whole other can of worms, though. For now, I just want you to think about the kind of person you want to be and how easily you’d compromise your values.

When it comes to me, I’d honestly rather fail a class and deal with having an F on my transcript than plagiarize.

Photo credit: Joe Gratz

Plagiarism: Who Cares? (Part One)

2009-12-20T13:35:00.001-06:00

Well, for starters, I do. I’m a pretty laid-back person and it takes some work for a person to make me mad. One way to make me mad with very little effort is to plagiarize in my class. Unless you’re my student, though, telling you that I’ll be personally insulted if you choose to plagiarize isn’t much of a deterrent.

So forget about me and my lectures about how cheating actually cheats the cheater out of an opportunity to learn (Judging from the amount of plagiarism I caught this semester, that message doesn’t make much of an impact anyway). Let’s instead look at what the possible consequences are, both personally and professionally, for plagiarism.

Personal Repercussions

Remember being asked to make those “top 10 things I look for in a mate/friend” lists? If you’ve never made one, do so now. I’ll even give you a second to do it. If you’ve done it before, now’s a good time to do it again just to see how your expectations have changed over time. (A variation to this exercise is making a list of the top ten personality traits you wish to be known for/want to develop.)

Done? Good. Now check that list and see if and where “honesty” lands on your list. If it doesn’t make an appearance anywhere on your list, you need to think seriously about how satisfying your current relationships are.

Every self-help book you read or psychotherapist you see will tell you the same thing: healthy relationships are based on trust. When trust is violated, the relationship is in trouble. When the breach in trust is severe enough, spouses divorce, friends become enemies, and employees are fired.

If you’re finding it difficult to wrap your mind around what personal integrity is and how important it is to you, I don’t blame you. Integrity isn’t as overtly emphasized in this day and age as it was decades ago. For example, the phrase “a man of his word” sounds antiquated today. But just because a person’s character isn’t explicitly spoken about in everyday conversation doesn’t mean that it is less important today. A good way to gauge just how important it is to you is to imagine how you would feel if someone called you a liar.

Don’t imagine how you would react. Behavior isn’t always a good indication of feelings. For example, if someone I didn’t know very well accused me of lying, I could see myself shrugging and saying “I’m sorry you feel that way.” You can bet your <insert something witty> that it would bother me, though.

I really, really hope it would bother you too.

To tie this discussion back to plagiarism, every time write your name on and turn in a report that isn’t your own, you’re letting anyone who finds out about it know that you are a liar. It’s easy to see how getting caught by your boss or professor affects you, but most people forget about the effect their plagiarism has on others who aren’t in a position of authority over them. Friends and colleagues will respect you less; I’ve had enough conversations with others about this topic to know that this is true. Sure, peers can’t touch your paycheck, but what they can “touch” is just as important. How long will your self-esteem survive a work environment where everyone looks at you askance? You can move, of course, and get a fresh start (assuming your reputation doesn’t follow you to your new place of employment)…but how many times can you afford to “start fresh”?

For those of you who are still in school, the stakes for plagiarism are still just as high. Students who are caught plagiarizing multiple times get a note placed on their permanent records, which means you CANNOT “start fresh”; every professor will view you with suspicion the moment s/he sees your transcript. You’re not off the hook, either, if you plagiarize but don’t have it noted on your permanent record. Professors talk to each other and word WILL get around, especially if you’re applying for an exclusive program and the program director needs to speak with your previous instructors to see if you’d make a good fit. Even if you manage to avoid the spotlight, you will probably need letters of recommendation if you plan on pursuing a graduate degree or applying to an exclusive program (E.g., nursing school) or for a scholarship. If you plagiarized and were caught, don’t even think about asking the professor who caught you for a letter of recommendation. You’ll get a letter, all right, but it won’t be one that recommends you.

See the detrimental effects plagiarism can have on your personal life? If that’s not enough to make you think twice about plagiarizing, the next blog post will be about the professional repercussions plagiarism has. And let me tell you, they’re not pretty.

Photo credit: Binder of DOOM! by Hello Lovely

The photo for today’s post is a reference to the CHE Forum’s Big Black Binders of Doom!

Plagiarism: Online Resources

2009-12-16T12:39:00.001-06:00

When you’re unsure about what something is, looking at examples is a good way to dispel any confusion. Examples are so successful at making complex things clear that it is now standard to see examples in instruction manuals detailing exactly how to complete each step of whatever process is being explained. Why should learning about plagiarism be any different?

The internet is teeming with examples of a great many things (e.g., how to eat a lobster, how to draw manga/anime, how to write and speak Klingon) and plagiarism is no exception. The following links are to videos and documents online that define plagiarism, why it should be avoided, and how to avoid it.

