In past blogs, I’ve chronicled the development of Writing Commons, the Open Education Home for Writers, with hopes that my experiences developing an Open Education Resource (OER) might be of interest to faculty across the disciplines. I’ve argued that faculty might want to consider contributing to Writing Commons or other OERs that are peer-reviewed, that faculty might want to develop their own OERs and...
Published on Mar 21st 2013
Dear Friends, Welcome to the new site design for Writing Commons, the open education home for writers. Our new design is not only more attractive and accessible thanks to the creative work of Alston Chapman, but it is also much better protected against hackers. Our new website was precipitated by a recent challenge we faced at Writing Commons: between November...
Published on Apr 15th 2016
In Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, the ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) imagines information literacy to be comprised of six interconnected frameworks: Authority is Constructed & ContextualInformation Creation as a ProcessInformation Has ValueResearch as InquiryScholarship as a ConversationSearching as Strategic Exploration The ACRL imagines these conceptual frameworks, these mindsets, to be foundational to critical literacy as...
Published on Mar 06th 2020
Summary Understand the psychology of writing, particularly the importance of balancing believing with doubting. Learn how to overcome "writer's block" and manage difficult writing assignments.When it comes to writing projects, do you tend to procrastinate and then binge-write around the deadline time? Do you ever have difficulties scheduling your writing work so that it doesn't become aversive? The following suggestions...
Published on Oct 28th 2009
As discussed at About, Writing Commons aspires to provide the resources college students need to improve their writing, research, and critical thinking. That said, as a global resource, we do not wish to impose a single vision for writing pedagogy. As rhetoricians and compositionists, we embrace linguistic and pedagogical diversity. We aspire to celebrate and interrogate context-based writing processes, genres, and methodologies....
Published on Mar 12th 2013
Organize your research efforts and extend your thinking on a research topic by creating an annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography is a list of reference sources and critical summaries/evaluations of the citations. Typically, researchers will: Provide the citation information for each source following the rules of a particular bibliography style (e.g., MLA Style, APA Style, Chicago Style). Logically, you want...
Published on Mar 20th 2010
Use an apostrophe to denote ownership to a singular or plural noun and indefinite pronoun by adding an -'s if the word doesn't end in -s. Of all forms of punctuation, the apostrophe appears to be in greatest peril of extinction. For proof that the apostrophe should be placed on an endangered species list in some grammarian's office, one needs...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Research efforts are sometimes categorized by the aim or motivation of the investigator. In the U.S., funding agencies such as NIH and NSF distinguish between applied research and basic (aka fundamental or pure) research in their RFPs, Request for Proposals: Applied ResearchThe research is conducted to solve a particular problem for specific situation.Basic ResearchThe research is conducted to advance knowledge...
Published on Mar 29th 2020
What is an Archaism? An archaism is an out-of-style word or phrase, such as “whilst,” “thusly,” or “thou.” Key Concepts: Diction Why Do Archaisms Matter? When cultivating your own personal writing style, you want to avoid sounding stilted, rehearsed, artificial. And one surefire way to sound artificial is to produce stilted writing by loading your text with old theatrical-sounding words. Here...
Published on Mar 07th 2012
English has three articles: a, an, and the. These little words are used to introduce certain nouns, but there are specific rules regarding the use of each one. When do I use an article? "A" is used before a general noun that has not been introduced to the reader. A cat walked by my door. (Note: I don't know this...
Published on Feb 20th 2020
What is Attribution? In life, attribution refers to the quality, characteristic , or feature belonging to an something or someone. For instance, gregariousness or friendliness could be an attribute of somone's personality In writing and speech, attribution refers to the act of citation--i.e., the act of identifying the source of information, noting for a summary, paraphrase, or quote. Synonyms The...
Published on Dec 15th 2019
What is Audience? Audience refers to the intended recipient of a message (e.g. readers, listeners, and users) an internal dialog that writers, speakers, knowledge workers have with themselves about how their intended audiences are likely to respond to their texts a measure of quality in communications Texts that are described as audience aware or rhetorically aware may also be described...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Definition & Summary In life, authority refers to one's power or rights one's ability to influence actions, opinions, and beliefs. For instance, a police offer has the authority, the power, to issue speeding tickets to you if you exceed the speed limit. A judge can throw "the book" at you if you don't pay the tickets because they are authorized...
Published on Feb 27th 2020
Authority is Constructed and Contextual, an Information Literacy Framework proposed by the Association of College and Research Libraries, highlights the rhetoricity of language practices: Authority is Constructed concerns ways an expert's research methods or personal and professional qualifications provides ethos.an expert engages in textual research to forage ideas across disciplines, debate/dispute/extend ideas, or develop knowledge claims over time.Authority is Contextual...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Who are you? How have your experiences shaped your sense of what is important or possible? Realize the benefits of using writing to reflect on your life. Read exemplary autobiographies and write about a significant, unusual, or dramatic event in your life. Autobiographies are stories that people write about themselves. These stories can be factual accounts of significant, unusual, or...
Published on Oct 21st 2009
Avoid procrastination and gain some control over how you manage your time while developing documents. One of the most important lessons writers must learn is to handle the language of time. Judging from the multitude of books dedicated to time management--indeed whole forests have given way to time-managementspecialists--many of us have difficulties overcoming procrastination, knowing when to research, when to...
Published on Oct 16th 2009
AWK (Awkward) is an abbreviation some teachers and copy editors use to tell writers that they find some bit of discourse --perhaps a word, phrase, clause, sentence -- to be unnecessarily confusing. AWK, for Awkward, is shorthand: it's an informal way for a reviewer (see Critique) to provide critical feedback. Experienced writers use AWK to reference a number of problems,...
Published on Jan 31st 2020
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can doJohn Wooden, Inspirational Speaker Just about everyone has moments of despair and doubt about their writing. After countless hours and the feeling that your work has been futile, that you have not clearly expressed an important concept or relationship, you may feel the urge to give up, to...
Published on May 20th 2011
What are the Best Search Tools for Images? There are loads of very good search tools for finding images on the internet, including Creative Commons SearchGoogle ImagesWikimedia Commons In order to reuse an image you find on the internet, you need to ensure the copyright license associated with it permits reuse. Publishing copyrighted information without permission is unethical and can...
Published on Sep 06th 2021
There is also, however, the credibility that comes from saying or writing something that the audience already believes or that reinforces the audience's experience. We should treat this kind of ethos with a healthy dose of suspicion. Just because something sounds right to you or makes you feel good about what you believe does not mean that it is true....
Published on Apr 16th 2012
What is blogging? How is blogging "academic"? Most importantly, why is my teacher asking me to blog? It’s likely that some, if not all, of these questions come to mind as your first-year composition professor introduces blogging as a form of academic writing. Yes, blogging can be academic. But how? More importantly, how is blogging a way of connecting lofty,...
Published on May 16th 2012
What is Brevity? Brevity is an esthetic judgment made by a reader, audience, or user about the absence or presence of wordiness or unnecessary information/data in a text a highly prized writing style. Brevity is often associated with clarity, a major goal in communications. Synonyms Texts that practice brevity may also be known as crisp, pithy, terse, curt. Brevity may...
Published on Sep 10th 2019
Burke's Pentad is a critical, rhetorical perspective that is used both as a heuristic a tool of rhetorical analysis. The pentad consists of five variables—aka rhetorical constraints. Burke believed these contextual elements have affordances and constraints and that these elements and the relationships among these elements shape the writer's, speaker's, knowledge maker's composing processes: The actThe sceneThe agentThe agency or...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
What is a Case Study? Case Studies are in-depth investigations of an individual or event. Clinicians use interviews, participant observations, and archival information (e.g., medical information) to develop robust portraits of others and the circumstances that led individuals to act. Some Case Study researchers assume the method produces positivistic knowledge whereas others argue it produces postpositivistic knowledge. The design of...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
"Why are things like this? What is the effect, or result, of this?" and " What causes this?" These questions guide authors as they analyze or argue about causal relationships, such as "What is the effect of a college education on income?" Unlike explanations of processes, which follow a chronological order of events, cause and effect texts are deeply speculative...
Published on Oct 21st 2009
Charts and graphs are methods of data visualization: Tables plot data or information in rows and columnsCharts, Figures, and Graphs visually represent data or information. Common examples of charts include pie charts, bar charts, and line charts Key Concepts: Text & Intertextuality; Design Tables and graphs enable you to reach visual learners. When you select information for graphical representation, you...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
Choppy writing uses short words and simplistic diction. short, primer-style sentences (i.e., sentences that don't connect to each other). How can I improve choppy writing? Connect some of your ideas together with conjunctions and/or segues. Make two short sentences into one longer one. Writing feels choppy when the sentences are very short, and the sentences do not connect to each...
Published on Feb 27th 2020
Citation Definition Citation refers to the use of a citation style (such as APA Style or MLA Style) to provide bibliographical information about a source an author has quoted, paraphrased, or summarized a system that scholars use to keep score of who said what/when: Scholars and researchers aspire to create new knowledge--knowledge that changes the conversation around a topic. When...
