Writing Skills # 7 - Proof Reading Writing Assignments

Proofreading writing assginments

Seven stages of writing assignments:

Intentionally separate "proofreading" from the "writing" and "revising" processes.
Writing and revising focus on content, message and style; proofreading focuses on "mechanics."
Work with another:

• It is twice as hard to detect mistakes in your own work
  as in someone else's!
• Get a second opinion!
  A fresh set of eyes may not only find errors, but also have suggestions for improvement
• Professional editors proofread as many as ten times.
  Publishing houses hire teams of readers to work in pairs, reading out loud.
  And still errors occur.

Cultivate a sense of doubt
Take nothing for granted
If you know you repeat certain errors, double check for them.
Most errors in written work are made unconsciously.
These are sources of unconscious, repetitive error:

• Misspellings:
  a word like "accommodate" can be checked through a spellchecker in word processing
• Keyboarding: "form" for "from"
  A keyboarding error that is common and unthinkingly repeated
• Usage error "which" for "that"
  Word processors may locate the problem but it is left to you to decide and choose
• Inattention
  The mind works far faster than the pen or keyboarding

Read out loud, word for word:

• Take advantage of two senses: hearing and seeing
  It is often possible to hear a mistake, such as an omitted or repeated word that you have not seen
• Slow down
  Read what is actually on the page, not what you think is there
  This is difficult, particularly if you wrote what you are reading

Why slow down?
When you read normally, you often see only the shells of words -- the first and last few letters, perhaps. You "fix your eyes" on the print only three or four times per line, or less. You take in the words between these points, and get less accurate the the more you stray from the point. The average reader can only take in six letters accurately with one fixation. This means you have to fix your eyes on almost every word you have written and do it twice in longer words, in order to proofread accurately. You have to look at the word, not slide over it.

Adapted with permission from SSL, University of Maryland

Turn in the paper
Celebrate a job well done,
with the confidence that you have done your best.
This last is very important.

See also:
Proofreading symbols, Capital Community College, Hartford, CT
Proofreading strategies, Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab

Writing Skills # 6 - Revising and Editing Writing Assignments

Revising and editing writing assignments

Before the revising/editing,
take a break to gain a new perspective.
It will help you review how effectively you have communicated your message.
General review strategies:

1. Revising takes practice:
   Try reviewing with a limited agenda, for example with focus on vocabulary,
   and build from there.
2. Read the paper out loud to yourself.
   Read it slowly. How does it "sound?"
3. Cover the text with a blank paper,
   and lower it down as you read for a line by line analysis.

Does the text flow in an effective manner? Is it too long for what you wish to say? too short?
Keep in mind your audience: they do not know what you do. They rely on what information you give them, in the order you give it to them.
Title
Does the title briefly describe and reflect the purpose of the paper?
If there are headings and sub-headings, are these similarly brief and concise?
Introductory paragraph/introductionGet a good start! Capture attention at the beginning or you may lose your audience.
An introduction should present the purpose in an inviting way.
Is your first sentence interesting and inviting?
Does your first paragraph predict the development of the piece? Does it clearly introduce the subject, project, or idea to be developed?
Supporting paragraphs
Does each paragraph build the argument or story? Did you follow a plan or outline?
Is each paragraph in an effective or logical order?
Is your train of thought, or that of the "characters," clear?
Do your transitions between paragraphs work?
Are relationships between paragraphs clear?
Can any paragraphs be eliminated as unnecessary, or combined with others more effectively?
Does each sentence support only the topic sentence of thatparagraph?
Can any sentences be eliminated as unnecessary, or combined with others more effectively?
If there are side-stories or digressions, are their purposes clear in the context of the whole?
Conclusion
Does the conclusion summarize and clarify important information and resolve the thesis statement?
Does the conclusion leave the reader thinking?
Is it supported by the paper?
Areas of focus:It could be that you have a troublesome area, or want to make your writing more effective.
Here are some areas of focus:
Sentences and phrases:
Sentences should be clear and logical, even short and to the point.
Sentences should flow consistently, except in places you wish to stop the reader for emphasis.
Is the tone consistent throughout the paragraph?
Do subordinate ideas find their right place?
(Keep on guard for dangling modifiers and avoid sentence fragments.)
Prepositional phrases can modify nouns and verbs.
Words such as in, with, out, by, at are prepositions and create phrases such as:
in its place... with honors... out in the yard... by the side of the road... at a place called home... throughout the paragraph...
Avoid too many in one sentence, and make sure they are in their right place, near their subject/object or verb. Don't let them wander in the sentence, or dangle, as
Strive for consistency with parallel forms:
Pay attention to conjunctions (and, or, not only...but also, either... or, neither...nor, both...and)