Avoiding Plagiarism in Paraphrasing	This video shows you step by step how to paraphrase the correct way. Remember, paraphrasing too closely to the original source still counts as plagiarism.
Information Literacy: Plagiarism and Citation Styles	Dr. Baker lectures on what exactly plagiarism is and how best to avoid it. The video ends with a brief overview of citation styles.
A Quick Guide to Plagiarism	SEA DEVIL TV gives students a quick run-down of the various types of plagiarism. Even if you're well versed in the ins and outs of plagiarism, watch this video just for its entertainment factor.
Plagiarism: Pernicious Plague or Preventable Pest?	This video lets you in on why instructors do what they do (hint: it prevents plagiarism!)
A Student's Guide to Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism	An informative guide (complete with examples) about each type of plagiarism. Work your way through each type and make sure you understand how and why each example constitutes plagiarism.

These links are by no means the only resources online about plagiarism. These are just the examples that I’ve found (through trial-and-error) work best for illustrating the topic in detail without putting everyone to sleep.

Until I get around to writing the most comprehensive, captivating guide on plagiarism, use my list of links as a starting point for your own online research about plagiarism.

Photo credit: Daidaros

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-15T19:36:00.001-06:00

Many, many apologies for taking a “break” from blogging. I had research papers to grade, final exam essays to grade, and grades to calculate and post. Thankfully, this semester has finally come to an end so I now have more time to devote to blogging. (I know – I’m a dork.)

While I get to work on the next installment of my “How NOT to Plagiarize” postings, enjoy this absolutely adorable picture of Malachi by Robert Francis I found on Flickr. (Malachi looks JUST like one of my own doggies!)

Plagiarism: An Introduction

2009-11-15T18:07:00.001-06:00

Recently in class I asked my students to write down the process they use when writing essays. I told them to be as honest as possible and to not be afraid of disappointing me. Pages filled with “I freewrite about the essay topic for 5 minutes and then write an outline” would be gratifying, sure, but unless I know what my students are really doing when they write their essays, I won’t know how to help them.

The answers I received were frightening.

The majority of students turn to the internet immediately after getting the essay prompt and start researching. One student wrote “I turn to the internet and look up the topic and read, read, read.” Another wrote “I look for essays online (since it’s [the topic] been written about before for sure) to see the right way to write my essay.”

Answers like the ones above scare me because jumping straight into the research phase of an essay before thinking about what your own knowledge of and opinions about the topic are is a sure-fire way of setting yourself up to accidentally plagiarize.

What Plagiarism Is

Every institution of higher learning will have plagiarism defined explicitly in the student handbook. If you’re currently enrolled in classes and haven’t yet read through what constitutes academic dishonesty in the student handbook, read the policy NOW. “I didn’t know” is not a valid excuse if you accidentally plagiarize because all students are expected to have read and agreed to the policies laid out in the student handbook before attending classes.

If you’re not currently enrolled in school, an informal definition of plagiarism is “the representation of someone else’s words or ideas as your own.” It doesn’t matter whether you committed plagiarism intentionally or unintentionally either. Plagiarism is plagiarism.

How to Avoid Plagiarizing

The easiest way to avoid plagiarizing is to write down everything you know about the essay topic BEFORE you research it. That way, you’ll know to cite any and all new information that you acquire as a result of your online or offline research. You should also write down your ideas, opinions, and arguments for or against the topic before you research so you know which thoughts originated with you.

Once you start reading other people’s interpretations of the topic, it’s next to impossible NOT to think about their points and arguments when trying to develop your own argument in an essay. I’ve been there too and I know how difficult it is to figure out whether or not you would have thought up the compelling argument you just read had you not just read it.

If you absolutely have to look at a sample essay because you want to model your own paper after one that is well written, look for a well written essay that is NOT about the topic you were assigned to write about. That way, you have an example to follow for how to set up the different sections of an essay appropriately, and you’re not muddying your ideas with someone else’s.

More to Follow

The next few posts will deal primarily with plagiarism and how to cite material properly so you will never be accused of having plagiarized. If you’re not yet familiar with the difference between summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting, look those terms up! I’ll be writing about each later, but don’t wait for me to get to them before you know the differences. If you are at all doubtful of whether or not you have plagiarized, intentionally or unintentionally, run a search for “what is plagiarism” in the search engine of your choice.

Remember, ignorance is not an excuse.

Photo credit: MrGluSniffer

The Importance of Taking Notes

2009-11-02T14:32:00.001-06:00

For some reason, college students (at least the ones in my class) don’t seem to be taking notes anymore. I could go on for pages about how self-defeating not taking notes in class is, but I’m more concerned with the reasons for WHY students don’t feel the need to take notes.

Some people, I believe, think they will remember what is being said in class without having to write it down. I should probably include a discussion one of these days in class about what memory is and how memories are made. Not many people fully understand that a memory needs to be reinforced in order for it to be stored long-term.

