Beginning today, I am going to list the questions I have already answered about writing. The date at the end of the question is the date on which I have published my answer. Just go to the month in the “Blog Archive” on the right of the blog. Click on the month and find the date and my answer. Many thanks to those who have responded to “Q & A on Writing.” I had fun writing it. Some of you have expressed gratitude for my explanations and I appreciate your comments. It will take several days to finish my review of the questions that I have answered. RayS.
What is the most frequent mistake in writing? Friday, May 18, 2007.
What is the “-sede,” “-ceed,” and “-cede” rule in spelling? Friday, May 18, 2007.
When should I capitalize the names of relatives, like “mother,” “father,” “uncle”? Saturday, May 19, 2007.
What should I do when the instructor comes into class and tells us to complete a composition on the topic of “Autumn” and turn it in at the end of the class period? Sunday, May 20, 2007.
How can I avoid using sexist language as in “Everybody returned to his home” (which is grammatically correct, but implies that the whole world is male)? Is there any way to avoid the clumsy “his or her,” “him or her,” etc.? Monday May 21, 2007.
What is the one mistake in punctuation that no one in America should make? Tuesday, May 22, 2007.
Can you simplify all those rules for the comma? Wednesday, May 23, 2007.
What are the most frequent and important uses of the comma? Thursday, May 24, 2007.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 34
How organize a research project? Students reflect on their personal experience with the subject of the research; see a multi-modal presentation on the subject; consult children’s books on the subject; YA books on the subject; adult books on the subject; knowledgeable people on the subject; Internet info on the subject; prepare a Q &A on the subject; Produce unanswered questions about the subject. Ray (2004), suggested by Sr. P Randle. Elementary English (Jan. 70), 156.
What is “spelling consciousness”? Proposes the concept of “spelling consciousness,” whether students recognize that they have misspelled words. WJ Valmont. “Spelling Consciousness: A Long Neglected Area.” 1219-1221.
How predict spellings that end in “-er” and “-or”? Concrete nouns (water, slipper) tend to end in “-er,” while abstract nouns tend to end in “-or” (humor, flavor), but exceptions are “sugar” and “cellar.” JW Bloodgood & LC Pacifici. Reading Teacher (Nov. 04), 261.
What do we know about having difficulties with spelling? 85% of our words are spelled regularly. The difficulty has risen because the 15% that are spelled irregularly are used 85% of the time. GL Jackson & AM Guber. “The Way Out of the Spelling Labyrinth,” 94.
How teach students to deal with controversial issues in writing? Motivate students to write by raising emotional, controversial issues, but show students how to control their emotions when discussing them and writing about them. J Lindquist. College English (Nov. 04), 187-209.
What is “spelling consciousness”? Proposes the concept of “spelling consciousness,” whether students recognize that they have misspelled words. WJ Valmont. “Spelling Consciousness: A Long Neglected Area.” 1219-1221.
How predict spellings that end in “-er” and “-or”? Concrete nouns (water, slipper) tend to end in “-er,” while abstract nouns tend to end in “-or” (humor, flavor), but exceptions are “sugar” and “cellar.” JW Bloodgood & LC Pacifici. Reading Teacher (Nov. 04), 261.
What do we know about having difficulties with spelling? 85% of our words are spelled regularly. The difficulty has risen because the 15% that are spelled irregularly are used 85% of the time. GL Jackson & AM Guber. “The Way Out of the Spelling Labyrinth,” 94.
How teach students to deal with controversial issues in writing? Motivate students to write by raising emotional, controversial issues, but show students how to control their emotions when discussing them and writing about them. J Lindquist. College English (Nov. 04), 187-209.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 33
What should be done about complex usage problems? “If a word is rarely used in spoken English and if the rules that govern its use are so convoluted that they make the average language user beg for mercy, that word should be expelled, excommunicated from the language. Whom is such a word…. There is ample precedent for banishing words from the language. Thee and thou left us years ago, leaving us with only you, an excellent replacement.” D Soles. English Journal (May 05), 34.
What effect does word processing have on students’ writing? Students using word processing made more revisions than students using pencil/pen. A Cook, A Goldberg & M Russell. Research in the Teaching of English (Nov. 04), 202. (abs.)
How succeed in argumentative writing and speaking? “…the good rhetor answers the opponent’s questions even before they’re asked.” WC Booth. College English (Mar. 05), 379.
