University Writing 30:151
January 5, 2016
"Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers."
Isaac Asimov
Today's outline:
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Course description & introduction
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Syllabus
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Online stuff
Some of the basics:
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the academic context
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The "stuff" of education and scholarly writing
Lastly:
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2-paragraph assignment
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Readings for next week
About Trent
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BU graduate
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Teaching since 2014
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Day job: Campus Manitoba
Bird's eye view
Course info and resources
Website
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Course content
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Syllabus
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Schedule
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Readings
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Assignments
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Summary of Skills
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Summary of skills?
Demonstrating academic literacy
"What are usually called ‘writing assignments’ in college might more accurately be called ‘literacy tasks’ . . ." (Lee Ann Carroll)
Powerful tool for team communication synced across all devices.
Do you have ideas?
Do you share them? How?
If you have "ideas worth sharing," why aren't you writing more essays?
"Not enough time."
"I'm not a good writer."
"I don't like writing."
"I don't know where to start."
"The writing process is frustrating."
There are better ways to get from an idea to an essay.
clearer?
"Keep everything in the frame until you need to get specific."
General strategies for getting started:
1) Start simple: read, react, and think
2) clear
communication
the success of writing "Depends primarily on how clear it is" (engkent)
3) learning opportunities
Don't sabotage yourself -- trying is learning.
Write from knowledge
what you know vs.
what you HAVEN't LEARNED
Studying and knowing a topic are mandatory
have something to say
4) Use a system and experiment
follow a writing process
Stay tuned for more talk about systems!
5) think about the audience
At the heart of all effective writing is a relentless commitment to the audience.
"Effective" writing
Who is academic writing for?
What "groups" does a university compose of?
Scholars
Students
Public
"Discourse communities"
"A social group that communicates at least in part via written texts and shares common goals, values, and writing standards, a specialized vocabulary and specialized genres." (Anne Beaufort)
Academic writing has a specific role within an intellectual community.
All academic writing has an audience.
WRITING IS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN ONE AND THE MANY.
THINK OF IT AS A "scholarly" conversation.
What are we sharing in education?
Think broadly!
Knowledge
Ideas
Research
This is the "stuff" of education. It's the content of academic work.
HOW IS IT CREATED?
HOW IS IT SHARED?
Writing is the how.
Learning to write in an academic context is about sharing ideas, knowledge, and research.
The how is as important as the what.
How you share is as important as what you're sharing.
QUALITY AND CLARITY of your ideas
=
quality and clarity of your writing
A RECIPROCAL, INTERDEPENDENT RELATIONSHIP
Casual "assignment"
Send me an email.
Use your preferred account so I can invite you to our Slack team.
First paragraph
Introduce yourself as you would to a public audience.
(Use the first-person singular. It's okay ... for now.)
Second paragraph
Respond to this question:
What does a university education mean to you and in your life?
There is no wrong answer to this question.
Purpose?
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Reflect on the topic
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Express your response in full sentences and full paragraphs
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Use clear, direct language
Find these slides
Reading for next class
Ch. 1, Student's Guide
2 online resources linked on the course website
Ch. 2, pages 24-37
Next week
Introduction to academic writing
Context, audience, and purpose