Perhaps students don’t think this skill is directly applicable to “real life” work. I hate to burst their bubbles, but…

Taking notes is as important out of the classroom as it is in it.

Employers do not want to have to repeat themselves every time you need to do a complex task just because you’re too lazy to write the instructions down. Taking note of important procedures and routine tasks is a mark of an efficient, hard-working employee. When I worked as a secretary for a (very) small business, I had to use Quicken to create invoices, enter billing information, and update the inventory – all things I had never done before. I wrote down step by step instructions for how to do each task and pasted them all on the wall by my desk so that I wouldn’t have to bother my boss for help each time I needed to enter something into the computer. Not only was he impressed, he said that no previous secretary had ever done that before.

The very thing that made me look hard-working actually made my job SO much easier. I completed tasks much faster than when I first started out and had to try to recall the different procedural steps by memory. Even if you have no desire to appear assiduous, taking notes makes your life easier – something I’m sure you can appreciate.

What? Your job doesn’t require any complex procedures, you say? Take notes at meetings, then. Not because you’ll be quizzed on the materials, but because you’ll appear attentive and interested. Getting ahead in the “real world” very often depends on who you know and who you make an impression on. Being able to discuss meeting points with a supervisor while you’re hanging out by the water cooler is an opportunity to shine that you don’t want to miss.

Ultimately, I’d like you to take notes not for appearance’s sake, but because you’re honestly interested by points other people make. If you’ve ever been to a convention (scholarly or not), you’ll have seen people taking careful notes during panel discussions. Again, there is no test at the end of the convention that all attendees must pass. They’re taking notes because they have a real interest in the topic of discussion and want to be able to remember things that were said and/or look up resources mentioned on their own.

Photo credit: HawkExpress

Research Papers Don’t Have to be Boring

2009-10-24T16:21:00.001-05:00

I can’t speak for every teacher, but I’m fairly sure I’m not the only instructor out there who dreads reading research papers. It’s not the extra time that goes into commenting on and grading research papers that I have a problem with (although that’s certainly a factor). No, what really makes me want to put off looking at those stacks of essays for as long as humanly possible is how mind-numbingly dull most of the paper topics are.

Somehow we’ve become indoctrinated with the idea that research papers have to be boring.

When did we learn that a dry, un-engaging writing style was a necessary requirement of academic writing? I’d like to place the blame solely on high school, but I’m afraid that even the professional journals we refer our students to in college perpetuate this misperception of what an academic paper should sound like.

Looking at my stack of research paper proposals, I have 8 papers on global warming and 5 on illegal immigration to look forward to… in just one of my classes. Maybe 2 or 3 of those students feel passionately about those topics, but I’m willing to bet that not all 15 students care about (or are even particularly interested in) those issues. So…

Why do students choose boring topics?

They think the topic will guarantee they get a good grade.

Actually, the more interested you are in an issue, the better you will write about that issue. Interest alone doesn’t guarantee good writing, but it makes the process of researching and writing about a topic much easier and more enjoyable. Let’s face it – when you couldn’t care less about an essay topic, you’re not going to feel inclined to invest much effort in it.

While it is true that you could be disinterested in a topic and still craft a beautiful essay about it, the process of writing that paper would probably have been less than enjoyable. College students in this day and age have so many demands on their time that they have to be selective about how they spend it. Writing a research paper on a topic that you aren’t passionate about or don’t want to learn more about is painful for both you and your teacher.

We’re all about multitasking in the 21th century; let your essays do double duty too.

They can’t think of anything else to write about.

When you choose a run-of-the-mill topic just because it’s common (e.g., global warming, health care reform, illegal immigration), you’re actually doing yourself a disservice. It would be much easier on everyone (including the teacher) if the essay topic were assigned. The instructor makes you come up with your own, though, for a reason.

Employers don’t stand behind you looking over your shoulder while you’re on the job. They may if you’re in training, but after that period is over, you’re on your own. You’ll be given a task and told to complete it but very rarely will you be told step-by-step exactly how to go about completing your assignment. It’s inefficient to have an employee who needs their hand held in order to get anything done.

As valuable as being a self-starter is to employers, the ability to come up with innovative ideas for improving the company is just as important. Coming up with a research paper topic is supposed to be challenging because it’s an exercise in intellectual independence.

How to choose a good topic:

Choose something you’re interested in. That’s it. That’s the secret essay topic choosing technique passed down by nerds for centuries. If you like your paper, your paper will like you back.

Unless you’re used to filling out those “50 Random Things About Myself” memes all the time, chances are it’s been a while since the last time you sat down and thought about what it is that interests you. No worries – the way to figure out your interests (for those who have no idea what they like) is to take stock of what you DO.

