October Updates
Wow, two weeks have gone by and no post. We have a lot to catch up on!
At the October 22nd workshop, “Who & What Should I Believe? Credibility of Sources,” our speaker, Joelle Thomas, helped us explore the intricate nature of the library’s website, as a tool for investigating the credibility of sources. She introduced a lot of great information, and opened up the workshop with positivity: you can find good sources anywhere! Despite the questionable nature of some online information, there are other types of information online that can be especially useful (in the case of internet sources, current statistics are readily accessible). Joelle also shared a good strategy: consider the 3 C’s while evaluating a website: credibility, currency & content.
In terms of credibility, ask yourself some questions: who is the author? Why are they justified to discuss topics in this field? What is their educational background? For currency: when was the work published? Is the information recent? And finally, in the field of content, are any sources cited? Can you verify the sources? Is there any bias in the material? Is the argument logical? Overall, we learned not to be fooled by a source’s appearance. Knowing whether or not it is a good source require some investigation on your part, but of course, you don’t have to be alone in the process. Joelle mentioned a great resource student writers have available to them: the library. You may choose to navigate the library’s website to help evaluate your source, or if you prefer in person advice, you can also schedule an appointment with a librarian, and he/she will personally help you look for good sources for your topic. So once again, we would like to thank Joelle Thomas for providing all of this wonderful information, and we encourage you to explore the library’s site yourself. All of these great resources are available: http://libguides.bgsu.edu/gsw1120
As for this past week’s workshop, “Common Documentation Styles: MLA and APA Citation Strategies,” the director of the Writing Center, Dr. Barbara Toth was our speaker. When asked about the workshop, she replied so eloquently that I am going to include her description of the afternoon:
We had a really fun session last Thursday—who would’ve thunk it with topics not so fun as APA and MLA! But we did!
Grad students, undergrads, SAGE scholars, and BGSU staff—a really diverse group–wanting to learn more about formatting styles—the whats, whys, and hows!
We centered our APA/MLA party around an APA and MLA True or False Quiz which is attached. Then we referred to a PowerPoint for explanations and answers. I like low-pressure/high-learning environments, don’t you?
We talked a bit about how APA grew out of empirical researchers’ needs to document and share their work with others in their discipline(s). For example, APA scholars expect dates of studies to be cited in text as a matter course, right? Why? Because the date that a study was conducted is important information as a reader interprets an APA text. If a study about DNA was published in 1970, it will provide information much different than a study published in 2009, right? So the date of publication is important, not extraneous information, for a reader. Make sense?
We discussed how MLA, likewise, has grown out of the needs of other disciplines, particularly literature, and how literature scholars have constructed conventions that suited both their presentation of information and their readers. Did you know that MLA didn’t always use in-text parenthetical citations? It’s true. Once upon a time, MLA writers would often use Chicago or Turabian style footnotes or endnotes. To save a reader from having to move to the foot of a page or to the end of the document to identify references, MLA rule makers recommended unobtrusive parenthetical spaces so that writers could tell their readers in text who wrote the article and what page it could be found on. A nice reader-friendly move, I’d say.
A good time was had by all. 
Barb Toth, Presenter
BGSU Writing Center Workshop
We would really like to thank Dr. Toth for guiding us through the ins and outs of APA and MLA, as they can be difficult topics to battle. She provided great insight, and you can find even more of her helpful information including the powerpoint that she references on the blog very soon.
Now that October is over, it is time to discuss our three remaining workshops for the Fall 2009 semester. This Thursday, November 5th, we’d like to invite you to this week’s workshop titled, “The Graduate School Application Process.” Unlike previous workshops which covered more general topics, this workshop is specifically designed for those who are applying to graduate programs in the next year.
The workshop will focus on a variety of topics including how to select schools to apply for, how to write a statement of purpose, and how to approach your professors for letters of recommendation. The workshop will be held Thursday, November 5, from 2:30 to 3:30pm in 206 East Hall–not Moseley Hall where previous workshops have been held.
