cua’s writing center 111 o’boyle hall x5018 what they can do: help with “writer’s block”...

CUA’s Writing Center111 O’Boyle Hall

x5018

What they CAN do:• Help with “writer’s block”

• Listen and give feedback

• Help with understanding the assignment

• Help identify what needs improving

• Supervise as you revise

• Coach proofreading and editing skills

What they CAN’T do:

• Write any portion of the paper

• Make every correction

• Tutor in the subject matter

• Evaluate the assignment

• Comment on what grade it should receive

WRITING PAPERS ISN’T A JOB FOR JUST

ANYONE.

BUT THERE’S

A WHOLE LOT

OF HEAVY

SHOVELING

IN

OUT

HOLD

Handoutonline

Handoutonline

BEFORE:Getting READY to write

There are lots of "correct" things to write about

for any subject, but you must narrow down your choices.

Brainstorm to fight writer’s

block

Gather as many good and bad

ideas, examples, sentences,

false starts, etc. as you can.

Jot down everything that comes to mind,

including material you are sure

you will throw out. “Free write.”

Consider stringing together likely

quotes you’re going to use

just like a necklace

Speak it:Put your thoughts

into words

You might try to teach the topic to a

group or class.

Or pretend that you are being interviewed

by someone: What questions would the other

person ask?

 “Nutshell” your

whole idea:Tell it to someone

in three or four sentences.

See if you can find a fresh

analogy / metaphor that opens up a new

set of ideas.

Metaphors can get you thinking

“outside the box” for a fresh or unusual

perspective on the topic.

Your topic’s like a “car” that won’t start in winter -

what would you do?

Your topic’s just something wrong with “digestion”:

“someone ate the wrong thing,”

“constipation,” “vomiting.”

Your topic’s a problem of “addiction” -

who’s addicted to what?

Your topic’s a matter of “physical sickness”-

it needs a “special drug,” “a long recuperation,” “help dealing with the impossibility of cure.”

Your topic’s a “mental illness”-it needs “shock treatment,

“talking therapy,”“group therapy,”

“recognition that society is crazy and

the patient is sane.”

Take a rest and let it all simmer

Your thesis can help you focus and can

map out your paper for you

Thesis: “Much of Martin Luther King's success resulted from the passive resistance techniques proposed by Gandhi.”

Much of Martin Luther King's success resulted from the passive resistance techniques proposed by Gandhi.

Outline: I. Introduction and thesis II. Passive resistanceIII. King’s successIV. Influence of Ghandi V. Conclusion

The do’s and don’ts of creating

a thesis:

Handoutonline

 Your thesis shouldn’t

be a fragment:

How Plato’s cave is relevant.

BE COMPLETE

Socrates’ metaphor of the dark cave shows the importance of

education.

Your thesis shouldn’t be in the form of a question:

Why shouldn’t women be educated?

BE DECLARATIVE:

Despite Plato’s bias, women, as well as men,

can benefit from education.

Your thesis shouldn’t have phrases such as

“I think”:

I think women are better thinkers than men.

BE DEFINITIVE :

Women have proved themselves better at

multi-task thinking than men.

Your thesis shouldn’t be garbled:

Females can think about several things at the same

time while men get stuck on one issue and don’t see all

the conclusions.

 BE LOGICAL:

Because females use both sides of their brains

easily, they are better complex thinkers.

Your thesis shouldn’t use vague language:

It’s bad to keep the best education reserved for some of

the people.

BE SPECIFIC:

Both sexes can benefit, although in different styles, from higher

education.

Your thesis shouldn’t be hard to follow:

Women might think differently from men sometimes but they still have a lot to add to what a country or maybe just people

in general need to do.

BE CLEAR:

Women are a crucial part of the intellectual pool.

Your thesis shouldn’t use figurative language:

Educating women is like opening Pandora’s box.

BE LITERAL, SAVE METAPHORS FOR YOUR

TEXT OR TITLE:

Adding females to the educational system

introduces some complications and

adjustments

Diagram/ outline

your major points

Plan ahead or you’ll write yourself into a

corner

The classic formula is I. State your

thesis. II. Write an outline. III. Write the first draft. IV. Revise and

polish.