How learn from other people’s writing? Mary Higgins Clark summarized the first and last paragraphs of each chapter of duMaurier’s Rebecca to see how she created terror or suspense. EM Abbe. The Writer (Dec. 04), 6.
What is the hardest job in having your book published? “When I held the completed manuscript in my hands, little did I know that the hardest jobs—getting the book published and getting it noticed—were still ahead of me.” L Borders [Author of Cloud Cuckoo Land]. The Writer (May 05), 14.
How prepare book proposals? In submitting book proposals, you need to summarize your competition, other books written on your topic, and state why your book is different. Begin with Amazon.com. M Allen. The Writer (Nov. 04), 15-16.
What effect does word processing have on students’ writing? Students using word processing made more revisions than students using pencil/pen. A Cook, A Goldberg & M Russell. Research in the Teaching of English (Nov. 04), 202. (abs.)
How succeed in argumentative writing and speaking? “…the good rhetor answers the opponent’s questions even before they’re asked.” WC Booth. College English (Mar. 05), 379.
How learn from other people’s writing? Mary Higgins Clark summarized the first and last paragraphs of each chapter of duMaurier’s Rebecca to see how she created terror or suspense. EM Abbe. The Writer (Dec. 04), 6.
What is the hardest job in having your book published? “When I held the completed manuscript in my hands, little did I know that the hardest jobs—getting the book published and getting it noticed—were still ahead of me.” L Borders [Author of Cloud Cuckoo Land]. The Writer (May 05), 14.
How prepare book proposals? In submitting book proposals, you need to summarize your competition, other books written on your topic, and state why your book is different. Begin with Amazon.com. M Allen. The Writer (Nov. 04), 15-16.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 32
How long does it take writers to write books? Roald Dahl: “I have written only two long children’s books myself, and for all I know they may be completely worthless…. Each of them took somewhere between eight and nine months to complete, with no time off for other work, and eight or nine months is a big slice out of the life of any writer….” The Writer (Apr. 05), 8.
What don’t standardized writing tests tell us about student writers? “Standardized tests like the SAT II and our own writing placement test, while they do provide some data about student writers, do not capture some of the qualities—like motivation, task persistence, and the metacognitive abilities that allow students to take courses strategically—that count most heavily toward success in the university. (That is why high school GPA remains the most accurate single predictor of success in college.)” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.
What are the advantages of short courses in writing? “Authors found that the short, 6-week writing course helped students with poor standardized test scores succeed in learning to write because of “immersion.” “We now know that our accelerated courses do not shortchange but actually support student learning: we can now look for ways to offer such ‘immersion’ experiences in other venues….” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.
How teach students to construct a story? Using 12 shots, students create a photo story with accompanying text on index cards. R Wilder. Class Notes Plus (Aug. 05), 14-15.
How help students learn to write fiction? Each person in a group writes the first paragraph of a story. Then pass to the right. Write second paragraph. Then pass to the right and write the third paragraph. Etc. F Jones. The Writer (May 05), 12.
What don’t standardized writing tests tell us about student writers? “Standardized tests like the SAT II and our own writing placement test, while they do provide some data about student writers, do not capture some of the qualities—like motivation, task persistence, and the metacognitive abilities that allow students to take courses strategically—that count most heavily toward success in the university. (That is why high school GPA remains the most accurate single predictor of success in college.)” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.
What are the advantages of short courses in writing? “Authors found that the short, 6-week writing course helped students with poor standardized test scores succeed in learning to write because of “immersion.” “We now know that our accelerated courses do not shortchange but actually support student learning: we can now look for ways to offer such ‘immersion’ experiences in other venues….” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.
How teach students to construct a story? Using 12 shots, students create a photo story with accompanying text on index cards. R Wilder. Class Notes Plus (Aug. 05), 14-15.
How help students learn to write fiction? Each person in a group writes the first paragraph of a story. Then pass to the right. Write second paragraph. Then pass to the right and write the third paragraph. Etc. F Jones. The Writer (May 05), 12.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 31
What is the value of the five-paragraph essay?
Gives students a framework (a model?) for organization. Byung-n-Seo. English Journal (Nov. 07), 15-16.
How prepare writing assignments?
Need to revise once-favorite writing assignments to make them more relevant to today’s students. SA Jolley. English Journal (Nov. 07), 23.