Published on Jan 23rd 2022
What is Clarity? Clarity refers to a whether a writer's, speaker's, knowledge worker's . . .text is lucid, understandable, comprehensible. A writer's text is said to practice clarity when readers find their texts easy to understand or use. a measure of readability based on sentence patterns, sentence structure, sentence type, and diction (especially vocabulary). Clarity tends to be chiefly comprised...
Published on Jan 31st 2020
Organize information into logical groups. As with describing, narrating, defining, and comparing, classifying is a component of all writing genres. Just as writers pause to describe ideas and events or define new concepts in most documents, they routinely classify information--that is, show or tell readers how information can be grouped into categories. Occasionally, an entire document focuses on explaining a...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
Use visual brainstorming to develop and organize your ideas. Cluster diagrams, spider maps, mind maps--these terms are used interchangeably to describe the practice of visually brainstorming about a topic. Modern readers love cluster diagrams and spider maps because they enable readers to discern your purpose and organization in a moment. When Is Clustering/Spider Mapping Useful? As depicted below, writers use...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Definition - What is Code Switching? Code switching is a linguistic term used to describe the use of multiple languages, dialects, or registers in a conversation or texta sociological term used to describe how people from different discourse communities (aka cultures, subcultures, community of practice) adopt shared mannerisms, body language, slang, syntax, and diction of a discourse community to express...
Published on Apr 29th 2021
Collaboration Definition Collaboration refers to the act of working with others or AI (Artificial Intelligence) to solve problems, coauthor texts, and develop products and services, For example: People coauthor texts or dialog and brainstorm with others. They ask their friends to critique their ideas and texts and suggest edits and revisions In the workplace settings, employees collaborate in teams to...
Published on Sep 18th 2019
What are Collaboration Tools? Collaboration tools are techniques, applications, processes that are designed to facilitate collaborative processes. Types of Collaboration Tools Collaboration tools are now ubiquitous. Work and learning have all gone online. You can video conference with others on your cell phone, iWatch, personal computer. Large groups of people can work synchronously on tools such as wikis, Microsoft One...
Published on Oct 02nd 2019
What is Color? Color is a design element that writers, speakers, knowledge workers use to communicate. Colors evoke emotions, positive and negative connotations, and the attention of audience. When colors are mispaired, they can confuse and even alienate users. Color is a quality of light. When light shines on something, colors reflect off the object. What is Color Theory? Color...
Published on Nov 25th 2020
What is a Comma Splice? A comma splice is a sentence error that occurs when two independent clauses (aka two complete sentences) are connected with just a comma rather than end-mark punctuation. Related Concepts: Common Sentence Error; Coordination & Subordination; Register; Sentence; Parts of a Sentence; Independent Clauses, Dependent Clauses & Phrases Comma Splice Examples A comma splice divides two independent clauses with a comma. John ran quickly toward the exit, he...
Published on Feb 20th 2020
What is Communication? Communication refers to the writer's, speaker's, knowledge worker's . . . production (aka composing) of texts (aka compositions)Note: body language, alphabetical language, and visual language are examples of semiotic systems that people use to communicatethe reader's, listener's, user's . . . interpretation of texts. Thus, at its core communication concerns the creation or production of discourse: composing,...
Published on Sep 22nd 2019
Define content by comparing and contrasting categories or classes of objects. Comparing and contrasting issues can be a powerful way to organize and understand knowledge. Typically, comparing and contrasting require you to define a class or category of objects and then define their similarities and differences. Comparing and contrasting are very natural processes, a strategy we employ in our everyday...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
Composition Studies is an academic discipline chiefly concerned with the study of composinga subdiscipline of Writing Studies. Scholars and researchers in Composition Studies (aka Compositionists) focus on investigating composing processes (also known as creative processes). Related: Composing, Writing, Drafting; The Writing Process In their introduction to Exploring Composition Studies: Sites, Issues, Perspectives, Kelly Ritter and Paul Kei Matsuda sketch a...
Published on Oct 11th 2019
What is Concrete Language, Sensory Language? Concrete, Sensory Language references specific places, events, people, and tangible topics invokes the readers' senses (taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound) an attribute of prose associated with clarity and simplicity. Concrete, sensory language is the antithesis of abstract language, which tends to be intangible and metaphysical. Related Concepts: Description; Diction; Figurative Language; Vague Language;...
Published on Apr 02nd 2012
What is Conflict Resolution? Conflict Resolution refers to efforts by individuals, teams, or communities to resolve disputes and negotiate settlements. Key Concepts: Coauthorship; Teamwork; Team Charter "In the workforce, employers want employees who can anticipate obstacles to project completion, develop contingency plans to address the obstacles, and take corrective action when projects go off track. Desirable employees are those who...
Published on Nov 18th 2019
Conjunctions, a part of speech, refer to words that connect words, phrases, or clauses. Words that show relationships between ideas, across words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. Key Concepts: Coordination & Subordination; Organizational Schema; Sentences; Writer-Based vs. Reader-Based Prose Why Do Conjunctions Matter? Writers, speakers, knowledge workers . . . use conjunctions to aid coherence—especially to join co-equal ideas via coordinating...
Published on Feb 14th 2020
Enhance the likelihood that readers will respond favorably to your document by projecting an effective voice, tone, and persona.Voice, Tone, and Persona are slippery terms/concepts. In some instances, these terms can be used interchangeably, yet important differences do exist. Tone When writers and English instructors talk about tone, they are typically referring to the author's stance toward his or her...
Published on Nov 07th 2009
Various talented folks and communities (e.g., the Open Knowledge Foundation and QuestionCopyright.org) believe Creative Commons should retire its NC ND clauses. Students for Free Culture argue the NC clause is “completely antithetical to free culture (it retains a commercial monopoly on the work).” Timothy Vollmer asserts the NC ND clauses should be renamed ““Commercial Rights Reserved” because this license fails to “provide for all of [these] freedoms: the...
Published on Mar 21st 2013
Use talk-and-then-write strategies to jump-start writing projects. Dialoguing, dictating, and group brainstorming all rely on talking to generate writing. Many people get their best ideas discussing issues and ideas with people. Lawyers, doctors, and business leaders have frequently used dictation to draft documents. Now, as a student, you can also dictate, thanks to voice recognition software. IBM Via Voice and Dragon,...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Coordinating conjunctions are words that are used to join two sentences together. Example: I'm reading, and I'm writing. Key Concepts: Flow, Coherence, Unity; Grammar; Organization; Organizational Schema & Logical Reasoning; Parts of Speech; Sentences; Writer-Based vs. Reader-Based Prose Commas are used when two independent clauses are connected by coordinating conjunctions: Ex: She was tired, so she went home.She was tired...
Published on Feb 24th 2020
What is Copy? Copy is language that accompanies a visual text, such as an infographic or information/data visualization Legends, captions, headers—these are samples of copy. The SEO (Search Engine Optimization) work that SEO copywriters do is a form of copy. Other examples of copy include snippets of language used in data/information visualizations, advertisements, and other visual documents. Copy is typically...
Published on Nov 25th 2020
Writers enhance flow by repeating key words or phrases in a text to invoke recall and pathos. Repetition is key to improving a paragraph’s flow, connecting related ideas and keeping the reader on track. Still, there is a difference between obvious and boring repetition and intriguing and effective repetition. Consider this paragraph: My brother is older and he has always...
Published on Jan 31st 2020
Learning Objective Understand how to prepare a crisis communication plan. A rumor that the CEO is ill pulls down the stock price. A plant explosion kills several workers and requires evacuating residents on several surrounding city blocks. Risk management seeks to address these many risks, including prevention as well as liability, but emergency and crisis situations happen nevertheless. In addition,...
Published on Jan 08th 2013
Critical literacy concerns critical reading is concerned with rhetorical analysis of power relationships engages students in metacognition and self reflection about the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose of knowledge claims. Related Concepts: Critical Thinking; Problem Solving; Critical Theory Educated readers engage in critical literacy practices: they question information They question it's currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose (Blakeslee 2004): CurrencyHas...
Published on Mar 10th 2020
What is Critique? Critique is the practice of giving feedback—positive, negative, and somewhere in between the practice of assessing and grading texts. Related Concepts: Contract Grading; Empathetic Information Literacy; Leadership; Openness Why Does Critique Matter? Critique is a complex human phenomenon. At times critique can be messy, chaotic, and counterproductive. It can leave writers mute, feeling futile. Feedback can be...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
A dash (—) is a punctuation mark used to set off an idea within a sentence and may be used alone or in pairs. Dashes interrupt a thought in a more dramatic way than a phrase enclosed in commas, but less theatrically than parentheses. To form a dash, type two hyphens—without a space before, after, or between them—and your word...
Published on Sep 11th 2019
Create emphasis and define terms by interrupting the flow of a sentence by using a dash; know when the dash must be used as opposed to the comma. Some stylists view the dash with great suspicion--the sort of suspicion that a man in the 1990s who wears a plaid leisure suit to work would arouse. Some people erroneously believe that...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Deductive Order and Deductive Reasoning refer to the practice of reasoning and organizing information from general premises to the specifics that prove/disprove the premisefrom a theoretical model to observations that confirm/disconfirm the modelfrom abstractions to specifics. Deductive Writing is a style of prose wherein the rhetor presents a claim/thesis/hypothesis in introductory sentences/paragraphs and then uses subsequent paragraphs to explicate, question,...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
Critique research myths that may be impairing your ability to locate, evaluate, and use information. If you are like most people, you have some definite ideas about what research is. You may envision a pale figure in a white lab coat bent over a microscope or a beaker of bubbling liquid. Perhaps you imagine this isolated and humorless figure engaged...