TOPIC

idea

Less traditional:Mapping

 DURINGWriting a FIRST draft

Write a first draft

Then put it away to “ripen”.

(But don’t leave it so long it “rots”…)

Later, read it aloud

  AFTER

REVISING and PROOFING

Revising your draft:

1. Cut 2. Paste3. Fix4. Prepare5. Proof

1. Cut:Chisel off the excess – much of your paper will be discarded

2. PasteRearrange what’s left of your paper

Transition words make the

writing flow

In comparison

LikeBoth

LikewiseIn the same way

Next in importance Handoutonline

Handoutonline

In contrast

ButYet

HoweverAlthoughInstead

On the other handFrom another point of view

AndTooAlso

BesidesMoreover

In additionFurthermore

BecauseThusSince

ThereforeConsequently

For this reason

Order and TimeFirst, second….

Last, finallyPreviously

Then/ Now/ LaterNext, Subsequently

Meanwhile

3. FixCheck individual words and phrases

There are more

than 250 versions of

“said.“Besides “The author

said”:

Accused AcknowledgedAcquiesced AskedAddressed AdmittedAdmonished AdvisedAdvocated AffirmedAgreed AllegedAnnounced AnsweredApologized ApprovedArgued AskedAssented AssertedAssumed AssuredAttested Authorized…

CONSULT:a thesaurus

a dictionary grammar

check spell check

Prepositions (to, from, about, over, between…)

are not words to end sentences with.

SPELL CHECK ISN'T FOOLPROOF: I have a spelling checker, It came with my PC; It plainly marks four my revue, Mistakes I might not sea. I've run this poem threw it, I'm sure your pleased too no; Its letter perfect, in its weigh. My checker tolled me sew.

Punctuation matters:

Roger said I passed the test.

Roger said, “I passed the test.”

Woman without her man is nothing.

Woman: without her, man is nothing.

PRIVATENO

SWIMMING ALLOWED

PRIVATE?NO!

SWIMMING ALLOWED.

Word placement can make a difference

7 scenarios for Romeo and Juliet moving around

the single word “only”:

Only Juliet told Romeo that she loved him.

(No one but Juliet loves Romeo.)

Juliet only told Romeo that she loved him.

(Juliet doesn't really mean it; she just said what he wanted to

hear.)

Juliet told only Romeo that she loved him.

(Romeo has no competition, at least so far.)

Juliet told Romeo only that she loved him.

(Yes, but that’s all)

Juliet told Romeo that only she loved him.

(Juliet tells Romeo that no one else

loves him.)

Juliet told Romeo that she only loved him.

(And love may not be not enough…)

Juliet told Romeo that she loved

only him.

(He's got the girl!)

4. PrepareMake it look good - follow formatting rules:APA or MLA(Rocque 25) (Rocque, 25) 

My typewriter broke, so I had to do my term paper on the Etch A Sketch®

Term papers are due today!

Documentation or attribution, in the form of a footnote or

parenthetical citation, is required for:

•Direct quotes•Paraphrases (indirect quotes)•Summaries wholly concerning

original material

Handoutonline

Handoutonline

Plagiarism, from the Latin for “kidnapper,” is the “false assumption

of authorship: the wrongful act of [kidnapping] the product of another person’s mind” and presenting it as

yours.”

brackets when you change the quote

Paraphrase plus quote:Because it provides both

organization and a summary, “ [a] well-constructed thesis

can write your paper for you,” asserts Rocque, a self-

proclaimed expert.

Direct quote:“A well-constructed thesis can write your paper for you,” Rocque insisted.

Direct quote:“A well-constructed thesis,” Rocque believes, “can write

your paper for you.”

Paraphrase plus quote: Some writers feel that a “ well-constructed thesis” will give a student a good start and help

outline the paper (Rocque, 2005).

5. Proof Read it aloud

(or ask someone to)

Read for trouble Read backwards

Watch especially for the need to clarify or add more information.