See also: Clear Direct and Concise Sentences (University of Wisconsin) and A Garden of Phrases (Capital Community College Foundation)

Vocabulary:
With each piece of writing you establish a vocabulary that is used throughout.
Set aside your writing, list its key words, and return to your writing
Is there any word that lacks definition or context?
Are their any words that are emotionally-charged? If so, are they used effectively for stress?
Position important words where they are more effective (at the end or beginning of sentences/paragraphs)
Develop and use an active, descriptive vocabulary; avoid the overuse of pronouns (it, they, we, their, etc.);
Reflect on important vocabulary: anticipate reactions of your audience
Reserve the use of emotional words to create effects. What words can be strengthened to be clearer or stronger?
What words can be simplified to be clearer or stronger?
Do you over-use any words? Would synonyms add interest?
Colloquialisms are informal expressions that imitate speech.
Their use may not be clear of effective in your writing since they are so familiar, and may tend toward predictability.
Nouns: Avoid adjective-noun strings:

See DesignSensory's Professional Writing Style section: Unraveling Adjective-Noun Strings, Reducing Preposition Sprawl

Avoid using vague nouns and verbs
See Empire State College's: Powerful Verbs and Nouns

AdjectivesAre vivid/descriptive words used to describe characters and/or events?
Do they fit into the flow or do they make the reader pause? If pause, is it appropriate and/or effective?
Verbs: Action/active verbs are more precise or descriptive.
Did she say she won the promotion, or did she whisper, stress, or confide it?
We investigated the accident is stronger than We conducted an investigation of the accident
Many reasons account for our success is stronger than There are many reasons for our successAvoid It is and There are
The child slammed the door! is more powerful than The door was slammed by the child!
Avoid forms of "to be" (as in the second, passive sentence)

See Purdue University's On-line Writing Lab: Active and Passive Voice

When you get your assignment back, ask for feedback on the above in order to improve your skills.

Writing Skills # 5 - Rough Drafts

Roughdrafts:

A rough draft is "a late stage in the writing process". It assumes that you have adequate information and understanding, are near or at the end of gathering research, and have completed an exercise in prewriting.
What you need:

• Adequate time period for focus
• Clear study area
  to eliminate distractions, whether other school projects or friends' demands,
  in order to concentrate on the task at hand
• Preparation and research
  with as much current and historical data and viewpoints as necessary
• Target audience
  or a clear idea for whom you are writing:
  your professor, an age group, a friend, a profession, etc.
• Prewriting exercises
  and notes on ideasfrom your research
• Review all the above.
  Don't "study" it; just refresh yourself on the main concepts for now

What you will NOT need:

• Title or introduction:
  derive these from your prewriting exercise
• Reference works, print-outs, quotes, etc.
  Rely on your notes, and don't overwhelm yourself with facts.
  Details can be added; you now want to focus on developing your argument
• Edits!
  Do not revise as you write, or correct spelling, punctuation, etc. Just write, write, write.
  This is the first draft, so what you put down will be revised and organized "after"

Take a break after your prewriting exercise!
Refresh yourself

• Review the ideas, topics, themes, questions
  you have come up with in your prewriting exercise. Try reading the prewriting text out loud ( a type of self-mediation). Listen for patterns that seem most interesting and/or important. Summarize them.
• Evaluate the ideas, topics, themes, questions
  whether by scoring, prioritizing, or whatever method seems best.
  Keep this list in case your first choice(s) don't work
• Sequence what you have prioritized as in outlining, above.

Writing your draft (3):
Your first paragraph

• Introduce the topic; entice the reader (remember: audience)
• Establish perspective and/or point of view!
• Focus on three main points to develop

Establish flow from paragraph to paragraph

• Topic sentences of each paragraph
  define their place in the overall scheme
• Transition sentences, clauses, or words at the beginning of paragraph connect one idea to the next
  
• Avoid one and two sentence paragraphs
  which may reflect lack of development of your point
• Continually prove your point of view throughout the essay
  • Don't drift or leave the focus of the essay
  • Don't lapse into summary in developing paragraphs--wait until its time, at the conclusion
• Keep your voice active
  • "The Academic Committee decided..." not "It was decided by..."
  • Avoid the verb "to be" for clear, dynamic, and effective presentation
    (Avoid the verb "to be" and your presentation will be effective, clear, and dynamic)
  • Avoiding "to be" will also avoid the passive voice
• Support interpretations with quotes, data, etc.
  • Properly introduce, explain, and cite each quote
  • Block (indented) quotes should be used sparingly;
    they can break up the flow of your argument

Conclusion

• Read your first paragraph, the development, and set it aside
• Summarize, then conclude, your argument
• Refer back (once again) to the first paragraph(s) as well as the development
  • do the last paragraphs briefly restate the main ideas?
  • reflect the succession and importance of the arguments
  • logically conclude their development?
• Edit/rewrite the first paragraph
  to better set your development and conclusion

Take a day or two off!