Published on Oct 04th 2010
Learn the beliefs that empower successful academic authors. To become a competent, confident writer, you may find it useful to analyze your attitudes about writing. After all, your assumptions about how writers work can limit your imagination and the quality of your finished product. You can debunk a truckload of myths about writing by analyzing how you write, how your...
Published on Oct 28th 2009
Enable readers to visualize your message by appealing to the five senses and using specific details. Description is an important feature of all writing genres. Writers use description to support arguments and illustrate concepts and theories. They try to invoke mental pictures of a place so readers can imagine it in their minds. Occasionally writers organize an entire document according...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
What is Description? Description is the use of prose—especially concrete, sensory language and figurative language—to describe events, people, ideas, concepts a dominant and powerful form of human expressionDescription plays a role in all genres. In fact, it's commonplace for writers to describe the context that informs their text, including a discussion of ongoing scholarly conversationsa way of categorizing discoursea dominant...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Design Definition Design, most conventionally, refers to how something looks or works. For instance, by any measure, the Apple iPhone is well designed: the colors it displays are brilliant; it fits in your pocket; it's easy to use as a camera, a recording device, or phone; and it provides easy access to friends, music, and the internet. Yet, across discourse...
Published on Mar 04th 2020
Design Thinking is a human-centered, empirical research method that employs user-centric methods (e.g., customer discovery interviews, focus groups, usability studies) to solve problems and develop products and applications that people want. People (e.g., founders, product managers, developers, engineers) engage in design thinking when they set aside their egos and endeavor to listen to consumers and stakeholders in a probleplans and...
Published on Jan 09th 2021
Thus far, 2013 has been a tough year for open-education advocates. As Flat World Knowledge promised at the tail-end of 2012, the publisher no longer provides a CC 3.0 NC SA version of its textbooks for students. In response, Leslie Scott endeavored to defend the commons by crowd-sourcing an effort to harvest Flat World Knowledge’s catalog (see “All I want for Christmas”)....
Published on Mar 21st 2013
Although individual writing processes are vastly different, composition scholarship provides evidence of patterns across disparate writing methodologies. This section identifies and explains some of the most notable patterns of successful compositionists. We suggest that successful compositionist practice some of the following strategies: Return, Revise, Risk, Reject. Researchers in the field of composition and rhetoric have uncovered important insights regarding effective...
Published on Nov 11th 2009
What is Diction? Diction is a writer or speaker's choice of wordsthe appropriateness of words given the rhetorical situation, especially audience and topica scale, a measure, of the formality of the occasion: It's commonplace to categorize discourse into three measures of formality: formal, standard, informalthe accent, pronunciation, or speech-sound quality of a speaker. Traditionally diction solely concerns word choice; yet...
Published on Sep 10th 2019
Literacy practices are undergoing major transformations. Thanks to new writing spaces, today's college students are redefining reading, research, collaboration, writing, and publishing practices. In addition to altering writing processes, new writing spaces are stretching the boundaries of academic writing, creating new genres and new conventions for structuring texts. Everyone has an opportunity to be a Gutenberg or a Thomas Paine, to...
Published on Oct 29th 2010
Discourse Definition Discourse may refer to any form of language use, including nonverbal, written, visual, and spoken language a corpus of work an archive of texts on a particular topic or author Example: the National Archive; Internet Archive Wayback Machine an act of communication Discourse occurs when a writer or speaker or artist sends information -- the meaning being conveyed...
Published on Dec 17th 2022
Exercise One of the takeaways from research on writer’s composing processes is that we’re all special snowflakes: we each have our unique processes for prewriting, inventing, researching, collaborating, planning, organizing, designing, drafting, rereading, revising, editing, proofreading, and sharing or publishing documents. Reflecting on your writing process means being aware of how you approach writing tasks, how you generate ideas, and how you draft, revise, and polish your work. It's about understanding what...
Published on May 18th 2023
The double-entry format is a useful technique to help you extend your thinking about a source or to critique an rhetor's text. One very effective technique for avoiding note-bound prose is to respond to powerful quotations in what Ann Berthoff calls the double-entry notebook form. The double-entry form shows the direct quotation on the left side of the page and...
Published on Mar 20th 2010
A diction problem happens when you use a word in the wrong context or use a word that does not mean what you intended it to mean in that situation. Key Concepts: Register; Rhetorical Reasoning Writers, speakers, knowledge workers . . . are wise to engage in self critique of their writing. It's particularly important for writers to consider the...
Published on Apr 13th 2012
Editing for Sentence Structure involves examining the grammatical structure of your sentences. Before engaging in the exercise below, be sure to read Sentences, Sentence Structure. How do I Edit my texts at the Sentence Level? Sentence Patterns are groups sentences that share similar grammatical structures. Consider Your Audience When assessing whether your sentences are too long or complex, consider your...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Eliminate choppy writing by avoiding unnecessary prepositions. When used in moderation, prepositions are invaluable: they work as connecting words, linking the object of the preposition to a word that appears earlier in the sentence. Like linking verbs, however, prepositions do not convey action, nor do they subordinate one thought to another. Instead, they merely link chunks of meaning that readers...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
First, to edit your texts at the paragraph level, refresh your understanding about paragraph conventions. Check out these articles at Writing Commons: Paragraph Schemas Flow, Transitions, Coherence @ Paragraph LevelParagraph TransitionsSentence Order within ParagraphsTopic Sentences & Paragraph DevelopmentUnity @ the Paragraph Level Second, look individually and critically at each paragraph from the perspective of Paragraph UnityParagraph CoherenceParagraph Concision Evaluate Paragraph...
Published on May 09th 2011
Definition Editing refers to the act of critically reviewing a text with the goal of identifying and rectifying sentence and word-level problems. For instance, when editing, writers may look for citation problems, such as problems weaving sources into your argument or analysis problems establishing the authority of sources problems using the required citation style grammar problems, such as mechanical errors...
Published on Dec 16th 2019
What are the Elements of Art? The elements of art (or design) refers to color, copy, form, line, shape, space, texture, typography, and value. These are the basic building blocks of art (e.g., paintings, drawings, sculptures) and visual communication. Artists, graphic designers, and others use these elements to compose art and communicate using the power of visual language. Just as...
Published on Feb 11th 2022
Related Concepts: Ableist Language; Grammar; Register; Rhetorical Analysis; Rhetoric; Rhetorical Reasoning Style; Tone; Voice. What are The Elements of Style? 1. The Elements of Style refers to the textual attributes that are associated with clarity, authority and persuasiveness in writing and speech. Brevity Brevity refers to the practice of using the fewest possible words in your communications. In our contemporary information ecosystem, readers are assaulted...
Published on Feb 12th 2020
In our daily speech and in rough drafts, we tend to rely heavily on the various forms of the verb to be. The verb to be is unlike any other verb because it is inert--that is, it doesn't show any action. For example, in the sentence "The researcher is a professor at Duke" the verb is merely connects the subject with what grammarians...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Ideally, you should find a quiet place where all your needed writing resources—such as a personal computer, dictionary, and paper—are set up. To help you focus on the work at hand, you may need a place that is reasonably free of distractions. Determine Your Most Energetic Time of Day "In fact I think the best regimen is to get up...
Published on May 23rd 2011
Ethnography involves studying a specific culture or community. By living among the members of a culture and playing the role of participant-observer, ethnographers attempt to define the beliefs, rituals, symbols, problems, and patterns of behavior that distinguish this culture from other dominant cultures. The purpose of ethnography is not to generalize from a smaller population to a larger one. Instead,...
Published on Mar 27th 2020
Definition Evidence is information that a writer, speaker, knowledge maker . . . weaves into discourse in order to substantiate claims When writers make claims, critical readers expect them to substantiate those claims with evidence (see Argumentation) a defining attribute of successful workplace and school-basedwriting (see reader-based prose vs writer-based prose). Related Concepts: Argument; Concrete, Sensory Language; Claim; Information, Data;...
Published on Oct 29th 2019
Sample Contextualizing for the Source Being Fluent with Information Technology explores why people need to understand and utilize information technology. Published by The National Academies in 1997, the book is written by the Committee on Information Technology and Literacy, including Lawrence Snyder, University of Washington, Chair; Alfred V. Aho, Lucent Technologies, Inc.; Marcia Linn, University of California at Berkeley; Arnold Packer,...
Published on Mar 20th 2010
What is Felt Sense? Felt Sense refers to the forge, the wellspring of creativity “the soft underbelly of thought . . . a kind of bodily awareness that . . . can be used as a tool . . . a bodily awareness that . . . encompasses everything you feel and know about a given subject at a given...
