Summer Hours & Conferences July 1, 2009
Posted by jhicks in : Uncategorized , add a commentSummer schedules are crazy–yours and ours! Like us, you may have a part-time job, are going on vacation, or taking a class. Perhaps you are taking an on-line class in Summer II.
We’re conferring in-person and online, but our hours are irregular. So . . .email your paper or a request for a conference time, or stop by to see if a consultant is on-duty or to sign up for a later conference.
The Graduate Tutors are working too!
Our contacts: writing.center@valpo.edu
graduate.tutor@valpo.edu
Is FLOW Only for Water? April 15, 2009
Posted by jhicks in : Portfolio, CORE Love paper, Style, Uncategorized , add a comment“Can you help me make this FLOW better?”
“I’d like you to check for FLOW.”
“Maybe this doesn’t FLOW right.”
Though you might not be able to define FLOW in writing, you know when you have it and when you don’t!
Many qualities contribute to text FLOW; here are some editing steps you can apply that may help you capture that elusive quality.
COHERENCE
Read aloud. Though this reminds you of junior high, it’s the best editing trick around. Underline sentences or parts that don’t “sound right” and check out their insides. These two examples will give you the idea.
Example: Colleges are making tuition more affordable with scholarships and having scholarships and campus jobs. [Notice how the phrases are constructed differently. They are not similar in grammatical structure or consistent in point of view, which wrecks the flow.]
Improved: Colleges are making tuition more affordable by offering scholarships and campus jobs.
Example: For companies who want to increase market share, they must advertise to their target group. [The word “for” throws off the sentence. Begin with “companies” and omit “they.”]
Wordy or illogical constructions can clog a sentence’s flow: The reason is because . . .Pneumonia is when
Omit because and when in this type of construction.
COHESION–You’ll feel “flow” when ideas move from old-to-new:
Move from familiar to unfamiliar ideas. Notice this movement in the following sentences:
The native language of nearly 1 million people is American Sign Language (ASL) [new idea]. Unlike a common misperception, ASL [old idea] is not English in signed form [new idea]. Signed English [old idea] involves signing individual characterisitics of an English sentence, whereas an ASL signer uses physical space occupied and facial expression in a communication exchange [new idea]. ASL [old idea] can be described as “pictorial/visual and three dimensional while English is audible and linear” (Schmidt, Bunse, Dalton, et al 7).
PUNCTUATION also assists with “flow” because these minute marks signal a change in tone, expression, or tempo that you would hear or see in a conversation. On paper, these signals tell your brain what to expect next.
Check out the blog category of “editing” to brush up on conventions of punctuation.
Schmidt, Katherine, et al. “Lessening the Divide: Strategies for Promoting Effective Communication between Hearing Consultants and Deaf Student-writers.” The Writing Lab Newsletter, 33.5 (2009): 6-10.
Welcome Students in China! March 20, 2009
Posted by jhicks in : International Students , add a commentHello students at Beiging Jiatong University in China! We hope you are enjoying your writing course, “English for Business.” We hope our web site provides you with many good suggestions for editing and revision. You can get in touch with us at writing.center@valpo.edu to prepare for your arrival on campus in August 2009.
CC Podcast, Episode 3: The Violent Bear It Away February 18, 2009
Posted by willmeister in : Christ College, MP3s , add a commentHello, faithful listeners! In this episode of the Writing Center’s CC Podcast, William Milhans and Tyler Gegg get their talk on concerning Flannery O’Connor’s quite religious novel “The Violent Bear It Away”. Topics covered include how every character is crazy, particularly Mason.
Both halves of the episode are included below. To listen right now, simply click the little Play arrow. If you want to download them to listen later, right-click the ‘Download’ link and select ‘Save Target As’, or the equivalent (it may be slightly different depending on your browser).
Thanks for listening!
CC Podcast, Episode 3, Part 1: The Violent Bear it Away: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download CC Podcast, Episode 3, Part 2: The Violent Bear It Away: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadCC Podcast Episode 2: Diary of a Madman February 13, 2009
Posted by willmeister in : Christ College, MP3s , comments closed Hello again, CC Freshmen! It’s Friday night and the odds are that most of you haven’t written your papers yet. For those who have, good for you! You are not in this podcast’s target audience, for now.