If you’re not applying to graduate school this year, then please consider joining us for next week’s workshop on writing effective cover letters and resumes (November 12) or the following workshop (November 19) where we will read literature from around the world.
So, remember this week, the workshop is in 206 East Hall from 2:30-3:30, and then next week, we will be back in 400 Moseley Hall. We hope to see you there!!
Uncategorized | Comment (0)ESL
At the ESL panel, we had many speakers guide us through their struggles learning English. One of the speakers, Ellen Eunhee Seo, was very kind and sent her notes for her presentation to us, so we could add some detail to what we discussed in our October 8th workshop. To begin with, Ellen Eunhee Seo discussed both external and internal motivations behind learning a second language. She discussed the importanc of learning sentence structure and grammar concepts, as they will help writers and readers understand each other more clearly. She did discuss something that was particularily interesting: the different situation which could make learning a second language easier. Some of her ideas include:
- Email communication
- Fluency development: Free writing focusing on the content, not the grammatical forms
- Extensive and intensive (close) reading
- Working with an editor
- Reflective learning attitude and consistent effort
- Native language support
For any more information about her specific presentation, please check out the ESL panel section under “Fall 2009 Handouts.” Anyways, a special thanks goes out to Ellen Eunhee Seo, as well as our other speakers, Kang Sun and Khalid R Alrajeh, for sharing their struggles and offering such great tips for success for learning to write in a 2nd language.
We hope to see you at the rest of the October workshops! For more details about the upcoming workshops, please see the post about the most recent workshop, Punctuation Pointers.
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Punctuation Pointers
At this week’s workshop, we learned some great tips from Sam Herrington about puncuation and how we can use it effectively. To begin with, we discussed some common problems writers have with grammar, specifically problems like: comma splices, inappropriate or unnecessary commas, fragments and inappropriate use of semicolons or colons. In order to identify and avoid these common problems, it is helpful first to have some understand of sentence structure. In Sam Herrington’s presentation, he introduced the idea of independent clauses and the relationship with a dependent clause if one happens to exist. Remembering that some forms of punctuation, like the semicolon, have far fewer uses than a comma so learning how it works can be effective. Overall, proofreading is your best friend when it comes to punctuation; reading aloud can help you identify sentences that could use some extra examination for punctuation problems.
Another great tool Sam Herrington provided were some basic rules for how to use commas and semicolons effectively. For a comma, using a comma before a conjuction (*think FANBOYS- for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) as well as after most introductory sentences are two rules that might prove useful. Of course, there are many others; if you are looking for further guidance on this, I have posted the document under handouts. In addition to these great comma rules, we also learned rules about semicolons. Consider reviewing those rules as well. Again, a special thanks goes out to Sam Herrington for providing us with this great information!
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our October selections! On October 22nd, we will be hosting “Who and What Should I Believe? Credibility of Sources.” This workshop could be particularily useful if you are struggling with identifying good academic sources, as we will offer some great tips about how to determine both credibility and bias.
Also, on October 29th, we will be offering “Common Documentation Styles: MLA and APA Strategies.” If you are struggling with the mechanics of MLA or APA or just need to better understand these two styles, check out this website for helpful information on how to use them correctly and effectively.
Don’t forget that all workshops are on Thursdays, in Moseley Hall Room 400, from 2:30-3:30. Please stay posted for November options, and we hope to see you soon!
“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” -James Michener
I hope we saw all of you at last week’s workshop about Revision. We learned a lot of great tips from Angela Garner, on how to revise effectively. First, we learned that to make the revision process easier, it is important to have written multiple drafts and do some adequate research on our subjects. Next, we discussed how to evaluate teacher comments carefully, and learned to identify some common comments, such as “develop,” “clarify,” “include conclusion sentences,” and “need sentence variety”- and discussed what those terms actually mean. While you are revising, it is important to double check documentation, as well as grammar concerns to make sure that your draft is as effective as possible. As a group, we went over a questionnaire, discussing what the hardest parts of revision were and any questions writers may have about revision. However, the most important things to remember about revision are time management and breaking it down. By starting to revise early (not the morning that it is due, my fellow procrastinators!), it becomes easier to work through it. Also, breaking the paper down into “chunks” makes the process less intimidating. Read the paper out loud to help yourself become familiar with the paper again. From there, look first at your thesis statement- does it accurately describe what your paper is about? Have someone else read your draft- can they find your thesis? If not, then consider making it stronger. Some other areas to consider revising would be organization (do your paragraphs make sense in the order they are placed in?), individual paragraphs (does each paragraph have a strong topic sentence, a developed argument, and a focused concluding sentence?), and transitions (can a reader easily move from one idea to the next?). Remember that grammar is important, but not as important as some of the other elements like development and clarity, so try to prioritize.