Published on May 25th 2021
What is Flow? Flow refers to the logical coherence of a text, a sense of organization, a sense that the text uses the best organizational schema given the complexities of the rhetorical situation the sense that new information/data is woven into a text in ways that make logical and rhetorical sense the sense a writer, speaker, knowledge worker . ....
Published on Sep 10th 2019
Understand conventions for citing information. Different academic disciplines and journals have unique formatting guidelines for citing sources and formatting research reports. Remarkably, there are hundreds of different formatting guidelines for referencing sources. This section briefly summarizes the most popular citation styles used in colleges and universities: 1. MLA Humanities professors commonly require citations to be formatted according to MLA (Modern...
Published on Mar 20th 2010
Genre Definition Genre may refer to a naming and classification scheme for sorting types of writing by the aim of discourse by discourse conventions by discourse communities by a type of technology a social construct the situated actions of writers and readers the situated practices and epistemological assumptions of discourse communities a form of literacy. Related Concepts: Deductive Order, Deductive Reasoning, Deductive Writing; Interpretation;...
Published on Jul 24th 2019
What is a Global Perspective? Global perspective is term used to discuss some overall attribute of a text. For instance, when critiquing your work, a teacher or editor might comment that a text lacks a consistent point of view, perspective on the topic, or rhetorical stance when engaged in rhetorical analysis about a text such as a recent movie, you...
Published on Dec 15th 2019
Review research reports, pamphlets, or statistics published by the Government Printing Office (GPO). You may find it useful to discover whether the United States Government Printing Office (GPO) has published any research reports, pamphlets, or statistics on your subject. The GPO, along with the United Nations organizations, prints countless essays, pamphlets and research studies on the law, history, and such...
Published on Mar 05th 2010
Grammar refers to the rules of a language (e.g., Standard Written English) that govern how sounds, words, phrases, clauses, and syntactical structures can go together to form sentences, including morphological rules structure & construction of words such as word roots, prefixes, and morphemes phonological rules sound, sound combinations syntactical rules word order, word combinations the rules that govern multiple modes...
Published on Sep 10th 2019
Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset refer to a personality construct theorized by Carol S. Dweck (2006). People with a growth mindset assume traits such as intelligence and talent are a product of hard work, grit, determination. Have you ever heard anyone say or have you thought yourself, “I’m just not good at math,” or “I’m just not any good at...
Published on Nov 20th 2019
Use visual brainstorming to develop and organize your ideas. Like cluster/spider maps, hierarchical maps involve drawing a graphical representation of ideas. Unlike clustering, cluster/spider maps are chiefly concerned with analyzing relationships among ideas. When Are Hierarchical Maps Useful? Mapping is a useful organizing and revising tool when you want to see if you've made connections clear among ideas or if...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
How might you choose a homonym that is spelled correctly and communicates your meaning accurately? Consult a dictionary or thesaurus: If you experience a niggling feeling that you haven’t used the correct word, consult a dictionary or thesaurus. Make cautious use of your computer’s word processor: Correct errors that are indicated by the grammar and spell check function. However, keep...
Published on Apr 02nd 2012
Knowing when and how to cite sources is fairly straight forward: you identify the required citation style and then either compose your own citation or use a citation tool to create the citation for you. In contrast, the act of integrating the words and ideas of others into your speech or written texts can be really tricky. It can be...
Published on Feb 25th 2020
A hyphen (-) is used in the middle of a multi-word idea or joins two related words together. (The hyphen key is next to the +/= key on your keyboard (the same key with the underscore _ ) Use hyphens to join compound words and avoid awkward or confusing word combinations. A hyphen (-) is used in the middle of...
Published on Sep 11th 2019
What are bitmap images? GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) and JPEGs (Joint Photographic Experts Group) are bitmaps; they use pixels to display colors. In other words, bitmaps use a grid of squares, and each square, each pixel, can represent a color. Different computer monitors have different numbers of bits they can display for each pixel. A bit is the smallest amount...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
What is Inclusive Language? Inclusive language is language that is respectful and sensitive to ageism, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and the values, beliefs, symbolic practices of others. Inclusive language "acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities" (Guidelines 2022). The absence or presence of inclusive language affects the tone of...
Published on Apr 13th 2012
Most simply, infographics are graphical stories. More specifically,iInfographics are a genre of discourse that relies primarily on visual language rather than alphabetical language to convey a messagea visual representation of information, typically quantitative data but at times qualitative data, that tells a single story or argument in a visually appealing and interesting way clarifies and highlights logical relationships, trends, patterns...
Published on Apr 03rd 2020
Information Creation as a Process Framework is an Framework as conceptualized by the Association of College and Research Libraries. How information is developed and presented reflects how well developed the information is as well as how it is likely to be used. Discussion forums, tweets, podcasts, blogs, animations, white papers, peer-reviewed publications--the genres and media used to develop and disseminate...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Information Design is a process—the act of designing information in order to facilitate clarity and interpretation.a subject of academic studyconventions, discourse patternsOrganizational SchemaParagraph SchemasRhetorical MovesSentence SchemasTransitional Language, Metalanguage, Sequesa set of interoperability standards that enable sharing of information across hardware platforms, software, and coding languages. Related Concepts: Design Thinking; Rhetorical Analysis; Rhetorical Moves; Rhetorical Reasoning
Published on Nov 17th 2020
Information is a commodity. It has value. So, if you publish personal information via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you should understand those companies are benefiting financially from your disclosures.if you are a scholar who spent three years researching a book, you might be unhappy if someone lifts your story line and sells it as an action movie.if you are a...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
What is Information Literacy? Information Literacy may be refer to the ability to recognize "when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use the needed information" (American Library Association, 1989) "a cluster of interconnected core activities, frameworks" that constitute information ecosystems (ACRL 2015) a subject of study Consuming, evaluating, producing, managing, using, and archiving information--these are...
Published on Sep 24th 2019
What is Information? Information is everything your senses perceive, including visual, auditory, or kinesthetic data.a subject of study (aka Information Sciences, Information Studies). Related Concepts: Archive; Canon; Communication; Literacy; Semiotics Why Does Information Matter? As human beings, we perceive information through our senses. Moment by moment, we are bombarded with stimuli: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic data. As symbol makers, as...
Published on Mar 08th 2020
"How is this done? How can I do this?"-- These questions guide authors as they describe processes. Learn how to write instructions and processes so that readers know how to do something or understand how something is done. By viewing sample process texts, note the focus on the objective voice, numbered steps, visual rhetoric, and clever animations or video. Write...
Published on Oct 21st 2009
"How is this done? How can I do this?"-- These questions guide authors as they describe processes. Learn how to write instructions and processes so that readers know how to do something or understand how something is done. By viewing sample process texts, note the focus on the objective voice, numbered steps, visual rhetoric, and clever animations or video. Write...
Published on Oct 01st 2019
Intellectual Property (IP) refers to a document or ideas owned by authors, publishers, and corporations. IP is anything that reflects an original thought that is written down or expressed in any medium. Simply put, what you create is your "intellectual property." Graphics, songs, poems, pictures, and essays are examples of properties that are owned by their creators properties that are...
Published on Oct 21st 2009
What is Interpretation? Interpretation is the act of literacy, the human process of making inferences, of ascribing meaning to signs and symbols, the act of signification. People make interpretations of texts and events in order to make sense of world. Interpretation is a deeply subjective process. Different people can see the exact same event and infer contrasting interpretations. Critics often...
Published on Aug 18th 2021
What is Invention? Invention is the act of creation. In it's most pure form, invention refers to the moments when you create something novel, something that has never existed before. Invention may also refer to any act that results in the creation of an artifact, insight, story, product, application, service the act of creating something novel a new poem or story,...
Published on Sep 24th 2019
Understand how writers organize their commitments by organizing work under development into a notebook. Although the thought of maintaining a notebook may at first appear intimidating, you will probably be surprised to find that it is actually quite easy to keep one on a day-to-day basis. Indeed, the following comments are fairly representative of how most students feel after keeping...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Question Who? Who is doing this? Who will do this? What? What did they do? What was it for? Where? Where did they do it? Where is it going to happen? Why? Why are they doing this? Why are they doing it? When? When is it happening? When is it going to happen? How? How did they do...
Published on Nov 11th 2009
Leadership refers to a person's ability to guide and inspire themselves as well as others to act. Writers, speakers, and knowledge workers engage in leadership when they plan activities and resources, resolve conflicts, and reorganize aims and works flows in response to challenges. Self Leadership Self-leadership refers to the dispositions and processes people employ to re-direct, self monitor and evaluate...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Literacy Definition Literacy refers to, or functions as, the ability to read and write in home, school, workplace, and public settings an amalgam of competencies, skills, knowledge, and dispositions related to acts of interpretation, communication, or competency a commodity a technology, a toolset, that empowers people to develop their personal, social, and economic power empowers literate cultures to develop new ideas and methods, including...
Published on Mar 07th 2020
Synonymous Terms The local perspective may also be known as local level or local concerns syntactical level grammatical level linguistic level micro-structural perspective. FAQs What is a Local Perspective? A local perspective refers to the practice of critically rereading a text sentence-by-sentence, word-by-word, in order to identify and eliminate errors and usage and style problems. When editing at the local...