When you get together with your friends, what do you usually talk about? Is there a t.v. show you like watching? Do you have any hobbies? Do you (or anyone in your family) have a special ability/quirk that you could hone in on as a possible paper topic?

Take me, for example. My twin and I love watching horror movies. Good ones, bad ones, high budget ones, low budget ones…we’ve seen them all. That affinity for horror movies has great potential when it comes to essay topics. Do good horror movies have anything in common? Do the bad ones share a common denominator as well? Is there a position I can take about what factors need to be present in a horror movie for it to be good/profitable (or what shouldn’t be included in a horror movie)? All the evidence I need to back up my claims are at the local Blockbuster and online.

I like comic books too. They’re a veritable trove when it comes to controversial topics for an essay. Just earlier this year the way Batman was killed off was a mockery of everything that made him Batman! Grrr! I could go on for pages about how wrong his death was… stick a few citations here and there and I’d have a persuasive research paper.

Try and think about what topics make you stand up on a soapbox. Not only will you have a better chance of writing well, you’ll also be doing yourself a favor when it comes to essay length. When you don’t know anything about a topic and don’t want to know anything about it, it’s awfully difficult to meet those paper length requirements.

Photo credit: Zen

The 4 Types of Evidence

2009-10-12T15:00:00.001-05:00

Evidence is the information that helps in the formation of a conclusion or judgment. Whether you know it or not, you provide evidence in most of your conversations – they’re all the things you say to try and support your claims. For example, when you leave a movie theater, turn to your friend, and say “That movie was awesome! Did you see those fight scenes?! Unreal!”, you have just made a claim and backed it up.

Most people think of “evidence” as numbers and quotes from famous people. While those are valid types of evidence, there are more to choose from than just statistics and quotes, though. There are four types, to be exact:

Statistical Evidence
Testimonial Evidence
Anecdotal Evidence
Analogical Evidence

1. Statistical Evidence

Statistical evidence is the kind of data people tend to look for first when trying to prove a point. That’s not surprising when you consider how prevalent it is in today’s society. Remember those McDonald’s signs that said “Over 1 billion served”? How about those Trident chewing gum commercials that say “4 out of 5 dentists recommend chewing sugarless gum”? Every time you use numbers to support a main point, you’re relying on statistical evidence to carry your argument.

2. Testimonial Evidence

Testimonial evidence is another type of evidence that is commonly turned to by people trying to prove a point. Commercials that use spokespersons to testify about the quality of a company’s product, lawyers who rely on eye-witness accounts to win a case, and students who quote an authority in their essays are all using testimonial evidence.

3. Anecdotal Evidence

Often dismissed as untrustworthy and meaningless, anecdotal evidence is one of the more underutilized types of evidence. Anecdotal evidence is evidence that is based on a person’s observations of the world. It can actually be very useful for disproving generalizations because all you need is one example that contradicts a claim.

Be careful when using this type of evidence to try and support your claims. One example of a non-native English speaker who has perfect grammar does NOT prove that ALL non-native English speakers have perfect grammar. All the anecdote can do is disprove the claim that all immigrants who are non-native English speakers have terrible grammar.

You CAN use this type of evidence to support claims, though, if you use it in conjunction with other types of evidence. Personal observations can serve as wonderful examples to introduce a topic and build it up – just make sure you include statistical evidence so the reader of your paper doesn’t question whether your examples are just isolated incidents.

4. Analogical Evidence

The last type of evidence is called analogical evidence. It is also underutilized, but this time for a reason. Analogies are mainly useful when dealing with a topic that is under-researched. If you are on the cutting edge of an issue, you’re the person breaking new ground. When you don’t have statistics to refer to or other authorities on the matter to quote, you have to get your evidence from somewhere. Analogical evidence steps in to save the day.

Take the following example: You work for a company that is considering turning some land into a theme park. On that land there happens to be a river that your bosses think would make a great white-water rafting ride. They’ve called on you to assess whether or not that ride would be a good idea.

Since the land in question is as yet undeveloped, you have no casualty reports or statistics to refer to. In this case, you can look to other rivers with the same general shape to them, altitude, etc. and see if any white-water rafting casualties have occurred on those rivers. Although the rivers are different, the similarities between them should be strong enough to give credibility to your research. Realtors use the same type of analogical evidence when determining the value of a home.

When you use analogies to support your claims, always remember their power.

Photo credit: Billaday

The Power of an Analogy

2009-10-04T15:09:00.001-05:00

Analogies can be very powerful things. They are, after all, one of the four basic types of evidence. They can provide support for a main point all on their own. It’s important to keep one thing in mind:

With great power comes great responsibility.

