A=ARETE: Excellent, Extraordinary, Outstanding, Exemplary
B=Above Average, Good
C=Average
D=Below Average, Needs Improvement, Barely Acceptable
F=Unsatisfactory, Poor, Unacceptable

Wistful Words of Wisdom:

Your goal in any written work is to get the idea out of your own mind and across the abyss into the mind of the other. Keep in mind that readers can only read your mind when you express these ideas with clarity and purpose. Consequently, structure and word choice are indispensable to the writing process. In college writing, make every word count and choose your words wisely with intention and focus.

Wordsmithing--forging the most precise possible meaning with words and structure—is essential in college writing. This requires a process of several revisions and relies on reference material—dictionary, thesaurus, quotations, etc. Once you get to college, if you want to make good grades, you should remember that your first draft is never your final paper.

Sentences express one complete thought, so think about how the thought you have is best expressed. If ideas are connected, try to put them in the same sentence and consider what goes where in the sentence. When sculpting thought into written language, consider the following: What’s the subject/main focus of your sentence? Put that in the subject position of the independent clause, and put anything that it depends on in the dependent clause. Do you want your idea to seem complex or succinct? If you want to make something seem complicated, weave it into a long, drawn out, complex sentence structure. If you want to make a powerful point, put it in a short, simple declarative sentence. Rhythm is key. If the rhythm is too predictable, it soon becomes monotonous and puts readers’ minds to sleep. So, if you want to hold readers’ attention, syncopate your rhythms to jazz it up.

Paragraphs weave ideas together into a unity that fully explores one main idea. Paragraphs should be coherent and logical, should have a topic sentence that will direct the reader’s attention to whatever the paragraph is about, and should provide ample supporting details and examples so that the idea is completely fleshed out. When shifting from one paragraph to another, be conscious of the connections or distinctions to be made between the consecutive ideas you wish to express, and then choose your transitional words and phrases accordingly.

Introductions should begin with good “pick-up lines” and lay the groundwork for your discussion. Introduce ideas not details at this point. However, if you need to provide important information to give context to your commentary, you should do so here. Also, be sure to ease from your overview to your actual argument with smooth transitions. Introductions should always be written first and last. In the beginning, of course, you should have a working hypothesis—a stated position and the main points of your argument to prove it; however, many times, the writing process transforms your original intent into something a bit different. So, you should always go back and tweak the intro so that it reflects the finished product, your final essay, because no matter how well you plan things in the beginning, you can never truly predict exactly where the writing process will take you in the end.

Conclusions should do just that: draw conclusions. Don’t simply restate what you’ve said before, though. It’s enough to simply remind your readers of the main points, and then impress upon them the importance/relevance that this has to them personally. In conclusions, in particular, brevity is indeed the soul of wit. Cut to the chase. Be brilliant, be brief, and be gone. (In a political argument, the conclusion is the place to kiss babies and stroke wallets.) But whatever the genre, your conclusion must always answer the question: “So what?!” In other words, “Make me care!” (But don’t get preachy!) Finally, think of your final sentence as the punch line, and make it resonate. Your closing should be a memorable leave taking, a kiss goodnight.

Quotations add depth and breadth to your argument, that is, if you choose and use them well. A good rule of thumb is to use only salient quotations and use them sparingly. Before inserting a quotation into your own work, be sure that it intensifies and/or reifies a key point. Quotations should be pithy or info packed. The ratio of quotation to discussion length is approximately 1:3. In other words, for a one line quotation, you should spend three lines of discussion weaving it into your argument. Finally, only include a quotation when no one could have said it any better. Finally, always cite your sources in the appropriate format (MLA for this class).

Titles are the very last leg of the journey in the writing process. Essentially, titles should do two things: seduce and inform. They should also reflect and inform the style, tone, and genre of the work. Remember as well that titles are not simply labels. To have maximum impact, titles should be catchy and clever like come-ons and bumper stickers. Wordplay and allusion work well in titles.

Revision is an absolute must in college writing. Once you have your paper as polished as possible, set it aside for a couple of days before your final revision. This brief hiatus from your work will allow the dust to settle and will make it easier to see what’s actually on the page. Trying to revise immediately after writing the essay generally falls into the “can’t see the forest for the trees” phenomenon, which usually renders your efforts much less effective. Revising immediately after finishing the initial draft is like trying to weed the lawn just after you’ve mowed it. If you wait a couple of days, the weeds will be much more obvious and easily plucked.

Questions are a good way of checking your written work. Whether generating ideas, formulating drafts, or revising your paper, ask yourself the following: Have you considered your purpose and audience? Have you stated a position? Do you have a clever title, an effective “pick up line” (first impressions are so important!)? Have you said everything you meant to say in support of your opinion? Have you changed up the rhythms/sentence patterns enough to hold the reader’s interest? Do you repeat yourself (either words or ideas)? Is anything still ambiguous or unclear? Have you demonstrated the points you’ve made? Do your ideas flow smoothly from one to the next? Have you slip-streamed the transition from one paragraph to the next? In your conclusion, do you answer the question, “So what?!” Do you have a good punch line that will stick with your reader, something to ponder as you take your leave?

Editing is your final step in the writing process is purely mechanical and should be treated sentence by sentence. In order to put the meaning and flow on the back burner, it helps to read your paper backwards, sentence by sentence, so that you can focus exclusively on your grammar and punctuation. This will be the last pass through, so you don’t want to still be revising your ideas/meaning. Rather, in this final step, you should be focusing solely on mechanics. Look at sentence patterns and be sure that you’ve put in motion the rhythm you desire.

Proofread. Just do it! When you’ve accomplished your first revision targeting meaning and syntax, it’s time to proofread for final changes to the written text, after which time you should read it aloud to hear what it actually sounds like. Ponder tone and style. Polish/revamp the places where you stammer, lose your place, or let your mind wander.

Common patterns of error for college students:

--not following the guidelines of the assignment

--run on sentences

--fragments

--comma splices

--commas

--paragraphs that lack unity

--paragraphs that are not coherent/logical

--lack of details/support for assertions (show & tell)

--awkward/confusing composition/construction

--use of stilted, excessively flowery, &/or loaded language

--use of slang/colloquialisms

--lack of paragraphing

--lack of skeletal structure/organization to frame argument

--level of language/word choice

--stating the obvious & leaving it at that!

--shifts in verb tense

--passive voice makes for weak rhetoric

--failure to proofread your paper

--too long or too short

--turning in first draft—Your first draft is NEVER your final paper!

Pet peeves & things to fix:

--“u” is NOT a word—NEVER use text message shorthand!!!

--“a lot” is 2 words, not 1

--definitely and defiantly do not mean the same thing…at all (definately is not how it’s spelled)

--use “who” rather than “that” when referring to people (“that” dehumanizes people)

--lead is present tense of “to lead”; if you mean past tense, it’s led (the word that’s pronounced like this but spelled lead actually is the metal)

--possessive pronouns never have apostrophes

--possessive nouns always have apostrophes

--their, they’re, and there are not interchangeable

Here’s how to remember the difference:

There=place and has “here” in it

Their=possessive pronoun (their stuff) and has an “heir” in it (as in “heir to the throne”)

They’re=contraction of they+are

--contractions always have the apostrophe where the letter/s was/were dropped out—as in “y’all” for you+all