Published on Dec 15th 2019
Follow these tips for nurturing teamwork in group situations. Managing group projects is a learned skill and business leaders commonly complain that college graduate students have not learned how to work productively in groups. In American classrooms, we tend to prize individual accomplishment, yet in professional careers we need to work well with others.Unfortunately, the terms "group work," "team work,"...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
What are Mechanics? Mechanics are the conventions or rules that govern written language, including Capitalization Parts of Speech Parts of a Sentence Punctuation Run-on Sentences Sentence Fragments Sentence Errors Sentence Patterns Sentence Structures Spelling Mechanics are a socio-cultural-rhetorical construct. Mechanics evolve over time as communication technologies and discourse communities/communities of practice evolve. Related Concepts: Grammar; Register Why Do Mechanics Matter?...
Published on Sep 10th 2019
Mindset Definition Mindset may refer to a person's or community's way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a topic a mental framework, a schema, a way of perceiving, interpreting, filtering, and acting in the world a habitual way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a particular topic a narrative, a story one tells oneself, whether consciously or unconsciously, about one's...
Published on Jul 24th 2019
As with most other skills, practice is the best way to become effective at paraphrasing. Also, you may need to write several drafts before developing one that accurately reports the author's intentions in your own words. Note also that if you cite three or more words from the original or even one word that was coined by the author, you...
Published on May 25th 2011
What is MLA Citation? MLA Citation refers to the guidelines for citing sources according to the MLA Handbook, 9th Edition. MLA refers to the Modern Language Association, an international organization that informs the discourse practices of teachers, scholars, and students in the humanities The 9th Edition is the current, official handbook of the MLA. MLA Citation Format provides writers with two major ways to attribute sources: in the actual text using a...
Published on Apr 29th 2022
What is MLA Format? MLA Format refers to the formatting guidelines published by the MLA (Modern Language Association) for writers of research papers (see MLA Handbook, 9th Edition). Related Concepts: Annotated Bibliography; Intellectual Property; Page Design; Plagiarism MLA Font Select a readable font such as Times New Roman, and an easily legible font size (usually 10- to 12-point font). MLA...
Published on Apr 28th 2022
What is MLA Works Cited? MLA Works Cited refers to the MLA's (Modern Language Association's) guidelines for formatting a list of references at the end of a text that cites sources. The MLA Handbook, 9th Edition requires authors to provide a list of references — aka a works cited page — at the end of their texts to acknowledge the...
Published on May 01st 2022
Organize according to time. Reveal the logical or chronological steps one conducts to complete something or the cause-and-effect relationship between events. Writers frequently use chronological order or reverse chronological order to organize a document. Narratives, resumes, family histories, historical narratives, process reports--these common genres typically employ a narrative order. In college and your career, you will write two kinds of narratives:...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
In English, a nominalization refers to the grammatical construct whereby a verb, adjective, or adverb functions as a noun. Examples: Noun/Nominalization Verb, adjective, or adverb ActionActAdministrationAdministerCessationCeaseInventionInventexplorationexplorejustificationjustify To avoid nominalizations, make sure to use more action verbs in your sentences. To do this, you should: Find the nouns in the sentence.Look for a verb form of that noun.Try to reduce the...
Published on Jan 31st 2020
Please join Writing Commons and the Open College Textbook Community for a Webinar on Open Education Resources. Host: Una DalyDate/Time: 2/28/2012 at 12:00 p.m. Joe Moxley, (who directs First-Year Composition Program at the University of South Florida, which was awarded the 2011/12 Certificate of Excellence by NCTE) founder and "Chief Executive of Openness," on the mission of Writing Commons Karen Langbehn, Social...
Published on Jan 29th 2012
What is Opinion? Opinion is a type of evidence an interpretive lens a subjective, potentially subconscious process that is a way of seeing and not seeing, a prejudice that impinges on interpretation and reasoning. Key Concepts: Authority is Constructed & Contextual; Evidence; Information Literacy; Reasoning with Evidence; News or Opinion; What is RAD? – Replicable, Aggregable, Data-Supported Scholarship? Daniel Patrick Moynihan once quipped,...
Published on Apr 13th 2012
Organization Definition Organization may refer to the methods -- the organizational patterns -- that writers use to structure their compositions different aims of discourse whether or not phrases, sentences, paragraphs cohere with one another whether or not a writer has established a through-line the expectations that members of a discourse community share with one another about the best way to organize a composition a step in the writing...
Published on Sep 24th 2019
Definition Organizational patterns may refer to commonplace organizational patterns in writing, such as Causal Order (aka Cause and Effect) Chronological Order Compare and Contrast Deductive Order Emphatic Order (aka Order of Importance) Inductive Order (aka Climatic Order) Logical Order Problem and Solution Order Instructions or Process Order (aka Sequential Order) Spatial Order Different genres of discourse have uniques methods of...
Published on Feb 10th 2020
Give yourself positive messages when revising, understanding it's easier to critique than to invent. Understandably, you can become discouraged during writing, particularly when undertaking a challenging project. Even so, you cannot give in to negative thinking. Six Tips to Avoid Being Discouraged Be realistic. Remember it's much easier to criticize than invent. Every manuscript can be critiqued, even ones authored...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
What is Overgeneralization? Overgeneralization refers to sweeping generalizations based on an opinions, anecdotes, assumptions, or prejudices. Here are some examples of overgeneralization: Pit bulls are aggressive. Rich people are greedy. Beautiful people are conceited. Politicians are corrupt. People who commit crimes come from troubled backgrounds. College students love partying. Marijuana users are lazy. People always demand too much of my...
Published on Dec 13th 2021
What is Page Design? Page design refers to the design of information on a print or web page, especially the use negative and positive space the guidelines professional organizations (e.g., APA or MLA), teachers, funding agencies, and other audiences provide for submitted texts. Scannability refers to the ease with which a reader can scan a document and discern the gist...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
What Is a Paraphrase? Paraphrasing is the act of expressing someone else's ideas and words in your unique writing style and voice. Rather than just repeating what someone else said (i.e., quoting) or summarizing what someone said, paraphrasing is the act of using your own words to restate and cite someone else’s ideas and text. Paraphrasing does not mean simply...
Published on Jan 18th 2020
Parts of a Sentence refers to the basic building blocks of Standard Written or Spoken English. Generally speaking, when subject matter experts use the term, Parts of a Sentence, they are referring to Subjects (S)Verbs (V) and, sometimes, 3. Objects (O), either Indirect Objects (IO) or Direct Objects (D0). Additionally, subject matter experts may referring to Independent Clauses, Dependent Clauses,...
Published on Oct 22nd 2021
What is Peer Review? Peer Review is the practice of giving and getting critiques (including formative and summative feedback) from others in order to improve something--such as a text, application, service. At work, managers are likely to review work before it goes out to clients and public scrutiny At school, students review other students' work At home, families and loved...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
What is Perspective? Perspective is a writer, speaker, knowledge worker's unique world view an interpretive lens used to evaluate a text Key Concepts: Interpretation, Persona; Point of View; Stance; Rhetorical Reasoning Perspective & Writing/Composing Perspective, in writing studies, functions on two major levels: Perspective refers to a writer's unique worldview, mirroring their individual experiences, beliefs, and values Perspective functions as...
Published on Aug 18th 2021
Writing, thinking, creating — these acts are bounded by two contrary processes: believing and doubting. For many student writers — for many people, in fact — being critical and judgmental can come easily. Hence, the truism "it's easier to critique them to create" (Alcott). Yet it is especially important, especially in the early stages of a writing project, for writers to...
Published on Oct 05th 2010
While playing the believing game–setting aside doubt and overly critical comments–is crucial during the writing process, playing the doubting game is equally important, especially during the latter stages of the writing process. Successful writing partially rests on being critical and reflective about your rhetorical situation, the quality of your evidence, and the best way to organize a document for reader....
Published on Oct 05th 2010
What is Positivism? Positivism is a philosophical and scientific approach that emphasizes the use of empirical evidence and observable facts to develop and evaluate knowledge. Positivists assume the universe is an orderly place a nonrandom order of the universe exists events have causes and occur in regular patterns that can be determined through observation Positivists conduct observational studies to uncover...
Published on Mar 16th 2020
Post-positivists assume that any attempt to ground knowledge outside human consciousness is futile. While post-positivists do not, of course, deny the existence of a physical world, they argue that all knowledge about that world is constructed by human consciousness through language. Related Concepts: Epistemology Why Does Post-Positivism Matter? Post-positivism is an important philosophical perspective that has influenced many disciplines, including...
Published on Mar 16th 2020
How can short sentences be effectively combined? Use Coordinating Conjunctions Simple sentences about a single topic may also be combined by using coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) and/or modifying clauses. Series of related sentences: Central Park is an urban park that is 843 acres. It is located in New York City. The park has several attractions...
Published on Feb 08th 2020
What are the Principles of Design? Design Principles refers to conventions, artistic traditions, and theories that inform how artists, writers, speakers, knowledge workers . . . use design elements in their texts/compositions). Related Concepts: Design Thinking; Visual Language Why Do Principles of Design Matter? Design Principles inform reading and writing practices. They constitute a basic literacy competency for a knowledge...