To properly understand how analogies can be abused, we have to look back to the definition of an analogy. SIL International has the following to say about analogies:

An analogy is a comparison of certain similarities between things which are otherwise unlike.

The important part to remember is that there must be some similarity between the two (or more) things, places, or people you are comparing, or the analogy falls apart.

For example, it’s not uncommon to hear jicama called the apple of Latin America. That’s because jícama is similar to apples in texture, shape, and taste. If someone were to call it the banana of Latin America…well, then there’d be a problem with the analogy. Although a banana and a jícama do have a shared similarity – they both taste like fruit – that’s where the similarities end.

When you try to link two things that aren’t similar enough to be linked, you’ve done more than just abuse the power of an analogy; you’ve committed a logical fallacy. This fallacy is called a “weak analogy.”

When it comes to analogies, there is no “right” or “wrong” because, if you search hard enough, some kind of similarity can be found between two things that link them – even if it’s something as remote as “they’re both made of atoms.”

Analogies are weighed on a scale of weak to strong. Because of this leeway, analogies can be abused. One such example of a comparison stretched to its limits comes from Orly Taitz, a staunch supporter of the Birther movement. In several interviews on and off t.v., she has compared the Obama administration to Nazi Germany. She even said that “We are getting another Stalin” when commenting on Obama’s presidency. Here’s a link to the interview she gave on the Colbert Report: Orly Taitz on the Colbert Report

You can either like or dislike Obama, but compare him to a man who organized the deaths of millions of people as he “purged” his country of dissenters? Wow.

The following Doonesbury cartoon is an example of what happens when people notice how ridiculously weak your analogies are:

So next time you think about using an analogy, make sure that the similarities that exist between the two items are strong, otherwise you might end up being made fun of in the Sunday comics.

Photo credit: RiptheSkull

Grammar Doesn't Have to be Boring

2009-09-23T17:23:00.001-05:00

Let's face it: reading about grammar rules is boring. Not many people pick up a grammar book when they’re feeling bored and looking for some enjoyable light reading. Even those who purposefully turn to a grammar handbook for help can find it dull at best, and intimidating at worst.

If you find it difficult to read a grammar book, the internet can help. Despite all its downfalls, the world wide web is a great place to find information – and that includes information about grammar. Not only that, but you can find that information in different formats. That variety means you can find the format that best caters to your learning style.

Trial and error has taught me that the majority of my students prefer learning about grammar through videos (especially light-hearted ones where the actors dress up in costumes for no apparent reason). What follows is a selection of websites that host videos that relate in one way or another to English grammar and writing. For your convenience, each link takes you directly to the most relevant section of the site.

Video Jug : I’ve used a few of these videos in class, actually. They’re very well done, just remember that the creators are British and therefore don’t adhere to the typesetter’s rule (i.e., their periods and commas fall outside of the quotation marks).
How Stuff Works : These videos aren’t as fun, but they get the point across. Beware of the “sponsored results” at the top of the page: they’re ads.
eHow : The videos on this site have less to do with grammar and more to do with how to format and write an essay. You’ll also find some help with citation styles (APA and MLA).
YouTube : There are some real gems to find on YouTube…but you have to dig through a lot of mediocre (or outright bad) videos to find them. If you’re patient and don’t mind spending some time separating the wheat from the chaff, this is the site for you.
Grammar Girl : While this isn’t a video site, it IS one of the best sites to go to for grammar help. GrammarGirl posts audio files of no more than a minute or two in length for your listening pleasure.

By the way, these sites have help for more than just English issues. If college algebra or physics is giving you problems, see if you can find some video tutorials that will shed some light on the subject.

Photo credit: MiffDesigner

How to Use i.e. and e.g.

2009-09-08T14:42:00.001-05:00

For abbreviations that are so commonly used, i.e. and e.g. cause massive problems for both readers and writers.

I.e. stands for id est, which is Latin for “that is.” You use it wherever you would use the words “that is” in a sentence. In the following examples, you could replace “i.e.” with “that is” and the sentences would still be correct.

I am the big cheese, i.e., the boss.

I am eating the fruit I like the best, i.e., the avocado.

E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which is Latin for “for the sake of an example.” You use it wherever you would use the words “for example” in a sentence. Just as for i.e., you could replace “e.g.” with “for example” in the following sentences and they would still be correct.

I think small dog breeds, e.g., the Chihuahua, are cute and I can’t wait to get one.

Important Japanese buildings, e.g., Tokyo Tower, usually get blown up in post-apocalyptic animes.

Brian Klem from The Writer's Digest suggests a couple of clever mnemonics to help you use this troublesome duo correctly.

To burn these definitions into your memory and help remind you which letter-abbreviation pairs with which definition, you can follow this mnemonic device a college friend once taught me: i.e. is "in essence" while e.g. is "eggs sample."