Writing Skills # 4 - Organizing and Pre-Writing

Organizing and pre-writing

Seven stages of writing assignments

Prewriting exercises provide key words, meaning, and structure
to your research before you write your first draft, and may help you overcome "writers block."
These exercises can help you

• Focus intellectually
  and clear distractions while opening your mind to ideas within your subject
• Narrow and define topics for your paperand begin the process of translating research into your own words.
• Develop logical or architectural structure to topics you have identified.
  This provides a visual and verbal document for reaction, review, discussion, and/or further development in your rough draft. However, these exercises are dynamic or subject to change in the actual writing process as you understand, develop, and build your argument. Some topics will go, some will stay, some will be revised
• Provide a context for "project management" to further define the topic, set timelines, identify gaps in information, etc.

Use one of these four processes,
free writing, mind mapping, brain storming, or listing and outlines to both develop your topic and get started. Better yet, try them all to see which suits your style and/or the topic.
(See the text versions below for more information.)

Four exercises in prewriting:

Focused Free writing

1. Use a blank paper or computer screen and set a time limit of 5 - 15 minutes
2. Summarize the topic in a phrase or sentence;generate a free flow of thought
3. Write anything that comes to mind, whether on topic or off, for the period of time you chose,
4. Don't pause, don't stop.
   don't rush; work quickly
5. Don't review
   what you have written until you have finished
6. At the end of your time, refer back to the beginning:
   Rephrase the initial topic
   Repeat a word, phrase, or important thought or emotion that makes sense.
7. Review:
   are there words or ideas you can grab onto for the topic?
   Is there a main idea to this sequence of ideas?

Listing and outlines

This is a more structured and sequential overview of your research to date. You may also outline to organize topics built from free writing, brainstorming, or mind mapping:

1. Arrange items or topics, usually without punctuation or complete sentences
2. List topics and phrases them in a grammatically similar or parallel structure (subjects, verbs, etc.)
3. Sequence topics in importance,
   defining what "level" of importance they are. Items of equal importance are at the same level

Brainstorming:

1. Use a blank paper or computer screen and set a time limit of 5 - 15 minutes
2. Summarize the topic in a phrase or sentence;generate a free flow of thought
3. Write down everything that comes to mind to generate a free flow of thought:
   • Think of ideas related to this topic, the crazier the better: be wild and amuse yourself; eliminate nothing
   • Make up questions and answers about the topic, no matter how strange: Why am I doing this? What could be interesting about this to me? Why don't I like this? What color is it? What would my friend say about it?
4. Review:
   are there words or ideas you can grab onto for the topic?
   Is there a main idea within this sequence of ideas?

Mind mapping

1. Think in terms of key words or symbols that represent ideas and words
2. Take a pencil (you'll be erasing!) and a blank (non-lined) big piece of paper or use a blackboard and (colored) chalk
3. Write down the most important word or short phrase or symbol in the center.
   Think about it; circle it.
4. Write other important words outside the circle.
   Draw over-lapping circles to connect items, or use arrows to connect them
   (think of linking pages in a web site)
   Leave white space to grow your map for
   • further development
   • explanations
   • action items
5. Work quickly
   without analyzing your work
6. Edit this first phaseThink about the relation of outside items to the center,
   Erase and replace and shorten words for these key ideas
   Relocate important items closer to each other for better organization
   Use color to organize information
   Link concepts with words to clarify the relationship
7. Continue working outwardFreely and quickly add other key words and ideas (you can always erase!)
   Think weird: tape pages together to expand your map; break boundaries
   Develop in directions the topic takes you--don't bet limited by the size of the paper
   As you expand your map, tend to become more specific or detailed

Writing Skills # 3 - Research

Research in preparation for
writing an essay

Develop your time line
Allow for editing, revision and unexpected developments

• Inspiration phase:
  This is continuous to prevent losing ideas and inspirations
  Keep a convenient place to preserve phrases, vocabulary, events, etc. for later use
• Research phase; information gathering and recording: See below
• Organizing/prewriting phasewith concept mapping, outlining, even brainstorming
  Determine how you will build the scenes of your argument, narrative, story, etc.