Published on Nov 12th 2020
A Problem Definition is a genre of discourse that aims to describe a problem, including an analysis of its historical roots, causes and effects, stakeholders and disruptors.The Problem Definition may constitute an entire text or may be a smaller part of a larger text, such as a paragraph or even a whole section of a text. Key Terms: Concrete Language;...
Published on Aug 23rd 2020
What are Problem Solving Strategies for Writers? As an alternative to imagining the writing process to be a series of steps or stages that writers work through in linear manner or as a largely mysterious, creative processes informed by embodied knowledge, felt sense, and inner speech, Linda Flower and John Hayes suggested in 1977 that writing should be thought of...
Published on May 10th 2023
The writing styles of professional writers tend to vary across communities of practice. For instance, the writing style of a lawyer is quite different from that of an accountant or a mathematician. However, across work contexts, there are a number of stylistic attributes that tend to characterize the texts of professional writers, including Accessible - Universal Design Professional writers aspire...
Published on Jul 27th 2020
If these sentences seem ok, that may be because you may hear people say them in everyday discourse. Still, from the standard of British or American English, the first three sentences contain a pronoun error. The fourth sentence, which until recently would have been considered an error, is correct. What Are Pronouns? Pronouns are words that substitute for other nouns. For...
Published on Feb 14th 2020
What is Proofreading Proofreading refers to a step in the writing process--the process of rereading a document with the goal of identifying word and sentence-level errors. Synonymous Terms The terms proofreading, editing, and revision, and may be used interchangeably by some people. However, subject matter experts in writing studies make distinctions between these intellectual strategies by noting their different foci:...
Published on Dec 28th 2012
Learn how to improve your problem-solving and persuasive skills. Employ your writing and reasoning skills to make a difference in the world. View samples and write a proposal to conduct research, develop a Web site, solve a problem, or provide a service. Proposals are persuasive texts that articulate ways to solve a problem, conduct needed research, or provide a service....
Published on Oct 21st 2009
By definition, critical readers are skeptical. They do not take the results of research as the final word on the subject, but instead look for flaws in the reasoning; or if it is an empirical study, critical readers look for flaws in the research design. As a result, when you introduce an outside source, be sure to spend a moment...
Published on May 25th 2011
Consider these suggestions when critiquing documents in group situations. Feedback in group situations provides an excellent opportunity to have your work read and evaluated by your peers. Rather than merely imagine how a potential audience might respond to your work, you can meet with classmates and discuss your ideas for writing projects or evaluate drafts. Ten Tips to Provide Feedback...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
What is Purpose? Purpose from the context of Writing Studies refers to a writer's or speaker's reason for communication a reader's, listener's, user's . . . reason for reading a text. For rhetors, after considerations of audience, little is more important than purpose. Synonyms Purpose is also known as Aim, Aim of Discourse, or Goal. Some people consider purpose and...
Published on Dec 31st 2019
Here are some of the standard questions that academic readers ask when reviewing research reports: Is the source a first-hand or second-hand account? That is, are the authors reporting results of their own research or reviewing someone else's work? Is the source of publication credible? (For example, an essay in the New England Journal of Medicine would influence most physicians'...
Published on May 25th 2011
Quotation refers to the act of repeating someone's words in oral and written discourse In written discourse, writers cue readers that material is quoted by placing the quotation inside quotation marks. Examples: In her diary, Ann Frank wrote "I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn." Why Does Quotation Matter? Academic and workplace...
Published on Mar 02nd 2020
Why is it valuable for writers to read their own work aloud? Reading their own work aloud gives writers the opportunity to take on the role of the reader. When “writers as readers” add hearing to seeing, another of the five senses is put to work in the critical evaluation process. Words and ideas that seemed to flow smoothly and...
Published on Apr 13th 2012
Reader-Based Prose Style is a style of writing that accounts for the emotions, knowledge, interests, and needs of the reader as opposed to the writer. Unlike writer-based prose, which is self-centered, reader-based prose is reader centered. Texts classified as reader-based prose use the genres, methodologies, methods, and media necessary to reach and engage the target audience the theses and organizational patterns...
Published on Feb 22nd 2020
Recommendation reports are texts that advise audiences about the best ways to solve a problem. Recommendation reports are a type of formal report that is widely used across disciplines and professions. Subject Matter Experts aim to make recommendations based on the best available theory, research and practice. Different disciplines and professions have different research methods for assessing knowledge claims and...
Published on Aug 24th 2020
What is Register? Register, in Linguistics, is the way a writer, speaker, knowledge worker . . . adjusts what they say (semantics) and how they say it (stylistics) to account for the occasion—their rhetorical situation. For instance, you are likely to adjust the level of formality you use in your speech and writing (e.g., diction, sentence structure, evidence) according to the...
Published on Apr 16th 2021
Readers also expect paragraphs to relate to each other as well as to the overall purpose of a text. Establishing transitional sentences for paragraphs can be one of the most difficult challenges you face as a writer because you need to guide the reader with a light hand. When you are too blatant about your transitions, your readers may feel...
Published on May 09th 2011
What is Research? Research may refer to a body of knowledge on a topic When professionals talk about research, they typically are referencing peer-reviewed research on a particular topic. For most researchers, the first step in any research project involves strategic searching to learn what the current and best research, theory, and scholarship is on a topic. the act of...
Published on Mar 13th 2020
Researchers are driven by a desire to solve personal, professional, and societal problems. These problems may be simple everyday problems like the best restaurant in town for Greek food or they may be major problems that require vast teams of researchers working in well funded labs. "The spectrum of inquiry ranges from asking simple questions that depend upon basic recapitulation...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Definition Methodological Communities are diverse, dynamic ecosystems that form around ways of knowing, scholarly conversations about topics, and research agendas discourse communities that share research agendas and have adopted specific research methods for making knowledge claims discourse communities that hold epistemological assumptions regarding the kind of knowledge a particular research method produces. Related Concepts: Audience Awareness; Discourse Community; Epistemology; Research;...
Published on Mar 16th 2020
Research Methodology is the philosophical framework, the epistemology that informs a research project.an academic topic of study that explores the philosophy of research methods.Methodologists engage in scholarly conversations regarding the epistemological assumptions that inform qualitative, quantitative, mixed, and textual research methods.Methodologists are critical about how data is collected, measured, interpreted and used to contribute to knowledge or make a knowledge...
Published on Apr 17th 2020
Research Methods are the tools and techniques (aka protocols, processes, strategies) that investigators and methodological communities use to conduct research. Research methods may be empirical (aka the scientific method), informal, or textual. Key Terms: Methodological Community; Research Methodology If you are doing more than writing an essay that relies on sources, then you can benefit from understanding why there are...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
A Research Protocol is a brief summary of planned research. Investigators use Research Protocols to plan research and identify obstacles (e.g., coordinate research work on large teams)to communicate with other investigators in order to coordinate work or receive critical feedbackto receive approval to conduct Human Subjects Research or Animal Researchto enable subsequent investigators to perform follow-up studies. *Alternative Title(s): Research...
Published on Apr 17th 2020
What is a Research Question? The Research Question is the question the author is exploring. Related Concepts: Organizational Schema Research Question A research question is a guiding question that an author uses to guide his or her research while gathering information for a project. Research questions typically appear in an annotated bibliography or other summary of a writer’s research. Generally,...
Published on Feb 10th 2020
Learn to write convincing evaluations and improve your critical thinking abilities. Evaluate a performance (such as a movie, speech, or play), a visual (such as an ad or artwork), or a text (such as a Web site). Read exemplary evaluative texts, define appropriate assessment criteria, and write a convincing and well-researched evaluation. Reviews present an author's opinion or interpretation. Writing...
Published on Oct 21st 2009
Learn to write convincing evaluations and improve your critical thinking abilities. Evaluate a performance (such as a movie, speech, or play), a visual (such as an ad or artwork), or a text (such as a Web site). Read exemplary evaluative texts, define appropriate assessment criteria, and write a convincing and well-researched evaluation. Reviews present an author's opinion or interpretation. Writing...
Published on Jun 26th 2014
First, make sure that the paper actually has a thesis that predicts what the rest of the paragraphs will be about. Once your thesis is clear, read each paragraph; this would be an ideal time to consider topic sentences (those sentences that control the focus of the paragraph) and ask yourself if those points are introduced or referenced in the...
Published on Feb 20th 2020
Synonyms - Related Terms In workplace and school settings, people use a variety of terms to describe revision or the act of revising, including a high-level review a global review a substantive rewrite a major rewrite Redoing Redrafting Rewriting Refining Polishing Slashing and Throwing Out On occasion, students or inexperienced writers may conflate revision with editing and proofreading. However, subject...
Published on Nov 17th 2019
Related Concepts: What is Academic Dishonesty?; Academic Writing Prose Style; Editing; Proofreading; Revision; Rhetorical Analysis; Rhetorical Reasonings; Rhetorical Stance How to Revise Some exigencies require substantive revision whereas others require moderate or light revision. For instance, if your writing an essay for class and it constitutes a major part of your grade, then you may need to spend considerable time...
