Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Last week, I recommended creating a template for each long sentence in your writing to help you determine whether the sentence is impressive or simply incomprehensible. You may recall that a sentence template looks something like this: By doing x, we can accomplish y and z. Filling in the blanks with elements other than theContinue reading “More Fun With Sentence Templates”
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The Long Sentence: Impressive? Or Incomprehensible?
Photo from Wikimedia Commons The texts that we read offer all sorts of clues about what to do—and what not to do—when writing our own texts. Published texts contain every lesson that a new writer needs, from demonstrating how to incorporate and cite others’ ideas to modeling the use of language and style. Over theContinue reading “The Long Sentence: Impressive? Or Incomprehensible?”
An Abundance of Scarcity
Photo: Detail of the statue of Abundance from Rome’s Trevi Fountain. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Last week, I cryptically noted that the late American comedian George Carlin and the concept of scarcity always come to mind when I ponder the question of why academic writing is so hard. Those of you who have beenContinue reading “An Abundance of Scarcity”
Why is Academic Writing so Hard?
When I ponder the question of why academic writing is so hard, one person and one concept inevitably come to mind. The person is the late American comedian George Carlin. The concept is scarcity. You’re probably wondering what the late comedian George Carlin has to do with academic writing. You’re probably also wondering what theContinue reading “Why is Academic Writing so Hard?”
Text Editing: That’s What it’s All About (aka: Outsmarting Google)
Photo courtesy of pretty much everywhere on the internet since Inauguration Day, 2021. Meme text courtesy of Apple’s Preview software and my mind. Apparently, the magical computer codes that live inside WordPress, chatting merrily through the cybernight with the magical computer codes that live inside Google, need to be told explicitly what my website isContinue reading “Text Editing: That’s What it’s All About (aka: Outsmarting Google)”
A Riddle for Writers
Image of the Sphinx in Egypt from Wikimedia Commons A Riddle for Writers: I am… the path that leads your reader from point A to point Z and all stops in betweenthe light that illuminates your argumentthe thread that binds your ideas to a cosmic conversation of ideasthe lens that brings your thought processes intoContinue reading “A Riddle for Writers”
The God Who Looked Both Ways
Image of the Roman god Janus from Wikimedia Commons The month of January was named in honor of the Roman god Janus, the god who looked both ways. While Janus may have been a careful pedestrian, it’s unlikely that he gained his tag line – the god who looked both ways – because of theContinue reading “The God Who Looked Both Ways”
No Matter How Small
“Who?” – “You.” “You, who?” – “You, you.” “Me?” – “Yes, you.” “Seriously?” – “Seriously.” “But why?” – “Why not?” “I’m too young.” – “Doesn’t matter.” “I don’t have anything to say.” – “I know this isn’t true.” “I’m not a good writer.” – “No one is a good writer at first.” “My grammar isContinue reading “No Matter How Small”
Tell me again why I’m writing this?
Lots of people I know – experienced writers and student writers alike – struggle to write meaningful literature reviews. Many of us don’t seem to be quite sure where we’re going or why we’re going there with a lit review. Many of us, in writing a lit review, have heard questions like the following bouncingContinue reading “Tell me again why I’m writing this?”
Nevertheless…
Like most working-class kids of my generation (I suspect), I grew up convinced that writing in a book – even a book that you owned, and even with a pencil – was a crime that ranked pretty close to murder on the scale of awfulness. My beliefs about writing in books may have been influencedContinue reading “Nevertheless…”
Engaging Texts: Has Your Text Been Engaged? 