Correctly Punctuating i.e. and e.g.

The periods that are part of i.e. and e.g. tend to mess people up when it comes to punctuation. The easiest way to remember how to correctly punctuate these abbreviations is to pretend they are the words “that is” and “for example” and then punctuate them accordingly.

Take these sentences, for example:

Sam drinks hard liquor, e.g., whiskey, and therefore has a high alcohol tolerance.

Sam drinks hard liquor, for example, whiskey, and therefore has a high alcohol tolerance.

My favorite opera will always be the one I was named after, i.e., Bizet’s Carmen.

My favorite opera will always be the one I was named after, that is, Bizet’s Carmen.

Notice that i.e. and e.g. are always preceded and followed by a comma when in use. The only exception to that is when they start a sentence, in which case they’re only followed by a comma.

Here’s a cute video about using i.e. and e.g. correctly, just in case you need more elucidation on the topic.

Punctuation: How To Use i.e. And e.g.

Fear of the Blank Page

2009-09-04T18:24:00.001-05:00

How many of you have trouble getting started on a writing project? I certainly do. The project doesn’t have to be something as hard as an academic essay, either; it could be something as seemingly simple as writing a letter to your grandparent. The act of creating something out of nothing seems more the province of God, not mortals, but it’s an act we engage in every time we sit down to write with a blank page staring back at us.

Facing all of that whiteness can be intimidating. If you’re using a computer to write, the blinking cursor doesn’t help any; if anything, it seems impatient for input, like it doesn’t have the time to wait for you to think up something good. That kind of pressure just makes it all the more difficult to get started.

As if that weren’t bad enough, when you DO manage to get something written, it has to be strong enough to withstand the scrutiny that comes from standing alone. Even the most solid sentence starts to sound questionable when it’s the only sentence on the page.

If you (like me) fear the blank page, don’t worry - you’re not alone. Most of my students find it hard to start writing an essay from scratch, too. I’d venture to say your reaction is abnormal if you don’t approach a blank page with at least a little bit of trepidation.

Tips for Getting Over the Fear

Most people resign themselves to waging war with the blank page every single time they have to start a new writing project from scratch. There are actually some things that can be done to counteract the fear, though.

For starters, write an outline. Not only are they great for setting up a well organized paper, but if you start writing your paper INSIDE the outline, you’re not facing a blank page at the onset. When you finish your paper, just remember to go back and delete the parts of your outline that you wrote around (e.g. “I. Introduction” ). This is my personal choice when it comes to writing and I use it for everything from writing cover letters to writing short stories.

Another tactic is to copy and paste “dummy text” into the document to fool yourself into thinking you’ve already made progress and aren’t starting from square one. I learned about this trick when I was reading a famous author’s blog (I wish I could remember which author it was so I could give him/her credit for the idea). The author would copy and paste random parts of the U.S. Constitution into a document to get over facing the blank page. Almost any text will do, really. Just don’t forget to go back and delete it once you make headway on your paper!

Hopefully these tips will help you spend less time staring at a blank page and more time actually writing. As always, e-mail me or post a comment if you have a writing tip to share that works for you.

Photo credit: Rennett Stowe

Blogs as Research Logs

2009-08-28T16:11:00.001-05:00

Most people think of blogging as writing a diary entry and then posting it to the internet so everyone else can read it. The mundane happenings of one’s daily existence aren’t things that most people feel a need to chronicle, much less let complete strangers read about online.

Blogging has come a long way in the few short years it’s been around and no longer is it just a venue for angst-filled teenagers and bored office drones to vent their frustrations to a public in the hopes that other like-minded people will find their page and empathize. In fact, blogging doesn’t even have to use words anymore (Search “photo blogs” to see what I mean).

Instead of using blogs for their “intended” purpose, think of how you can use them to suit your own needs. Surely they’re useful for more than just being interactive journals. While I was at Armadillocon, a panelist in the “Blogging and Podcasting” panel I was attending mentioned using blogs as research logs.

Post-it notes and notebooks can get lost. Blogs can’t, which makes them wonderful candidates for holding information you have a vested interest in accessing later. I don’t personally have a blog that I use as a research log to show you, but I do follow a person that does.

Dr. David from Teaching College English uses her blog to not only elaborate on issues affecting the college English community, but also to keep track of research she does for her articles. To see how it’s done, take a look at her “Interrupted…Stockton and Sielke” post. In it, she keeps track of the sources, relevant quotes from them, and her thoughts about the quotes/source. You don’t have to go into such detail, though. Including nothing more than a list of links you want to keep track of so you can go to them later when writing your paper is just as acceptable a way of “logging” your research. See Dr. Davis’ “Composition Journals” post to see this form of research logging in action.

You might not be doing enough research to warrant using a blog to log it. If that’s the case, what DO you do that you can do more easily using a blog?