In this episode of the CC Podcast, William Milhans and Tyler Gegg talk about Lu Xun’s wacky collection of semi-depressing short stories, entitled “Diary of a Madman”. Hopefully our discussion can provide you with some fresh ideas or perspectives when you hit a rough spot with your paper.
To listen to the podcast, simply click the arrow below. To save the podcast onto your computer, right-click the ‘download’ link and select the ‘Save Target As’ option.
Note that, for uploading reasons, this podcast is in two pieces. If you want to get the whole thing, make sure to right-click both of the download links in turn.
Have a good weekend!
- Will Milhans
CC Podcast, Episode 2 Part 1: Diary of a Madman: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download CC Podcast, Episode 2 Part 2: Diary of a Madman: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadCC Podcast, Episode One - Persuasion January 30, 2009
Posted by willmeister in : Christ College, MP3s , comments closedThis week, the first ever episode of the CC Podcast goes out online! This is the podcast for CC students, to help you all with those nasty little weekly papers. If you are having trouble thinking of a paper topic, or would simply like to procrastinate productively for a few minutes, then why not take a listen? Featured in this episode are Anna Schmidt and William Milhans, talking about Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
To listen to the podcast, just click the play button below. To save, right-click the ‘download’ link and select ‘Save Link/Target As’.
Love in Context January 15, 2009
Posted by egutierrez in : CORE Love paper, Essay Planning, CORE, Uncategorized , comments closedAs CORE students you’re probably either writing, making revisions, or finalizing your paper on love. Remember that this paper, like the first paper you wrote in CORE last semester, is a personal narrative and a reflection about a particular theme in action, in this case love.
Think carefully about a particular time in your life or a particular relationship you’ve had that dealt intimately with love in one of its many forms, such as philia or agape. Although your professor would like you to think about other forms of love besides romantic love, you might try looking at some of these relationships for interactions between these other forms of love as well.
Interesting stories usually have some element of personal transformation or triumph over adversity, so try thinking about a time that either you or someone you know experienced a kind of profound transformation or perseverance. Analyze this situation in terms of love: What forms of love are at play? Did love have any effect on the outcome in question? What were these effects? Could you or that person have transformed or triumphed without love? If you know of a story like this, tell it!
What makes this paper so useful and so timely is that it allows you to explore the various dynamics and nuances of love without many constraints. Take this opportunity to explore your own experiences and views of love in the context of your life, and don’t be afraid to venture out and make novel claims about it (so long as you back it up with evidence). This paper helps make what was previously a more abstract study of love more concrete by applying it to your own life and your own unique experiences. Explore, and have fun with it!
EG
The Blue Light Show, Episode 6 December 11, 2008
Posted by willmeister in : CORE, MP3s , comments closedWell, at long last, here it is. This episode does not follow the style of the others, but is rather a series of excerpts from a lecture given at the Brauer Museum, covering a broad variety of paintings that follow the theme of Citizenship, presented to Cynthia Rutz’s CORE class.
BLS_Episode_6.1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download BLS_Episode_6.2: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadAs always, if you want to save this file, right-click the download link and select “Save Link As” (or the equivalent for your browser).
Blue Light Show Episode 5–A Long Way Gone Discussion October 22, 2008
Posted by willmeister in : Core paper #3, CORE, MP3s , add a commentThis mp3 episode of the Blue Light Show is devoted to A Long Way Gone. Three CORE students discuss ideas relevant to paper #3.
Is the book more about war or enlightenment? Why do the boys join the army? How does enlightenment occur, and what the responsibilities of the enlightened? Can family be replaced? Why is music so prominent in the text–How does it become a metaphor?
Ali McLaughlin, John Moldenhauer, and Philip Feldwisch, as well as moderator William Milhans provide serious talk about a thought-provoking text.
If you would like to save the file, please simply right-click on the ‘download’ link, and selected ‘Save Link Location As’, or the equivalent.
Peer editing and Simone Weil: CORE Students Ponder and Vent! October 22, 2008
Posted by jhicks in : Core paper #3, CORE, MP3s , comments closedTHE BLUE LIGHT SHOW: episode 2
How is peer editing going for you? Will your struggles with paper #3 stand as evidence that Simone Weil may be right?
In this 5-minute pod cast students from a CORE class explain how to set up a good peer editing group and also ponder Weil.
THE BLUE LIGHT SHOW, EPISODE 2: CORE class chats about peer editing and Simone Weil: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download