Published on Nov 12th 2021
Understand the fundamentals of page and Web design; use visual language to convey meaning; use design to assert authority and organize work for readers. Writers use critical questions to find cracks and crannies, places where they need to develop or clarify their thinking. In their relentless pursuit of clearly expressed, well-developed ideas, they find soft spots—that is, passages that need...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
Writers use critical questions to find cracks and crannies, places where they need to develop or clarify their thinking. In their relentless pursuit of clearly expressed, well-developed ideas, they find soft spots—that is, passages that need to be developed or discarded and sections that just don't feel right—that feel mushy like cereal that has been sitting for too long in...
Published on Jan 13th 2012
Synonymous Terms Rhetoric may refer to a text, a composition, a narrative, a speech, a comment, or prose -- really, any act of symbolic communication -- but especially discourse that is persuasive and eloquent or fallacious and deceptive (see, e.g., fallacious kairos; fallacious logos; fallacious pathos; fallacious ethos). Related Concepts: Critical Thinking; Critical Literacy; The CRAAP Test; Rhetorical Analysis; Rhetorical...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Rhetorical Analysis refers to the practice of analyzing a rhetorical situation a mode of reasoning that informs composing and interpretation. a heuristic, an invention practice, that helps writers use to kickstart invention a method of analysis used to understand and critique texts. Rhetorical Analysis is a vital workplace, academic, and personal competency--a way of producing rhetorical knowledge In January of...
Published on May 03rd 2020
What is Rhetorical Analysis? Rhetorical knowledge is "the ability to analyze and act on understandings of audiences, purposes, and contexts in creating and comprehending texts" (CWPA 2011, hyperlinks added). Key Words: Epistemology; Rhetoric; Rhetorical Analysis; Rhetorical Situation Why Does Rhetorical Knowledge Matter? In Principles for the Postsecondary Teaching of Writing, The Conference on College Composition -- the major conference for...
Published on May 01st 2020
What are Rhetorical Modes? Rhetorical Modes refers to the four major different types of writing, as conceptualized by Samuel P. Newman in 1827 : argument description exposition narration a paragraph or section of a text that is composed to achieve a particular aim a popular way of organizing writing instruction from the late 1900s to the 1950s. Synonymous Terms For...
Published on Nov 16th 2019
What is Rhetorical Reasoning? Rhetorical reasoning is an analytical process. Rhetorical reasoning, from the perspective of the writer or speaker, is the act of sorting through different rhetorical moves, and then deciding on a course of action, a rhetorical stance. Writers engage in rhetorical reasoning to determine the best way to respond to an exigency, a call for discourse. Acts...
Published on Jan 02nd 2020
What is the Rhetorical Situation? The rhetorical situation refers to all of the things (aka contextual variables or elements of discourse) in a setting, place, or time that you need to consider when endeavoring to communicate with others. When writing, researching, and interpreting information, people analyze their rhetorical situation in order to determine whether what to say, how to say...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
What is Rhetorical Stance? The Rhetorical Stance is a rhetorical theory proposed by Wayne Booth in 1963. Booth theorizes rhetors need to balance three rhetorical elements in order to communicate with authority and clarity: "the available arguments about the subject itself, the interests and peculiarities of the audience, and the voice, the implied character, of the speaker" (141). In Booth's...
Published on Jan 03rd 2020
Solving Problems by Negotiating Differences How many times have you been in an argument that you knew you couldn't win? Are you reluctant to change your mind about certain social, political, or personal issues? Do you have an unshakable faith in a particular religion or philosophy? For example, are you absolutely certain that abortion is immoral under all circumstances? Are...
Published on Dec 17th 2010
A run-on sentence is an error that occurs when two independent clauses are joined without any punctuation or conjunctions. These two clauses have been run into each other end-to-end without being linked grammatically, thus the term "run-on." What is a run-on sentence? A run-on (or fused) sentence consists of two or more independent clauses that have been joined without appropriate...
Published on Mar 30th 2012
Overcome procrastination by establishing an appropriate schedule. Schedules are extremely important to writers. Documents can almost always be improved with additional revisions, so some writers need deadlines, a line in the sand, to say "Enough is enough!" For writers who tend to procrastinate, schedules can provide an incentive to get started and keep writing. Tips for Establishing Effective Schedules The...
Published on Oct 28th 2009
Define Scholarship Scholarship refers to the processes of seeking, exploring, and discovering information and insights about a particular topic or field of study. While researchers (both positivists and postpositivists) look outward for evidence from which to make knowledge, scholars look inward to the power of logic and rational thinking. They depend upon dialectic—the process of reasoning correctly—to generate, test, and...
Published on Mar 16th 2020
We are social animals. We learn from imitation and dialog. Hence, it's no surprise that people develop new ideas by talking with others or reading the works of other people. In its Information Literacy Framework, the Association of College and Research Libraries conceptualizes Scholarship as a Conversation as a robust process by which users consider multiple perspectives on a topic:...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Use encyclopedias and dictionaries to research and develop a focused analysis about your question or topic. The first step in any writing project is determining a specific topic. To help narrow your topic, you may find it useful to gather some general background information. This process can help you locate some valuable sources to consult. To obtain a few essential...
Published on Mar 05th 2010
Understand how to search for books, journals, government documents, and media that you can access through your college or university library. You can hunt for information on your topic by consulting the library catalog. In many modern libraries, the bulky file drawers containing 3 x 5-inch cards have been replaced by computer terminals. Regardless of how the information is stored,...
Published on Mar 05th 2010
Read, read, read…Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. William Faulkner The Association of Colleges and Research Libraries has wisely suggested that you apply strategy to your search for information. This is not surprising because without a strategy, a game plan, searching for information can feel aimless. Strategy foregrounds the importance of conscious consideration of...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Consult librarians when in doubt about where to obtain information. Sometimes people are embarrassed about asking for help in using the library; they feel as if they should know how to use the library once they get into college. However, librarians are information technology specialists who are employed by colleges and universities to serve as research mentors. Information technologies are...
Published on Mar 05th 2010
Definition Sentences are a grammatical unit, involving a subject and a verb ora subject, verb, and objectthe basic building blocks of thought, the ways we encode and decode informationa signal, a sign, of education, literacy, professionalism, work ethic. Related Concepts: Edit for AWK(Awkward); Edit for Sentence Fragments; Edit for Parallelism; Edit for Run-On Sentences; Edit for Sentence Structure Why Do...
Published on Feb 23rd 2020
Sharing Definition | Publishing Definition Sharing and publishing, as the last step in the writing process, can be defined as the act of making one's written work accessible to others, whether through print or digital means. Related Concepts: Intellectual Openness What are the benefits of sharing or publishing your work? Sharing or publishing are crucial final steps in the writing...
Published on Apr 21st 2023
Definition Simplicity is a judgment made by people (e.g., readers & users) about whether a text or design of a product or app is as simple as possible given the complexity of the topic and rhetorical situation. A writer, speaker, knowledge worker . . . is said to have achieved simplicity when readers, audiences, users . . . find their...
Published on Nov 10th 2020
Why does correct spelling matter? When a word is misspelled or is mistakenly substituted for a word with a meaning that is inconsistent with the ideas surrounding it, the inaccuracy can create confusion in the mind of the reader. The flow of the passage is temporarily interrupted; frequent spelling and meaning errors can compromise the credibility of the writer. How...
Published on Apr 02nd 2012
Synonyms The terms style and voice are sometimes used synonymously. Yet style is a broader term than voice: style refers to all of the choices a writer makes when composing. For instance, style may refer to the way the writer uses evidence or leverages the power of visual language to strengthen the authority of their text how the writer establishes the currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose...
Published on Sep 09th 2019
What Is Subject-Verb Agreement? Subject-verb agreement happens when the subject and verb of a clause agree in number. For the subject and verb to agree, a singular subject must take a singular verb, and a plural subject must take a plural verb. A verb denotes action, existence, or occurrence. A subject denotes the person or thing that performs the action,...
Published on Jul 17th 2012
Colloquially, the terms Subject(s) as well as Topic(s) may be used interchangeably to mean what a message is about, the subject matter of a texta branch of knowledge; the categories dictionaries and encyclopedias use to sort information. However, in the discipline of Writing Studies and other academic settings, these terms may be differentiated from one another: the term Subject(s) may...
Published on Aug 07th 2019
Understand why analytical and explanatory writing is one of the most important genres of writing in school and professional careers. Read a variety of analytical and explanatory reports, noting the diversity of audiences, purposes, contexts, media, voices, tone, and personas. Understand the defining characteristics of texts that analyze or explain concepts. Why Write About Subjects and Concepts? Writers within disciplines...
Published on Dec 28th 2009
A subordinating conjunction connects an independent clause to a dependent (subordinate) clause: an independent clause is a sentence that is a complete thought and therefore can stand aloneExample: I survived the class.a dependent clause is an incomplete sentence, a fragment. It cannot express a complete thought. It cannot be punctuated as a sentence. Example: Although I survived the class. Key...