Photo credit: Claire L. Evan

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest

2009-08-21T15:14:00.001-05:00

While I’m on the subject of writing contests, there’s a very famous one set up for amateur writers of short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy that awards prizes every three months. This contest is called Writers of the Future and it was founded by L. Ron Hubbard.

While Hubbard’s religious beliefs might have been questionable, his devotion to and skill at writing were not. His literary career is composed of more than 260 published novels, novelettes, short stories, and screen plays in every genre.

His Writers of the Future contest is restricted to the genres of science fiction and fantasy, however. If you’ve written stories in these genres (or think you’d like to try your hand at it), please consider submitting your work to this contest. It’s a great opportunity for new and aspiring writers to get their names out through a well respected contest, and potentially win a publishing contract.

The greatest part about this contest is there is NO entry fee. The competition does have a set of rules that all entries must adhere to, of course, but nothing that is off-putting. Read the rules for yourself to see if entering the contest is something you’d consider.

As a last note, L. Ron Hubbard also hosts an Illustrators of the Future contest for amateur science fiction and fantasy artists. If your writing skills aren’t quite up to par yet, but you’re not too shabby with a paintbrush (or whatever medium you illustrate in), consider entering this contest.

Photo credit: Andrix19

8 Minutes Anthology Writing Contest

2009-08-17T17:04:00.001-05:00

I always have my eyes peeled for legitimate sounding writing contests and this past weekend at Armadillocon I ran across one that seems promising. It’s called the 8 Minutes Anthology Contest. The theme for the contest is “Something has happened to the Sun. In 8 minutes, everything changes!”

The website offers up the following information about the anthology:

The Earth is 8 light minutes away from the Sun. Something has happened to the Sun. Maybe it’s gone nova, been transformed, been replaced or stolen or…? But in 8 minutes everything will change for life on Earth.

Restrictions: The story must take place on Earth or on the Moon, or on a human-built satellite, ship or station orbiting the Earth or the Moon. Story must include the 8 minutes between the time the Sun is affected and Earth feels the effects of it. Story may include prior to and subsequent after the 8 minute window.

Submissions will be accepted between July 1st, 2009 through December 31st, 2009 and may not exceed 5,000 words in length. All entries will be judged by Mike Resnick, an established science-fiction author who has been nominated for numerous literary awards (Which is good because if your hard work is going to be judged, it might as well be by a professional in the field).

As a final note: this writing contest is NOT free. A $15 fee is charged for all entries.

When entering a contest that requires a fee, keep in mind that there are bad people out there in the world who are trying to scam you out of your hard earned money. Do your homework and find out everything you can about the company before you decide whether or not to enter their contest.

This particular contest doesn’t appear to have anything in the fine print that is hazardous to your health, but PLEASE read the terms for yourself here as I am not an expert when it comes to legalese.

Even if you aren’t planning on entering the contest (I’m not, personally. When you earn as little as I do, every entry fee has to be carefully considered in terms of 1. how lazy I’m feeling and 2. if the potential reward outweighs the cost), you can still use the prompt to fuel your own story idea.

At any rate, it’s interesting to think about what could possibly happen to the Sun that would change life on Earth as we know it.

Photo credit: Fr Antunes

It’s “through,” not “thru”

2009-08-09T17:57:00.001-05:00

I have been seeing the word “thru” pop up in quite a few of my students’ essays. I wasn’t very surprised when I saw it appear in essays written by my ESL students as misspellings are rather abundant in them. When I saw the word pop up in some of my best native English speaking students’ essays, I was bowled over.

There are many who would like to blame the misspelling on the relatively recent rise in popularity of text messaging (for example, take this article). If that were truly the case, though, people would misspell more than just “through.” The word “before” would be written as “b4,” “you’re” would be “ur,” and “know” would be written as “kno” or “no.” That’s not the case in my students’ essays, however. The only text speak that shows up in their writing is “thru.”

This anomaly leads me to believe that text messaging is not to blame. The only other culprit that I can think of that can account for this misspelling being as common as it is is fast food. In particular, fast food’s drive thrus.

It’s important to note that spellcheck will not catch this misspelling. That’s because “thru” is actually a valid dictionary entry. Just because a word appears in the dictionary does not mean it’s acceptable for use in formal writing. Because spellcheck can’t make the distinction between a casual note to your roomie and a formal letter to your dean of your college, “thru” is as correct as “through” is to it. That’s one of the biggest flaws of spellcheckers: they can’t account for context.

As a rule of thumb, spell everything out fully when it comes to academic writing. For why that is, Mignon Fogarty from Grammar Girl takes the words right out of my mouth in her 10th episode “Threw, Through, Thru”:

My impression is that using the spelling t-h-r-u is kind of equivalent to dotting your i's with little hearts: people will know what you mean, but they'll think you aren't a very serious person.