Research phase; information gathering and recording:
Document all interviews, readings, experiments, data, websites, reports, etc.
People: instructor, teaching assistant, research librarian, tutor, subject matter experts, professionals

1. Develop research strategies and a list of resources
2. Narrow your topic and its description;
   Pull out key words and categories
   Develop a list of key words--50 or so--that form the foundation of both your research and writing. Build the list from general sources and overviews
3. Bring your topic and keyword list
   to a local research librarian, teacher, support professional on resources available
   Text books (!), reference works, web sites, journals, diaries, professional reports
4. International conventions of copyright govern the use
   and reproduction of all material: all information should be properly cited
   

What are some resources?

• Search engines
  
  
• Directories and portals on the Internet that categorize/organize information and links
  
  
• Web sites devoted to particular topics, including text, graphics, movies, music files
  
  
• Government documents, forms, laws, policies, etc.
  
  
• Services and information by
  non-profit organizations and by for-profit businesses
• LISTSERVs or discussion groups
  
  
• Resources at your local (public) library
  These may require membership or registration
• Newspaper, journal, magazine databases
  Often restricted to subscribers, require registration, or can be fee-based for access

Using an Internet search engine:
Find the best combination of key words to locate information you need;
Enter these in the search engine

• Refer to known, recommended, expert, or reviewed web sites
• Review the number of options returned.
  If there are too many web sites, add more keywords.
  If there are too few options, narrow/delete some keywords,
  or substitute other key words
• Review the first pages returned:
  If these are not helpful, review your key words for a better description
• Use advanced search options in search engines:
  Search options include
  • Key word combinations, including Boolean strings
  • Locations where key words are found
    For example: in the title, 1st paragraphs, coded metadata
  • Languages to search in
  • Sites containing media files (images, videos, MP3/music, ActiveX, JAVA, etc.)
  • Dates web sites were created or updated
• Research using several search engines
  Each search engine has a different database of web sites it searches
  Some "Meta-Search" engines actually search other search engines!
  If one search engine returns few web sites, another may return many!
• Evaluate the content of the web sites you've found:
  Beware referencing blogs as they are basically opinions and not "fact"
• Track your search:
  List resources you checked; the date your checked them
  Identify the resource, especially its location and the date you found it
  c.f. index card system
• When printing, set your options to print the
  Title of the page | the Web address | the date printed

Writing Skills # 2 - Writing for an audience

Writing for an audience

Stages of writing assignments
Use this process to develop your audience and readership:

Define your target audience, and how you will address them
Some ways of thinking of audience

• You are selling a product:
  what style of writing will appeal to them?
• You are explaining a sport:
  how would your vocabulary change if your audience were children?
  visitors from another country? your parents?
• Are you documenting an event:
  how would you detail the facts of a crime you witnessed?

Writing Skills # 1 - Developing a Topic

Developing a topic

Seven stages of writing assignments

If a topic is not assigned, identify a subject that interests you.Refer to your text book, a lecture, a hobby you have that relates to the subject, something that you are curious about.
Set your topicState your thesis, theme, or objective in a sentence or two at most:

If the topic is assigned, or when you have identified your subject:

• Note key ideas or words you think will be important.
  Use only short phrases or individual words at this point
  Construct a map using these words and phrases
  Refer to our Guide on concept mapping on how to create one
• Identify what you want to do with the concepts!
  Refer to our list of terms for essays
  Pick a likely verb (or two) and write out the definition to keep before you.
  Are you to develop a persuasive or expository essay, or a position paper?
  What has the teacher assigned?
  
• List out what sources you will need
  to find information for your essay:
  Start small: what does an encyclopedia say about it?
  Is there a reference librarian who can help you find sources, both for an overview and for detailed research?
  Is a search engine enough? Or too boring?
  Think big: are there experts you can talk to? an organization?
• Analyze your topic so far
  Is it too vague or broad, or too narrow?
  Is it interesting enough? Is there a controversy to explore, or do you think you can help others understand a problem? Will you provide information from two points of view, or only one while anticipating questions and arguments?
• Summarize your topic
  and present it to your teacher for feedback.
  Bring these first few steps with you in case the teacher will want to help you refine or restate your topic
• Write out your opinion on, or approach to, the topicRemember: you are writing an essay as a learning experience and you may find information that is against your position. You will need to resolve this.
• Keep an open or critical mind as you research:
  You may only see your side and not be objective.
  Your position could be prejudicial to, or otherwise affect, your investigation