How help students define the writing process?
Ask students to complete the following sentence: “Writing is like….” G van Nest. English Journal (Nov. 07), 98.
How can writing teachers improve relations with the community?
Use our skills in writing and teaching writing by working cooperatively with groups in the community. S Schneider. College English (Nov. 07), 144-167.
What is “voice” in writing?
“Voice” in writing reflects the personality of the writer. P. Elbow. College English (Nov. 07), 168.
Why write memoirs?
Student wrote a memoir as his dissertation. Mother disagreed with the facts of an incident when he was diagnosed with cancer. People might disagree with “what happened” when one writes a memoir, but it doesn’t matter. Facts of incidents may be remembered differently by different people. Although you learn to define yourself by writing memoirs, they are also written for others—a way of participating in the experiences of life. W Bradley. College English (Nov. 07), 202-211.
Gives students a framework (a model?) for organization. Byung-n-Seo. English Journal (Nov. 07), 15-16.
How prepare writing assignments?
Need to revise once-favorite writing assignments to make them more relevant to today’s students. SA Jolley. English Journal (Nov. 07), 23.
How help students define the writing process?
Ask students to complete the following sentence: “Writing is like….” G van Nest. English Journal (Nov. 07), 98.
How can writing teachers improve relations with the community?
Use our skills in writing and teaching writing by working cooperatively with groups in the community. S Schneider. College English (Nov. 07), 144-167.
What is “voice” in writing?
“Voice” in writing reflects the personality of the writer. P. Elbow. College English (Nov. 07), 168.
Why write memoirs?
Student wrote a memoir as his dissertation. Mother disagreed with the facts of an incident when he was diagnosed with cancer. People might disagree with “what happened” when one writes a memoir, but it doesn’t matter. Facts of incidents may be remembered differently by different people. Although you learn to define yourself by writing memoirs, they are also written for others—a way of participating in the experiences of life. W Bradley. College English (Nov. 07), 202-211.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 30
How help law students learn to write in the legal profession? The first communication need for anyone in law is to be able to state precisely…what the law is. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 30. The second communication need for anyone in law is to be able to define a problem, or, in their terms, to isolate legal issues. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 31. The third communication need for anyone in law is to be able effectively to set forth the facts of a case. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 32. The fourth need for anyone in law is [to]…apply general principles of law to particular instances. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 33. If lawyers need the power to persuade, however, it is interesting to discover how little training in persuasion they receive. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 33. The fifth need for anyone in law is to be able to adapt his or her written discourse on legal issues to communicate to non-lawyers. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 33. Of course, I am not suggesting that all legal discourse should be accessible to non-lawyers, but it is certainly true that much legal discourse must be. Surprisingly, though, there is little training given law professionals in this very important professional skill, even though it is clear that those in law understand the need for the skills. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 34.
How help children learn to speak and write using the language experience approach [LEA]? Children retell a story they have read or heard read to them. Their re-told story is recorded on chart paper. They then read it aloud. GM Giovannini. Elementary English (Nov. 72), 981-985.
Why teach creative writing? Students engage in creative writing exercises to help them understand the creative techniques used in writing literature. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 77), 72-73.
How use writing in teaching literature? In the last 5 to 10 minutes of class, students write journal entries on the literature being discussed in class. JR Nicholl. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79), 305-307.
How help students learn different types of essays? Use Montaigne as a model for the personal essay, an alternative to the standard 5-paragraph “essay.” “Meandering thoughts.” RM Palumbo. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 78), 382-384. [Might want to use the “Spectator” and Francis Bacon and more modern essayists as well.]
What do modern writers need to learn? …the biggest problem writers now face: how to present the sophisticated content people need in the simplified formats today’s attention spans require. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 1. [B Ross-Larson]: ‘Attention-sustaining devices….’ CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
What should be the writer’s purpose? Louis Sachar: Try to write something really good. Don’t go into it as a money-maker or with the objective to get published. The object is to write something good. And then it probably will get published and might make money. The goal is to write a good book. SM Cindrich. The Writer (Oct. 04), 23.
How help children learn to speak and write using the language experience approach [LEA]? Children retell a story they have read or heard read to them. Their re-told story is recorded on chart paper. They then read it aloud. GM Giovannini. Elementary English (Nov. 72), 981-985.