So unless you’re writing a report on drive thrus or textisms, keep “thru” out of your formal writing.

Photo credit: Donna Grayson

One Word + 60 Seconds

2009-08-05T20:06:00.001-05:00

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about freewriting. Although I’m not a huge fan of this form of idea generation, many people are and find it successful for eliminating writer’s block. In the interest of exposing you to every writing tool that I know of so you can decide for yourself whether or not it works for you, I present to you One Word, a site based on the freewriting method.

I stumbled across this site almost a year ago and it’s a testament to its likeability that I still have it bookmarked. The basic premise of the site is to give you a word and a total of 60 seconds to write everything that comes into your mind when you see the word. After you finish writing, you can see what other people have written (which is sometimes more fun than actually writing anything yourself). For added usability, the site changes the word on a daily basis.

There are plenty of other methods available for transferring ideas from your mind to paper, such as outlining, mind mapping, and list making. When all is said and done, though, sometimes sitting down and writing anything and everything that pops into your mind is the best way to jumpstart a writing project that just keeps stalling.

Caution: Busy Week Alert

2009-07-29T13:54:00.001-05:00

I’m just popping online to say that this weekend will be hectic so updates will be slow for the next week. I’m still alive and haven’t forgotten about you all – life’s just doing its best to get in the way of blogging again.

Keep writing and I’ll be back before you notice I was ever gone.

Generating Ideas: Freewriting

2009-07-23T22:45:00.001-05:00

Freewriting (also called stream-of-consciousness writing) is the activity of writing everything that pops into your mind when you think about a certain topic. If you can’t think of anything to write about the topic, then you literally write “I can’t think of anything to write” over and over until you an idea eventually comes to you.

Sometimes, freewriting is used without any specific topic in mind. When that’s the case, the purpose of the writing isn’t to generate main points for a topic, but to come up with the topic itself.

For those who have never seen freewriting and are very confused about what its final result should look like, I present to you the following example. It is the result of asking my students to freewrite for one minute about “Dogs”:

Dogs are furry slobby animals that shed alot This is retarded I just cant focus we’re supposed to be wriitng about dogs ok ok they are man’s best friend and stuff and loyal and smell butts and I remember watching the movie all dogs go to heaven when I was little but i actually really prefer cats cuz theyre easier to take care of and leave you alone when you eat and -

If it looks messy and disorganized, that’s because it is. It’s supposed to be, actually. This freedom from the constraint of grammar rules allows one’s mind to direct more energy towards coming up with ideas.

I personally don’t get very much out of this exercise because my innate desire for order recoils at the thought of scribbling random thoughts without first creating an outline. However, if you’re completely out of ideas and staring Writer’s Block in the face, freewriting is worth trying at least once.

What doesn’t work for me might just work for you.

Photo credit: TonyHall

Organizing Your Thoughts: Mind Mapping

2009-07-18T19:54:00.001-05:00

Putting your thoughts down on paper is an activity easier said than done. I’d like someone to take a peek into my mind and just TRY to get the mess of ideas I have tumbling around in there onto a piece of paper in a coherent, organized fashion.

If you too have so many ideas bouncing around in your head that you can’t manage to focus on just one, having the right tools at your disposal will make writing that much easier. One of those tools is called Mind mapping.

Mind Mapping

The motivation behind mind maps is the idea that knowledge is stored in our brains in a non-linear fashion. The relationships between pieces of information are simply too complex to capture in the traditional left-to-right, top-to-bottom note-taking way.

Mind maps instead focus on a single idea (the center of the map) and information is added radially around it. This avoids the hierarchy that ordering things in a list creates (for example, if I write a to-do list and include “1. fold laundry, 2. grade essays, 3. walk dogs” on it, folding the laundry seems to take precedence over walking the dogs).

Mind mapping can be done with pen and paper, but if you prefer something more advanced, there are plenty of programs available for *free* online.

Mind Mapping Programs

FreeMind	This is the first mind mapping program I ever used and it's still my favorite. Check out the screenshots to see its awesomeness! There's a little bit of a learning curve required for this program, but it's well worth the effort.
Bubbl.us	This application is hosted online so you don't have to download anything to your computer to use it. Being online also means you can access your mind maps from any computer with an internet connection.

There are many other mind mapping programs and online applications out there (some free, some not free), but these two are the ones I personally prefer over the rest. If these two just don’t do it for you, you can always run your own search on Google to find one that fits your needs.

Writing well is difficult enough to do without also having to deal with making sense of the jumble of ideas that pop up as part of the writing process. Take advantage of the tools available to you, whether they be computer programs or pen and paper, and make your task a little bit easier.

Photo credit: MShades