Published on Feb 24th 2020
Substantive Prose is a style of academic and professional discourse. Prose that is characterized as substantive tends to be evidence based interesting insightful. People who can produce substantive prose are thought leaders, knowledge workers, rhetorician, symbol analysts. Key Words: Inductive and Deductive Reasoning Substantive Prose tends to be grammatically correct use an appropriate level of diction for the text's audience...
Published on Jan 13th 2020
Summaries tend to be interpretive. They give the author's critical evaluation of the source. Would your summary differ, for example, from the following summary of The Wizard of Oz? Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again. Like paraphrasing, summarizing involves reporting someone else's ideas...
Published on May 25th 2011
What is Summary? Summary refers to the act of providing a condensed version of a text or event Writers may summarize the works of others in a few sentences. For instance, a book reviewer might summarize a lengthy book in a page or two a scientist might summarize the literature on the topic, reviewing relevant scholarly conversations Writers may summarize...
Published on Apr 13th 2012
Teamwork Definition Teamwork refers to an individual's ability to collaborate with others to accomplish tasks. Teamwork involves a variety of competencies, especially conflict resolution, goal setting, performance management, planning, and task coordination (Oliveri et al. 2017). For writers, speakers, knowledge workers, teamwork often involves a range of collaborative practices, including co authorship, peer review, and critique. Teamwork, along with leadership...
Published on Nov 18th 2019
Parts of Speech refers to the different ways words can function in a sentence. There are 9 Parts of Speech in English: Parts of SpeechGrammatical Function1. Articles2. Adjectivesmodifies noun3. Adverbsa word used to modify verbs and verb phrases4. Conjunctionsjoins words5. Interjectionsuse of punctuation to denote emotions6. NounsNoun 7. Prepositionsshow relationship8. Pronounsword used to replace nouns9. Verbsdescribe action or state of...
Published on Jan 31st 2020
What is the Secret, Hidden Writing Process? Researchers in writing studies have engaged in observations of writers at work. They've asked writers to vocalize what they are thinking while they are writing, a process known as a writing protocol. Writers speak of listening to or following an embodied feeling about what it is they're trying to say versus what they've...
Published on May 10th 2023
What are the Steps of the Writing Process? Since the 1960s, it has been popular to describe the writing process as a series of steps or stages. For simple projects, the writing process is typically defined as four major steps: prewriting drafting revising editing. This simplified approach to writing is quite appropriate for many exigencies--many calls to write. Often, e.g.,...
Published on May 10th 2023
Related Concepts: Discourse Community - Community of Practice; Elements of Style; Professional Writing – Style Guide; What is Academic Writing? Academic writing refers to all of the texts produced by academic writers, including theoretical, empirical, or experience-based works. Examples: Students at the high school and undergraduate level write essays, book reviews, lab reports, reviews of literature, proposals--and more. These assignments...
Published on Nov 23rd 2022
Rather than waiting for that illusive large block of time and rather than procrastinating until the last minute to begin researching and writing, you can ensure your success by using small blocks of time to accomplish your research and writing goals. There are serious disadvantages to binge writing as opposed to regular writing as research has demonstrated. First, binge writing...
Published on Sep 10th 2014
Synonymous Terms Composing Process In writing studies, the writing process may also be known as the composing process. This may be due to the dramatic influence of Janet Emig's (1971) dissertation, The Composing Processes of Twelfth Graders. Emig's research employed think-aloud protocols and case-study methods to explore the composing processes of high school students. Creative Process In creative writing and...
Published on Mar 12th 2020
Use visual brainstorming to develop and organize your ideas. In 1765, Joseph Priestly created the now commonplace timeline. Priestly's timeline depicted the lifespan of 2000 inventors whom he considered the "most distinguished in the annals of fame." In technical documents as well as magazine articles, timeline flow charts are exceedingly popular. Readers love chronological timelines, which graphically chart the emergence...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Where is the paper’s title? Choose an original title for the paper Center the title Present the title in plain type Use standard capitalization in the title
Published on Mar 30th 2012
A topic sentence summarizes the main idea or the purpose of a paragraph. In an essay, topic sentences serve an organizational purpose similar to a thesis statement but on a smaller scale; a topic sentence helps guide the organization of a single paragraph while a thesis statement guides the organization of the entire essay. A topic sentence may be placed...
Published on Jun 29th 2012
What are Tough, Sweet & Stuffy Prose Styles? In 1966, Walker Gibson theorized "the way we write at any given moment can be seen as an adjustment or compromise among these three styles of identifying ourselves and defining our relation with others": The Tough Talker"The Tough Talker, in these terms, is a man dramatized as centrally concerned with himself --...
Published on Nov 06th 2021
What are Transitions? Transition Words? Transition Phrases? Transitions, Transition Words, Transitional Phases—these terms concern authors' efforts to design the flow of information in a text in ways that promote clarity, brevity, simplicity, flow, unity for readers, listeners, users. Accomplished writers understand interpretation is challenging. They understand readers can lose track of the big picture—the writer's purpose, thesis, research question. Thus, when revising and...
Published on Nov 16th 2019
Readers can generally follow the logic of a discussion better when a paragraph is unified by a single purpose. Paragraphs that lack a central idea and that wander from subject to subject are apt to confuse readers, making them wonder what they should pay attention to and why. Paragraphs need to stay focused on one topic. A good way to...
Published on May 09th 2011
Search magazine articles, research reports, journal articles, and abstracts published in magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals. Magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals provide contemporary material that is often on very narrow topics. Magazines are written in a more popular style and aimed at a general audience. The term “journals” is used for scholarly research publications. Librarians use the term “periodicals” to...
Published on Mar 05th 2010
What is Vague Language? Ambiguous Language? Vague Language (aka Ambiguous Language) is language that is abstract, undecipherable, underdeveloped, fragmenteda defining characteristic of weak writing and writer-based prose style. Examples of vague language are generalization, overgeneralizations—a sweeping statement about a group of people, things, topic.an excessive number of non-specific adjectives like good, bad, okay, pretty, happy, and sad, which give an...
Published on Mar 01st 2020
A verb-tense shift occurs when a writer changes tense within a single piece of writing. Tense is the term for what time frame verbs refer to. Standard American English has a number of tenses, each of which is a variation on past, present, or future. Any switching of tense within a sentence, paragraph, or longer piece of writing is a...
Published on Feb 24th 2020
Add video to enrich or supplant printed texts. New communication technologies enable authors to incorporate streaming multimedia into their webs. Writers may provide video to: Underscore the content of the print text, illustrating key concepts. For example, an agency hoping to secure funds for hungry people could show video of their living conditions. Illustrate the content of the printed text. ...
Published on Nov 01st 2009
Visual Brainstorming is the process of using elements of visual language to develop, organize, and communicate ideas.Visual language refers to a writers', speakers', knowledge workers' . . . use of design elements, design principles, design tools, and data visualization methods to draft ideas for a text. Examples of Visual Brainstorming include a writer's sketch of their plan for organizing a...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Plagiarism involves The theft of someone else's wordsThe theft of someone else's ideasThe failure to properly cite someone's ideas, either directly or in a paraphrase. Plagiarism can be deliberate or the result of carelessness. When incorporating outside sources, it’s important to be conscious of what constitutes plagiarism and to avoid plagiarizing material. Ignorance of plagiarism and intellectual property is a serious...
Published on Feb 26th 2020
In general, you can make your writing more persuasive, clear, and concise by using the active voice rather than the passive voice. There are instances, however, when the passive voice is preferable to the active voice, as discussed below. What are the Active and Passive Voices? Essentially, a verb is active when its subject performs the action. A verb is...
Published on Oct 31st 2009
Realize your creative potential and avoid procrastination by logging your work. You can be more productive and make writing less adverse if you write in brief daily sessions. By keeping a log of your writing efforts, you can: Motivate yourself. By tracking your accomplishments on a daily basis, you can develop a better sense of how research efforts and invention...
Published on Oct 28th 2009
What is a Writer-Based Prose? Writer-Based Prose Style is a style of writing that is so personalized, so idiosyncratic, that readers cannot successfully interpret it. Discourse — aka a composition, prose, or texts — may be called writer-based when it lacks an organizational structure other than stream of consciousness is more focused on the needs of the writer than the...
Published on Feb 22nd 2020
When reading cover letters, the key benchmark I use is simple: Do I get to know both the person and the professional? As we read a cover letter, we should have a sense that no other candidate could have written this particular document in this particular way. Hence, we respect and honor the individual. In conversation, the term “cover letter”...
Published on Oct 31st 2013
Synonymous Terms Writing Studies may also be known as Rhetoric and Composition Composition Studies Rhetoric Rhetoric & Culture Rhetorical Theory Texts & Technology Writing History and Theory Poetics, Rhetorics, Technologies. Related Concepts: Discourse Community, Community of Practice Literacy today is in the midst of a tectonic change. Even inside of school, never before have writing and composing generated such diversity in...
Published on Sep 28th 2019
Summary Writing Styles refers to different genres or modes of discourse practiced by writers and writing communities For example, a writer may employ a narrative style; a descriptive style; an expository style; or a persuasive style. Writing styles may be identified by noting the writer's aim of discourse and by rhetorically analyzing the textual attributes that characterize a writer's work...
Published on Jul 26th 2020