Once again, we would like to thank Angela Garner for delivering such helpful hints for us to really understand what it means to revise. Another thanks goes out to Kate Spike, for preparing such great notes and ideas for our workshop as well.
As promised, here are the upcoming October workshops that we hope you can make it to:
On October 8th (yes, tomorrow already!), we will be hosting a very special workshop. “Panel Discussion: Strategies for Learning to Write in a 2nd Language” will be a helpful tool for writers struggling to write in a 2nd language. Experienced writers from all over the world will be here, and will share with us how they learned to develop English writing skills for an American academic audience. This workshop could be particularily helpful for a great deal of our ESL friends, who are struggling with English, as this workshop will offer some great advice.
On October 15th, we will be discussing one of the most common grammar mistakes- do I put a comma or a period here? In “Punctuation Pointers,” we will be discussing the many different methods of punctuation, and how to use them effectively. If writers have ever received comments that they are using “comma splices,” “run-on sentences,” or “too many commas,” this workshop is definitely for them!
On October 22nd, “Who and What Should I Believe? Credibility of Sources” will help us learn how to determine credibility and bias. With so many internet resources available, sometimes it is hard to know which ones are truly appropriate for an academic audience. But in this workshop, writers will learn some helpful tips on how to evaluate sources and use only academic sources to support their arguments.
On October 29th, we will be disucssing the struggle that many writers are going through- how to cite sources correctly. In “Common Documentation Styles: MLA and APA Citation Strategies,” we will offering strategies on how to use these both MLA and APA effectively. So if you are writer struggling to figure out how to use MLA or APA, check out this workshop and get some answers!
Remember, all workshops are on Thursdays, in Moseley Hall Room 400, from 2:30-3:30. We hope to see you soon!
*Don’t forget to stay tuned for November selections! *
Uncategorized | Comment (0)You Gotta’ Agree with Me
This past week’s workshop was also very enlightening! A big thanks goes out to Dr. Kitty Burroughs for leading our discussion about argumentation. At first, she discussed a handout that she provided: Strategies_for_Argumentation. She explained that in an argument, identifying the audience becomes important (a skill we learned in the workshop on September 17th!) In small groups, we discussed the claim, and learned how to develop arguments and reasons according to the audience. After we learned how to develop these arguments and focus them to the right audience, Dr. Burroughs helped us understand concession and refuting. This is where the idea of a counter argument comes in. What would your opposition say? Would you concede and explain that their argument holds some merit? Or would you just refute and argue back? These are important elements to consider when drafting your counter argument. Overall, Dr. Burroughs argued that ALL writing is argumentative, no matter the context. In all cases, the writer is still try to make a point and argue it, whether it is a position paper, a research paper, a MSE or even a dissertation. At this point in the workshop, we took some time to really analyze what kinds of pieces are argumentative, and what makes them so effective. Once again, we really want to thank Dr. Burroughs for helping us understand arguments and how to build them effectively!
Don’t forget about our workshop this week: “Revising: The Most Important Part of the Writing Process.” At this workshop, we will help you improve your revising skills by offering practical strategies to revise your work. This is a great opportunity to learn the basics of revising and break down the complicated process into some helpful tips. So check it out on Thursday, October 1st, from 2:30 to 3:30 in Moseley Hall Room 400.
Remember to stay tuned for other October workshops- updates will be posted shortly!