Why teach creative writing? Students engage in creative writing exercises to help them understand the creative techniques used in writing literature. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 77), 72-73.
How use writing in teaching literature? In the last 5 to 10 minutes of class, students write journal entries on the literature being discussed in class. JR Nicholl. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79), 305-307.
How help students learn different types of essays? Use Montaigne as a model for the personal essay, an alternative to the standard 5-paragraph “essay.” “Meandering thoughts.” RM Palumbo. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 78), 382-384. [Might want to use the “Spectator” and Francis Bacon and more modern essayists as well.]
What do modern writers need to learn? …the biggest problem writers now face: how to present the sophisticated content people need in the simplified formats today’s attention spans require. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 1. [B Ross-Larson]: ‘Attention-sustaining devices….’ CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
What should be the writer’s purpose? Louis Sachar: Try to write something really good. Don’t go into it as a money-maker or with the objective to get published. The object is to write something good. And then it probably will get published and might make money. The goal is to write a good book. SM Cindrich. The Writer (Oct. 04), 23.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 29
What are the steps in the writing process? Divides the composing process into the steps of pre-writing (experiencing the desire to communicate, discovering subject and audience, choosing a form), writing (arranging material, making choices of language, embodying ideas in language), and post-writing (evaluating, editing, proofreading). C Koch & JM Brazil in RL Larson. College Composition and Communication (May 79), 205.
How teach students to organize paragraphs? Given a starter sentence, students try to predict the sentences that will follow. M Donley. College Composition and Communication (May 78), 184. Students begin paragraph with a question instead of a topic sentence. The body of the paragraph answers the question. C Cohan, 1976. College Composition and Communication (May 77), 182.
What do we know about organizing paragraphs? [B Ross-Larson]: It’s true that a single paragraph shouldn’t contain more than one idea; equally true that some ideas deserve more than one paragraph. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
How prepare to write an abstract? …topic sentences need to be weighed heavily [in preparing to construct an abstract]. They are often the first…sentence in a paragraph and carry the main idea. DM Guinn. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 383.
How good is the quality of writing in papers offered for plagiarism on the Internet? Author goes online and pays for term papers on demand, a healthy chunk of money, too. Gives examples of the quality of writing from the papers—it isn’t good. S Hansen. New York Times (Aug. 22, 04), Internet.
How teach poetry? Display poetic formats in the classroom. M Weiger. Elementary English (Jan. 75), 106. Among all figures of speech, the metaphor and the simile are probably those poets use most often. Each of these figures creates a comparison between things not usually regarded as comparable. In this respect, simile and metaphor are similar. There is an obvious technical difference in their structures, the simile always marked by “as,” “like” or some other word to signal the comparison. And there are some subtle differences in the way the two figures affect meaning and in the impression they make upon the reader. F Trefethen. The Writer (Sept. 73), 21.
How teach students to organize paragraphs? Given a starter sentence, students try to predict the sentences that will follow. M Donley. College Composition and Communication (May 78), 184. Students begin paragraph with a question instead of a topic sentence. The body of the paragraph answers the question. C Cohan, 1976. College Composition and Communication (May 77), 182.
What do we know about organizing paragraphs? [B Ross-Larson]: It’s true that a single paragraph shouldn’t contain more than one idea; equally true that some ideas deserve more than one paragraph. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
How prepare to write an abstract? …topic sentences need to be weighed heavily [in preparing to construct an abstract]. They are often the first…sentence in a paragraph and carry the main idea. DM Guinn. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 383.
How good is the quality of writing in papers offered for plagiarism on the Internet? Author goes online and pays for term papers on demand, a healthy chunk of money, too. Gives examples of the quality of writing from the papers—it isn’t good. S Hansen. New York Times (Aug. 22, 04), Internet.
How teach poetry? Display poetic formats in the classroom. M Weiger. Elementary English (Jan. 75), 106. Among all figures of speech, the metaphor and the simile are probably those poets use most often. Each of these figures creates a comparison between things not usually regarded as comparable. In this respect, simile and metaphor are similar. There is an obvious technical difference in their structures, the simile always marked by “as,” “like” or some other word to signal the comparison. And there are some subtle differences in the way the two figures affect meaning and in the impression they make upon the reader. F Trefethen. The Writer (Sept. 73), 21.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)